A Moment with the Canada West Mission Centre President

Black Lives Matter           
Indigenous Lives Matter          
​Lives of People of Colour Matter
 
I will get back to the “We Share” series next week. There are more pressing issues today.
 
That “Black Lives Matter” part of my banner above unfortunately needs to be highlighted again. I am sure I do not need to repeat much of the news of the last couple of days. Jacob Blake has been shot in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He has survived but may be paralyzed from the waist down. More demonstrations have been held in response. More violence arising from the demonstrations. As a society we need to support and demand good policing. As a society we need to express the need for change when Black people continue to be subject to violence at the hands of police when other options appear to be available. The high-profile incidents seem to occur mostly in the United States. But as we have seen in the Canadian response to these incidents, Black Canadians, Indigenous persons, and people of colour in Canada have very similar and disturbing personal experiences to share. We all must increase our knowledge and awareness of such experiences and do what we can to create a safe society for all of its members.
 
From that rather serious societal issue, I need to move to the much more mundane business of the Canada West Mission Centre. Our annual mission conference will be held online this year. It will consist of a series of events beginning on Thursday evening, September 10, and concluding with a final meeting on Wednesday evening, September 16. A “brief” version of the schedule was released a couple of weeks ago. A more detailed version of the schedule is to be published with this edition of the Weekly Wire. The entire conference brochure will be published electronically this weekend. Please look for that schedule now and watch for the brochure in a few days.
 
It is expected that the different events will appeal to different people across the mission centre. If you are a delegate, or just personally interested in the business of the mission centre, you will need to be a part of the Pre-Legislative Session and the full Business Meeting on Saturday morning and afternoon. If you are interested in knowing more about what “Creating Connection” is all about in Canada West, there will be sessions on Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon that you will not want to miss. On Friday evening there will be a presentation and discussion of current and expected changes in the church as raised in a recent article by President Veazey called, “Metamorphosis.” You will have a chance to get to know our guest minister, Joey Williams, in a session on Saturday evening, and then when he offers ministry as our speaker for our mission-centre-wide worship service on Sunday morning. Finally, members in Alberta and Saskatchewan will want to be a part of the Hills of Peace Campground Association “All-Members Annual General Meeting” on Wednesday evening. And that is your snapshot of this year’s conference. Watch for information about logon information in the week that events get underway.
 
I pray for you God’s blessings of understanding, hope, and peace in these challenging times.
 
Steve Thompson
Canada West Mission Centre President
steve@communityofchrist.ca