Dear Friends,
As we start this long weekend, I am taking a break from shovelling snow (my favourite chore!) to say a short word about Family Day, and about one significant part of our own diocesan family.
As you know, I am blessed with my wonderful wife Mary, five amazing children, and a wide, weird and wonderful set of relatives that I love. And I am also grateful to God for my diocesan family, the family of our Church – including you.
Whether your own family circle is large or small, whether your family is by birth or choice, whether you have a “Valentine” on this day or not – I hope that you know that through baptism you are a member of God’s family, and you are deeply, wholly, perfectly loved. As an Anglican Christian in this part of the world, I thank God for you and your participation in our Diocese, and I want to express my appreciation for you, for your contributions to the Church, for your life of prayer and service, and for your desire to follow Christ and make Him known in a troubled and turbulent world. You are a gift, and I am grateful.
Today, I also want to give a particular shout-out to one community in our family that we honour each February, which is the Black community. Our siblings in Christ who are part of the African diaspora enrich our common life with their vibrant faith, worship, and powerful voices for God’s reign of justice and inclusion. Black history rightfully receives attention each and every February; it is a long and powerful story of oppression and dehumanization, but it also teaches us about resilience, tenacity, community and leadership. It is a necessary annual reminder of humanity’s innate sinfulness, our need for the amazing Grace of God and Christ’s redemptive acts, and the power of righteous and prophetic voices to speak into a fallen world and enact change.
The 30th Anniversary Black History Celebration will take place at St. James Cathedral on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 4:30 p.m. My letter to the Black community gathered on that occasion is available for reading here, but better still, I encourage the entire diocesan family to come out that day to celebrate Black Anglicans and their presence in our Church. I can promise you an amazing worship experience. It will be a great opportunity to gather as God’s beloved children and to rejoice in our life together in Christ.
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Andrew Asbil
Bishop of Toronto
