What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community” (the last book he wrote before his assassination) set out the “great new problem” for humanity:
“We have inherited a large house, a great world house in which we have to live together – black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Moslem and Hindu — a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace… The large house in which we live demands that we transform this world-wide neighborhood into a world-wide brotherhood. Together we must learn to live as brother or together we will be forced to perish as fools.”
In the increasingly turbulent times we live in, with myriad social, economic, gender, political and other divisions that are exploited by powerful forces for their own advantage, Episcopal Bishop Marriann Edgar Budde issued a call for true unity as part of her homily on the day after the inauguration and in the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump:
“…The culture of contempt that has become normalized in our country threatens to destroy us. We are all bombarded daily with messages from what sociologists now call ‘the outrage industrial complex,’ some of it driven by external forces whose interests are furthered by a polarized America. Contempt fuels our political campaigns and social media, and many profit from it.”
Instead of contempt, fear, division and private profit, Bishop Mariann called for a culture of unity:
“…Unity is a way of being with one another that encompasses and respects differences, that teaches us to hold multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect; that enables us, in our communities and in the halls of power, to genuinely care for one another even when we disagree… The first foundation for unity is honoring the inherent dignity of every human being, which is, as all faiths represented here affirm, the birthright of all people as children of the One God.”
At the Sorrento Centre, we continue to walk in the journey started by a group of Anglican visionaries in 1963 as peace-makers, justice-seekers and community-builders, celebrating difference and diversity and honouring the dignity and worth of all people. Through generous hospitality and loving service, we aim to walk the Way of Love in 2025.
In 2025, we expect to welcome 3,500 guests to a variety of programs from the arts and music to spirituality and reconciliation. After a significant downturn due to the pandemic and then a fierce local wildfire, we hope to exceed our previous record set in 2019.
In 2025, we will continue to grow our loving service with our neighbours through meals, events and community gatherings. Our annual Christmas dinner, which served 600 people in 2024, is a truly collaborative affair – many people and groups joining together for the benefit of all.
Our aspiration for our 24-acre main campus and 7-acre natural farm is more modest than the great world house that Dr. King envisioned, but it is an equally radical response to a fearful, contemptuous, exhausted and divided world and local community.
For our long-time friends, you are welcome to return home to the Sorrento Centre for a day, a weekend, a week or longer.
For those who have never visited our beloved Centre (we call you new friends), you are most welcome to make us your home for a day, a weekend, a week or longer.
There is plenty of information on our website at www.sorrentocentre.ca about upcoming events and activities, including our special Anglican summer programming for families and a variety of other engaging, inspiring, delightful and restful activities.
We are a gathering place for all even as we seek to be a holy place of transformation for learning, healing and belonging.
