journal of the associated parishes OPEN for liturgy and mission

Summer 2001 Vol. 47 No. 2

Santa Fé Statement of the Council of Associated Parishes

he Council of the Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission, meeting in Santa Fé, New Mexico, in April 2001, calls upon the Inside TChurch to rethink completely its practice and understanding of mission. This issue deals entirely with Our hearts burned within us as our Canadian members shared the reconsidering the mission of the church. See also . . . story of how the Anglican Church of Canada embraced and implement- ed the government’s policy of assimilation of indigenous peoples as an Associated Parishes opportunity to further its mission. Children were taken out of their asks complete rethinking of homes and removed to distant residential schools, run by the churches. mission ...... 2 Grave injustices were committed by the Anglican and other churches, Doug Tindal: Where we have with dire consequences to the peoples and ultimately to the churches been ...... 4 themselves. As a Council dedicated to the renewal of liturgy and mission, we Gordon Beardy: My hope is asked ourselves how the Church could have come to be an agent of the that we will journey together .6 kind of “mission” revealed in this story. It prompts us to acknowledge The system was wrong ...... 8 our own inherent racism, past collusion, and present complicity in such policies. Evangelism predicated upon the conversion of individual Catherine Morrison: Steps on a hearts to a relationship with Jesus is insufficient to prevent such evils healing path ...... 9 as the deprivation of culture, and may serve as little more than a means for achieving assimilation. The Gospel is not a possession of the A message from Archbishop Peers ...... 11 Church; nor a one-way gift; nor an instrument of the power of state or culture. Michael Peers: The way Accordingly, we urge the Episcopal Church to approach with caution forward ...... 12 the proposals of the U.S. Government for “faith-based initiatives,” to avoid the future occurrence of tragedies similar to those in Canada about Michael Peers: Excerpts from the presidential address ...... 13 which we heard. We further urge both churches to engage in the formation of faithful communities as signs of healing and reconcilia- Native bishop forgives church tion. and Primate ...... 16 We therefore call upon the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A., the Anglican Church of Canada, and our brothers and sisters in other Mark MacDonald: A renewed mission? ...... 18 denominations, to reconsider their foundational understanding of mis- sion, always beginning with God’s purpose for creation and the reign of I am the church ...... 20 justice on earth. 2 / Open / Summer 2001

Associated Parishes Council asks complete rethinking of mission

he Council of the Associated Par- During the 1860s, the Canadian gov- taking from you your language and ishes for Liturgy and Mission as- ernment and historic mission churches the signs of your identity. I am sorry, Tsembled in Santa Fé from April entered into a partnership to assimilate more than I can say, that in our schools 25-30, 2001, where we received a report indigenous peoples. They removed chil- so many were abused physically, sex- from our Canadian members on the present dren from their homes and put them in ually, culturally and emotionally. On crisis of the Anglican Church of Canada. residential schools hundreds of miles behalf of the Anglican Church of Can- Though most of us were aware of the away. This deprived them of their culture, ada, I present our apology. [For the situation, listening to the story and re- their families and communities, and placed full text of the Archbishop’s apology, flecting on it stirred our hearts and minds them in situations where they were vul- see p. 11 of this issue of OPEN.] in a new way. nerable. The loss and suffering was uni- versal. In some instances, children were However, the church’s good but in- subject to physical and sexual abuse. Yet complete work, and the developing con- the churches embraced the government’s sciousness and initiatives of the native policy of assimilation that led to these peoples, led to lawsuits against the church.

O PEN is published four times a year by the Associ- conditions as an opportunity to further The costs of litigation and the potential ated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission. Copy dead- their mission. bankruptcy of General Synod have placed lines are March 1, June 1, Sept. 1, and Dec. 1 for We heard from our Canadian mem- the Anglican Church of Canada in crisis, publication the following month. Editorial office: bers about the harm done to aboriginal and caused it to rethink its legacy of Ruth A. Meyers, OPEN Editor, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, 2122 Sheridan Rd., Evan- peoples and communities, about the An- mission. ston, IL 60201, office (847) 328-9300, FAX (847) glican Church of Canada’s pain and strug- Members of the AP Council heard 328-9624, E-MAIL: [email protected] gle to come to terms with its role in other stories of peoples dominated by the operating such schools, and the uncer- powers of empire in South Africa and Editor Ruth A. Meyers tainty about the way forward. Thirty years Australia, stories of loss and devastation, Editorial Committee ago, the church withdrew from its partic- but also of dignity and hope. We read Ruth A. Meyers, Elizabeth Morris Downie, Or- ipation in residential schools and from the from a statement, delivered in January monde Plater, Marilyn Haskel, and John W. B. Hill. policy of assimilation. Over the next twen- 2001, by Rodney Bobiwash, Director of Manuscripts (preferably WordPerfect files on 3.5- ty years steps were taken to build a new the Forum for Global Exchange, to the inch disk), cartoons, letters, and other communica- relationship with aboriginal peoples. The World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, tions may be sent to the editor at the editorial office. journey toward a new relationship has Brazil. Speaking with the voice of indig- been one of self-determination and find- enous peoples, Bobiwash challenged the Book Review Editor Please send book review copies to Elizabeth Morris ing new voice for indigenous Anglicans, people of the Americas to examine anew Downie, 106 E. Elizabeth St., Fenton, MI 48430- and one of repentance and new behavior their history, a history premised not only 2322 or [email protected]. for non-indigenous Anglicans. In 1993, on the devastation of native populations at a national native convocation, the pri- through violence and disease, but also on Production Manager Ormonde Plater Proofreader Art Jenkins mate, Archbishop Michael Peers, apolo- the enslavement of black people: gized for the church’s involvement in The Associated Parishes, Inc., is a nonprofit orga- residential schools: Black people in America share with nization. Office: PO Box 27141, Baltimore, MD Indigenous people staggering rates of 21230-0141, (410) 752-0877, call before faxing. Membership dues of $30 per year ($15 for students) I accept and confess before God and incarceration, illiteracy, infant mor- include subscription to OPEN and all brochures. you, our failures in the residential tality, ill health, and lack of opportu- schools. We failed you. We failed nity. Dwelling in inner-city ghettos Coordinator Ronald H. Miller ourselves. We failed God. I am sorry, they are further victimized by eco- Web site www.associatedparishes.org more than I can say, that we were part nomic and environmental racism and of a system which took you and your a social system that holds out the hand Copyright © 2001 by Associated Parishes, Inc. All children from home and family. I am of plenty while striking with the other. rights reserved. sorry, more than I can say, that we ISSN 1071-5614 tried to remake you in our image, Open / Summer 2001 / 3

