Paneling Pride Vs. Prejudice

I was pretty nervous - I had just watched a very well-done and moving documentary about reluctant gay activist Delwin Vriend called Pride Vs. Prejudice that we had screened at our church for PIE Day, and I was about to introduce a very prestigious panel. I was very gratified when the three panelists laughed at my introductory joke: "A lawyer, a professor, a playwright, a senator, a member of the order of Canada and a drag performer all walk into a church….and it's only three people!"

Kris Wells, Darrin Hagen, Doug Stollery and Yours Truly

The panelists in question were writer, director, and composer Darrin Hagen (familiar to many Edmontonians as a member of  Guys in Disguise), the co-counsel on Vriend v Alberta, Douglas Stollery, and Impact Producer Kristopher Wells.

The Affirming Ministry Team at St. Albert United Church had asked for permission to screen the film as part of PIE Day, an opportunity to support the 2SLGBTQIA+ community with acts that are Public, Intentional and Explicit. Senator Wells, having spoken at our tenth Affirimiversary back in October, kindly arranged for us to not only show the movie but suggested a brief panel might be a useful educational experience as well.

When we met earlier in the week to talk about the event, some of us were concerned about bigoted individuals perhaps coming in to make a ruckus or disrupt things, but Darrin said he was honestly more concerned about the "I have more of a comment than a question..." people monopolizing the time. In the end we agreed that as moderator I would ask them each a questions or two and try to keep the session around 15-20 minutes.

The film itself is incredible and I highly recommend checking it out when you get a chance. It will undoubtedly end up on some screening service or another after its time on the film festival circuit wraps up, but I fully intend to purchase the BluRay at the earliest opportunity. They are taking the film to festival in Poland shortly, but the film's website also lists screenings like ours if you want to see it sooner.

Even as someone who remembered the headlines from the case at the time, hearing from the people directly involved with the case and its aftermath was absolutely fascinating; hearing Delwin Vriend himself recall being fired from his position at King's College right here in Edmonton for nothing more than being gay is chilling. Hearing how he was denied a hearing by the Alberta Human Rights Commission is infuriating and seeing how passionate lawyers working pro bono took his case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1998 is empowering.

Reading about the case and the decision gives you an impression of its importance, but not the struggles and personal impacts along the way:

• Learning that Justice McClung of the Alberta Court of Appeals turned his back on counsel Sheila Greckol while she was making her argument, in a brutal and flagrant display of disrespect.
• Hearing that someone had placed religious pamphlets condemning homosexuality on every seat in the chamber of the Supreme Court before the lawyers.
• Watching former city councillor Michael Phair get emotional as he talks about the death threats he received following the decision, while regressive activists were trying to pressure the PC provincial government and Premier Ralph Klein to invoke the notwithstanding clause. 

A good documentary not only provides clarity, it also produces insight. The best of them provoke an emotional connection to the subject matter or people involved, and at our screening you could hear laughs, applause and tearful sniffles as the story played out over 80 minutes.

Afterwards I got to engage the panel briefly, and I dearly wish I could remember their responses verbatim, but I was just too wound up and excited.

I asked Darrin about his directorial decision to juxtapose the historical clips and modern day interviews of those involved with shots from a queer history bus tour of Edmonton (led in part by none other than Michael Phair) and he confessed it arose in part out of his need (and distaste, apparently!) for shooting 'B-roll' for such projects. Seeing Vriend share parts of his story with people on that bus really underscored the sense of history behind it.

Doug graciously redirected my question about the challenges of working on such a high-profile case as one of the few 'out' lawyers at the time to how much more impacted other people had been, including Phair and Vriend himself. He also talked about the current US President's decision to blacklist legal firms who had represented people he considered enemies (removing their security clearances without cause, among other things), making it riskier to be perceived as being in opposition to him, and making it more difficult for them to get quality legal representation.

But he also took the opportunity to thank the United Church of Canada for seeking intervenor status on the case so that when other faith-based groups tried to assert that 'religions' were not in favour of making sexuality a discernible and protectable human right, the UCC could stand up as the largest protestant denomination of the time and make it clear that this was simply not true.

