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New Westminster churches “intolerant about intolerance” and Islamophobia

Christian leaders in New Westminster want the world to know they stand up for love and diversity. Rev. Emilie Smith of St.
St. Aidan's Church
A sign at St. Aidan's Presbyterian Church in the West End reflects the way many local churches are feeling in the aftermath of last week's attack on Muslims in a mosque in New Zealand.

Christian leaders in New Westminster want the world to know they stand up for love and diversity.

Rev. Emilie Smith of St. Barnabas Anglican Church said the New Westminster Ministerial Association, a gathering of Christian leaders in New West, feels the need to speak out following the March 14 attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which left 50 people dead and dozens injured. The gunman, a 28-year-old Australian man, was a self-described white supremacist.

“My whole service on Sunday was about how we look after each other, how we stand up for love against hatred,” Smith said. “This world is a diverse place, and our job as Christians is to really stand for that love – we are not about ‘we are the good guys and you are the bad guys’ – it’s how do we love each other, how do we show that love, and especially for those who are suffering.”

Prayers, singing and signs are some of the ways local churches are showing their support for Muslims here and abroad.

A sign posted at St. Aidan’s Presbyterian Church in the West End reads: “Prayers for our Muslim neighbours.” At St. Barnabas Church, a sacred singing circle occurs on the last Sunday of every month, with the next one taking place on March 31.

“It’s really singing together for healing in our hearts,” Smith said. “This month we will be singing with the intention of sending our prayers out into our communities and around the world for healing.”

The New Westminster Ministerial Association hosts a series of presentations each Lent, which is the 40-day period leading up to Easter in the Christian faith. A presentation at Holy Trinity Cathedral on March 20 featured a Presbyterian biblical scholar and professor who spoke about displacement and belonging; the next presentation, taking place at St. Barnabas Church on Wednesday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m., features Byron Cruz, an outreach worker who helps migrant workers, refugees and immigrants.

Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, issued a statement that reaffirmed the Anglican Church of Canada is opposed to Islamophobia and encouraging members of the church to reach out with love and compassion to their Muslim neighbours in their time of great grief and great fear.

“New West is so diverse. That’s the way it should be in the world,” Smith said. “We as Christians have a particular place to say, not in our name. You hear these things of Christians offering to go and protect mosques. And you hear of Muslims in countries where Christians are under attack protecting the churches. I think there is a real sense that that those acts of hatred are really isolated. It’s coming out of a really sick place. It is terrifying what’s going on with white supremacists. We as Christians want to make sure that our name is standing strong for love, for inclusion, for diversity, and to do it as publicly as possible.”

Smith noted that many of the programs taking place at St. Barnabas, such as its food banks, singing circle and thrift store, aren’t just for Christians.

“Our church has an open door and we are here for the neighbourhood,” she said. “We want everyone to know this place is standing for that inclusion, that diversity, that richness of humanity, especially that love for each other.”