Rather, genuine conversion involves turning to Christ, individual hearts to a relationship with Jesus Christ is not adequate to address becoming members of living communities such evils as the deprivation of culture within the Body of Christ, and discerning and the breakup of families. Rather, gen- uine conversion involves turning to Christ, through the Spirit what is being redeemed becoming members of living communi- in one’s life and culture ties within the Body of Christ, and dis- and what must be renounced. cerning through the Spirit what is being redeemed in one’s life and culture and We therefore urge the Church to engage what must be renounced. in the formation of Christian communities We therefore urge the Church to en- gage in the formation of Christian com- that live their liturgy, munities that live their liturgy, becoming becoming true signs of healing and reconciliation true signs of healing and reconciliation among peoples. among peoples. And we earnestly call upon the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A. and the Anglican Church of Canada, and our brothers and sisters in other denomi- Bobiwash restated a plea from Aborigi- awareness among the U.S. members of nations, to reconsider their foundational nal people, made in December 1999 in the AP Council of our own situation, understanding of mission, always begin- Belem, Brazil, that the non-Native people convicting us of our own racism, our own ning with God’s purpose for creation and there might go into their cities: collusion with the forces of domination, for the reign of love, justice, and peace on our own need to repent and begin anew. earth. . . . and standing there in the wilder- Listening to these stories of mission ness of those urban deserts, water the history also convinced us that participa- parched streets of humanity with their tion in the agenda of government, indus- tears. That they would weep for the try, or other “principalities and powers,” tens of millions of our ancestors bur- as part of the church’s mission strategy, ied beneath that pavement and con- demands our caution and prophetic dis- crete; that they weep for the earth cernment. In particular, we believe that despoiled by daily living; that they the proposed “faith-based initiatives” of weep for their brothers and sisters the current U.S. administration puts the Editor’s note going without bread; and finally, that church seriously at risk of repeating trag- they weep for themselves. And then, edies similar to those in Canada about having those tears wash away the which we heard. This issue is a special issue of OPEN, scales of willful ignorance from their All of us on the Council recognized providing background and updated news eyes, that they could then join us in the the imperative to confront the implica- relating to the Santa Fé statement of the redemption of the Earth, in the salva- tions and results of the cultural domina- Associated Parishes Council. Members tion of humankind, and in the recla- tion in which we have participated and in of the Council were deeply moved by the mation of history. (see http:// many instances continue to participate, reports of our Canadian members regard- www.ceji_iocj.org/English/articles/ and to examine honestly and carefully our ing the efforts toward reconciliation with FourthWorldBobiwash(Ja01).htm) theology and patterns of mission. We Aboriginal members of the Anglican reflected that the good news of the Gospel Church of Canada. As a Council, we felt called to stand is news because it tells of an offer of Several articles in this issue are re- with our brothers and sisters in the Angli- abundant life. What is “good” about it is printed with permission from Legacy and can Church of Canada, both indigenous discovered in the meaning which that Hope, a special edition of MinistryMat- and non-indigenous, learning from their news has for the life and experience of ters, which is published three times a year experience as they seek to find their way those who hear it. Mission is therefore as by the Anglican Church of Canada for forward into a new, fuller understanding much about listening to the Gospel as it is clergy and lay leaders. Other articles are of their life together in Christ. Hearing of discovered by local experience, illumi- reprinted from “Residential Schools: Leg- the crisis in the Canadian churches, to- nated by the presence of the Spirit in acy and Response,” a website of the An- gether with the experience of indigenous indigenous cultures and traditions, as it is glican Church of Canada (http:// peoples in other parts of the world and about heralding the Gospel in Jesus’ name. www.anglican.ca/ministry/rs), and others indigenous Christians in other provinces We believe that mission and evange- have been taken from church news servic- of the Anglican Communion, heightened lism predicated upon the conversion of es. 4 / Open / Summer 2001

