Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Member church of the Lutheran World Federation

RJAC Communications

National Indigenous People’s Day 2021

Posted: | Filed Under: Circle for Reconciliation and Justice, RJAC Communications

Dear Friends in Christ,

National Indigenous People’s Day Resources – 2021Download

As we approach the 2021 National Indigenous People’s Day, we offer gratitude to the Creator for the gift of Mother Earth, and to the First Peoples of this land for the wisdom they offer us as we walk together in solidarity with creation and with those who suffer the effects of colonization, racism, ableism, ageism, and sexism in its various guises. 

Since the 2020 National Indigenous People’s Day, Turtle Island has witnessed a sobering sequence of injustices, injuries and inequities directly bearing upon First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people.  News reels have documented the outrageous treatment of Joyce Echaquan, the ongoing effects of land grabs in Caledonia and beyond, the unconscionable continuance of boil-water advisories across this land, the rampant racism levelled against the Mi’kmaq of Sipekne’katik First Nation for exercising their fishing rights, the ongoing inordinate incarceration of Indigenous people, and the repeated disappearance and death of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people.  Unfortunately, what has been reported is but the tip of the iceberg of what is experienced.

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George Floyd Anniversary and Verdict

Posted: | Filed Under: RJAC Communications, Spotlight

It’s been a year.
It has been a year, and what has changed?
A year since a man begged for his life from an officer of the law. A year since a woman was shot in her bed. A year since national sports leagues boycotted games. A year since we saw #saytheirnames trending on social media.
It has been a year since George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Regis Korchinski-Paquet.

What has changed?

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SOLIDARITY WITH ASIAN-CANADIANS AGAINST ANTI-ASIAN PACIFIC ISLAND INCIDENTS

Posted: | Filed Under: RJAC Communications, Spotlight, Uncategorised

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 37-39)

Dear Siblings in Christ,

We, the Eastern Synod, acknowledge and denounce the continued and increasing hateful, racist and targeted acts against the Asian-Canadian and Pacific Islander (ACPI) community. Specifically and especially, we denounce those actions that are perpetuated due to poisonous misinformation and anti-Asian rhetoric in relation to the COVID-19 virus, and its origin in China. Importantly, it is a matter of justice.

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Black History Month – We Challenge You!

Posted: | Filed Under: RJAC Communications, Uncategorised

Racial Justice Advisory Committee: Black History Month 2021 Challenge

Let us become agents of change.

February is a busy month in 2021: Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and we are right into the Season of Lent. In the midst of all those meaningfully designated moments and celebrations of relationships, community, and our mutual humanity and vulnerability, the Racial Justice Advisory Committee urges you to observe February also as a commemoration of Black History Month.

For the month of February, the members of the Racial Justice Advisory Committee are inviting you to a Synod-wide challenge. (Watch the video introduction to the right, and watch video responses below!)

1.     Visit our resources list at https://rjaceastern.wixsite.com/home/copy-of-workshops-resources.

2.     Pick something from the list. Invite a friend to do this together.

3.     Engage, make comments, ask questions, dialogue.

4.     Tell us how you did! Use our Contact Us page to email us, or tag us on social media and let us know how it went.

Each member of RJAC will check back through February with a “moment of revelation” as they engage their choice of book, article, podcast, or video. Check back on the RJAC website and social media  channels to see what we’re reading, listening to, watching, and discussing. In holding up our narratives, painful, celebratory, and everything in-between, we embrace our common humanity.

Our features, this month, include an update on the most recent achievement of Willie Eldon O’Ree, a former professional ice hockey player, best known for being the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL) and inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November, 2018. He was featured in the “Black History Month” section of the Eastern Synod 2020 Newsletter. Most recently, Mr. O’Ree was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (2020/2021). Read more about Mr. O’Ree and his achievements on our website.

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On the Murder of George Floyd

Posted: | Filed Under: RJAC Communications

If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. (1 Corinthians 12:26)

​With the death of George Floyd, we witnessed yet another senseless murder of a black man in the United States. We again see tears and anguish pounding through each step marched in resistance, struggle, and public protest; we feel deeply the brokenness and the separation between God’s vision for community and where the world sits at this moment in history.

​This is not simply an American problem. Canadians are not immune to prejudice and racial injustice. We join in with resounding force against the questionable circumstances surrounding the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto, and the desecration of a Jewish synagogue in Montreal. As the whole people of God called to manifest God’s mission in the world, we must not be complacent and silent in our status quo. The Spirit moves us to stand courageously, to advocate persistently, and to act compassionately as people of faith.

​We are not living out God’s vision for community.

​Furthermore, when we fail to speak out against acts of racism, we become silent perpetrators of injustice. In short, if we do not condemn racism, then we are guilty of it. It is our work, particularly as a community of faith, to speak out against acts of racism. It is our work to say loudly and clearly that we do not accept this reality. We must call out racism as sinful and deadly. That is only the beginning, for once we speak out against it, we must do the work of dismantling the systems that oppress.

​We, the committee that represents your Synod, feel called to use our pulpits and platforms to speak out against racism. To shine a light on the ways in which racism exists in our community, and to pledge to do the work to make changes. To stand in solidarity with all who live with racial injustice as a daily reality. We feel called to pray fervently, to write persistently, and to encourage one another to allow God to work in us and through us for equity, love and an end to all forms of discrimination and racism.

​June 21st is Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada. Racism in our country often takes the form of discrimination against our Indigenous Peoples: the missing and murdered Indigenous women, dishonoring of historical treaties and present promises, and ignoring that the wisdoms of Indigenous Peoples teach us how to be caretakers of this land. We must interrogate the past, look clearly at the present, and let it motivate our work for justice to build a future for our common good.

​The preamble to the mission, vision and values statement of the Racial Justice Advisory Committee states, “We acknowledge that we each have different experiences of privilege and that in different settings, some of us experience more privilege and some experience less.” Each of us will experience the current events differently, depending on our life stories. Reach out to colleagues, parishioners, neighbours, and friends who might be feeling particularly vulnerable this week. Be present and listen when oppressed voices speak and stand with them.

We pray for courage as we do this work together, as allies. It is not easy, nor comfortable, but it is necessary. We are truly all in this together.

​In solidarity with our Siblings of Colour,
Your Racial Justice Advisory Committee

George Floyd Response from the Eastern Synod Racial Justice Advisory Committee

Posted: | Filed Under: RJAC Communications

Dear Siblings in Christ,

If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. (1 Corinthians 12:26)

With the death of George Floyd, we witnessed yet another senseless murder of a black man in the United States. We again see tears and anguish pounding through each step marched in resistance, struggle, and public protest; we feel deeply the brokenness and the separation between God’s vision for community and where the world sits at this moment in history.

This is not simply an American problem. Canadians are not immune to prejudice and racial injustice. We join in with resounding force against the questionable circumstances surrounding the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto, and the desecration of a Jewish synagogue in Montreal. As the whole people of God called to manifest God’s mission in the world, we must not be complacent and silent in our status quo. The Spirit moves us to stand courageously, to advocate persistently, and to act compassionately as people of faith.

Read more →