St. Thomas the Apostle also hosted a Black History Month panel discussion on Feb. 15.
With Dr. Joy Mighty moderating, the chosen theme was Black contributions to peace. The panelists were:
- Dr. Joseph Amuah, senior researcher at the Canadian Institute for Health Information, originally from Ghana, and a parishioner at St. Mark’s.
- Josiah Davies, St. Thomas of the Apostle parishioner, who came to Canada from Liberia
- The. Rev. Felix Longdon, a PhD candidate in theology at St. Paul University, an Anglican priest from Ghana, serving as interim priest in the Parish of Bearbrook-Navan.
- Victoria Sajuyigbe, a product marketer and a parishioner at St. Thomas, originally from Nigeria
Dr. Joseph Amuah
Josiah Davies
The Rev. Felix Longdon
Dr. Joy Mighty
Victoria Sajuyigbe
They discussed several public figures who have made important contributions to peace:
- Martin Luther King
- Kofi Annan, Ghanian diplomat, secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006 and recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize
- Influential Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley
- Former South African President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Joseph Amuah added that the idea of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which originated in South Africa, is an important Black contribution to peace. “People are given the opportunity to actually share their experiences, have conversations with those who are the perpetrators, and then come to peace for themselves and by extension their society.” He noted that Canada followed this model for its Truth and Reconciliation Commission and that it had also been used in Sierra Leone and Rwanda. “There’s nothing like the victims having conversation with the perpetrators and gaining that peace. That is the reality of it. Retribution doesn’t move anyone forward.”
The panelists also reflected on what peace means on a personal level.
Josiah Davies, who grew up in Liberia when the country experienced 20 years of civil unrest, spoke about how that political situation made it nearly impossible to have any personal peace. “I couldn’t have calm as a person because….I was afraid, thinking if I walked to the road I could get shot by other people or someone could harm me or my parents. So, when I want to consider peace, I think about that state of mind where I’m at ease. I can have food, I can have water, I can have shelter, I can have clothing, I can say hi to my neighbour, I can be of help in my community.”
Victoria Sajuyigbe agreed that the conditions in the society play a big role in how much peace people feel personally. She explained that if she sees people around her suffering from chronic poverty, she can’t feel at peace in her own life.
All four panelists had migrated to Canada and spoke about the challenges of integrating into a new country.
Sajuyigbe said she felt she had to work twice as hard as non-immigrants to achieve the same things.
Amuah described an experience when he was teaching first- and second-year students at a university in Calgary who said they couldn’t understand him. Amuah was puzzled because he was teaching statistics with mostly numbers and formulas, not difficult language, and people always seemed to understand him in other settings. He wondered: “Maybe they’ve never seen someone like this before, and so they are sort of struggling to see maybe why you are the one … teaching them this class, and so, it manifests in a different way, that we don’t understand what you’re saying.” But once they got to know him, they were soon coming to his office to ask for help with their studies.
Mighty asked the panelists about the role of the church. “Has the Anglican church played a role in moving us toward peace? “
Longdon said the church’s liturgy is very inclusive. “It tries on the idea of unity in diversity. We try to tap into each and everyone’s gifts in the church.”
Davies mentioned the Anglican Church of Canada’s participation in calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war. Aside from what the leaders do, he added, “what we can do is just show love to one another and that will spread like the branches of a tree.”
Much of what the panelists focused on were ways that individual people in the church make a difference and have welcomed them into their worshipping communities.
Sajuyigbe said she has been attending St. Thomas for about two years. “When I came into this church, I was welcomed with open arms and there was so much love….The fact that the priest smiled at me, looked into my eyes, called my name, made a difference. I could see that the church was very intentional. And what more intention can the church have than what we are doing right now, giving us the opportunity to sit down here and educate others about who we are, about our experiences.”
Amuah shared the story of how he began to attend the 8 am Sunday services at St. Mark’s Church but would always hurry home right afterwards to watch soccer. “One day while I was slipping out, this lady called to me. “Hi, how are you? I see you every time, but you leave so early.’ I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’ve been caught,” he said, laughing. She asked him for his name and contact information so they could stay in touch and soon after his wife told him an elderly lady from the church had called their home. “Before that I hadn’t really talked to anyone. So that was what drew me.” Gradually, he began to stay for coffee, got to know people and became a part of the community.
Mighty shared her own story of moving to Kingston, Ontario. Her parents came to live with her, and “we decided we would church shop…. We were looking for a church that would be welcoming” she said. They started at Christ Church Cataraqui. After the service, they wrote their names in the guest book. “A couple of days later, there were three ladies who rang the doorbell. They brought bread and flowers welcoming us. It touched me. …And then Father Ed came and visited. That was the end of the shopping. We had found a church,” she said. “It starts with just one person being kind or open or welcoming to another person.”
Saint John, Innisville — Deanery of the Southwest