I appreciate the last few articles that have been done on the intersections between race and the Anglican Communion that were published on June 11 and June 18 of this year. I also appreciate this recent article here as well. This is particularly important in light of the conversations that have emerged in the aftermath of the George Floyd killings. Throughout the world conversations about race and social justice have posed a major challenge to many social entities and cultural institutions and no more so than the church itself. Churches have had to grapple with how it addresses racial justice and what connections it makes in that regard to the Gospel.

I believe that the words of Brother Reginald Crenshaw are instructive on some of the hurdles as well as opportunities the Anglican Church in Canada has to face on this. The Anglican Church of Canada has had a racial charter adopted by Synod since at least 2007 and yet many Anglicans do not know about it. Black Anglicans of Canada has been hosting many webinars and meetings to raise awareness of this charter and the duties and responsibilities that Anglicans have during this time. In that regard when it comes to consciousness raising I would like to see a bit more follow up on the 2 articles published in June so that the momentum on the topic of black lives is not lost in a journalistic moment.

As I had mentioned I believe that this is a gospel moment for the Church and a major opportunity. As a convert to Anglicanism I know that two of the things that attracted me were it’s sacramental tradition as well as its commitment to social justice. That commitment comes out of its incarnational theology that states that just as Christ incarnated himself in the world, so to must we incarnate ourselves in the lives of people. I think this is a Kairos moment where the Church has an opportunity to incarnate itself in the lives of black people facing racial barriers and be a true ambassador for the gospel. I am grateful for the work the Anglican Journal and the Diocese does on various issues and hope to see updates in the future.

Sincerely,

Janhoi McCallum