Where we have been

Many former school workers attempt eign place called residential school dis- D OUG TINDAL to answer complaints of harsh disci- oriented First Nations children. They felt efore Confederation and up pline with the argument that “we had lost, confused and fearful. Residential through the first half of the twen- to have rules” because there were a school deepened this wounding by si- Btieth century, the policy of the large number of students relative to lencing the children in ways which shamed government of Canada towards the First the few staff. This is true as far as it and violated both the children’s native Nations was assimilation. It was thought goes. But such a legitimate observa- world as well as the children themselves.” that the quickest route to “civilizing” and tion does not extend far enough to On the same topic, Miller wrote: “converting” the indigenous population explain and extenuate discipline with “There is a consensus in the testimony of was to forcibly remove indigenous chil- “five belts,” punishment by a heated former residential school students that dren from their homes and communities cigarette lighter, or forcing students the worst aspects of these institutions and to place them in residential schools. who became ill from eating bad food were the loneliness and emotional depri- There was considerable variation in to consume their vomit. These actions vation, the inadequate food and clothing, how the schools operated, but in many were abuse, pure and brutally simple. and the excessive work and punishment.” cases the children were forbidden to speak If it be answered that such evils were Undergirding it all was a system of law their mother tongues, their cultures were perpetrated by an aberrant minority, and culture which scorned Native identity condemned as barbaric and their spiritu- that observation does not refute the and values. ality as heathen. By the end of the nine- obligation that both churches and gov- “By the time the modern residential teenth century, a relationship had devel- ernment had to protect and cherish a school system was established, the pre- oped between the government and church- population for which they were dou- vailing missionary belief was that, to es, with the government establishing pol- bly responsible. The Inuit and status Christianize Natives, it was essential also icy and providing most of the funds for Indian children who attended resi- to remake them culturally,” Miller has these schools. dential schools were the legal respon- written. Between 1820 and 1969, the Anglican sibility of the government because in Acknowledging all this, there remain Church of Canada was involved in ad- law they were wards of the crown. layers of complexity in the history of ministering twenty-six Indian Residen- The missionary staff operated in loco residential schools. One of these is the tial Schools. By 1969 the church had parentis [“in place of the parents”], number of former students who report withdrawn from the residential schools incurring thereby a moral, if not a good experiences. “Too many ex-pupils project and committed itself to building legal, obligation to do better . . . have spoken positively of the experience more just relationships with its Indige- If there are explanations for poor as a whole, or of particular school work- nous members, as well as to advocacy on food, heavy workloads, and harsh dis- ers who befriended them, or even of the behalf of Indigenous people. cipline, there can be no justification balance for positive consequences that To study these residential schools is to of the subjection of young boys and they struck after weighing both sides, to enter into an area of Canadian history in girls to the sexual appetites of the justify ignoring or downplaying such which stark issues of good and evil inter- male staff members. The failure of memories,” Miller writes. mingle with complexity, paradox and church organizations to take action to To an extent, residential schools rep- ambiguity. weed out sexual exploiters leaves the resent one piece of a much larger pattern First and foremost there is an over- missionaries open to severe censure. of relationships between Aboriginal peo- whelmingly negative assessment. There ples and European colonizers: are specific incidents of physical and sex- There is also compelling evidence of per- ual abuse which can neither be excused vasive emotional abuse, which many be- [T]here are many factors other than nor justified by any standard of civilized lieve was even more damaging than the residential school, for example, the behavior. physical abuse. Indian Act, as well as racism and In a book entitled Shingwauk’s Vi- A 1994 study of residential schools poverty, which have impacted and sion, the first comprehensive study of entitled Breaking the Silence, which was which continue to impact on the lives residential schools, historian J. R. Miller sponsored by the Assembly of First Na- of First Nations people. The life of an described the inhuman situations they tions, noted: “Being separated from their individual, family or community is engendered thus: world and thrown into a strange and for- the outcome of a complex web of Open / Summer 2001 / 5

