"This Advent, we feel called to name the truth that the sin of racism and white supremacy is ongoing. People continue to be subjected to and oppressed by these systemic evils, even within our own churches and the ecumenical movement," said their leaders.

"For the sake of our common mission and witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, we share a commitment to dismantling racism and combating white supremacy, and we actively seek opportunities to engage more deeply."

So, no mention of Jesus as Savior, of His stepping into space, time and history to redeem a fallen world. No, we are called upon to dismantle something as nefarious as racism and as dubious as white supremacy.

The Apostle Paul said, "From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh." He saw other people as present or potential members of the "new creation": "The old has passed away and the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:16--17). The new creation, wrote John, is made up of people "from every nation (ethnous), tribe, people, and language" (Rev. 7:9). Nations (ta ethnē) in the New Testament world were often multiracial, like the United States, but typically united by a common culture. The early church recognized that culture was rooted not in skin color but in religious cultus.

When Paul said that "in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek" (Gal. 3:28), he was talking about how Christ brings unity based on religion, not race--for both Greeks and Jews came in various colors. He knew that skin color is skin deep.

Apparently, Canadian church leaders have not read their bibles lately. They're more aware only of the latest in woke madness.

As Anglican scholar Dr. Gerry McDermott noted in his new book, "Race and Covenant", for the apostles, the only two "races" were those of the old creation and the new creation. This explains the King James translation of Acts 17:26, in which Paul describes the unity of the human race in creation: God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." All men share the same blood. Ironically, Critical Race Theory teaches something similar: that races as we conceive them are not rooted in biology or anthropology, but are socially constructed.

The Canadian Anglican leaders closed with this prayer which we have "dismantled" to help readers better grasp the meaning of Advent à la The Anglican Church of Canada.

Let us pray

God of all, form us into churches beyond borders. (But not too far away Lord, in case the building might be a hut in West Africa and looks like nothing where I live and the water might be undrinkable).

When we feel stuck, amplify the prophet's word. (If we are "stuck" in traditional thinking about marriage, relieve us Lord of our homophobia and enable us through a word of prophecy to break down the moral barriers you have set up to guard against heresy.)

When we are distracted by privilege, put us in the wilderness. (Relieve us Lord of our five figure bank accounts and take away our stock portfolio, our Range Rovers, and please make sure we can get an Uber to get us out of the wilderness when the time comes).

When we need a new way, dunk us in the river. (But please Lord, not the Ganges).

When we are wrong, move us down the path of truth-telling and repentance. (We have been wrong about so much for decades, we wouldn't know truth if we stood before Christ on the cross or it bit us in our robed bottoms).

When we need healing, sustain us with your love and hope. (But Lord do not heal those who no longer want the demon of same sex attractions hanging over them, and while you're at it "cure" the Church's homophobes, transphobes and Islamophobes.)

When we cannot see beyond ourselves, move us beyond arbitrary borders. (Especially Lord the "arbitrary borders" of Scripture which have defined the church for 2,000 years. Men wrote the Bible and we can clearly rewrite it to suit out post-modern tastes. Thank you.

Bless us with the Holy Spirit, that the good news may be for us a beginning. (There are rumors Lord that your Holy Spirit left the ACoC decades ago and hasn't been seen since Bishop Michael Ingham tossed biblical morality out the window. The "good news" largely relates to the Church Pension Fund, which mercifully and hopefully will outlive the Church.)

Amen