Written and performed by Peterson Toscano, director Samuel Neff, March 2017. Screening at Bloor St United, February 13, 2018.
Pancakes, scripture and conversations were all to be enjoyed with the SCM on Pancake Day, 2018. After a shared meal with Bloor St United Church, SCMers gathered for the screening and discussion of ‘Transfigurations’ by scholar-actor-activist Peterson Toscano. The one-person play looks at a variety of characters in the Bible that appear to transgress gender roles and provides plenty of food for thought.
Toscano has toured extensively with this play and others, including in Toronto some years ago, hosted by the local SCM groups. His play Transfigurations was retired recently and committed to film, with the DVD available from the Quaker publisher Barclay Press.
It makes an excellent film for discussion, with multiple sections depicting different Biblical figures, some significantly expanded and detailed, presented to emphasise the ways they do not conform to the gender norms of their society, or the gender roles projected onto their society by Biblical interpreters.
The lecture version of the performance also includes Toscano’s commentary and insights into each story as well as some additional accounts of characters in scripture that are not expanded into full scenes. This gives a sense of the scholarship behind the interpretation, as well as an insight into Toscano’s own perspective and inspirations.
Our discussion group was made up of sixteen participants, predominantly young adults from two SCM groups and members of local congregations. We were joined by a few people from Bloor Street United Church, who had graciously agreed to host our screening, reviving a long-standing partnership. Several of those who were at the Pancake Dinner decided to stay for the screening after hearing about it.
After viewing the film, we entered a time of open discussion. Initially, conversation centered around the new and surprising interpretations of often familiar stories, with one participant commenting humorously ‘It was all new to me – well, I’m in the church, so I don’t know the Bible at all’. Certainly, the performance made some of the familiar stories almost new, like Joseph in Genesis, and Desta, the name Toscano used for the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.
The opening performance was the story of Deborah, the judge and warrior. Toscano represented Deborah as someone who was neither man nor woman, but a powerful individual who mediated between. Our discussion explored the possibility that this interpretation eroded some of the feminist power of Deborah’s story as a women who resisted patriarchy.
Likewise, the exploration of the world of the eunuchs and court officials scheming behind the scenes in the story of Esther potentially detract from the courage and resoursefulness of Esther herself. Our reactions helped underline how few are the positive stories of women in the Bible, and how this sparse representation has required feminist theologians to be both bold and imaginative in their interpretations. Hopefully, Toscano’s own work will not overwrite or oppose feminist readings of scripture, but uphold and support.
The group discussed how ‘Transfigurations’ functions as one translation among many, recognising that although 21st Century conceptions of gender can’t be uncritically projected onto the past, these types of reading must be available to those seeking to take the Bible seriously. Toscano often comments that he does not know the full meaning of each instance of gender-variant behaviour or presence, and we appreciated this capacity to avoid ‘absolutes’.
Understanding Toscano’s presentation as one translation among many also welcomes the possibility of other voices, especially those of non-Western cultural perspectives. We discussed how the strict definition of both gender and sexuality is a function of imperialism and colonialism, and that decolonising scripture is another way to make space for variant readings.
The evening was a very informative experience, and we hope that our experience will encourage others to hold screenings. The DVD can be ordered online from Barclay Press (click here)
When the study guide is available it will be posted on the SCM website.
Some more great opportunities to do good work with good people – and get paid for it!
In addition, keep an eye out for the Canada Summer Jobs ads that will be coming out in the next few months – if you see one that SCMers would be great for, get in touch! We’d love to promote it.
Blue Communities Coordinator
Part time – working for the Sisters of St Joseph, working towards making water a human right!
Geez Magazine, the awesome Winnipeg-based magazine exploring contemplative cultural resistance is hiring for three positions.
Geez is an important contributor of thoughtful conversations about the roles of faith in society, challenge to Christian complicity or triumphalism, and a collector of wisdom and folly from the frontlines of contemplative cultural resistance.
Geez has a flat pay scale for all workers, and a board that makes decisions by consensus. Read more details on each of the positions here:
We’re loving Black History Month as a way to tackle ignorance and encourage attention to the amazing stories of people of African descent.
This year, SCM General Secretary Peter Haresnape was asked to prepare a Black History Month resource for allies, which can be downloaded from the United Church website using this link: The Conversion of Saul
We also recommend the other resources available, including liturgies and service outlines for worship, and resources for picking songs and prayers: Black History Month United Church Resources
Keep following the SCM Facebook Page where we’ll be posting using the hashtag #BlackHistoryMonth
Geez Magazine, the awesome Winnipeg-based magazine exploring contemplative cultural resistance is hiring for three positions in the next month.