historical and contemporary events and ethical responsibility shared by all righteously condemn missionaries which cannot be reduced to one fac- Canadians. Church and state were both in totally for the damage done in resi- tor. (Breaking the Silence) accord with the thinking of mainstream dential schools might well remember (European) Canadians. The legacy of res- that a century ago it was people like For a number of individual students, idential schools, and the treatment of First them–the people who cared about the residential schools may have presented a Nations people beyond the schools, be- Native communities–who staffed positive alternative to the other available longs to all of us. these schools. choices. In many cases, the food that was Miller writes: criticized as poor and inadequate was still While broadening the circle of responsi- superior to and more plentiful than what It is fitting that a royal commission bility to include the Canadian public, was available at home. Similarly, while operating in the name of the people of Miller says bluntly, “Christian churches reporting on the trauma suffered by chil- Canada has looked into the issue be- have not done enough to atone for their dren at residential schools, Breaking the cause in a fundamental sense the party share of responsibility for the harm resi- Silence notes: “At the same time, howev- that bears most responsibility for the dential schools did.” er, it also became evident that residential residential school story is the people The Anglican Church of Canada has school may have been a place which of Canada. Churches and federal bu- acknowledged this harm and is continu- limited trauma for some First Nations reaucracy no doubt were the instru- ing to address its responsibility. Stressing children who came from very difficult ments that carried out specific acts or the broader responsibility of Canadians family situations.” neglected to do what needed to be does not limit the church’s responsibility. None of the foregoing is intended to done in particular cases. But behind It does recognize, however, that action on minimize the extent of the harm that was both the churches and the government the part of the churches will not be suffi- done in the schools. None of it justifies so stood the populace, who in a democ- cient. Even the resources of the federal much as a single act of abuse. Nonethe- racy such as Canada ultimately are government will not be adequate to bring less, it is part of the record, and necessary responsible. In the late 1880s and healing to Aboriginal peoples, unless those to an understanding of context. There since, it was, in fact, the enlightened resources are matched by a change of were as many as eighty residential schools and the progressive few in that society heart on the part of Canadians. operating during the period from the late who stirred themselves to volunteer 1800s to the 1960s. Estimates of the num- to serve in the residential schools. It Doug Tindal is Director of Information ber of First Nations children in residential was the idealists who became involved Resources for the Anglican Church of schools vary. Miller estimates about a in missions and residential schools; Canada. This article is reprinted from third of six- to fifteen-year-old Aborigi- the mass of the population was indif- Legacy and Hope, a special edition of nal children, or about seven thousand ferent or hostile to the interests of MinistryMatters, a publication of the students, were in residential schools at Native people. Those who today self- Anglican Church of Canada. any one time. The federal government, Miller says, “looked to its Native educational policy to bring about Aboriginal economic self- We’d hate to see you go! sufficiency, principally through cultural assimilation and vocational instruction. We regret that for a number of members this will be their last An important underlying generalization copy of OPEN. Please take a minute to check the address block on about Ottawa’s approach was that it al- ways sought to accomplish this goal as the back cover. The top line gives the month and year of your inexpensively as possible.” membership expiration. For a number of readers it says “LAST By 1883 the government had intro- COPY”. duced a per capita grant system by which Given the part-time nature of the Coordinator position and the it hoped to control the cost of schooling press of other business, renewal notices are mailed in the anniver- for Aboriginal students. A feature of this financing system included the use of stu- sary month, and there is no other follow-up. Please don’t lose dents as unpaid labor. your membership by inadvertence or mail error. Please check the Church and government relationships address with each issue and renew in a timely fashion. come to the fore in determining questions There are important issues facing the Church on which you will of legal liability. In a larger sense, though, find OPEN of use and interest. focusing on the churches and the govern- ment misses an essential point–the moral 6 / Open / Summer 2001

My hope is that we will journey together

G ORDON BEARDY I also remember one day turning the water tap on would like to begin by telling you and as it was running about my personal history. I poked my finger up into the faucet II was raised in the small northwestern and wondered where all the water comes from. Ontario community of Bearskin Lake. This OjiCree community is approximate- I was called into the office ly 240 miles north of Sioux Lookout. My and told that I was not to do that. parents spoke only their native language. It is here that my dad carried out his When I was caught speaking my language traditional livelihood of hunting, trap- I was again called into the office ping and fishing, and the only race of and taught that my language was forbidden there. people I was exposed to were native peo- ple, the OjiCree people. My early child- hood was spent playing with friends, run- ning with them, laughing, hunting and toward home mile after mile, not knowing sleep overcame me. I remember falling talking about life, as we knew it and what where I was going. down asleep and losing my friends. we could envision it would be at that age. Of my time at Celia Jeffrey School I When I awoke I felt I had no other My father and mother told me about clearly remember many nights I went to alternative and went to the train station my grandfather who had signed a treaty bed crying–lonely, afraid and feeling no and hid in the dark. I sat there waiting, not with the white people, the government, sense of security anymore because my caring where I would go or if I would die. which was an agreement about the use of parents, my friends were not there. This was the lowest point in my life. the land we lived on, and that its inten- I also remember one day turning the Imagine a boy of eleven wanting to die. tions were to share the land and its re- water tap on and as it was running I poked As I sat at the station in the dark a little sources and live in peace with other peo- my finger up into the faucet and won- dog came barking up to me and a white ple. They also told me about my grandfa- dered where all the water comes from. I lady came upon me and said, “Can I help ther’s dream, that one of his grandchil- was called into the office and told that I you?” I gave her a look that said, “Leave dren would become a leader for the com- was not to do that. When I was caught me alone.” She pointed out to me where munity. speaking my language I was again called she lived and said I was welcome to come Their Christian and traditional teach- into the office and taught that my lan- to her house. Later, my hunger got the ings and values were passed on to me. To guage was forbidden there. In my young best of me and I knocked on her door. She respect myself, others of different color, mind I could not comprehend the ratio- invited me in. race or language, and the Creator’s cre- nale behind this. Why could I not be me, I entered her home reluctantly, ate a ation. I also heard about other children the person my parents had taught me to sandwich and went to bed. For two days I being taken from the community to attend be? Why was being an Indian not impor- stayed with her, watching her knit and school somewhere, even though we had a tant? waiting for her son to come home from day school in the community during the I remember a lot of shameful things school to play. I couldn’t figure out why summer months. that happened there to my friends. I be- she hadn’t called the cops to take me back When I was five years old I had a came angry, and my resentment built up to the school. Finally, I asked her if she dream about angels coming to me and to a point where I vowed that every white knew that I had run away from the Celia they took me to a church. My mother also person would pay for this. Jeffrey School. She said she knew that, had a dream, at the time I was born, that My self-esteem (spirit) became weak but wanted to know why I had run away someday I would become a leader in the to a point of brokenness and I had to get from the school. church. away. I rebelled and ran away from that Her “why” was the key word that has When I was about ten, I too was sent school with three other friends. We walked stayed with me to this day. It meant that away to school in Kenora, Ontario, where for two nights to Redditt without food. I another person (a white person) cared I attended the Celia Jeffrey Residential remember walking by night and hiding by enough about me to ask. I said, “Your School. I remember vividly looking back day, being very hungry, and the lack of people are all mean,” and she said, “No, Open / Summer 2001 / 7

