2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Jesus and a follower, the new
creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who
reconciled to us through Jesus and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that
God was reconciling with the world, not counting people’s sins against them.
The message of reconciliation has been committed to us. We are therefore ambassadors
for the way of Jesus, so that the appeal is made through us. We beg you on behalf
of Jesus: Be reconciled to God.
( Luke) Mary’s Song And Mary said: “My soul gives glory to God, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, who has been mindful of the humble state of this servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is God’s name. The mercy of the great One extends to those who are in awe, from generation to generation. God has performed mighty deeds, and scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. God has brought down rulers from their thrones and lifted up the humble. The hungry have been filled with good things, the rich have been sent away empty. God has helped servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as our ancestors were promised.”
A couple of weeks ago, I travelled to
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan – to celebrate the life of the congregation of
Wesley United Church, as it hands over the building to the YWCA. There were
people in church who were at the beginning of the building, and mourn its end
at the same time they celebrate its new life. Prince Albert and Wesley were the
home of Dr.Orville Hjertaas, virtually the only medical doctor in Saskatchewan
to support universal health care. My memories of Saskatchewan, there in the
north, were of long idyllic summers, church camps, forests and lakes virtually
untouched, portaging a canoe into Lac La Ronge for pickerel fishing. I hadn’t
realised till I drove up again through the forests of Prince Albert National
Park into Waskesiu Lake, and the beach where I learned to swim – not changed
all that much – and ate a huge pickerel fillet in a wonderful restaurant – that
I realised how much of my identity was formed in this place.
This weekend I was thinking about the
first election I voted in – Pierre Eliot Trudeau was standing for Prime
Minister for the first time, and he spoke about a ‘just society’ – about
multiculturalism and equality of all. And coincidentally the United Church had
a curriculum which was titled ”Live Love”.
As I look back, I realise those
things too, were formative of my identity as a Canadian.
I didn’t know then, about residential
schools. I didn’t know about the camps – the separation of Japanese-Canadian families
– men being sent to work in the BC lumber camps, women and children sent to the
sugar beet fields of southern Saskatchewan. I didn’t know about the treatment
of Ukrainian-Canadians, and German Canadians – the persecution and racism. When
I was a teen in Winnipeg, my brother - in
one of his various incursions into other people’s garages – found a body of an
immigrant from Germany who had committed suicide. And it was then we heard the
derogatory and racist comments from people. It was then my parents told me that
he had been persecuted into suicide by those who were convinced all Germans
were Nazis.
And it wasn’t until I returned to Canada
at the age of 30, that I discovered the racism and bigotry which still lives;
truth about our treatment of First Nations, the residential schools, Chinese
building railroads and being sent ahead with the explosives because they were
expendable; head taxes; internment camps and the stealing of people’s rightful
properties. And I confess I’ve found it difficult to ‘celebrate’ this weekend.
At the end of the service we will sing ‘O Canada, our home and native
land’.
The aboriginal version of this is “O Canada, our home
ON native land…..did you know that?
Canada - a country we like to think of as free, founded on solid
Christian principles. There is no question Canada is a beautiful country and much
is to be celebrated. We are blessed indeed to be able to live in this place. My
husband will tell you that he has had opportunities here to develop that he
would not have had in Japan. He will also tell you of the constant struggle to
overcome the racism and barriers put in his way when it became clear he was successful.
He will tell you he’s had to work twice as hard, and that recognition carries
with it a lot of bigotry.
We’ve done much as a country, we’ve grown much. Yet while many of our
rights and freedoms were founded on principles which came from European
Christians, those rights and freedoms were not available for everyone. True,
some of us just were not aware, at the time; but that is no longer an excuse.
Canada’s earlier days were built together with aboriginal peoples, who
in the beginning were generous and open. Without them there would have been few
survivors in this harsh land – and the earliest settlers did work in harmony
with First Nations. The existence of the huge group known as Metis is an
indication of how integrated settlers and First Nations were at the beginning.
But then our parliament passed a draconian Indian Act which is still in
force today. We’ve tinkered with it here and there, but in large part our First
Nations had to be creative in finding ways to gain rights, education, health
care. We built an infrastructure on the backs of Chinese who came here to work
the railway, hoping to save enough money to bring family, and have a better
life. To get in to Canada they were required to pay a head tax of some $900 –
not a lot these days, but in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, that was a huge amount of money. More Chinese died in the building
of our railroads than any other nationality – and yet, they persisted. Everywhere
the railway went, could be found one Chinese restaurant and one laundry.
