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Emancipation Sunday

Emancipation Sunday is celebrated on the last Sunday in July in the Anglican Church of Canada (July 26 in 2026), as formally designated by the General Synod in June 2025. Emancipation Sunday commemorates the coming into effect of the Slavery Abolition Act on August 1, 1834—Emancipation Day—freeing approximately 800,000 enslaved people in British colonies, including Canada.

For more than 180 years, Black communities across Canada have celebrated Emancipation Day with church services, parades, outdoor festivities, protests, speeches, entertainment and more, taking the opportunity for reflection on the struggle for freedom and justice, past and present. By designating an Emancipation Sunday, the General Synod invites Anglicans in Canada to join in that celebration and to support initiatives that address anti-Black racism within our ecclesial structures and in society at large.

The resources on this page are offered to assist parishes and other worshipping communities within our church in celebrating Emancipation Sunday well by lifting up the experiences, voices, histories and leadership of Black Anglicans in Canada.

Introduction to Emancipation Sunday in Canada

Background to Emancipation Sunday and Biblical and theological basis for its celebration.

Emancipation Sunday liturgical resources

Prayers, music, hymnody and recommended scripture readings—original and collected—for parish, deanery and diocesan use. These liturgical resources were authorized by the Council of the General Synod in June 2026 for a period of trial use, evaluation and feedback where permitted by the Ordinary.

Emancipation Sunday educational materials

Online resources, terminology, local historical and other resources, recommended books, as well as two different Bible study resources, for parish, deanery and diocesan use, as well as for individual devotional and study use by Canadian Anglicans.

Other educational materials

No Longer Strangers: Ministry in a Multicultural Society
This publication was the first major study of multicultural contexts of ministry in Canada and in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was prepared by The Rev. Dr. Romney Moseley and published along with a study guide in 1993. It remains a ground-breaking study that informs ministry today. It includes voices from its time, reflecting on changing society across the country, as well as Bible studies and other resources to assist local congregations to shape ministry and evangelism in their contexts.

Liturgical dancers in flowing green, white, and black garments perform in front of stained glass windows inside a church sanctuary, their skirts sweeping outward as they dance in worship.

Acknowledging the land and God’s creation

This acknowledgement is crafted in light of the Principles of Reconciliation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as we seek to live faithfully in Christ and in right relationship with all. 

We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, forests and all living beings, and for the abiding presence of Christ among us. From coast to coast to coast, these have been cared for and nurtured by First Nations, Inuit and Métis through countless generations. 

We honour the enduring relationship Indigenous Peoples have cultivated with these lands and waters, and the treaties and agreements that reflect these sacred bonds. We acknowledge the harms caused by colonial expansion, through frameworks like the Doctrine of Discovery and structures like the residential school system. We recognize our past failures as a Church, including disruption of connections to the land and suppression of Indigenous spiritualities. 

Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we confess our need for healing. We commit ourselves to seeking truth, pursuing reconciliation and nurturing harmony with all creation. We place our trust in Christ, through whom all things are reconciled to God. 

May God strengthen us to live faithfully as stewards of the Earth. Let us walk in love, justice and reconciliation, joining in God’s work to restore all creation.