I extend my hand to those who meant well and grieve today. Both of our people need healing. I extend my hand to you who are here so that we might journey together.

not all of them.” She said she would had a dream and I heard, “God loves your peaceful. Forgiveness instills in us new accompany me back to the school. And people and he loves the others just as hope a new sense of direction, a new she did, she intervened for me, and she much.” sense of journeying together. spoke with the principal. I wasn’t pun- I realized that I needed to deal with my I have come, though it is hard, and ished for running away. anger and my resentment. I had to purge often difficult. I want to forgive and con- She had instilled in me some sense of the seeds of anger that were planted in me tinue to work with you in ways that will trust. From that day I tried to please at the residential school. I remember griev- bring healing for both our nations. within the system and hung in there to the ing, asking God to set aside my thoughts I extend my hand to those who meant end of the school year. of revenge, to lead me, to guide me, to be well and grieve today. Both of our people I returned home that summer and I the Lord of my life. need healing. I extend my hand to you asked: “Please Dad, don’t send me back.” Two things that came to mind: who are here so that we might journey My older brother, who had been to resi- first, the woman in Redditt who cared together. dential school, knew why I didn’t want to for me and who had planted a good seed My hope is that we will journey to- go back and he spoke up for me, and I was in my life, who showed me there is hope gether. Sometimes we struggle. By the able to stay home and not return. despite abuses and that we can respond to grace of God and his Son, we will over- To this day I have not returned to victims of residential schools with a com- come. school. I have always felt a lack of trust in passionate and kind heart; these institutions. That year I returned to and secondly, the understanding that Gordon Beardy is Bishop of Keewatin. the land with my dad and lived my tradi- God loves each of us and that he wants us This article is adapted from an address tional way of life. I didn’t speak English to come together to address past mis- by Bishop Beardy to the General Assem- again until I was twenty-five years old. I takes, right the wrongs. We cannot repeat bly of the Presbyterian Church. It is re- became a leader in the community as a these attitudes, and that it is a lesson to printed from Legacy and Hope, a special Councillor and as Chief. I have always guide us to a brighter future. edition of MinistryMatters, a publication strived to help young people, and to instill I have had very mixed emotions com- of the Anglican Church of Canada. good values for a better life. ing here. One side of me was telling me to My calling to enter into the ministry run. This is the first time I have met the came when I was thirty-eight years old, people who ran the residential school of and it was at mother’s urging, because of Celia Jeffrey School. her dream. I studied and was ordained The other side of me said, it is time to three years later, believing in my heart come to meet you, to speak about hope, that I would be serving my native people. walking together, grieving and healing My bishop came one day and asked together, and journeying together toward me to speak in the churches in the south- wholeness. ern part of the diocese. It was then that I I have come to say yes–forgiveness discovered that I still carried resentment leads us to peace within ourselves. in my heart toward white people. I then Forgiveness also teaches us to become 8 / Open / Summer 2001

The system was wrong

avid Ashdown was nineteen years “What I’ve come to understand is that it wasn’t a old, an undergraduate student at good system, but it had a few bad people in it; it was D the University of Saskatchewan, when the study Beyond Traplines was a bad system, but it had some good people. There published in 1969. was systemic evil present in the residential schools.” “It talked about a whole new approach to the church’s relationship with Native people,” he recalls. “I read it and was another, a deputy minister; several be- “There are a lot of former residential quite excited by it. People were just be- came chiefs, mayors, or business leaders. school staff out there who are really hurt- ginning to talk about advocacy work and Ashdown stays in touch with some of ing now–not the ones who deliberately self-determination, and I felt called to be them still. perpetrated abuse, but the caring ones part of all that.” After four years it was time to resume who were caught up in that system, and So when he heard, a little while later, his studies, then continue on to theology who now feel that everything they did, that there was a vacancy for the position and ordination. He has served as a parish everything they stood for, has all come to of Senior Boys Supervisor at Stringer priest and diocesan staff member in naught. Hall in Inuvik, it seemed natural to inter- Qu’Appelle and Athabasca. Last Febru- “Some of them are simply denying rupt his studies and head north. Stringer ary he became executive archdeacon of that part of their lives and trying to pre- Hall, the Anglican residence, and Grolier the diocese of Keewatin. tend it never happened. Some are saying, Hall, the mirror image Roman Catholic Along the way, the work that he had ‘Oh, but there were so many good people residence, sat side by side, and the stu- been proud to be part of has become involved’–which is true, as far as it goes, dents who lived in the two residences instead an object of revulsion. Ashdown but it doesn’t change the fact that the attended what by 1970 had become a has spent a lot of hours thinking, talking system was wrong. public school named after Sir Alexander and praying in order to gain some per- “What I’ve come to understand is that Mackenzie–“Sam’s school,” after the ini- spective. One turning point came when a it wasn’t a good system, but it had a few tials, for short. close friend, an OjiCree survivor of a bad people in it; it was a bad system, but “I’d say I was well-intentioned but residential school, found out that Ash- it had some good people. There was sys- naive,” said Ashdown in a recent inter- down had been a dorm supervisor. temic evil present in the residential view. “I wanted to be involved in estab- “It was a major struggle for us over a schools.” lishing this new relationship, and work- period of weeks,” Ashdown says. “Ulti- Ashdown accepts that each person will ing in a residential school was probably mately, we were able to pray together, have to find his or her own path to healing. the worst possible way of doing that.” accept each other, and come to see that in “For me, the shift over the last few years Ashdown remembers his introduction different ways, both of us were survi- has been made possible by being able to to the school vividly. “My plane landed vors.” sit down with survivors of the schools and about noon. The first boys were due to Another turning point came when an- struggle together; people talking to each arrive about 4. I was given three keys, told other OjiCree talked about a conversa- other, not trying to make what happened to record each boy’s disc number [the tion he’d had with a former school admin- worse than what it was on the one hand, or federal government identification num- istrator. In response to complaints about denying the evil on the other, just talking ber], issue them each a set of clothes and the school, the administrator said, “But honestly about what happened.” assign them a bed. That was the extent of look at all the good that came out of it. Wherever the path of healing leads, he my training. Look at yourself, for example.” Ash- says, the church must be ready to play its “By midnight, with the boys still arriv- down’s friend commented: “Yeah, I part. ing, if I’d had any money I think I would learned to survive there. But why is it that have quit and gone home.” Instead, he when one of us succeeds, you assume it’s This article was written by Doug Tindal, stayed four years. “The students were because of you; and when we fail, it’s in Director of Information Resources for very good, very bright. I was proud to be spite of you.” the Anglican Church of Canada. It is part of it. I had a sense that these young The comment rocked Ashdown. “It reprinted from Legacy and Hope, a spe- people would be the future leadership of shook me because I recognized myself in cial edition of MinistryMatters, a publi- the Northwest Territories.” it. I recognized that that had unconscious- cation of the Anglican Church of Cana- And they were. One became premier; ly been part of my thinking. da. Open / Summer 2001 / 9