Geez is an important contributor of thoughtful conversations about the roles of faith in society, challenge to Christian complicity or triumphalism, and a collector of wisdom and folly from the frontlines of contemplative cultural resistance.
Geez has a flat pay scale for all workers, and a board that makes decisions by consensus. Read more details on each of the positions here:
The right to live without harassment- Short Hills 2017
One of the banners at the entrance of the Short Hills park shows the rejection of shame by local Haudenosaunee people who have endured accusations and obstructions for years as they seek to practice their way of life.
by Manchari Paranthahan, SCM Brock
Every year, a 6-day deer harvest at the Short Hills Provincial Park honours Haudenosaunee Treaty and Land rights. The Haudenosaunee people have exercised their legal right to hunt, but several members of local animal rights groups have actively protested against the hunt in violent ways, from barricading entrances to the park to carrying signs with white supremacist and racist messages on them to oppose the hunt. These anti-hunt protesters have been able to organize a vehicle stall with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Niagara Regional Police Department to create an additional obstacle to the access to the park. Unfortunately, the anti-hunt protesters continuously seem to find new ways to ignorantly perform microaggressions against a vulnerable community in the Niagara region. Since 2013 the Short Hills has hosted the Haudenosaunee Right to Hunt Reconciliation events and activities in response.
The first Short Hills activity I attended this year was the ‘Sweet Blood’ documentary screening held at Brock University. This documentary focused on the high number of Cree community members who suffer from diabetes as a result of a colonized diet. The documentary emphasizes the importance of Indigenous people needing to eat and gather food in traditional ways not only to upkeep tradition but also for their health. During this screening I was told by one of the organizers of the hunt that the documentary left out testimonies from a few Cree men who had mentioned that returning to their old ways of hunting and eating actually cured them of their diabetes. They were left out because of funding through a government grant that didn’t want these testimonies in the final product, to prevent controversies with pharmaceutical companies creating medical treatments for people who have diabetes. “It’s like another form of colonization,” said the organizer, describing both the ways that a colonial diet has affected the health of Cree people and how they were being policed through what information made the final cut of the documentary.
The Niagara Anti-Racism Coalition also did a workshop for supporters of the hunt on challenging white supremacy in the Niagara Region. The workshop involved having members of the community share their stories and experiences with white supremacy in the region. These stories were then printed out and brought to the harvest. The supporters at the harvest were asked to read out one of the experiences or share their own and then take a rock from a bowl that was placed next to the fire. This was to represent how every time an act of greed or fear caused by white supremacy impacts any one of us, we take away from the bettering of society and the love we have to give to each other. This simple act emphasized how we are all affected negatively by oppression and silencing.
After we all went around the circle, we were asked to then share a way that we can help change and challenge white supremacist actions and then put the rock we took back in the bowl. This was to represent the ways we can all contribute to a better society and community. This workshop was a powerful one as I got to see how different members of the same community that identified in different ways were able to put aside the things that made us different and instead focus on how we can all help each other. It was a creative way of acknowledging the responsibility we have in creating a better society whether we are the oppressor or the oppressed – a crucial point to acknowledge in contemporary social justice politics. This workshop allowed space for everyone and allowed them to say what they believed to be true in regards to the Short Hills hunt as well as white supremacy in general, making for a safe and brave space.
A local Haudenosaunee woman speaks with reporters trying to understand the complexities of the situation at the entrance to the park
This was my second year at the counter protest and I have seen firsthand the dedication and hard work that goes into organizing the reconciliation activities. The organizers and supporters of the hunt do everything possible to get as many voices heard and represented during the reconciliation activities. This year, a representative from the Brock Students for Animal Liberation was able to talk about white privilege, animal rights and how that affects their stance on the issue and why they still support the hunt. The two-fold understanding of the issue, something that strips a community of their traditional practice and is also responded to with violently racist language, is something that seems to be happening more and more within the community.
Throughout all of this I found the workshop done by the Christian Peacemaker Teams about de-escalation tactics to be extremely helpful in dealing with the complexities. I was able to go to three of the harvest days and witnessed the multiple ways the protesters would oppose the hunt. Through barricading the entrances, to drowning out the music of the drummers, to overpowering the supporters with their shouts and by flashing lights and taking pictures of the hunters, it is clear how much of this issue has stemmed from systemic racism. The freedom with which the anti-hunt protesters can express violent messages, create an environment with additional obstacles and stay firm in their problematic beliefs can only be a result of socially ingrained racism against Indigenous communities.