In 1949 Newfoundland became part of Canada – but not exactly voluntarily.
Did you know that? Newfoundland was coerced into WWII, because of its strategic
importance - on the promise that at the end of the war they would again become
the Dominion of Newfoundland. After the war was over, the Canadian and British
governments reneged on their promises to return Newfoundland to its status as
an independent republic. Yes, there was a referendum, but Newfoundlanders who
remember will say the referendum was written in such a way that the results
were skewed. There are still people who are less than happy about that, and
Newfoundland still thinks of itself largely as Newfoundland first, Canada second.
Before joining Canada, Newfoundland had an open immigration policy. Anyone was
welcome. First Nations peoples were part of the people, treated equally. There were no residential schools. One of
Newfoundland’s most famous businessmen was a Chinese immigrant; when I went to
Corner Brook in 2010 – the most revered doctor on the island, a Chinese
immigrant from before the war, was still living. There was no ‘head tax’. It
was an equal-opportunity nation of its own. Until 1949 when they joined Canada
– suddenly they were governed by different immigration policies and had to
charge head tax; First Nations people were suddenly treated by the law as
‘other’. In 2011, the Qalipu Miq’maw were finally recognised as a legitimate
First People, and finally eligible for health benefits. As people began tracing
their heritage, it became clear that within my congregation of Humber United
alone, more than 50% were of mixed race, but qualified for status. I can’t tell
you how many letters and birth certifications I did. And I noticed as more
Muslim immigrants came into Newfoundland, it just wasn’t an issue. The new
immigrants added to the fabric of what was already there.
More than 1000 years ago, Vikings landed on our shores. Long before
Columbus landed anywhere, long before Captain Cook mapped the coast of
Newfoundland and whose statue overlooks the Bay of Island in Corner Brook. The
Beothuk people of Newfoundland, an Algonkian-speaking group lived on the
island, descendents of the “Little Passage” people who went to the island
thousands of years prior. The Beothuk are now extinct as a people.
And yet – Canada has done so much too, - a few inventions..for example. Canola oil; marquis wheat, winter wheat, disease resistant wheat; Pablum - a life-saving food for babies. The first commercial jetliner to fly in North America. the Canadarm. medicinal insulin, the first practical electron microscope, the cardiac pacemaker, the pager and computerized Braille.
We
are active in the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, La
Francophonie, the Organization of American States,
and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Canada long held a strong
reputation for peace-keeping – under Lester Pearson, the idea of peacekeeping
was developed, and resolved the Suez crisis. Pearson received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work. We have been noted for working
towards reconciliation in international conflicts, such as in Viet Nam, and
Bosnia. The Canadian International Development
Agency or CIDA was originally formed under the Colombo Plan – in Colombo
Ceylon in 1950 – along with other signatory countries Canada provided aid and
assistance around the world. It was a new model for providing international
aid.
And
our own United Church of Canada is the first denomination formed by an Act of
Parliament, creating a new denomination, in 1925. The Uniting Church of Australia
followed, in 1977.
In
an international poll, Canada is now listed as second of most respected
countries and best places to live. Toronto is among the ten most multicultural
cities in the world. Canada has been a leader in establishing rights for many. We have offered apologies and recompense for many
of our past transgressions and we do continue to work for reconciliation.
Apologies and commissions are steps, but there remains
much more to be done. We are a work and a country in progress. As we celebrate
this anniversary of Confederation, being a true Canadian means justice is done
for all, not just for some. Values of justice, mercy, compassion, care,
hospitality, welcome – biblical values we strive to follow.
So I haven’t celebrated a ‘birthday’ so much as an
anniversary – because so long as there are those within our borders, or those
who wish to come here – who are discriminated against who are treated with
hatred and derision, who are persecuted because of race, religion, gender
orientation, colour, whatever – we aren’t there yet. Our identity as Canadians
is being formed and re-formed. We have much more to do, and that’s where I
believe my energy must go. So – as we come together with family this weekend –
let’s be mindful of our incredibly varied history – good and not-so-good and
downright shameful – and commit to working for a just society for all. May we
be given strength on this journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment