Unfortunately, unity of the body
of Christ has been understood and practiced in a hierarchal and oppressive
manner over the years. Hierarchal, as
power and authority has been vested in the dominant culture. Oppressive because of the dominance and
suppression of different viewpoints and cultural practices by the dominant
culture. Dominant culture can vary from
ethnic background to theology or the liturgical practice and preference. Labels such as evangelical, conservative,
liberal, high or low church are examples of various dominant cultures within
the church in general and the Anglican Church of Canada in particular. Furthermore, Caucasian Canadians continue to
hold religious, doctrinal, spiritual and liturgical authority at all levels of
the church. Thankfully, in most of the
cases, the body of Christ learned to live with their differences and to unite
the body of Christ.
Missionary movements brought the
gospel and the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to all parts of the
world. In the sub-continent,
missionaries developed education and health care systems along with the conversion
of the masses and establishment of churches.
Missionaries primarily evangelised to the downtrodden, poor and
untouchables in the sub-continent.
Although, conversion to Christianity assured the love of God through
Jesus’ own sacrifice and resurrection among the converts - it did not change
their status in the society. They were and
continue to be untouchable. Missionaries
and their institutions were the only persons and places which offered love,
acceptance and hope to them. This acceptance
and restoration of dignity and integrity perpetuated enormous respect for the
Europeans in general and the missionaries in particular. Missionaries not only made them the members
of the body of Christ and heirs of the kingdom of God but also accepted them
with open arms, was the reality and gift to pretty much everyone of them. As a young child (five years old or so), I
remember going with Miss Audrey and Miss Sharon to the slums of Karachi,
Pakistan. The highlight of the trip was
having either some candy or ice cream towards the end of our journey. Incidentally, I do not remember any
activities in different locales. Being
in a car, having a place of honour during those meetings and a treat made me
the happiest child in the world. Miss
Audrey and Miss Sharon and by extension every European missionary represented
goodness and love of God to me.
The majority of New Anglican
Christian Canadians from the global south, regardless of their country of
origin, have been struggling to find a spiritual home in the Anglican churches. For Canadians of Pakistani and Punjabi
heritage, Anglican Churches have been disappointing at many levels. Obvious conclusion and reason can be
discrimination, racism, interpretation of the holy scriptures, equal marriage,
music, liturgy or attitude towards their customs and traditions. All of the above have exacerbated the angst,
disappointment and isolation, and consequently a departure from neighbourhood
churches. However, I believe these
reasons are symptoms of a much deeper and underlying issue of expectations from
and the image of the Anglican church community.
One of the main reasons for Pakistani Christians to emigrate to Canada
is to have their dignity and integrity affirmed and restored at various levels
of the society and culture. Pursuit of
material and physical goods, best education for their children and affinity to
fellow Christian are the ways to earn acceptance and respect in their new
homeland. Canada in many ways resembles
the missionary institutions and missionaries of their ancestors’ time; an oasis
in the desert where there is shelter, food and comfort because of the will of
and blessings from God. They can
appreciate and rationalise discrimination outside of the church walls but find
it difficult and crushing to face the same in their churches. This results in isolation, spiritual and
religious crises and rejection.
Moreover, it mimics the society and circumstances of their homeland. Furthermore,
this profound disappointment changes the image of Caucasian person(s) –
Caucasian Anglicans are supposed to restore dignity and integrity regardless of
differences of opinions and practice of faith.
Instead they have changed from the ways of their ancestors and have
become an instrument of societal prejudice and discrimination. Evangelical and free-standing churches and
denominations, because of the baptism of the believer, provide spiritual
shelter and immediate acceptance and sense of belonging. On a side bar, new Canadians from Pentecostal
and Roman Catholic churches, according to research, join their denomination and
stay because of the universal primacy (Roman Catholic) and the baptism of the
believer.
Personally, I have and continue
to struggle, at times, with my place in the Anglican Church of Canada because
of discriminatory and racial incidents.
All of those incidents chip away the image of Caucasians. However, because of a chaplain at the
seminary and two professors, I dealt with the disfigured image and arrived at a
conclusion that I may not belong to them but they belong to me. This was a gift and learning from the
seminary. As a priest, I have tried to
engender the spirit of belonging through my words and actions among all
congregants. It is done through my
utmost respect for diverse theological opinions and their personal theology,
open dialogue and appealing to the passages from first Corinthians, Galatians
and the prayer of Jesus.
It is time for Anglican Church of
Canada to appreciate, respect and accept New Canadians with a resolve to
nurture and challenge their faith while preserving their integrity, dignity and
cultures.
