As I waited for the results of Alberta’s referendum to be posted, I experienced a mixture of anxiety, relief, disappointment, hope, and a renewed call to action. I was relieved that approximately 75% of Albertans voted to remain in Canada.
My parents immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1975. I was born and raised in Vancouver, studied and lived in Toronto, and have called the Edmonton area home since 2006. Having traveled through every province and the Yukon, taught in the inner city of Toronto and rural Alberta, and served as a pastoral associate in suburban parishes, I have developed a deep appreciation for Canada’s diversity and multicultural identity. I cherish the Canadian values of democracy, freedom, equality, human rights, multiculturalism, inclusion, reconciliation, and compassion. These include respect for the inherent dignity of every person and the full equality and rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Though I was relieved that the majority of Albertans chose to stay in Alberta, I also bore considerable anxiety. The approximately 25% who supported separation have grievances that deserve to be heard. Western alienation has deep historical roots, including concerns about economic fairness and provincial autonomy. At the same time, I worry about rhetoric fueled by resentment, economic self-interest, misinformation, and to some degree, Christian nationalism, especially when environmental responsibilities and our obligations to the most vulnerable are pushed aside. Even more troubling were the results of the immigration-related questions, with slightly more than half of Albertans supporting proposals that could restrict access to healthcare, education, and other essential services for some migrants and newcomers.
As a cradle Catholic who remains deeply concerned about the Church, as the child of immigrants, and now a Moravian pastor, I find these results deeply troubling. Pressures on housing, employment, and public services are real and deserve attention. But when our frustrations become directed toward the least of these - people seeking security, dignity, and belonging, we reject our Canadian and Christian values.
Our Christian Responsibility
Besides serving as a pastor of Edmonton Moravian Church, I assist the district president in his pastoral ministry. In this role, I have been involved in our church’s response to the referendum. First, our district leadership wrote to Premier Danielle Smith expressing concerns about the four immigration-related questions. and second, we wrote to our congregations, encouraging prayerful reflection grounded in our Christian faith, and Moravian history in which ancestors fled religious persecution in the 18th century. For months in my own congregation, I’ve been preaching on themes rooted in scripture such as love for foreigners and the least of these. However, scriptures and church teachings remind us that Christian discipleship requires more than knowing what love means. We must embody that love in our relationships, public decisions, and treatment of vulnerable people.
An Ecumenical Witness
One encouraging aspect of the referendum was witnessing churches speaking publicly about human dignity and the common good. Alberta’s Catholic bishops issued a thoughtful pastoral letter encouraging Catholics to consider the consequences of their decisions for vulnerable people. Anglican bishops, Lutheran leaders, and the United Church similarly offered reflections and opportunities for discernment. The Calgary Alliance for the Common Good also brought faith communities together in advocating for justice and belonging. Through my district responsibilities, I have participated in ecumenical gatherings, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s National Council and the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton’s Synod. These experiences reinforce my conviction that our churches have much to learn from one another, and much to share about how to listen to one another and how to heal divides.
Where Was Our Synodal Church?
Perhaps my most meaningful experience was facilitating Conversations in the Spirit among Moravian congregations. Rather than debating the referendum, we invited participants to share their experiences, fears, and convictions while prayerfully listening to one another. Most expressed support for immigrants and newcomers. Others voiced concerns about employment, crime, and pressures on public services. These conversations were sometimes uncomfortable, but they were deeply worthwhile. We learned that listening does not require agreement. It requires humility, curiosity, and a willingness to listen to the Holy Spirit in the joys and sorrows of each other.
As a board member of Concerned Lay Catholics of Canada and someone deeply committed to synodality, I was disappointed that Catholic parishes in Alberta did not appear to embrace these opportunities more widely.
The bishops’ pastoral letter offered important moral guidance. But imagine if Catholic parishes throughout Alberta had also invited parishioners into Conversations in the Spirit, creating spaces to explore their fears, hopes, experiences, and convictions while discerning together where the Holy Spirit might be leading.
If synodality is to become part of the Church’s culture, we must practise it precisely when difficult and divisive issues arise. Otherwise, we risk treating synodality as another ecclesial programme rather than a means of transformation.
The Work of Healing
My doctoral research explores how restorative justice can deepen our journey toward becoming a more synodal Church. The referendum has exposed deep anxieties and widened divisions, calling Catholics across Canada—not just in Alberta—to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking through the experiences of all God’s people.
Listening does not mean abandoning our convictions, compromising human dignity, or treating every perspective as equally justifiable. It means having the humility to hear difficult truths, the compassion to tend wounds, and the courage to confront injustice. Many newcomers may now question whether they are truly welcome in Alberta. Their voices must be heard.
Our parishes and dioceses can become places where people encounter one another beyond political labels, where difficult conversations foster understanding, accountability, and healing. Synodality calls us to move beyond talking about listening and begin practising it.
I long for a Church where differences are honestly acknowledged, wounds are tended, and the Holy Spirit is given room to transform us. Healing begins when we listen with humility, confront injustice with courage, and embody the love of neighbour that Jesus calls us to practise.