During the workshop on de-escalation, we talked about how humour and distraction can be key strategies to prevent derailing. As a student activist, this information was useful because of the way student activism gets criticized for being inaccessible because of the elite nature of institutions. In my experience, more often than not student activism gets met with ignorance or intentional derailing tactics. Learning the different ways that we can acknowledge our own triggers and then use humour and distraction as a way of combating negative behaviour emphasized the importance of doing this work in institutions as well as doing on-the-ground frontline activism work – there will always be resistance no matter how it’s done, but it will always be worth it.
The police presence and the clear signage at the entrance to the park were just the most obvious of the safety preparations for the 6 days the park is closed to the public for the deer harvest.
Throughout this conversation we also ended up talking a lot about intersectionality; the ways our different identities intersect with one another and how they affect experiences of privilege and oppression. It is important to see how this issue is intersectional , as the Haudenosaunee community ends up dealing with a lot of racist oppression as well as oppression through their cultural practices, something that the animal rights activists on the other side of the Short Hills entrance seem to glaze over. The intersectional nature of the protests, the “animal rights vs. treaty rights” conversation, also creates a tense atmosphere. Intersectionality is a tricky thing, one that can pit activists against each other.
In contemporary society, when we talk feminism we have to acknowledge the micropolitics that have often been overlooked throughout history. When we fail to recognize the communities that we have missed so far in mainstream feminism movements, we are contributing to harmful structures that white supremacists have put in place. As Audre Lorde puts it, “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” Intersectionality here, and in most social issues is something that is often discussed but rarely put into practice when it comes to our activism – why is that?
The Short Hills accompaniments have always stressed the importance of education, love and acceptance in our teachings. Everyday at the harvest I found myself asking why anti-hunt animal rights activists were pushing so hard to keep the Haudenasaunee hunters out of the park when some of the hunt’s supporters are vegan animal rights activists themselves. Wasn’t the damage that has been done to Indigenous peoples throughout history already clear? Doesn’t it make sense to take a minute to hear the other side? Why are microaggressions still being overlooked and not viewed as just as harmful and damaging as blatantly forms of racism? These questions still remain and have provided a realization that these issues aren’t getting worse or resurfacing – it is just our turn dealing with them.
The closing ceremony for the Short Hills Reconciliation Events and Activities was celebrated with a lovely feast on the last harvest day, a panel discussion and another screening of ‘Sweet Blood’. The past five years has seen growing support for the counter protestors and the Haudenosaunee people. There have been more collaborations with local groups for workshops and activities available for the supporters at the reconciliation events. The growing support for the hunters over the years has created more room for conversations, change and acceptance. Moving forward, through educating and being open to reconciliation, hopefully the Haudenosaunee Right to Hunt continues to get more support than resistance.
Manchari Paranthahan is a Communications, Women and Gender Studies and Theatre student at Brock University. They are involved in various activist movements at the University and in the Niagara Region, including the Brock SCM and the Brock Student Justice Centre. As the current Program Director of the Brock Faith and Life Centre, Manchari and SCM Coordinator Emilie Philips are dedicated to bringing social justice work and activism into their faith work.
The very popular song ‘Mary Did you Know‘ has appropriately prompted a slew of sarcastic memes in recent years pointing out that yes, she did know, she sang a whole song about what was heralded by the Annunciation.
Now we are delighted to share this reworked version written by Jennifer Henry, ED of KAIROS Canada.
Mary did you know, that your ancient words would still leap off our pages? Mary did you know, that your spirit song would echo through the ages?
Did you know that your holy cry would be subversive word, that the tyrants would be trembling when they know your truth is heard?
If you are looking for a way to bring poetry, song and story together this coming second Sunday of Advent, consider this resource, created by the crafty peacemaker-prophets of ParteraPeacebuilders International.
Includes Call to Worship, hymns, a poetic reflection on the Bible texts, prayers, and a sending/blessing.
Partera International is a faithbased peace-building organization that conducts conflict transformation education and training in various places around the world as well as at home. We are based in Canada with a binational Board of Directors.
Partera is Spanish for “midwife” and speaks of our hope to aid the birth of peace among and alongside all life on Earth.
We share this brief liturgical resource for worship and/or small group use as an expression of our longing to see God’s peaceable will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, given life by midwives of peace and disciples of the One who was God’s Peace-Made-Flesh.
