Dear Passing the Peace Readers,

As we say goodbye to Pride Month 2023, I wanted to share with you what this month in ministry has looked like for me. One of the special parts of receiving a call to ministry was finding ways to share with the church my experiences as a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and that has led to so many beautiful opportunities, experiences, and relationships over the past decade.

It’s been a wonderful month! I was the guest preacher and workshop facilitator at Pastor in Exile’s Beyond Binaries Conference held in Kitchener. I spent the Saturday of Toronto Pride at Trinity St Paul’s United Church for a conference on Trans Spirituality. I love seeing people come together, share joy, and know they are not alone is working to make the world safer and more inclusive for 2SLGBTQ+ people.

All this joy and celebration and yet my heart feels really heavy writing today’s newsletter. This past week, a professor and two students were stabbed in a hate-based incident during a Gender Studies class on the University of Waterloo campus. It has left many 2SLGBTQ+ students at the university afraid to come to campus and the wider community asking why it took such a scary act of violence for attention to be drawn to the staggering increase in anti-LGBTQ+ activity in the past year. I hope you will keep these students in your prayers as the community continues to process what has happened.

Both the sadness and joy remind me why this work is so important and I’m so grateful to be part of a church that supports this kind of ministry. Check out this video below to see our beautiful Glen Morris featured in this message of love!

As we move into the summer months I hope that you will all find ways to feel connected with God and deepen your faith, even if vacation plans and cottage weekends take you away from the Glen and Sunday morning worship.

In the quiet breeze by the shore, may the peace of Christ be with you

In the glory of blue skies and sunlight, may the peace of Christ be with you

 

Yours in Christ,

Rev Michiko