Finally. Dr. Wells spoke about the timeliness of revisiting the Vriend decision, not only terms of  its 25th anniversary when production started and the 20th anniversary of gay marriage in Canada, but also in light of the recent backsliding for the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly in Alberta. Gay and trans youth have had many supports including gender affirming care moved out of reach, and earlier this week, the unionized City of Edmonton employees announced they had been told to remove Pride flags from Edmonton Public Library properties in a commitment to 'neutrality.'

The senator also tied the need for increased education and activism to our current trade war and annexation situation, generating vocal support and applause when he said, "I never want to see us as the 51st state of anything, do you?"

Well over a hundred people came to our screening, most of whom were not regular attendees at our church, which was gratifying to see. We also had a free will offering with proceeds going to St. Albert Pride in the Park, which will hopefully help them increase its impact this summer after some organizational challenges last year. 

Everyone I spoke to was impressed and moved by the film, with many people asking where they could watch it again; when I find out, I will be sure to post it here.

Before leaving I made sure to let all the panelists know how much we, and particularly I, were that they were able to attend - these are very busy people - and to be such gracious guests! I especially thanked Doug, who, when we were discussing possible panel questions had expressed a preference for one, but gave me a two paragraph explanation for the other just so I would have it.

It is gratifying and reassuring to know that individuals committed to justice and equality and education still exist, and that there are others who can help bring their stories into the public eye.

And gosh, if someone sees Pride Vs. Prejudice and decdes to dramatize it so that even more people can learn about it - so much the better!

10th Affirmiversary with a Dangerous Senator

St. Albert United Church became an affirming ministry in 2014 and celebrated its 10th 'Affirimiversary' today; 10 years of being overtly inclusive to sexual minorities. It's a strange time to reflect because I personally thought we would be farther along now, societally, in terms of accepting people of differing sexualities or gender identities.

And yet, here we are. Disinformation, misinformation, outright lies, discrimination and hatred cloaked under religious freedoms or ersatz protection of children set the agendas of the day and continue to polarize the electorate. Manufactured rage, duping 'low information voters.'

But someone told me today that ten years of holding your ground, maintaining a safe and inclusive place, may not be an outright victory, but it certainly is worth celebrating.

That person was one of the speakers at todays' service, Kristopher Wells, and I got to introduce him. Here's what I said:

Kris Wells is an educator and activist with tremendous ties to 2SLGBTQ+ communities Edmonton and Alberta and beyond, and was also a key participant in one of the very first panels we held when we became an Affirming Ministry ten years ago. He’s been a public school teacher right here in St Albert, a diversity consultant for Edmonton public schools and helped develop the first sexual and gender identity school board policy in Western Canada. 

He’s been the faculty director of the University of Alberta’s Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services, MacEwan University's first Canada Research Chair and was the founding director of the MacEwan Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity, as well as the editor-in-chief of the international Journal of LGBT Youth and co-creator of Pride Tape, 

He is also one of Alberta’s most recently appointed Senators and has been described by some pundits as ”the most dangerous senator in Canadian history”! He has some information to share before taking questions previously submitted by the congregation, so please welcome the Hon. Dr. Kristopher Wells!

Kris gave a wonderful address about our Affirmiversary coinciding with LGBT history month, and then answered some great questions that had been submitted beforehand by members of our congregation.

Throughout his talk, he consistently touched on the importance of allyship, of being there for people, both institutionally and individually. He expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and sincere well wishes on his appointment, saying that it helps mitigate some of the backlash, like our own premier calling him a "radical leftist agitator," or the 'most dangerous senator' designation hung on him by the right wing blogosphere. (He confessed to me when I was outlining his introduction that he was trying to feel out if it was appropriate to get t-shirts made with that on it, as he does treat it as a badge of honour.)

Kris' remarks made it clear that we are in a rough spot right now, particularly given the agenda of the current provincial government. He made it clear that policies and legislation passed and yet to come are going to cause harm to a vulnerable community, and those passing it will have to live with their consciences after facilitating them - as will any of us complicit in our silence.

