Slideshow image

Hello friends


I hope you are staying safe and keeping well in these uncertain times. May the sunshine we have been blessed with remind us of the light and hope that surrounds us always.

This Sunday we will continue highlighting folks from the past and present who are impacting the world through Black History month. Following our shortened service will be our Annual Meeting, and I really hope you can make it! It’s such a valuable time to learn what we’ve been up to as we look back with pride, look forward with promise, and look around with grace and hope.

With the audio not working well at Sunday morning's service, I thought I’d share this YouTube link to the Hymn to Freedom Project video I shared, so you can watch it in a much smoother way, tech wise!

I also want to include the Broadview Magazine article highlighting our first Black Moderator of The United Church, Wilbur Howard. It’s a great read and helps us to continue to learn about important history in our church and in the world. Click here for the article.

Finally, I’d like to leave you with this prayer, written by my friend and colleague, Alydia Smith from The United Church of Canada General Council Office.

Bright Shining Christ,
There is much for Black and Brown bodies to dread, here, in the Americas.
The trauma of the transatlantic slave trade
                lives in our bodies.
The legacy of enslavement
                lives in our systems.
But the thin gospel of oppression
                could die in our worship.
if we choose to shine bravely, reflecting your glory,
if we choose to reject the lies of racism and White supremacy,
if we choose to dance…
               make music …
               share pain …
               spread joy …
               wake up and be magic.
We can choose to fight for a better society, and
we can remember that
               we are of the earth and of the stardust,
               we are precious, loved, and called to shine bright,
               like the stars we are made of and the son that we follow.
Help us to make good choices.
Help us to shine brightly.
Amen.

—Alydia Smith