[quiltbag & glass bookshop]

In Edmonton and looking for something different? Here are two ideas ...

glass bookshop

Visit the Glass Bookshop at City Centre Mall West, focusing on "Canadian writing with special attention paid to LGBTQ2SIA and IBPOC {Indigenous, Black and people of colour} writers, as well as the independent publishers who help to produce their work."

Fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks (somewhere in between fiction and non-fiction!), cards, pronoun pins, and more. Knowledgeable friendly staff who are well-connected to the literary and arts community here in Edmonton.

P.S. if you are reading this in the spring of 2020, the store is probably at its new location - check the website for the address.

https://www.glassbookshop.com/



quiltbag

"The QUILTBAG is an LGBTQ+ retail shop carrying queer & trans wares... The shop carries an always changing assortment of custom and curated used & new clothing; accessories like pins, pronoun buttons, patches, stickers; art by local artists; small gifts; and trans gear including chest binders and compression underwear."

Located at 7603 104 Street NW (Calgary Trail).

https://thequiltbag.com/

[towards an inclusive church]

Progress report: 

1. The church bulletins have had the Treaty statement (bottom of page) and a rainbow on the cross (upper left).

2. The church has started a "Towards an Inclusive Church" Committee, which I've been asked to be part of.

3. This week, the following appeared in the bulletin, and the committee was asked to come to the front where the priest prayed for us. 

Prayer & Blessing for the ‘Towards an Inclusive Church Committee

In response to the last General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, our congregation expressed a strong desire to be a more openly and explicitly welcoming congregation. To that end, Vestry has appointed a group of individuals in our parish to lead our congregation through the process of becoming and being a community that openly welcomes and embraces people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. One might say: surely, we are already such a community! And they would be right! We are a community that welcomes all people, but we feel it is important to go through an intentional 'Welcoming Process' in the life of the faith of our congregation.

So there is indeed progress being made at Christ Church, which  after a long time waiting is exciting...

[Honor Song - Jeremy Dutcher]

I've been listening to the music of Jeremy Dutcher lately -- and have heard from several friends who have seen Jeremy in concert in the past few months...


           direct link if video does not appear above

About Jeremy Dutcher

Performer, composer, activist, musicologist — these roles are all infused into his art and way of life. His music, too, transcends boundaries: unapologetically playful in its incorporation of classical influences, full of reverence for the traditional songs of his home,and teeming with the urgency of modern-day struggles of resistance.

A member of Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, Jeremy first did music studies in Halifax before taking a chance to work in the archives at the Canadian Museum of History, painstakingly transcribing Wolastoq songs from 1907 wax cylinders. “Many of the songs I’d never heard before, because our musical tradition on the East Coast was suppressed by the Canadian Government’s Indian Act.” Jeremy heard ancestral voices singing forgotten songs and stories that had been taken from the Wolastoqiyik generations ago.

As he listened to each recording, he felt his own musical impulses stirring from deep within. Long days at the archives turned into long nights at the piano, feeling out melodies and phrases, deep in dialogue with the voices of his ancestors. These “collaborative”compositions, collected together on his debut LP Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, are like nothing you’ve ever heard. Delicate, sublime vocal melodies ring out atop piano lines that cascade through a vibrant range of emotions. The anguish and joy of the past erupt fervently into the present through Jeremy’s bold approach to composition and raw, affective performances enhanced by his outstanding tenor techniques.

“I’m doing this work because there’s only about a hundred Wolastoqey speakers left,” he says. “It’s crucial for us to make sure that we’re using our language and passing it on to the next generation. If you lose the language, you’re not just losing words; you’re losing an entire way of seeing and experiencing the world from a distinctly indigenous perspective.”
       (from https://jeremydutcher.com/biography/)

Further reading:
http://muskratmagazine.com/jeremy-dutcher-on-climate-change-two-spirits-and-the-ethos-behind-wolastoq-music-and-the-indigenous-cultural-renaissance/

https://www.cbc.ca/arts/the-extraordinary-rise-of-jeremy-dutcher-2018-gave-canada-the-two-spirit-polaris-prince-we-need-1.4931935

https://calgaryphil.com/interview-with-jeremy-dutcher/

[all people and all genders...]

