 By: Leandro Palacios, Director of Communications In the first weeks of February of 2026, I had the privilege of attending the International Writers’ Summit in the city of Roxas, in the heart of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. This was a unique event organized by the Community of Christ World Church and facilitated by the Spiritual Formations Team. About seventy leaders, musicians, artists, and young voices representing twenty-four countries around the world where our church is established — from Brazil to Nepal and from Canada to French Polynesia — gathered together. Every day we met to create worship resources — including music, poems, prayers, and sermon helps — that speak from the perspectives of people living in different places, who are of different genders, ages, and ethnic backgrounds, among many other diversities that made each participant truly unique. This was a life-changing opportunity for all those attending because we were able to experience the real diversity that exists within our church. Yes, we are one church. No matter where it is found, Community of Christ shares nine Enduring Principles, five Mission Initiatives, as well as a set of basic beliefs and an honest approach to history and scripture. Our statement on scripture, in particular, calls us to recognize that behind the words we read in the Bible, there are human authors shaped by the circumstances they were facing in the time and place of composition. This is what we call the context of scripture. To understand a specific passage of scripture, we need to make sure we understand the context, including who the author was, who they were writing to, where they lived, and what was happening in that part of the world at the time. When we understand the context, ancient texts that can sound obscure and challenging begin to speak to us in the present tense, allowing us to hear the living voice of God, which always addresses our own lives and our own context. Because our church exists today in so many places around the world, the living voice of God speaks to each one of us, addressing our context. As a result, for someone in Liberia or Australia, the beliefs and values we share will be lived, felt, and expressed very differently from someone in Norway or Honduras. One God, one scripture, but a living voice that acquires particular meaning according to the challenges and joys of life in diverse places. I learned about the importance of context during my seminary education. Not only for reading the Bible, but also for understanding the ideas that theologians propose — we must understand who they are and what their context was. However, it wasn’t until I participated in the Writers’ Summit that I finally got a real taste of what this means. The diverse context of each one of the participants was expressed in fullness, unapologetically, and with absolute joy. The many languages and accents, the typical attire and hairstyles, the different rhythms of the songs each one sang, and above all, the stories we shared — and how scripture has provided guidance, comfort, and inspiration in the face of challenges I myself had never experienced, or in some cases even imagined. The Writers’ Summit was intense. I felt overwhelmed by emotions, from moments of outrage and exhaustion to moments of absolute, almost inexplicable joy — whether by doing something I had always looked at with suspicion, or by making a deep connection with someone very different from myself. All these feelings are expressed in the material we created together. The Spiritual Formations Team is currently compiling all this content, and these resources will be available in the near future. And yet, in the middle of all that diversity, something else became clear. We did not become the same. We did not lose our accents, our rhythms, our preferences, or our stories. But we began to share what Paul calls “the same mind.” Not the same opinions, not the same personalities, but a common orientation — a willingness to listen, to learn, to serve one another. Despite our differences, there was a shared commitment to humility, to curiosity, and to letting go of the need to conform or to impose our understanding. That common mind did not erase diversity; it allowed us to tangibly experience the presence of the Spirit among us. I want to share with you a little poem that I composed by compiling perceptions that stood out to others as we visited a market in the city of Roxas. Diverse eyes, ears, and noses noticed different things, and we were asked to describe God by bringing some of these observations: God is not just something you feel When you are overwhelmed with awe As you contemplate the wonders of nature And all the great things that humans have done. God is also a woman holding three dead chicken, Something sweet and gelatinous, Unnicely odor from the drainage, Voice of the voiceless, Soft hand of a new friend.  By John Hamer, Director of Outreach and Innovative Mission
Somewhere on a shelf, many of us likely have a yearbook from our senior year in high school (or perhaps a whole set of yearbooks from our school days). If you ever take one down and open its pages, you might be instantly transported into memories of a completely different era of your life—pictures of people you grew up with, friends and acquaintances from long ago, activities, and a community that likely had been your whole world at the time. As we come together in 2026 for the first time as one Community of Christ in Canada, I’m proposing that we assemble and publish a kind of yearbook of our own. This won’t be made up of rows of individual portraits, but it will include pictures, stories, and descriptions of everything we are doing as a church across Canada. I want to include descriptions and stories of every congregation, every program and ministry, every campground, every reunion and retreat, and every one of our charitable