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Statements of Westminster United Church

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Statement in Support of Selam Debs - February 2, 2022

We at Westminster United Church in Waterloo Region stand in support with Selam Debs of Waterloo – an activist, Antiracism Consultant, business owner, and Co-Founder & Managing Director at The Antiracism Community Collective.

Over the last few days, Selam has been subjected to thousands of messages of hate and threats of violence to herself, her family, and her business in response to a Facebook message denouncing White supremacy and White nationalism.
We condemn these violent acts of white supremacy, anti-Black racism, misogyny, and hatred.

It is a reality that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) women and racialized communities are at a much greater risk of being targeted with violence and hatred. This needs to stop. Racism and white supremacy have no place in God’s vision of our world.

At Westminster we strive to radically embody love by living as Jesus lived, at times disrupting societal norms and challenging established rules to embrace and care for all.

Racism and White supremacy will never stop unless we all take action to condemn this violence and call out these acts as hatred. All action matters, including sharing your voice, by contacting the police and local government officials to ensure Selam and all racialized communities receive justice. Our governing body, Westminster Council, will be meeting next week and at this meeting we will continue our equity work of how to support Selam, BIPOC, and racialized communities in Waterloo region and beyond. We invite you to read Selam’s post on Facebook and follow-up with these calls to action she posted there.

Mobilizing your community group or organization to share this letter to publicly condemn this violence and racism that continues to happen in Canada.
Share and publicly condemn acts of white supremacy and white nationalist violence.
Write a letter to your local elected officials imploring them to publicly condemn these acts of anti-Black racism.
Call and email Chief Larkin of the WRPS (Waterloo Region Police Service) to demand action. bryan.larkin@wrps.on.ca 519-570-9777 [The police have acknowledged this but we are being called to continue to hold the police to a thorough investigation].
And stop tokenizing Black, Indigenous and racialized people by sharing pictures of diversity to show proof that this is not ‘racist’.

In the coming weeks we will provide opportunities to offer further support as a community organization and as individuals. Please reach out to either one of us if you would like to talk further about this.

Everyone please take good care,
Janice Greenhalgh (Chair of Council) and Rev. Andrea Allan

Statement of Solidarity with our Muslim Community

The members of Westminster United Church of Waterloo, Ontario, send our deepest condolences to our local, provincial and Canadian Muslim community in the wake of the vicious terror attack which killed four members of the Afzaal family in London, Ontario on June 2021, and the extensive vandalism against the Baitul Kareem Mosque in Cambridge in mid July 2021.
These acts of hatred come amongst other tragic news in Canada, with reports of increased violence towards Indigenous peoples, Blacks, Jews, Asians and other people of colour, as well as attacks on the LGBTQ2S+ community, and the discovery of unmarked graves of more than one thousand children at Indian Residential School sites across Canada, with more bodies expected to be found.
We at Westminster deeply value our relationships with communities of all races and faiths. We strongly support the right of all people to whatever faith (or no faith) they feel called.
As the Muslim saying reminds us, "A lot of different flowers make a bouquet." The diversity of our region strengthens and enhances our community, and we pledge to work against words and actions that attack anyone on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity or sexuality.
We acknowledge the ways in which we have contributed to these terrible acts by our actions and inactions. We are striving to learn and do better.
Everyone living in Canada deserves to feel safe. The vibrancy of our community is its diversity.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
We encourage you to reach out to members of your community who might be struggling during this time of pain with a simple expression of care and without expectations that they will respond at this time.
We also need to move beyond thoughts, prayers and kind deeds - and move to real, lasting, systemic changes that ensure all people are truly safe, respected and valued.

The Afzaal family has called for everyone, "from the highest level of our governments to every member of our community," to take a strong stand against hatred.

The anti-hate network has offered three action items to help fight Islamophobia in Canada:

Email and call your Member of Parliament, which you can find here. The government has been sitting on legislation against online harms, including online hate. While we don't yet know the exact circumstances that led to this terrorist attack, we can say definitively that addressing online hate will make attacks like these less likely. Legislation should be introduced immediately.
Support the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), and others in their call for a National Action Summit on Islamophobia.
Echo and promote any further calls to action from the Muslim community.

We pledge to continue to echo calls for justice from communities that are affected by hate-motivated violence, and will continue to promote calls to action through our newsletters and social media platforms.

Westminster United Church Council and congregation, the Rev. Andrea Allan, Minister, and Janice Greenhalgh, Chair of Church Council, Waterloo, Ontario.

Westminster Wins Gold!

Westminster United Church has won GOLD in the Waterloo Region Record Readers’ Choice Awards! Results were announced in Thursday’s paper (Section D4). We’re in 3rd place, behind St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church (Diamond winner) and Creekside Church (Platinum) – both of which are FAR larger than Westminster! Way to go Westminster! Thanks to everyone who participated in the voting process!

You Are Invited.

If you are currently an active participant in a congregation, we wish you much blessing in your pilgrimage of faith. We invite you to continue in faithful living and service. For those who are seeking a church home, we extend a warm invitation.

Westminster United Church seeks to be inclusive of all those who come in good will. We recognize that people will be at different places in their faith journeys and that we will perhaps suit some people better than others, yet we encourage you to visit our congregation. We have been blessed by the presence of many talented and faithful people, and take much joy in the growth and shaping of our family of faith.

We not only welcome new people, but also seek their ideas and participation in a full range of church activities. There are many opportunities for participation in and the shaping of the living ministry of Westminster.

We encourage you to consider our congregation as you embark upon or renew your own faith journey.

Check out our calendar for upcoming worship opportunities.

Our Calendar

What People are Saying about Us...

"It’s less judgmental, more laid back and informal. Members listen to each other."

"We tried a number of churches. Our two children both agreed they liked Westminster the most. There’s a sense of welcoming. It’s informal and has a smaller size. We also like Andrea’s energy."

"The sermons are progressive, inspiring, and address current issues."

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