Steps on a healing path

my job to work on advocacy with Aborig- itual Renewal.” C ATHERINE MORRISON inal peoples regardless of religious affil- I believe that part of the theme of ur hope as church, society and iation. A major part of my work was to redistribution of wealth lies not just in Aboriginal peoples rests in es- educate non-Indigenous peoples in the asking those who are rich to give to the Otablishing new relationships of church about social realities for Aborigi- poor but also in recognizing that we all trust and promise and working together nal peoples and to foster the understand- have gifts, that we must value the gifts of for a better future. ing that is essential to a healthy society. others and learn to accept them gracious- Jubilee with its three themes–release To ensure that the voice of the people ly. The ministry, theology and love of from bondage, redistribution of wealth is heard, the church has the gifts, experi- Native peoples in our church is a wealth and renewal of the earth–is a vision that ence and wisdom of the Anglican Council that we are learning to recognize. speaks with potential and hope to Aborig- of Indigenous Peoples, which is made up It has been said that the Old Testament inal and non-Aboriginal people alike. It is of representatives from all parts of Cana- Jubilee year was to be a time of new a vision that we have been living in the da. The council meets to envision what beginnings, of redressing social wrongs, church for some time. the church could be for our families, our of renewed spirituality through a return to We began to live the first theme in the communities and our communion. right relationships with our brothers and mid sixties, when we realized that poli- The Jubilee theme of redistribution of sisters. This is also the spirit of a covenant cies and attitudes in our own church wealth is also evident in our church. The between our church and Aboriginal peo- formed a kind of bondage for Aboriginal church’s true wealth is the gifts, wisdom ples, which is now five years old. people. We realized that residential school and efforts of people in community. For The road towards covenant began in policies had been a mistake and that we many years, our church lacked a way for 1992, when the General Synod launched had to determine what else in church and Native people to gather and discern their a discussion aimed at picturing what the society did not stand up to Christian prin- voice and find their vision. face of ministry would look like in the ciples. Then in 1985 the church agreed to Anglican Church for the next one hun- In 1967, General Synod commissioned support a National Native Convocation. dred years. Although there was Indige- a study, which took two years to com- When it was finally held, the convocation nous representation in this process, in plete. The report, entitled Beyond Tra- turned out to be an affirming and surpris- some parts of Canada, there was little or plines, was startling. ing experience for many participants. no interaction with Indigenous peoples. It was also a turning point for our Out of the first convocation came a The Council of Native Ministries re- church, resulting in reform of how the recognition that future such gatherings acted to this concern and decided to invite church relates to Aboriginal peoples and are vital to the life of Indigenous minis- all Indigenous national committee mem- how ministry is conducted in Aboriginal tries in the church. It was decided to hold bers to join it to discuss these issues. communities. As a church we have made a convocation every three to four years. Indigenous representatives decided that a commitment to no longer do things for At the second convocation in 1993 the package was not appropriate for In- Aboriginal peoples, but rather to do things many people spoke of their experiences digenous Anglicans because it did not with them, sometimes at their direction. at residential school and of abuse they take into account the way Indigenous The first steps to self-determination often suffered there. The Primate, Arch- peoples consult, discuss or envision. The for Aboriginal Anglicans was in 1970 bishop Michael Peers, apologized on be- consultation package was rejected. when we hired an Aboriginal staff person half of the church. Then, for a day, the The council knew, however, that In- to oversee the church’s Native ministry elders reflected and prayed about what digenous peoples within the Anglican programs, and we saw the beginnings of they had heard and then returned to the Church were also being called to envision our National Aboriginal Council. Now, gathering. Our elder, Vi Smith, acknowl- a new church, so they began the process almost three decades later, the church has edged and accepted the apology. of preparing a document which outlined an Indigenous Ministries Coordinator, The call to gather again came in 1997 their plan for the future. It was realized who works with 225 Indigenous congre- when delegates met in Lethbridge, Alber- that a plan for the next hundred years gations to help them find new ways to ta. This third national gathering brought could not be envisioned until Indigenous worship and to help them find a voice in together Aboriginal Anglicans and non- peoples had fully expressed the feelings the church. Since the 1992 General Syn- Aboriginal partners to discern and raise and experiences of being in the church od, we have also had an Indigenous Jus- up God’s sacred call to covenant togeth- during the past hundred years. The sto- tice Coordinator. In this capacity, it was er. The theme was “Our Journey of Spir- ries, feelings and experiences were shared, 10 / Open / Summer 2001

