National Day of Awareness for MMIWG2S+

May 5th, 2026 

National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two­Spirit and Gender-Diverse People (MMIWG2S+) 

Dear friends, 

Today, we mark the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people (MMIWG2S+). We do so in a spirit of lament, remembrance, and resolve. Across the Diocese of Rupert's Land, in our communities, families continue to carry the weight of loss, uncertainty, and grief. We hold before God all those who are missing, all who have been taken through violence, and all who continue to search, to mourn, and to seek justice. 
This is not only a social crisis; it is a moral and spiritual one. The persistence of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people is inseparable from the ongoing realities of colonialism, systemic racism, and the devaluation of Indigenous lives. As the Church, we must name this truth clearly. Silence, or distance, is not faithful discipleship. In our diocesan life, this means more than acknowledgment. It requires sustained commitment. We commit to deeper relationships with Indigenous communities; to supporting initiatives that promote safety and dignity, educate ourselves and our parishes, and to ensure that our churches are places of welcome, advocacy, and care. Our commitment is to walk alongside Indigenous leaders and communities not as those who presume to lead, but as those who are willing to learn, to repent, and to act. 
Our faith is incarnational. In Jesus Christ, God enters fully into the suffering of the world and refuses to abandon it. To follow Christ, therefore, is to draw near to places of pain and injustice, not to turn away. The cross stands as both judgment and promise: judgment on the forces that destroy life and promise that God's justice and mercy will have the final word. Let's mark this day intentionally: through prayer, participation in local vigils, learning opportunities, and acts of solidarity. Let this not be a single day of awareness but part of an ongoing pattern of faithful engagement. 
May we be a people who embody courage, connection, and change, bearing witness to Christ in the pursuit of justice and the restoration of dignity for all. 
With every blessing, 
􀀂􀀃 
+Naboth