This is at the top of our church bulletin. I like that it says "all peoples and genders"... nicely includes non-binary people as well as Two Spirit people, which is very appropriate in a Treaty statement. Also a small but fitting indicator of being an affirming parish.

an affirming and embracing parish

Our parish announced this summer that they are an inclusive parish and that they will perform same-sex marriages. Subsequently, I was asked to be on a committee to help make this a reality.

The following mind map contains some of the ideas I've been thinking about in preparation for our first meeting:

Click image above for a bigger version.

Click here for a PDF version of this mind map
Note: the PDF version may be more recent.

conference emcee

Hey guys! As good as some of the other resources I highlight have been, I know you've all been waiting for another original cartoon from me -- and here it is!

I work in an office environment where the majority of staff are female, and "guys" is the most common form of address in a meeting of any size. What's worse is "your guys's" as in, "I read your guys's report...".

I remember when the transition from "man" to "human" and from "mankind" to "humankind" was taking place. It was hard for some people to grasp how using the same word for both "all members of a group" and "one specific type of member of a group" should not be done, how it made that one specific type of member the standard for the whole group.

Imagine if there were four kinds of dogs: German Shepherds, Dachshunds, Shih Tzu Bichons, and Dogs. How would that work?

Alternative words to use in welcoming remarks, greetings and more:
Colleagues
Folks
Kin
Friends
Everyone
Participants
Team
Occupational titles as applicable (I.e., Teachers, for a teachers' conference, Social Workers for a social work conference, etc.)
Fellow workers (note that "fellow" here is an adjective, not the noun for a guy. ...)
Members of our community
Neighbours
People
(Or, simply skip "Guys" and better alternatives, and just say "Welcome to our conference!")

Here's some interesting ones shared in a graphic:

[indefinite arts centre]

The Indefinite Arts Centre, based in Calgary, is Canada's oldest and largest disability arts organization. Here's what they say on their site:

We are proud to be Canada’s oldest and largest disability arts organization, founded in 1975 and now serving close to 300 artists per week in our 11,000+ square foot studio and gallery space in southeast Calgary.

Yes, our niche is to serve artists with disabilities, but our vision is to provide them with a platform to stand strong on their merits and their efforts – as artists. Throughout our website, we hope to give you a glimpse into how we provide artistic training, creation and exhibition opportunities for our artists – and at the same time, advocate for more meaningful, inclusive arts policies that shine the light on the creativity of artists living with disabilities.

Read more about them at https://indefinitearts.com/

[standing up for people being called what they want to be called...]

Here's an interesting clip from a TV show, which nicely shows the challenges of challenging other people when they use derogatory and disrespectful terms for others. Ironic though not surprising that the person doing the challenging is a QPOC (queer person of colour).

Watch how this discussion evolves, and some of the classic responses that those challenged pull out.

🚧 SPOILERS AHEAD 🚧 This was a very important scene in the latest installment of @TalesofTheCity. Watch the whole thing on @netflix. https://t.co/LkbYB9T0gh

— GLAAD (@glaad) June 21, 2019

If the tweet and embedded video do not show up above, click here.

Read CBC's article "We need to talk about the dinner party scene in the Tales of the City reboot"

[stranger god: meeting jesus in disguise, by Richard Beck (book)]

"When Richard Beck first led a Bible study at a maximum security prison, he went to meet God. His own faith was flagging, but Beck still believed the promise of Matthew 25, that when we visit the prisoner, we visit Jesus. And sure enough, God met him in prison.

With his signature combination of biblical reflection, theological reasoning, and psychological insight, Beck shows how God always meets us in the marginalized, the oppressed, and the refugee. And stories from Beck's own life illustrate this truth - God comes to him in the poor, the crippled, the smelly.

Psychological experiments show how we are predisposed to like those who are similar to us and avoid those who are unlike us. The call of the gospel, however, is to override those impulses with compassion, to "widen the circle of our affection." In the end, Beck turns to the Little Way of St. Thérèse of Lisieux for guidance in doing even the smallest acts with kindness, and he lays out a path that any of us can follow." (from Amazon)

Read what Richard says about this new book on his blog Experimental Theology.

