#22 Days Highlights of the Final Weekl

As bells rang out across the country during the final week of the #22Days campaign, Anglicans looked to the future with an understanding that the journey towards healing and reconciliation has just begun.

Throughout the week, the ringing of church bells continued to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women, drawing attention from politicians, the media and all Canadians while serving as a call to action.

On June 17, Regina-Wascana MP Ralph Goodale tweeted a photo highlighting bell ringing at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Regina. “Sadly,” he wrote, “govt today voted down a Motion for Inquiry.”

#22 Days: For Whom the Bells Toll

On June 21, National Aboriginal Day of Prayer, St. Philip's Church rang its bells 22 times along with thousands of cathedrals and churches across Canada that are acknowledging the cry for justice and remembering the 1181 indigenous women and girls that have been murdered or are missing.

Over the last 3 weeks, as part of the #22days initiative, bells have been ringing in churches from coast to coast, tolling for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Based on the posted responses on Anglican.ca, there have been nearly 100 churches taking part in various ways, with an estimated 350,000 combined bell tolls taking place. It received a mention on the floor of Canada’s Parliament as a push toward a formal inquiry. It has received good media coverage. It has been a set of moments for the Church to step into the prophet’s role, standing in solidarity with the grieving, and by giving voice to all lives being important.

Primate of Canada's Statement on the #22days Campaign

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) which has addressed the sad legacy of the Indian Residential Schools will hold its final event, the closing ceremonies of its six-year tenure, in Ottawa for four days commencing on Sunday, May 31st.

The daily themes are as follows:

Day 1 is “We are all in this together”;
Day 2, “We still have lots to learn”;
Day 3, “Reconciliation means respect and change”;
and Day 4, “This ending is only the beginning”.

In the spirit of the 4th-day theme, we are calling our Church into “22 Days” of prayer and renewal in our commitments to healing and reconciliation among all people – the Indigenous Peoples of this land and all others who have come and settled and also call it home. These 22 Days will take us to the National Aboriginal Day of Prayer, on Sunday, June 21st.

Mary Irwin-Gibson Elected as the First Female Bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Montreal

Mary Irwin-Gibson, dean and rector of St. George’s Cathedral in Kingston since 2009, has been elected the first female bishop of the Anglican diocese of Montreal in its 165-year history.

Irwin-Gibson, 59, who served parishes in the diocese of Montreal between 1981 and 2009, was elected bishop on a fourth ballot on Sat., June 6, over another woman candidate, the Rev. Karen L. Egan, 57, director of pastoral studies at the Montreal Diocesan Theological College.

Update on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

The release of the summary report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on Tuesday, June 2 marked a turning point for survivors of Indian residential schools, the Anglican Church of Canada, other churches and the country as a whole.

A residential school survivor and the first bishop of the Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh, Bishop Lydia Mamakwa’s reaction upon hearing the TRC chair present the findings reflected the cautious optimism felt by many survivors.