After God had moved so powerfully in the Whistler and Victoria Gatherings, the Watchmen team expected the church to move quickly into a journey of healing the deep wounds and divisions in the nation. But despite sincere attempts at reconciliation between people groups, breakthrough remained elusive. The team was driven to cry out to God to reveal what was the root issue holding back God's favour from the nation. Why were God's prophetic promises for Canada unfulfilled? And why were warnings of judgment increasing?

In September 1997, the Lord revealed to David Demian that the sin of anti-Semitism, brought to Canada by our European forefathers, was a key to the nation's current spiritual condition. The Lord asked David to call Canada to true repentance, a rending of hearts. (Joel 2:12-15)

David Demian describes the revelation that sparked the journey. (Large)
David Demian describes the revelation that sparked the journey. (Small)

During the next few months, the Lord began to reveal information about the history of anti-Semitism in Canada. Information surfaced about the St. Louis ship, which was filled with more than 900 German Jews fleeing persecution by the Nazi regime before the onset of the Second World War and which was denied access into Canada. The team also came across the book None is Too Many, written by two Canadian professors, which detailed more graphic instances of Canada's anti-Semitic immigration policies that prevented even orphaned children from finding refuge.

Article: 1998 Prophetic Call: Realizing Canada's Hour of Destiny

David and his pastor, Gideon Chiu, soon found themselves traveling throughout Canada, sharing what they had discovered with ministerials and heads of Christian ministries throughout the nation. From coast-to-coast the response from the leadership was the same: they had put their finger on a significant root in our nation - and God was indeed calling Canada to repentance.

By the Lord's direction, a Gathering was called for Harrison Hot Springs, BC in November 1998. With only a few months notice, more than 600 leaders and intercessors responded and the Lord poured out a spirit of repentance, weeping and travail unlike what many had ever seen in Canada.

Article: Richard Long's 1998 report on the Harrison Gathering

In the months which followed, David and Gideon traveled to churches throughout Canada and appeared on national Christian TV broadcasts, issuing a call to believers to gather in Winnipeg between June 30th and July 2, 1999 for a time of national repentance. God Himself was making the Canadian church willing in the day of His power. (Psalm 110:3)

David Demian calls the nation to Winnipeg (May 1999). (L)
David Demian calls the nation to Winnipeg (May 1999). (S)

With a mandate from the Lord to "fill the land with tears", on April 13, 1999 (Holocaust Memorial Day), eighty-eight intercessors from across Canada, boarded a train in Vancouver bound for Winnipeg. On this Train of Tears, the intercessors fasted, wept and prayed for three days, asking God to have mercy upon our nation. In His wisdom, God used the train, a powerful symbol of Canadian unity, to begin to redeem the memory of the millions transported on trains to suffering and death in Hitler's concentration camps.

Article: Peg Byars reports on the Train of Tears

With the ground thus prepared, 2300 Canadians came before the Lord in Winnipeg on the Canada Day weekend, with the sacrifice of a broken spirit and contrite heart of repentance (Psalm 51:17). They were joined by thousands more on July 1st, when David Mainse of Crossroads Communications broadcast the repentance live for 4 hours by satellite throughout the nation. Finally after days of weeping, travail and waiting upon the Lord, many felt a witness that God had received our sacrifice. A memorial altar was built on July 1st with stones brought by the Gathering participants as a testimony for generations of how the church in Canada humbled itself in repentance to the Lord. Now it was time to bring to the Lord fruit worthy of the repentance.

Experience the 1999 Winnipeg gathering. (Large)
Experience the 1999 Winnipeg gathering. (Small)
Thousands of Canadians bring stones to erect a memorial altar in Winnipeg. (Large)
Thousands of Canadians bring stones to erect a memorial altar in Winnipeg. (Small)

As a firstfruits of the repentance, the remaining survivors of the St. Louis were invited to Canada. The 25 survivors and their spouses who responded were brought at the expense of the Canadian church. Without any large corporate sponsorship, hundreds of thousands of dollars poured in from Christian Canadians throughout the nation. The survivors were flown in rom Israel, Australia, England, the United States and Canada to Ottawa. They toured the sites of Ottawa, including a visit to Parliament Hill and then they were hosted by 300 representatives of the Canadian church at the Friends of the St. Louis reception and dinner in Ottawa on November 5, 2000. It was at this reception, representatives of the Canadian church repented to the survivors.

Canadian church leaders repent to the survivors. (Large)
Canadian church leaders repent to the survivors. (Small)

Later in the evening, on behalf of the Canadian conference of Catholic bishops and many other denominations, Archbishop Gervais proclaimed the Declaration of the Church in Canada. This declaration expressed the repentant heart of the Canadian church for their role in rejecting the St. Louis and pledged ongoing love and support for the Jewish people.

The survivors were further moved as a group of young people who had taken their own journey of repentance to Israel, shared their story and presented the survivors with their own gift.

Article: Read the Declaration of the Canadian Church
The King's Kids journey. (Large)
The King's Kids journey. (Small)

Among the many moving speeches and presentations during the night, perhaps none was as personally touching to the survivors as the presentation of a hand-crafted glass sculpture.

This sculpture, designed particularly for this event, included a maple leaf base from which rise hands that are cradling a star of David, through which the St. Louis ship is emerging.

Something truly miraculous happened during this time in Ottawa. Healing and forgiveness replaced pain and bitterness and deep bonds of trust, love and friendship were birthed between the survivors and the church of Canada.

The sculpture is presented to the survivors. (Large)
The sculpture is presented to the survivors. (Small)
The survivors respond. (Large)
The survivors respond. (Small)

This moving event was followed by 550 Canadians traveling to Israel in May 2001 on the Journey of Hope. This prophetic journey included public repentance for anti-Semitism and the inaction of the Canadian church during the Holocaust to both Chief Rabbi Yisrael Lau at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust memorial) and to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rabbi Michael Melchior, at the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament).

An excerpt of The Chief Rabbi's speech at Yad Vashem. (Large)
An excerpt of The Chief Rabbi's speech at Yad Vashem. (Small)
Rabbi Michael Melchior welcomes the team to the Knesset. (Large) [Real Media, 1:30]
Rabbi Michael Melchior welcomes the team to the Knesset. (Small) [Real Media, 1:30]

The Journey Continues…
These efforts have borne considerable fruit in establishing a trusting relationship with government and people of Israel both here in Canada as well as in Israel. The government of Israel invited 20 Canadian church leaders, the Canadian Evangelical Diplomatic Mission, to visit Israel in March 2003 in order to dialogue with government officials on establishing greater linkages between Israel and the Canadian church.

In March 2004 His Excellency Haim Divon, Israeli Ambassador to Canada, Shimon Fogel (head of the Canada-Israel committee) and other Jewish leaders visited a gathering of Canadian church leaders in Ottawa to continue the journey of friendship, love and trust being established.

Shimon Fogel tells the tale of 2 brothers. (Large)
Shimon Fogel tells the tale of 2 brothers. (Small)