It is intended for use on the second Sunday of Advent, traditionally understood as Peace Sunday, Dec. 10th, 2017
Prepared by members of Student Christian Movement at York University
Download this, and other resources, from our Resource Page
John 2: 13-17 (New International Version)
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (Psalms 69:6)
Some Context
The Temple and Passover
The Temple during Herod’s time was divided into four different sections: The outer/gentile court, the inner/Israel Court, the Priest Court, and the Holy of Holies. Only in the outer courts were merchants and moneychangers allowed. During the Passover, all men over the age of 12 had to attend the festival. To do so, they would need to pay a small amount of tax to the temple as well as provide a sacrifice.
Money Changers and Merchants
Since many people were from out of town, they did not have the Jewish temple currency. Instead, they would need to have their currency exchanged. The moneychangers did this work, in which they received a profit. Additionally, travellers usually also needed to buy an animal at the temple, usually a dove or a goat, which was sold for exorbitant prices.
Common Interpretations
Some common interpretations of the Jesus table flipping event are as follows:
Jesus saw trade in the Temple as a desecration of its true purpose so, maybe with the help of others, he tried to shut down the trade in sacrificial animals and the money-changing that was going on
He saw the Court of the Gentiles as a sacred place, part of God’s Temple. The general hullabaloo of the area made this impossible, and it angered him
He made an assessment that the trade and money changing exploited people, especially the poor, by making excessive charges, so he intervened
Jesus thought the priests and Temple personnel were abusing their sacred roles by being involved in business in a sacred area
There was already a conflict going on between the Sanhedrin and the High Priest Caiaphas in AD30, when Caiaphas allowed traders to set up markets in the Court of the Gentiles as punitive competition against markets controlled by the Sanhedrin.
If you were around when Jesus flipped the tables, how would you have reacted? Would you be the kind of person to join in, or stay back? How do you think a poor person would have reacted to seeing this event? What about a merchant? Or a Roman soldier? Or a Rabbi?
If Jesus lived (physically on earth) today, and He were to replicate this same event, whose tables would He overturn?
The participants write cards, draw pictures, and offer symbols of oppressive powers that we are called upon to resist today, and place them onto a prepared table.
A Prayer
Gracious Lord, who calls us to do what is just and right, working to free the robbed, support migrants, the orphaned, and the widowed. Thank you for this opportunity to think about your work and for the friends we have here today. We pray for continual guidance to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned, and support and love our neighbours. Please provide us strength to enact your kingdom here, resisting unjust and oppressive conditions like Jesus did on his earthly ministry. We lovingly call you to witness our symbolic commitment to resisting evil, as we flip this table [flip table]. We love you Lord, Amen.
There’s a guy who comes to our Bible studies every Monday. He comes to practice his English, and he always apologizes for not being religious, and says he’s not a good person to be there. I disagree. I’m very grateful for the perspectives he brings to our discussions.
Recently we discussed the book of Ruth, he helped us remember that it’s okay and important to think about the background characters of a story. Naomi and Ruth are the protagonists, but there is another woman, Orpah. Orpah is important to think about. The story doesn’t go into detail about her, but she starts in the same situation as Ruth. After their husbands pass away, mother-in-law Naomi tells both Orpah and Ruth to leave and find husbands in Moab, their own country, where they might have a better chance at a good life. Orpah and Ruth cry and argue about leaving, but after Naomi persists, Orpah agrees to leave. Ruth refuses and insists on going with Naomi, who can’t provide for her, can’t guarantee her remarriage, can’t guarantee her survival. The narrative continues with Ruth and Naomi, and Orpah’s role in this story is over.
The author prepares a table to be flipped at another SCM discussion group at York University
But our study group member identified with Orpah. He came to Canada a few years ago. He said he was weak, that when he encounters conflict, he runs. When someone is resisting violence, he stays quiet because he doesn’t want to be harmed by standing up. He said he left because, even though he had a good life, had a good post as a professor, and was comfortable, he didn’t like some things about his country. He came to Canada. He said if he didn’t like it here, he’d find another country.
He said all of this like it was a bad thing. He challenged me to think about his experience. I’m not someone who stays quiet about injustice and I know I can be confrontational when encouraging others to do so as well. But if you choose not to because you’re safe and you’re afraid of that changing, because you know you could be harmed and you’re not ready for that or you can’t risk that, you have the right to protect yourself and your safety.
And when he said he chose to leave, and that he thinks he’s weak for it, I didn’t see weakness but bravery. He took a huge risk in leaving for a country with a foreign language and culture. He went into a whole new discipline than the one in which he had his Ph.D. He went back to do another undergrad degree. He comes to school every day not knowing a lot of people and not having a strong support system or network of friends.
