Postings on our website related to Right Relations with our Aboriginal neighbours appear below.
To the right is a Twitter feed from @KUCtalks. You are invited to follow and join in the discussions.
For background, visit the Aboriginal Relations page.
It is also providing those communities with full electronic copies of all documents in its possession related to these institutions. These records were submitted to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and are currently archived at both the United Church of Canada Archives and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
This initiative, called Bringing the Children Home, is an act of reparation and responds to Calls to Action 73–76 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. It also reflects the theological imperative that we are called to love one another, to share our gifts and resources, and to build a community of mutuality and respect. The funding was approved by the United Church’s General Council Executive in the summer of 2021. The United Church Foundation has also provided funding.
“The United Church of Canada was an active participant in a system that ripped Indigenous families apart by forcibly removing the children from their homes,” says the church’s Moderator, the Right Rev. Dr. Richard Bott. “We played a critical role in this and we as a church need to be more action-focused in our commitment to reconciliation.”
The General Secretary, Rev. Michael Blair, notes, “Our history as settlers is a ‘we can fix this’ attitude. Clearly, we have been very wrong. We need to listen before we act, and support communities as they define their needs.”
For more information on Bringing the Children Home, visit the United Church website: https://united-church.ca/social-action/justice-initiatives/reconciliation-and-indigenous-justice/bringing-children-home or email BringingChildrenHome@united-church.ca
SOURCE United Church of Canada
For further information: For media inquiries, please contact Aaron Gallegos, agallegos@united-church.ca, 416-605-8579
4. Water: Shared Responsibilities (Choose from January 31: 5:00-7:30PM or February 25: 9:30-Noon)
Read on for context.
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“Elements of Truth: BEFORE RECONCILIATION”.
KUC’s Reconciliation Exploration Circle recommends that you participate in this ongoing Workshop Series online. It is presented by kinSHIFT, an Indigenous-led initiative supporting settlers to gain the knowledge and skills to cultivate respectful relationships with Indigenous peoples and places.
Learn, ask questions, & make mistakes in a safe environment, while building a foundation for engaging meaningfully with Indigenous peoples.
An experiential workshop series of 4 x 2.5 hour workshops guided by Indigenous values: reciprocity, inclusion, curiosity, and humility. There are different dates to choose from.
1. Earth: Impacts of Colonization (Choose from January 10: 5:00-7:30PM or February 4: 9:30-noon)
2. Air: Expanding Perspective (Choose from January 17: 5:00-7:30PM or February 11: 9:30-Noon)
3. Fire: Awareness of Power and Privilege (Choose from January 24: 5:00-7:30PM or February 18: 9:30-Noon)
4. Water: Shared Responsibilities (Choose from January 31: 5:00-7:30PM or February 25: 9:30-Noon)
SHARED HISTORY means we all know where we come from.
COLLECTIVE PURPOSE is coming together to make the change we want – to restore healthy places and shared humanity for all.
We are highly encouraged to attend all four workshops (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) but they are designed in a way that you can learn, participate, and contribute in each workshop if you can’t attend them all.
There is a cost associated with the workshops; if you require financial assistance please contact the KUC office.
CBC Fifth Estate Program on Former Kamloops Residential School Discovery
KUC’s Reconciliation Exploration Circle encourages everyone to tune into next week’s episode of CBC’s The Fifth Estate on the discovery of the unmarked graves at the Kamloops Residential School. Thursday, Jan. 13th, 2022 at 9 pm on CBC
If you miss this screening it can be watched free on-demand, or online on CBC GEM https://gem.cbc.ca/media/the-fifth-estate/s47
Reading Circle for Reconciliation (for those who registered)
Wed. Nov. 24 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. online virtual circle format. (Registration is now closed.)
“We have described for you a mountain. We have shown you the path to the top. We call upon you to do the climbing.” – Commissioner Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, June 2015.
Want to become more familiar with the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action? From 2010 to 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission listened to and documented the experiences of survivors, families and communities affected by the Indian Residential Schools. In June 2015 the Commission published its final report, which outlined 94 Calls to Action for Canadians. Please join us online as each of us shares in the reading of the 94 Calls to Action and explores what our next steps might be on this climb up the mountain.