Read quotes from other things that Richard has written, sometimes with commentary and sometimes with great cartoons (by yours truly), right here on my blog.


Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-God-Meeting-Jesus-Disguise/dp/1506433758

[150 acts of reconciliation]

Crystal Fraser and Sara Komarnisky have written 150 Acts of Reconciliation. "Many of these are small, everyday acts that average Canadians can undertake, but others are more provocative that encourage people to think about Indigenous-settler relationships in new ways." 

The act in the above poster would be one of the more provocative ones. I had already previously been disillusioned about Canada being better than our southern neighbour after reading about our own "lack of human rights" record. Now, seeing our first prime minister was key in starting the Indian residential schools sure puts a different perspective on our country. You can read more about that in this article by Sean Carleton, a professor in Calgary.

Get a printable list of the 150 Acts here.

Read more about this project here.

Order posters here.

update from Rob

You may have noticed that I am posting far less often than before. That's mostly because of other projects I'm involved in:

• Diversity and Inclusion initiatives at my workplace, including co-leading the development of Employee Resource Groups
• Related: a great resource for employee resource groups that I created during my personal time, called "Employee Resource Groups for the Flourishing of Employees"
• Part of the Reconciliation Committee at my parish
• Reading a lot about Indigenization, Reconciliation, Decolonization, etc. (mostly from Indigenous academics) -- plus reading about Two Spirit peoples (mostly articles by Two Spirit academics). When do I read, you ask? Mostly on the bus to and from work.

Not sure how all this will result in blog content, but I am definitely keeping it in mind.

Rob

[Black Madonna of Czestochowa celebrates Pride...]

... but not everyone is happy.

Elzbieta Podlesna, a human rights activist in Poland who made this poster of the famous Black Madonna of Czestochowa with pride colours in the halos, has been arrested on charges of "offending religious beliefs".

(Read more about it here.)

Personally, I think it's quite beautiful - black and queer together - though I wonder why the Madonna was so sad to begin with...

ancient and modern

Last Sunday June 16 was Trinity Sunday, and the church bulletin included this picture of The Hospitality of Abraham, painted in 1411 by St. Andrei Rublev. Though showing the three angels who visited Abraham in Genesis 18, it is considered to be the "quintessential icon" of the Holy Trinity.

The point was made that this icon illustrates the mystery of the Trinity, the three-in-one, and of how the Trinity is about relationship -- the three all share the colour blue, they are looking at each other, they are sitting around the table in mutuality, etc.

What I personally really love about it is how it illustrates the timelessness of the Holy Scripture in the way it also reflects the people of today...

happy pride

[clarity about church policies]

Church Clarity has a simple goal: make it clear what a church's policy is on things that matter to those who might attend. Here's how they put it on their homepage:

There are millions of churches around the world. They represent a wide spectrum of beliefs, which are translated into actively enforced policies. At the level of the local church, policies are often communicated unclearly, if they are disclosed at all...

Together, we're establishing a new standard for church policy disclosure:  We believe that churches have a responsibility to be clear about their policies on their primary websites. Following a simple, yet consistent method, our crowdsourcers submit churches to be scored on how clearly their website communicates their actively enforced policies. Once the information is verified by Church Clarity, it is published to our database.

Their current focus is on policies related to LGBTQ+. This is critical for LGBTQ+ people, especially if they get involved with a church on the basis of it appearing welcoming, only to find out later that there are policies which prohibit their involvement in leadership, or which prescribe discipline if they get married, etc.

They are currently accepting ratings for Canadian and American churches. Look them up and submit your church, especially if it is LGBTQ+ positive:

https://www.churchclarity.org

You can also sign up to be an advocate or use some of their resources (like the yellow image above) to help promote the site.

[gender in the City of Edmonton census]

The City of Edmonton recently sent out their census, and this is what the gender page looks like:

Nice to see that it more inclusive than it used to be, including not only transgender people but also two spirit!

[Indigenous ally toolkit]

"What does it mean to be a good ally to Indigenous Peoples?

It's something the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network is hoping to clarify with its recently launched Indigenous ally toolkit.

The toolkit provides an overview on terminology, dos and don'ts, with examples of why the term "Canada's Indigenous Peoples," asking "why don't you just get over it?" or saying "you must be an alcoholic" is problematic."

