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Submitted by Imai Thomas Welch
Article 2 in the Series

What is “BIPOC”? BIPOC is an acronym for “Black, Indigenous, and other Peoples of Colour”. It’s an umbrella term for all non-White peoples. Even if there are many different communities within the BIPOC umbrella, we share many of the same challenges and concerns about things like racism and diversity. For the next several months, I’m going to provide some information and trivia about BIPOC peoples. 

BIPOC peoples have long been a part of the Anglican Church, including in Canada. They have also had to deal with all sorts of racism and discrimination inside our churches. In some cases, they have even been silenced and chased away from our churches for speaking out. As a result, BIPOC peoples don’t necessarily have a positive relationship with the Anglican Church. 

Christ Church Cathedral is starting to do the work to (re-)build its relationship with BIPOC communities in Metro Vancouver. Just like its ongoing work with the LGBTQ community, the Cathedral is starting this work to help marginalised and equity-seeking groups seek justice in this world.

To do this work, we need to know some things about the various BIPOC communities around us and in the Church. Last week, we took a look at statistics related to BIPOC people and the Anglican Church. This week, let’s look at some surprising factoids about Indigenous clergy in the Anglican Church:

When was the first Indigenous priest ordained?

  1. Henry Budd was ordained in the Diocese of Rupert’s Land. 

When were the first Indigenous bishops consecrated? 

  1. Charles Arthurson was made a Suffragan (Assistant) Bishop for the Diocese of Saskatchewan. 
  2. Gordon Beardy was made the Diocesan Bishop for the Diocese of Keewatin.