We are all responding and reacting to the events of the past few weeks which have further revealed the extreme racial inequality and systemic injustice that has deep roots, not only in American society, but also deeply entrenched in Canada’s historical and present-day treatment of Indigenous Peoples. We must each recognize the role we have played individually, as well as the way that the church has contributed to the ongoing injustice. We know where Jesus stands when it comes to racial oppression – he stands with the oppressed. 

As we determine as a church how to respond, we recognize that the first step in decolonizing our church and our individual faith comes through learning from the Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) around us – to sit humbly, apologetically, willing to listen – then follow in doing the hard and oftentimes uncomfortable work of dismantling this evil within us and our communities. 

We do not want this response to be merely performative. As a body of Jesus followers, we need to commit ourselves to the action that is required. We are currently developing a framework for a 6-8 week series at Calvary that focuses on learning about racial injustice in Canada and we need your help. This cannot be a movement that is driven by a few, it requires the participation of all of us. If there are resources that have impacted you, please send us the link, url or reference information. If there are voices in the BIPOC community who are teaching you, send us their information. Let us direct each other to the voices that should be amplified in our communities. We want to collaborate as we walk into these spaces, as we follow humbly after God’s heart for all of those made in his image.