The toolkit is available from the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy NETWORK Resources page.

Read the CBC article about this toolkit.

treaty acknowledgements and redwashing

Hayden King, an Anishinaabe writer and educator who works at Ryerson University, was involved in the writing of that university's territorial acknowledgement. He now regrets what he wrote, and says:

I'd like to move towards a territorial acknowledgement where you provide people with a sort of framework and then let them write it themselves. The really important aspect of a territorial acknowledgement for me, anyway, is this sort of obligation that comes on the back end of it.

It's one thing to say, "Hey, we're on the territory of the Mississaugas or the Anishinaabek and the Haudenosaunee." It's another thing to say, "We're on the territory of the Anishinaabek and the Haudenosaunee and here's what that compels me to do."
…
[Treaty acknowledgement] effectively excuses them and offers them an alibi for doing the hard work of learning about their neighbours and learning about the treaties of the territory and learning about those nations that should have jurisdiction.

(Source: Hayden King as quoted in https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/i-regret-it-hayden-king-on-writing-ryerson-university-s-territorial-acknowledgement-1.4973371)

employee resource groups for the flourishing of employees

As diversity and inclusion initiatives increase, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are becoming more common. In fact, your workplace might have some.

"Employee Resource Groups for the Flourishing of Employees" is a resource that I've been working on over the past year, and which I hope will be of use to some of you.

It introduces ERGs, presents seven key principles, discusses their evolution over time and includes steps for starting a new Employee Resource Group, with a particular focus on their purpose being the flourishing of employees.

What's unique about this resource? At least two things:

1. The focus on the flourishing of employees. For the record, the flourishing of employees is not always the reason that ERGs are started. Particularly in the for-profit sector, corporations use ERGs as a way of increasing innovation, attracting new employees, connecting with potential markets, etc. Few in the world of ERGs are emphasizing the flourishing of employees.
2. The seven key principles. There are many resources available online yet I have not seen any that have anything close to these key principles. These principles help ensure that ERGs increase diversity and inclusion overall and focus on the flourishing of employees without becoming introverted.

Access the PDF here and comment below.

minority and minoritized

Minotaur with tie

in the minority but

not minoritized

I came across a fascinating article discussing the terms minority and minoritized.

I'll introduce the idea this way: It suggests that we change our usage of terms so that minority has to do with numbers (namely, the opposite of majority, or less than half) and minoritized has to do with how people treat other people -- specifically, treating them as if they are less than.

For example, in university, less than half the students wear glasses, so they are in the minority. While the occasional post-secondary student with glasses might be made fun of, overall, they are not treated badly or oppressed because of wearing glasses. Thus, though in the minority, they are not minoritized.

Or to give a more pertinent example, white slave owners and their families were in the minority on the plantations, but it was the slaves who were minoritized. The slave owners had the power and control; the slaves were oppressed and without power.

Here are new definitions proposed by I.E. Smith:

Definition: Minority

1: a group of less than half of the total, a group that is sufficiently smaller in number

2: of or relating to quantities that are comparatively less

3: a relatively small group

Definition: Minoritized

1: groups that are different in race, religious creed, nation of origin, sexuality, and gender and as a result of social constructs have less power or representation compared to other members or groups in society

2. To be a person forced into a group that is mistreated or faces prejudices such as albeism, racism, homophobia, and islamaphobia

3. To be in a small group of people that is discriminated against because of situations outside of personal control

Read the whole article at: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/minority-vs-minoritize

---

A similar term that I've come across recently is "invisibilized" in contrast to "invisible". It suggests that some groups of people are made invisible...

(in)authentic ethic of inclusion

This cartoon was inspired by Yvette Flunder in Where the Edge Gathers: Building a Community of Radical Inclusion:

An authentic ethic of inclusion must reach from the center to the farthest margin and work its way back. When we reach for the ones who are the least accepted, we give a clear message of welcome to everyone. Jesus modeled this type of radical inclusivity when he openly received those most despised by society and the religious establishment.

Where the Edge Gathers, pp 25-26

Read more about this, and see another original cartoon:
https://exclusionandembrace.blogspot.com/2015/10/an-authentic-ethic-of-inclusion.html