affiliates. I want to include stories and artifacts from our past—how we became who we are. I also want to include our hopes and vision for the future as we move onward together in mission. Compiled, edited, professionally typeset, and illustrated with photos, maps, and other diagrams, the volume will be published in print so that every one of us can hold a book in our hands. I think this is important, as so much of our lives are lived virtually. The combined Canadian Mission Centre encompasses a vast geography; bringing our stories together in one book will help us get to know one another better. The volume will serve as a useful source of information and memory for years to come—and for our spiritual heirs who follow us. (As a historian, I can imagine how amazing it would be to have an artifact like this for the Canadian church published in 1881, 1926, 1950, or any year from the past!) The first-ever “yearbook” for Community of Christ in Canada will require an enormous amount of work, so I need to enlist help from everyone. This might begin with congregation historians, communications officers, and pastors, but to get as complete a picture as possible, I want all hands on deck. In the coming weeks, I will share sample descriptions for congregations and other expressions of the church, along with instructions and questionnaires. Meanwhile, begin thinking about what you would like to share with members across Canada in the present—and with future generations. As both a positive note and a gentle warning: 20 years ago, I compiled a yearbook featuring my mother’s extended family (all of my dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins), along with our family history. The final volume was 306 pages long and fulfilled its purpose beautifully. It allowed a generation of cousins to get to know one another as we were coming of age, and two decades later, I still refer to it to remember names, birthdays, and other details. In fact, it was so beloved that the main regret some expressed was that they had not filled out more than the minimum on their questionnaires or shared more pictures. In retrospect, they wished they had written and shared more so that more of their stories would have been preserved. (I leave that as a cautionary tale to motivate everyone to contribute!) This is an exciting project, and I hope you will help make it as rich a resource as possible as we share with one another who we are as Community of Christ in Canada!  In a February 2026 letter to the church, the First Presidency calls Community of Christ to renewed prophetic imagination and Spirit-led action in response to suffering and injustice around the world. Acknowledging that leadership cannot issue a formal statement for every crisis, the letter affirms that a prophetic, Spirit-led movement is never passive when human dignity is violated.
The First Presidency encourages members and friends to follow the Spirit’s leading in their local contexts, embody radical nonviolence, seek unity amid diversity, and act courageously for justice and peace. The church’s most transformative witness, the letter reminds us, is found in the faithful, local actions of a people who refuse passivity and embody Christ’s peace in a fractured world.  The leadership team of Community of Christ in Canada holds the people of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in our prayers following the tragic loss of life at the local secondary school. We join people across Canada in grieving with families, students, educators, and first responders affected by this violence. We condemn this act and reaffirm our commitment to the sacred worth of all persons and to the ongoing work of building safer, more peaceable communities.
Today we reaffirm our commitment to World Conference Resolution 1331, adopted June 3, 2025, which calls our church “to reexamine firearms policies to determine how best to reduce firearm availability in private hands,” and “to prepare study materials for congregations and members to use to advocate for the most effective means of reducing gun violence,” so that our nation adopts “firearm program and regulation regimes that have been demonstrated to substantially limit gun violence.” In this spirit of prayer and solidarity, Lanette Vawter, Director of Leadership Development, offers the following pastoral reflection: Dear Friends, I woke up on Feb 11th to the heartbreaking news of the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge the day before. Like many of you, a jumble of emotions washed over me including shock, anger, fear and sadness. I felt a sense of helplessness of not being able to alleviate the terror and suffering that occurred at the school. Often when tragedy happens, we send “thoughts and prayers” through posts online. But how often do we actually pause, breathe and allow ourselves to pray? I decided I needed to act on this thought and pray. I went into my office and knelt to pray. “Oh God…” was all I could say, and then I fell forward from the weight of grief that pressed down on me. I tried again, “Oh God…” and the tears began to pour down my face. I cried as I imagined holding a fearful child, I cried into the terrified helplessness of the situation, and I cried for the anger and the sorrow that filled my heart. As I sat with those feelings, something shifted. I realized that I was not simply crying for the people of Tumbler Ridge but also for my own grief and pain and for the suffering shared by us all. As I continued to hold the people of Tumbler Ridge in the light of love I realized there was no longer any separation between us, that we were all being held in this light of God’s love. Perhaps one of the essential qualities of prayer is the breakdown of barriers we raise to shield ourselves from others’ suffering. Prayer can help us realize that we are not alone, that our neighbours’ pain is also our pain and healing is possible when we realize that our separation from God and others is an illusion. Will you join me in prayer for the people of Tumbler Ridge: Mysterious God, we cry out to you as the prophets of old demanding a response to the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Tumbler Ridge. May our outrage and anger not overshadow love. Help us to open to the unbearable suffering and allow our deep love for fellow beings emerge. God, may the people of Tumbler Ridge be surrounded by the light of your love. May at every turn, they feel the support and love of their community. God, help us remember to truly pray and open the door to a greater love than we knew we could carry.  