port of the Anglican Church, ARC has produced an education and resource kit on the Royal Commission, entitled So Long as the Sun Rises and the River Flows. Since we accept the fact Since the 1969 Hendry Report entitled Beyond Traplines, the Anglican Church that the Anglican Church of Canada has strived to be an example in how it is a church that is “in the world,” deals with Aboriginal issues and has urged the federal government to embody princi- we must also accept responsibility ples of social justice in its own policies. We radically changed the structure of the to be a positive influence national office and our church commit- tees to respond more appropriately to on the world. Indigenous ministry and issues. We have made a very painful apology in response to the residential school problem and lived out that apology by continuing to make changes by going in directions that seem frightening but are where we hear the call of God. In the Hendry Report, we stated many tears were shed and hopes were expressed. environmental and economic problems. of the things that the Royal Commission A small working group of six people The theme of renewal of the earth was turned to twenty-five years later. In our from across the country and from differ- evident in the Royal Commission’s ex- church’s Covenant with Indigenous Peo- ent committees was formed and began to amination of issues such as land rights, ples we expressed the spirit regarding the work at writing down the hopes, fears and mining, and disposal of industrial and hope for a new relationship between Ab- memories into a document that could be nuclear waste. Although theological lan- original and non-Aboriginal peoples that presented to the wider church. This Cov- guage was not used, certainly the idea of was presented in the RCAP three years enant, as it came to be known, was accept- Native peoples being the traditional stew- later. Since the late 1950s we, as a nation- ed unanimously by the members and ulti- ards of the land was examined. al church, have been passing resolutions mately by the church. The report produced some 440 recom- that have changed church structure and The Covenant expresses the need of mendations for a new, positive relation- expressed our commitment to education Indigenous Anglicans to have part of who ship between Aboriginal and non-Ab- and advocacy. Since we accept the fact they are reflected in church structure and original peoples and provided a new re- that the Anglican Church of Canada is a policy, in the Christian education of adults porting of the history of Canada, in which church that is “in the world,” we must also and children and during the liturgy and Aboriginal peoples were significant ar- accept responsibility to be a positive in- use of the sacraments. chitects in the formation of our modern fluence on the world. This journey continues to be a priority nation. of the Anglican Church. Teachings and Many of the groups who made special At the time this article was written, Cathe- experiences about Covenant were at the submissions to the Royal Commission rine Morrison was Indigenous Justice heart of the Lethbridge gathering where have continued to work on education on Coordinator of the Anglican Church of the Covenant was signed and affirmed. Aboriginal issues and to pressure the gov- Canada. This article is adapted from a The theme of Jubilee, of people com- ernment to implement the recommenda- presentation Ms Morrison made to the ing together for a new beginning, is also tions. One of those groups is the Aborig- synod of the diocese of Cariboo. It is the spirit behind the Report of the Royal inal Rights Coalition (ARC), which in- reprinted from Legacy and Hope, a spe- Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. This cludes the Anglican Church as one of cial edition of MinistryMatters, a publi- report, when it was published in 1996, did thirteen member churches and about a cation of the Anglican Church of Cana- much to bring attention to ongoing social, dozen Aboriginal groups. With the sup- da. Open / Summer 2001 / 11

A message from the Primate, Archbishop Michael Peers, to the National Native Convocation

