Jeremiah Bašurić, a pastor in Edmonton, Alta., and Sebastian Maldonado, a campus minister in Toronto, Ont., will share the position of senior leader for Intercultural Ministry in Canada, Christian Reformed Church communications announced this month. The position became vacant in July when Pablo Kim Sun left for a role with the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
Bašurić and Maldonado served together as part of the Decolonization and Anti-Racism Collective, a group that advised and supported Kim Sun’s work, and decided to apply for the leadership role together.
Al Postma, executive director-Canada for the CRCNA, said they presented in their joint application why “working together in this role would be a strength for the ministry.” The search committee took that seriously and invited them to interview together, Postma said.
In sharing the role, Bašurić and Maldonado will continue in active ministry in two different Canadian cities. Bašurić pastors at Mosaic House Church in Edmonton and works as a hospital chaplain. Maldonado is in campus ministry at York University in Toronto. “The other jobs we have are flexible and allow us to participate in this job,” Maldonado said. “They also connect us to the community.”
Kim Sun was the first full-time senior leader for intercultural ministry, a role that was preceded by a part-time race relations coordinator in Canada. Before leaving, Kim Sun helped review the role, Postma said, reflecting “the needs he (Kim Sun) saw within the CRC in Canada.”
Bašurić and Maldonado will be involved in equipping, training, and encouraging congregations to navigate challenges and opportunities that come from growing in diversity, and they will work to “create communities where all members fully belong.” The job description describes the role as “crucial in a context where local churches and society are becoming increasingly diverse, and racialized groups are seeking equity, inclusiveness, and belonging.”
The Decolonization and Anti-Racism Collective will continue to advise and support the work. Bašurić said the collective will look for new members who serve three-year terms, as the terms of some serving members are coming to an end. “We are excited to meet new people, connect with them, and have them join us in our work,” Bašurić said. He started in the job Nov.18, and Maldonado began one week earlier, Nov. 11.
They’re still working out how to divide the workload but intend to have their working hours overlap at least one day a week and to meet at least once a week. Bašurić said this is to “keep each other connected, accountable, and to have open communication.”
Because of the heavy emphasis on connecting with communities across Canada, the idea is “to make ourselves as available in our time zones as possible,” Maldonado said. They do also “have ideas and proposals that we’ll work on together,” Bašurić said. One of the reasons for wanting to share the role, Maldonado said, is that it can be isolating to do intercultural and justice work on one’s own.