During Bishop Melissa Skelton’s visit on Holy Cross Day, September 13, Holy Cross Japanese-Canadian Anglican Church in Vancouver will be celebrating two anniversaries.
The first Anniversary event will be the 70th Anniversary of the end of the Pacific War in 1945. For the 1,500 Japanese-Canadian Anglicans who went into exile in 1942, their time in the wasteland would be only half over when the war ended – endemic racism would keep them away from Vancouver and the West Coast until April 1 1949. And they were only allowed to return then because of the UN.
The second Anniversary event that Holy Cross will be celebrating concurrently is the 100th Anniversary of the establishment of the Provincial Board of Missions to the Orientals (PBMO). This 100th Anniversary celebration in the long arc of Asian Ministry in BC is to the light what the 70th Anniversary is to the dark.
The exile in 1942, loss of churches and funds in 1945 & 1949, and the Diocesan & National apologies in 2010, and 2013, have come out of the dark over the last five years. The racism and injustices have been well-documented, and reconciliation steps begun.