Inclusion and Reconciliation at St. Laurence Anglican Church
At St. Laurence, we strive to be truly welcoming to all people - regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. These are the standards we hold ourselves to as we seek to live into being an Affirming, Welcoming, and Inclusive community.
Living and worshipping on Treaty Land, specifically Treaty 7, St. Laurence Anglican Church recognizes the historical and inter-generational trauma experienced by Indigenous communities and we continually work to listen, learn, and grow forward together.
Taking steps to be further inclusive, St. Laurence approved parish same-sex blessings in 2014, followed by Safe Space trainings in 2016. Advocating for an increasingly inclusive church community, St. Laurence founded a lay person movement for same-sex blessings within the Diocese of Calgary and successfully passed the motion of permission at the Synod of the Diocese of Calgary in 2017.
Affirming Network of Faith Communities
St Laurence became a member of the Affirming Network of Faith Communities in 2019.
Our involvement reflects our parish’s desire to be truly welcoming to all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Affirming Network of Faith Communities (ANFC) consists of a growing number of faith communities which are committed to being inclusive and affirming to individuals and allies in the LGBTQ2S+ Community.
Each year, we participate in PIE day to highlight our work to Publicly, Intentionally, and Explicitly welcome all people inclusive of diverse gender and sexual identities to St. Laurence. PIE day is an affirming twist to International Pi day celebrations held on 3.14, March 14.
We also participate in the annual Citywide Interfaith PRIDE service, held the Sunday before the Calgary PRIDE Parade. This year’s service was held on August 27, 2023 at Beth Tzedec.
Worship on Treaty Land
The St. Laurence Anglican Church acknowledges Treaty 7 territory; the ancestral and traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3). We acknowledge the many First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples whose footsteps have marked these lands for generations. We are grateful for the traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are still with us today and those who have gone before us. We recognize the land as an act of reconciliation and gratitude to those whose territory we reside on.
A territorial acknowledgment is important as part of our churches living into right relations with Indigenous peoples. Acknowledging the territory where we gather and the people who have traditionally called it home for thousands of years is a way to continue to live out the church’s apologies to the First Peoples of North America. The acknowledgement supports our calls to others to pay respect to Indigenous peoples.
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St. Laurence Anglican Church relies on donations from our generous community to continue providing immersive worship and community services.