~Cheryl Perry

This month marked the 95th anniversary of our denomination, which was founded on June 10, 1925 when The United Church of Canada was inaugurated at a large worship service at Toronto’s Mutual Street Arena. The motto “Ut omnes unum sint” appears on the crest that was designed for the new church; the Latin words “that all may be one” recall John 17:21. In 2000, the United Church’s anti-racism policy by the same title, “That All May Be One”, named as one of its four goals “to speak to the world by supporting anti-racism work within broader society.”

As then-Moderator Jordan Cantwell put it in her letter of March 2017: “We need to name and examine our fears, prejudices, and assumptions. The privilege that many of us are born with may desensitize us to the injustice, exclusion, and hate that some in our community experience on a daily basis. Only in that way can we build, as That All May Be One envisioned, a church and society where all are welcome, where all feel welcome, and where diversity is as natural as breathing.”

I winced when I re-read these words recently, in light of the demonstrations and protests taking place following the death of George Floyd. Images of people, fists in the air, or taking a knee, holding placards reading “I can’t breathe” filled my thoughts. These words have been a rallying cry of those who have experienced the pain and injustice of racial violence. A sign I saw at the demonstration in downtown Kelowna two Fridays ago read: “If you think it’s hard to breathe with this mask on, try being Black in America.” It was a powerful message. The only thing that needs to be added is to acknowledge that this is not just the experience of Black people in America. It is in Canada, too.

Although we may proclaim that God is found in our common diversity, the sin of racism is present in our Canadian society and in our church. Now more than ever we need to be committed to racial justice—by building right relationships through reconciliation between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples, by engaging in interfaith dialogue and speaking out against violence and discrimination rooted in racial and religious bigotry, by speaking up when we see acts of discrimination and acknowledging the white privilege we might benefit from in our church and in our society.

2020 marks the midway point of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent (2015–2024) which The United Church of Canada is participating in. As people of faith, we know that prayer has the power to transform and amplify or actions. Each Sunday, through the International Prayer Cycle, we are invited to pray for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people of African descent. May we continue to pray and take whatever concrete measures we can to combat racism and intolerance.

Wild Church is going live again! We’ll be in the Okanagan at Bertram Creek Regional Park on Sat, July 4.

In order to maintain safe social distancing and other COVID protocols, we will offer 3 different 90 minute gathering times and limit the number participants per gathering time. We will meet at 10:00 am, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm. If you want to get a little bit wild and connect with the Holy in a great big garden, you are welcome to join us.

You MUST reserve a spot by emailing [email protected]. For more information, contact LeAnn at 250-851-1984 or visit wildchurchbc.org.

~Cheryl Perry

It feels almost like a confession to admit it: before COVID19, I was a hugger.
Quite suddenly in mid-March that habit had to change.

We know the importance of touch. It is thought to be one of the first senses humans develop and it is so important that studies have shown babies who are denied touch and human contact do not develop (physically, emotionally) normally.

If you have a dog or cat you probably already know the benefits that petting them, snuggling with them, can have for you. In children and adults, handling an animal, petting its fur, feeling its presence, is comforting and calming. While practicing physical distancing from others, touching a pet can be a simple reminder that we are still a living, breathing, feeling creature.

Christina Bach, a counsellor and social worker, suggests that if you don’t have a pet, you can try something called “mindful touching.” If you are someone who likes to bake, for instance, take time to really pay attention to how it feels. Notice the textures of the ingredients. Kneading dough can be an excellent exploration in mindful touching. How does the dough feel as it comes together? How does the texture change?

Other spaces you can try mindful touch include, gardening, fibre work (knitting, crochet, quilting), and other crafts. Even folding laundry! There are also mindful touch meditations available via apps like Headspace, Calm and Insight Timer.

For those that live alone especially, replacing human contact, for now, is important to maintain our well-being. Perhaps you have been trying mindful touch without even knowing it. What is helping you cope with the absence of touch in your life?

Herman Roodenburg, a cultural historian at the Meertens Institute in Amsterdam notes that the kiss has “had its moments of crisis” too. England’s King Henry VI banned the act in 1439 to combat an epidemic of bubonic plague that had ravaged Europe for nearly a century. It was likely an act of self-preservation, as kissing wasn’t common among peasants, but it was how knights paid homage to the king!

Still, Roodenburg notes, its symbolic importance in religious ritual—“the kiss of peace” exchanged among Christians, for example—kept it in social consciousness. Marcel Danesi, an anthropology professor at the University of Toronto and author of The History of the Kiss!, predicts that though the handshake and the kiss have disappeared for a time, when this latest pandemic finally goes away we should expect a resurgence.

?“Touch is critical in human interaction,” he says. “In one way or another, it will make a comeback.”

That makes me so happy I could hug myself!

~Tom Kemp

On a recent walk in a wooded area my wife Pam and I were admiring the Spring wildflowers. Upon our return home we were shocked when she looked online to identify the flowers seen and discovered some of our favourite, beautiful wildflowers are invasive species—WEEDS.

Several days later we were walking on the Mission Creek Greenway and saw a field shimmering in one of these yellow beauties. Weeds seems such a misnomer. A little further along the trail we saw another field beautified by a profusion of invasive blue flowers. Pam commented, “I wonder if the indigenous people view us like an invasive species?”

There is no doubt that we, the offspring of settlers from outside Canada, are not native, but we have flourished numerically to spread over the land and banish those who first loved this land. The indigenous nations respected Mother Earth and were its wise and devoted caretakers.

The settlers, however, saw the land’s richness and declared ownership, and discovered resources that could be raped from the land for tremendous profits. Like invasive plant or animal species, we have changed the ecology of the land and have marginalized its original caretakers.

To our shame we have expected these indigenous peoples to be happy with what was decided was left for them . . . until more valuable resources were discovered to be on those lands. They should move along and not thwart progress and profitability by impeding plans to develop and exploit these newly found treasures. Settlers as an invasive species, weeds? Hmm.

For generations a pattern of exclusion and exploitation has dishonoured the indigenous people of our country and sought to change them to become more like us. How do we even begin to right these wrongs, to live into Reconciliation? How can we make our invasion of their land less noxious?

I do not believe the indigenous peoples are seeking a quick, overnight “fix” of the wrongs, but a shared process of entering reconciliation. They are the keepers of the wisdom and the perspectives that will make this possible. Thus, to begin to live into reconciliation, we must listen, learn and be guided by their wisdom. They will coach us on how to live respectfully with them and with Mother Earth, to avert catastrophic climate change and loss of biodiversity. They will open our eyes to see the spiritual connection uniting all aspects of Creation that we should be respecting and preserving.

Another step toward reconciliation will require us to own their right to live their traditional lifestyle which has sustained and nurtured them for centuries. This will also challenge us to grant them the right to manage and govern their traditional territories, protected from invasive development plans.

It seems weeds can be a beautiful addition to the landscape. May we learn to be so.