But he also made it clear that the best solution is to just keep telling the truth. To combat and refute mis- and disinformation when we encounter it. To be active and informed and to vote.

As he put it, "Education has always been the answer. As a senator, I now have a larger classroom, but I don't see my job as having substantially changed."

I am going to love having this guy in Ottawa - if he is a danger, it is only to a pernicious status quo. And ten years from now, I bet SAUC will still be holding its ground, flying a rainbow flag and continuing to welcome everyone.

Thank You and Godspeed John Bocock

We said goodbye today to a lovely fellow from church whose life was a splendid and tremendous story.

It was a great service, and some people commented on the great photo on the program (taken by his son-in-law Peter), how it was reminiscent of old photos depicting a cocky pilot getting into his aircraft and not a senior citizen mounting a tractor to go to work. Then I learned that John's initial career choice had been pilot, until colour-blindness ruled that out for him.

John Bocock was, on a most basic level, a farmer and fellow churchgoer. I know many farmers, but what made John (and his entire family, really) stand out, was not what he did or how successfully he did it, but what he did with it.

He could be counted on to stand up at every St. Patrick's Day dinner and tell the story of how Sinn Fein came to his father's house in Ireland and banged their rifle butts on the floor to demand food and money 'for the struggle.' I believe this incident is what convinced Bocock Senior to emigrate to Canada.

John also told us how his family would never have survived their first harsh Canadian winter without the aid of nearby First Nations families, something he never stopped expressing gratitude and admiration for.

The Bobcock family was instrumental in the founding of St. Albert United Church. John, along with his brother Bill and wife Jenny, also donated the funds for our church to install a large array of solar panels in memory of Bill's late wife Phyllis. I suspect they were behind many other anonymous donations to the church or to causes the church supported, and his philanthropy in other areas was renowned throughout the area.

We held an appreciation event for John back in 2019, and I was privileged to be asked to emcee. I introduced guest after guest who expressed tremendous gratitude to John and the Bocock clan for their generosity in time, money, and advocacy in areas ranging from Indigenous reconciliation through to environmental sustainability. 

It was in preparing for this event I learned John had sold 314 hectares of land at a deep discount to the University of Alberta (his alma mater) in 2008, establishing the St. Albert Research Station as well as the Bocock Chair in Agriculture and Environment. 

But these are all things I learned about John - I liked him even while ignorant of his benevolence.

I appreciated how he would invite the entire church to his farm for a picnic at the end of every summer.

I liked the methodical and articulate manner in which he spoke, and the deadpan style of humor that I am sure kept many people guessing as to whether he was trying to elicit a laugh or not.

I admired his commitment to environmentalism and ethical food production, and the pragmatism behind it: “It was just sort of common sense really. If you ruin your land, crops don’t grow, and you can’t feed people.”

I laughed when I heard that two political canvassers looking for John's support thought they might make some headway by entertaining the notion that climate change wasn't real. What I wouldn't have given to be a fly on that wall!

John had a lot he could be rightfully proud of, but he maintained his humility. This probably goes back to his encounter with the Moral Rearmament folks he met in the 1950s who explained that changing the world best began with oneself, and how that prompted him to apologize and reconcile with his brother.

To think that these two could so easily have ended up estranged and instead worked and lived alongside each other for, what, six or seven decades, is simply remarkable.

Like I said at the beginning - it is a great story, but all stories must come to an end, as John's did on August 6 following illness and a stroke.

But must they?

John's daughter Rachel today expressed gratitude how, although her father had many fanciful notions in his final days (such as driving a swather while talking to her from his hospital bed), his personality and wit remained the same right up until the end. 

Rachel herself is involved in policy and advocacy through Alberta Municipalities, and I can hear her father's insight, gratitude, and common-sense wisdom when she speaks.

And I know his story has inspired others, like the brother in India who heard John and Bill talk about burying the hatchet and desisted from burning each other's crops from then on. 

I hope John's story continues on, echoing in the hearts and acts of people working to people a safer, kinder, simpler, and more just world. In the meantime, I am grateful to have had the chance to get a little closer to this amazing family and all their stories, if only for a little while.