A poem by Rev. Daniel Addai Fobi dedicated to The United Church of Canada as the church celebrates its Centennial.
A poem dedicated to The United Church of Canada as the church celebrates its Centennial, written by Rev. Daniel Addai Fobi, an 2S and LGBTQIA+ advocate originally from Ghana. He shepherds the God’s Beloved group for LGBTQAI+ refugees at Kitchissippi United Church in Ottawa.
They say a hundred years is a long time.
But what is time…
to a fire that never dies?
To a voice that still echoes in the silence?
To a people who still believe
in the power
of love with skin on?
Let me tell you a story—
not of brick and stained glass,
but of Spirit.
Of breath that moved
over a cold, colonial land
and whispered,
“Do better.”
“Go further.”
“Love wider.”
This…
is The United Church of Canada.
Born in the rubble of war,
birthed by union,
not division.
By a hunger for unity
in a fractured world.
And we didn’t just build churches—
we built bridges.
Across denominations.
Across generations.
Across oceans of difference.
Deep spirituality.
Not just shallow Amens or rehearsed hallelujahs,
but the kind of soul-rooted faith
that looks grief in the face
and says,
“Even here… God is.”
The kind of silence
that isn’t empty—
but full.
The kind that listens for the voice of God
in a stranger’s story,
in an elder’s tears, in a trans teen’s first “they” whispered with fear
and received with blessing.
Bold discipleship.
We don’t follow a Jesus who stays safe.
We follow the rebel rabbi
who flipped tables,
broke laws of the empire,
and sat beside lepers, lovers, liars—
and called them all
beloved.
So we marched.
Marched for peace.
For workers.
For Two-Spirit youth.
For the water,
the land,
the truth.
We walked into the mess of the world
with our sleeves rolled up,
and said,
“We will not stand still
while our neighbours bleed.”
Daring justice.
Not performative.
Not convenient.
But justice that dares to disrupt.
To dismantle.
To decolonize.
Justice that doesn’t just ask
who’s missing at the table—
but flips the table
and builds a new one
where every story is sacred.
Where every pronoun is respected.
Where every culture
is more than tolerated—
it’s treasured.
This is the justice
that sings in Cree and French and sign language.
That weeps with residential school survivors
and says,
“We were wrong.
We are still learning.
And we will not stop showing up.”
Because justice without humility
is just noise.
But justice with love?
That’s church.
So here we are—
a hundred candles lit,
and still burning.
Not to shine on ourselves—
but to light the path forward.
Forward…
into mystery.
Into ministry.
Into the margins where Christ still walks.
Because the tomb is still empty.
The Spirit is still breathing.
The mission is still unfolding. We are not done.
We are The United Church of Canada—
and we are not afraid
to be faithful,
and fierce.
To doubt,
and still believe.
To be broken,
and still bless.
To love boldly,
because Christ
first
loved us.
And now, let me speak
for the ones who once sat
on the outside of stained-glass walls.
For the ones who whispered
“I am gay,”
and were met with closed doors.
The one who was once rejected in the name of Christ, the God the love
For the trans daughters and queer sons,
for the bi and the pan and the nonbinary ones,
for the Black queer kid from a church that said “No,”
and the refugee mother
with love in her soul
and shame in her suitcase.
Let me speak for us:
The God’s Beloved.
And say—
thank you United Church of Canada
Love is not a compromise.
It is a command.”
And you lived it.
WE ARE HERE FOR YOU – PLEASE REACH OUT
—Rev. Daniel Addai Fobi is the leader of the God’s Beloved group at Kitchissippi United Church in Ottawa, and an advocate for 2S and LGBTQIA+.
The views contained within these blogs are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of The United Church of Canada.