Emerge: An online meetup for youth ages 14-18—Feb 22 Be part of something special—Emerge is an online space where youth ages 14–18 can meet new friends, share experiences, and grow together in community. Everyone is welcome, and we’d love to see you there! 🗓️ Sunday, February 22 🕕 7pm ET, 6pm CT, 5pm MT, 4pm PT In the Know podcast introduces resources for Lent 2026 In the Know returns with a live episode exploring resources available for Lent 2026, including the new When We Gather. Hosts Susan Naylor and Jenn Killpack will be joined by Katie Harmon-McLaughlin, Tyler Marz, and Carla Long to share what’s being developed and how these resources can be used. Viewers will also have the opportunity to ask questions through the comments. World Conference resolutions update — January 2026 The First Presidency has shared a January update outlining how recent World Conference resolutions are being implemented across the life of the church, as part of a continued commitment to openness, accountability, and shared discernment.  By John Hamer, Community of Christ in Canada Historian Did you know that the Canadian church had its own newspapers over a century ago? The Canadian Messenger was published monthly in Stratford, Ontario, from January 1903 until December 1908. The Canadian Messenger was then replaced with The Canadian Mirror, which was published monthly in London, Ontario, from January 1909 until August 1911, when it was discontinued.  The masthead of The Canadian Mirror includes an image of the Holy Bible (subtitled “The Great Mirror”) and is bedecked with ribbons and maple leaf wreaths proclaiming Canada (four times!). Sadly, of both newspapers, only a single issue is preserved in the Library/Archives at international church headquarters in Independence, Missouri. The May 1909 issue of The Canadian Mirror (Vol. 1, No. 5) has been preserved (and a scanned PDF is available). All by itself, this issue is a treasure trove of information about the history of Community of Christ in Canada. For example, in a letter to the editor, Samuel Brown of Greenwood, West Virginia, gives his recollection of the organization of the London District. (“Districts” had been one of the main organizing structures of the church prior to their consolidation into “Mission Centres.”) Brown had just been baptized by Elder Joseph Luff (then pastor of the Toronto Congregation and future member of the Twelve), and this was the first church conference he ever attended. The conference was held in January of 1878 in the kitchen of Christopher Pearson in Bayham, near Corinth, Ontario. Elder Luff was elected to serve as the new district’s president, but the big excitement came from the guest minister, as Brown writes: Preaching services were held in Brother Pearson’s orchard, where seats and a platform were arranged. A large crowd gathered; I should judge there was over a thousand people assembled, for they came for miles to see “the Mormon prophet.” It had been previously announced that Joseph Smith [III], son of the martyred prophet, was to be there. Before Brother Joseph made his appearance on the stand as the speaker at 2:30, we heard numbers of them remark, “Which is him?” and “What does he look like?” while others remarked, “Why, he just looks like other men,” etc. Brother Joseph was in the prime of life at that time and rather pleasant both in looks and manner. According to Brown, the new London District was at that time very small, comprised of five branches in Corinth, London, Osborne, St. Thomas, and Toronto. He was pleased to have read that the district had since grown substantially and that a new Toronto District had recently been formed out of the London District. He concludes: Many, many changes have taken place since [the organizing 1878 district conference], too numerous to mention at this writing. Who can foresee what shall be thirty-one years from now? The experiences of the past have taught me that the best course to pursue is to be true to God, to keep his commands, and be faithful to the charge entrusted, and we shall conquer by and by. I hope success may attend the new districts [London and Toronto], and that their officers may be faithful of their trust. As we have just shared the organizing meeting for the new Canadian Mission Centre, it’s interesting to look back on that first organizational meeting of the London District held 148 years ago, back in 1878. We might muse as Brown did, “Who can foresee what shall be 148 years from now?” The single known copy of The Canadian Mirror is a wealth of information for the history of our church in Canada. Other articles include reports from the Manitoba Reunion, two-day meetings at Garafraxa and Clavering branches in Ontario, the work of the Toronto District Library, a Children’s Day in London, public preaching on Manitoulin Island, new church books by Canadian authors, and more. What a wonderful glimpse into our past! If anyone has any copies of The Canadian Messenger or The Canadian Mirror in their personal or congregational libraries, please contact the Church Historian Team for Community of Christ in Canada, John Hamer ([email protected]) and Stephen Thompson ([email protected]). |
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