Montreal

I applaud the work of the task force and the necessary development of a new logo for the ELCIC. The final design is wonderful, and I appreciate your inclusion of the design breakdown and explanations of the symbolism. It is indeed, as Ms. Gallop states, a “bold new statement” that begins a “rebranding process.”

The previous 1986 logo did not include text; this one does. It is a significant oversight that the logo, for a country that is officially bilingual, has the tagline only in English. Are we rebranding as exclusively for a Canada that is unilingual and not inclusive of our historic country with two official languages? Are we saying that we are only English speaking? Quite frankly, a unilingual logo for a national entity puts forward a church outside the Canadian reality. With the design talent behind the logo, a way of incorporating the phrase in both officiallanguages could easily be achieved. If we are to be “in Canada” as our name states, then letterhead, website, and most certainly the tagline on this logo should be bilingual. I am aware of the costs for having a bilingual website, but bilingual letterhead and the text on this logo are minimal in terms of dollars. Not only is “bilingual” important for Québec, but there are French énclaves throughout the country.

I realize that our church in Canada uses many ethnic languages (I served a German- language parish), but all of us are included in this one nation that is officially bilingual and publishes, announces and prints in French and English. Should we not recognize our place within the Canadian reality and amend this logo to include French? If we are to speak of “winds of change” and inclusivity, perhaps we can indicate this by being inclusive of the constitutional languages of Canada. —Pastor Eric Dyck, Montreal