Social Justice

By Gwenda Jensen, St. Thomas’s Social Justice Committee

Reconciliation at St. Thomas’s

Social Justice Committee and Reconciliation

As I explained in the 13 September issue of The Thurible, a revived Social Justice Committee (SJC) began work in March 2026. In April we approved our mandate. Then in May we considered our priorities. We discussed several possible initiatives. Our decision to make Reconciliation our priority was unanimous.

In choosing Reconciliation, we applied the following prioritization criteria:

1.     SJC members, Corporation, parishioners, and the diocese see this area as worthy of attention.

2.     Given our church’s location, people, and resources, we have a special ability to address this area.

3.     St. Thomas’s has failed in the past to sufficiently address this social justice area and may even have contributed to injustice. (Our work would make amends for past wrongs.)

4.     The likely benefits of action are high compared with their costs.

5.     This social justice area is not already being addressed adequately in Toronto.

6.     If we don’t act, no one else will.

Reconciliation scores very highly on most of these criteria. For example, criterion (1) got a big “yes.” Yes, individual SJC members wanted to move forward on Reconciliation. By May we had already shown this through organizing (a) a film evening to celebrate National Indigenous History month, and (b) attendance at a virtual seminar about the 23 September Grassy Narrows River Run. (If anyone reading this article would like to join us for the Rally on Wednesday, September 23, we will meet at Grange Park (22 Grange Rd.) at 12:00 p.m., along with other members of the Diocese of Toronto.) More importantly, we knew that many St Thomas’s parishioners had already been working on Reconciliation. Significant progress had occurred, as evident in:

a)      Coverage of St Thomas’s past support for residential schools. (See Volume 2 of the parish history, Household of God. Please email me if you would like a copy of that coverage.)

b)      A Thurible article about neighbouring Indigenous institutions, which proposed building closer contact with, for example, the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

c)      Development and approval of St. Thomas’s Land Acknowledgment, with calls for action on how best to use and communicate it.

My guess is that many parishioners also feel that criterion no. 3 applies. In the past, St. Thomas’s was actively involved in supporting residential schools. The Anglican Church of Canada has been a primary beneficiary of broken treaties and colonialism. We need to do what we can to acknowledge that and make amends. By applying the Christian principle of “co-inherence,” we have an opportunity to repent and gain forgiveness on behalf of past parishioners, while also healing still-open wounds that separate us from Indigenous people.

What Is Reconciliation?

Reconciliation is a process to repair relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. In our Land Acknowledgement, we state that through truth and reconciliation, we commit to:

• Educate ourselves about First Nations cultures;

• Know our Indigenous members and neighbours better;

• Repent of the wrongs that have been done;

• Acknowledge the Church’s role in contributing to harm through distorting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who shows us the Good Way of peace and love; and

• Seek to contribute to lasting reconciliation and to work together within and beyond our parish boundaries.

Reconciliation at St. Thomas’s aims to give effect to these commitments.

Our Approach, Principles, and Goals

Reconciliation begins with truth. There is a way forward that brings joy. Repentance for past and present wrongdoing might seem counterproductive. Yet healing begins with our acknowledgement of harsh truths. As Christians, we know that God asks us to “be good” and we do our best. As Christians, we know that we are sinners and require God’s grace and forgiveness. Our Rector, Father Humphrey, showed us the way earlier this year. From the pulpit, he described the truth of residential schools. Then he acknowledged our need, as Christians and as Anglicans, to seek reconciliation and redemption.

Seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit will be central to Reconciliation at St. Thomas’s. Only with God’s help can we hope to make real, substantial progress on Reconciliation.

SJC members have agreed to apply the following four principles as we work on Reconciliation:

• Joy through conversations that bring understanding

• Wisdom through learning, listening, celebration, and sorrow.

• Love shown through respect for others.

• Hope that the Holy Spirit will work in us so that our efforts bear fruit.

Each of these high-level principles are underpinned with specifics to give them substance in their application to Reconciliation at St. Thomas’s. I will illustrate this with reference to the first principle, “Joy through conversations that bring understanding.” Joy involves a commitment to get to know our Indigenous parish members and neighbours better. How can we do this?

The SJC is working on ways to develop relationships with neighbouring Indigenous organizations and initiatives such as the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (NCCT), Wigwamen Terrace Non-Profit Housing, First Nations House, the Centre for Indigenous Research, Na Me Rez, and the Native Child and Family Services of Toronto. These neighbouring institutions are showing love through action. We can show our loving respect for what they are doing by:

(a)     Learning about what each institution does, its history, why it is important, and how its impact on Indigenous peoples;

(b)     Spreading the word about the history and achievements of each institution; and

(c)     Supporting their work through donations.

Joy involves both talking with Indigenous neighbours and talking with fellow parishioners. We will need to talk together to improve relationships and understand different points of view. Conversations that build trust while addressing painful truths require courage and love.

Reconciliation is likely to reveal differences between non-Indigenous parishioners at St. Thomas’s. We have different backgrounds, different ideas, different experiences, and different beliefs about Reconciliation. Love, patience, understanding, and respect are the foundations for our conversations ahead. Reconciliation should not involve either virtue-signalling or competitive righteousness (political correctness or cancel-culture behaviours). People need to be able to express their views within an environment of respectful listening and love. The challenge will be maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all present.

Consultation with Indigenous Representatives

The SJC appreciates that we need regular consultation with Indigenous representatives. We are already consulting with The Rev. Leigh Kern, the Right Relations Coordinator for the Diocese of Toronto, whose responsibilities include coordinating Reconciliation for the Diocese.  We hope to extend consultation to other Indigenous representatives soon.

At St. Thomas’s, we are blessed to have Indigenous people as fellow parishioners. SJC members are clear that St. Thomas’s Indigenous parishioners should not be asked to act as our only resource for Indigenous views and knowledge. That wouldn’t be fair and would place a wrong burden on individuals. Non-Indigenous parishioners have an opportunity to move forward our understanding and transform our hearts together. Indigenous parishioners should not be expected to convince us that Reconciliation is important. Nor should our Indigenous parishioners be expected to take on our responsibility to work towards Reconciliation.

What Happens Next?

September 2026: The SJC has several events planned around the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is September 30. We hope as many parishioners as possible will wear orange on the closest Sunday — 27 September — when we will also announce a small donation to the NCCT. As preparation, we are raffling off orange T-shirts and other items on Sunday, 20 September. And we have been honoured with a visit from our Indigenous Archbishop, Chris Harper, who will celebrate Michaelmas at St Thomas’s on Tuesday 29 September at 6 p.m. There is a reception after the service, when he will say a few words about Reconciliation.

October and November 2026: Another Indigenous speaker, Jenny Blackbird, has agreed to speak towards the end of November. One idea is to provide a series of face-to-face “Conversations about Reconciliation” at St. Thomas’s one afternoon per week over six weeks. If you are interested in this idea, please email me at gwendajensen@yahoo.com. In October the SJC will put together its action plan and budget for 2027, for submission to Corporation in November. We will also propose further donations to neighbouring Indigenous institutions, up to the annual income limit of the Social Justice Fund.

Reconciliation at St. Thomas’s is a multi-year, multi-faceted initiative. We are blessed to have a Social Justice Fund that allows us to (a) support neighbouring Indigenous organizations while also (b) expanding our knowledge of Indigenous culture, history, and issues. We will know that we are making progress when we are all able to describe the neighbouring Indigenous organizations that we support, the representatives with whom we are talking and working. Progress means conversations that move us all from people to neighbours to friends.