This event is hosted by Amnesty International Okanagan, City of Kelowna Cultural Services, Central Okanagan United Church, Kelowna Sunrise Rotary Honouring Indigenous People Circle and Okanagan Regional Library.
This is a note from Michael on October 1st.
The image is from an orange shirt with art created by indigenous artist Mike Alexander.
“Yesterday was the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Many of us are beginning to ask ourselves what the next steps might be. John Snow, the Regional Indigenous Minister for the United Church has suggested that we look at the live into the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. Click here to read them. Are there recommendations that we can personally or as a faith community consider implementing?
A few more links to material that KUC produced for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation:
Full Interview with John Snow, Regional Indigenous Minister, United Church
Interview with Tony Stevenson, Residential School Survivor.
Last Sunday’s Orange Shirt Worship Service from KUC
In addition, I did an interview with Edge of that national church. Edge looks at the growing and cutting edge of the United Church:
Here is an interview Michael Caveney did with Edge of the national church on Engagement
Blessings,
Michael”
We will be joined by a very special guest, Elder Alberta Billy, who was one of the first voices calling for the United Church of Canada to apologize for our Indian Residential School legacy. We are grateful for Alberta Billy being able to spend this time with the gathering Town Hall community. We hope that you can join, if able.
Topic: PMRC Town Hall Meeting
Time: September 29, 2021 11am Pacific / 12pm Mountain
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://united-church.zoom.us/j/95084573416?pwd=WTk1TzluNzVvTDRZTm5rSmhseU5MUT09
Meeting ID: 950 8457 3416
Password: 940334
One tap mobile
+17789072071,,95084573416# Canada
+14388097799,,95084573416# Canada
Thursday, June 24, 2021 – the Day of John the Baptist
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
Psalm 137
Oh my beloveds in the Pacific Mountain Region.
I look around at all that’s familiar and it feels like quicksand. I’m in a foreign land, one that I do not recognize in the spit and polish of empire. Kamloops. Brandon. Cowessess First Nation.To date we know of 1323 unmarked graves; 1323 choices made, times when names were removed or unrecorded.
The foreign land is this now-eyes-wide-open Canada, this Canada that can no longer be rendered unseen, unheard, hidden. There are 1323 stories telling us a truth that has been whispered for generations; and we know the number will rise.
How long Oh God? Indigenous people of the region and settlers alike are crying. Indigenous people are crying out the anguish of blood spilled, spirits broken, stories ended. Settler people see that this is on our hands, not in direct experience, but in the stories we’ve not wanted to hear. All of this is happening. Indigenous and Settlers wearing the evidence. If there is any common ground, it’s that we are all in this mess together. We experience it differently, but we are in it. Our humanity weeps for another’s.
In prayer today, then, I invite you to light a candle and sit in silence, the silence you’d experience in the quiet of a cemetery. There are no words. There are only sighs too deep for words.
The only assurance I can offer is that we have each other. We have the hope of a Mystery that tells us over and over again that we are one and that we are not alone. May that hope, and that promise get us through this day.
With a broken heart, I send my love and peace.
Rev. S. Blair Odney
Some of you have inquired about where to obtain orange shirts to honour the legacy of Residential schools. Cost is approximately $26 each, which includes tax and shipping, and the cost is paid directly to The Orange Shirt Society.
The KUC Reconciliation Exploration Circle is going to put in an order for the congregation. Please contact the office at office@kamloopsunited.ca if you are interested in ordering a shirt. Or, the shirts can be ordered directly from the Orange Shirt Society website https://www.orangeshirtday.org/.
The official Orange Shirt for 2021 is the one in the image with this post. (Shirts are available in English or in French)
ABOUT THE ARTIST
.Shayne Hommy, a Grade 11 First Nation Cree student at South Peace Secondary School, in Dawson Creek.
She said, “Orange Shirt Day means justice and awareness for indigenous people.”
My design is three little indigenous girls from different tribes, holding hands to represent the unity of our people, (indigenous peoples) resilience and strength throughout the many years of suffering indigenous peoples had to face.”