Minaki, Ontario cally, sexually, culturally and emotional- Reprinted from “Residential Schools: Friday, August 6, 1993 ly. Legacy and Response,” a website of the My Brothers and Sisters: On behalf of the Anglican Church of Anglican Church of Canada. Together here with you I have listened Canada, I present our apology. as you have told your stories of the resi- I do this at the desire of those in the dential schools. church like the National Executive Coun- Response to the Primate I have heard the voices that have spo- cil, who know some of your stories and Delivered at the National Native Convo- ken of pain and hurt experienced in the have asked me to apologize. cation by Vi Smith on behalf of the elders schools, and of the scars which endure to I do this in the name of many who do and participants. this day. not know these stories. I have felt shame and humiliation as I And I do this even though there are Minaki, Ontario, have heard of suffering inflicted by my those in the church who cannot accept the Saturday, August 7, 1993 people, and as I think of the part our fact that these things were done in our On behalf of this gathering, we ac- church played in that suffering. name. knowledge and accept the apology that I am deeply conscious of the sacred- As soon as I am home, I shall tell all the the Primate has offered on behalf of the ness of the stories that you have told, and bishops what I have said, and ask them to Anglican Church of Canada. I hold in the highest honor those who have cooperate with me and with the National It was offered from his heart with told them. Executive Council in helping this healing sincerity, sensitivity, compassion and I have heard with admiration the sto- at the local level. Some bishops have humility. We receive it in the same man- ries of people and communities who have already begun this work. ner. We offer praise and thanks to our worked at healing, and I am aware of how I know how often you have heard Creator for his courage. much healing is needed. words which have been empty because We know it wasn’t easy. Let us keep I also know that I am in need of heal- they have not been accompanied by ac- him in our hearts and prayers, that God ing, and my own people are in need of tions. I pledge to you my best efforts, and will continue to give him the strength and healing, and our church is in need of the efforts of our church at the national courage to continue with his tasks. healing. Without that healing, we will level, to walk with you along the path of continue the same attitudes that have done God’s healing. Reprinted from “Residential Schools: such damage in the past. The work of the Residential Schools Legacy and Response,” a website of the I also know that healing takes a long Working Group, the video, the commit- Anglican Church of Canada. time, both for people and for communi- ment and the effort of the Special Assis- ties. I also know that it is God who heals, tants to the Primate for this work, the and that God can begin to heal when we grants available for healing conferences, A Covenant open ourselves, our wounds, our failures are some signs of that pledge, and we and our shame to God. I want to take one shall work for others. Under the guidance of God’s spirit, we step along that path here and now. This is Friday, the day of Jesus’ suffer- agree to do all we can to call our people I accept and I confess before God and ing and death. It is the anniversary of the into unity in a new, self-determining com- you, our failures in the residential schools. first atomic bomb at Hiroshima, one of munity within the Anglican Church of We failed you. We failed ourselves. We the most terrible injuries ever inflicted by Canada. To this end we extend the hand of failed God. one people on another. partnership to all those who will help us I am sorry, more than I can say, that we But even atomic bombs and Good build a truly Anglican Indigenous Church were part of a system which took you and Friday are not the last word. God raised in Canada. May God bless this new vision your children from home and family. Jesus from the dead as a sign that life and and give us grace to accomplish it. I am sorry, more than I can say, that we wholeness are the everlasting and un- INDIGENOUS ANGLICAN LEADERS tried to remake you in our image, taking quenchable purpose of God. Winnipeg, April, 1994 from you your language and the signs of Thank you for listening to me. your identity. +Michael Reprinted from the website of the Angli- I am sorry, more than I can say, that in Archbishop and Primate can Council of Indigenous Peoples (http:/ our schools so many were abused physi- /www.anglican.ca/acip/covenant.html). 12 / Open / Summer 2001

being in support of the viability of the churches. Considering our limited assets, The way forward we need to come to a clearer understand- ing of what this means. coming to light, and we are confronted These are our convictions. Underly- M ICHAEL PEERS with its reality. What does this mean for ing them is a deep faith that, in and through Dear friends: us as a church, as followers of Jesus? this, God is making all things new. That here are moments in history which In the early fall, after the Lytton deci- may not always be clear. In John’s gospel, are significant turning points. Of- sion gave us a clearer picture of what Jesus said to Peter, “...when you grow Tten, their arrival appears sudden confronts us, the Management Team in old, you will stretch out your hands, and and unforeseen, although in hindsight we Church House met for two days to consid- someone else will fasten a belt around might wonder why we hadn’t anticipated er our future as church. That meeting you and take you where you do not wish them. Such times usually bring bewilder- produced three convictions which I want to go” (John 21:18). In the process of ment and distress, but always hold the to share with you. moving towards a resolution, we find possibility of renewal and hope. The liti- The first is our determination to be ourselves in a place not of our choosing. gation over residential schools in which part of the healing and reconciliation need- We do not wish to be in the courts, but this we are now engaged as a church has ed within Aboriginal communities, in the is where we are. brought us to such a moment in the Angli- church and in Canadian society. This is One of the dangers of this is that we can Church of Canada. But what appears absolutely our first priority, and little else can start blaming, denying rather than an unsettling time, is a remarkable oppor- matters if we do not keep this at the center accepting responsibility. That so easily tunity in which we can deepen our faith of our hearts. We believe we have a part moves us into the old pattern of taking, and know the sure presence of God in our to play in healing, and that in fact, this is using, abusing and hiding. The risen Lord life together. what God is calling us to be about at this is telling us that in whatever place we find In an address to the national confer- point in our history. This can happen as ourselves, God is present and God pro- ence on Jubilee last summer, Bishop Mark we continue to accept our responsibility, vides. God provides, and if we are con- McDonald of Alaska noted two distinct and seek to live life in the pattern given us scious that our role is to receive the gifts, ways in which we can live as human by our Lord. the word, the ministry God gives, and that beings. Each is based on a pattern of a The second conviction is that our sur- our mission is to bless and let our lives be meal, and each is found in scripture. The vival as church is an appropriate goal. broken for the world, and to share the first is found in Genesis, and relates to the This does not mean simply holding on to gospel of new life, then we will be found story of the fruit taken by the man and what we have. Rather, it means that if we faithful in living a life patterned in Christ. woman. The pattern in this story is of are to follow our Lord in a way that That pattern leads us into healing and taking, using, abusing and hiding. The proclaims the gospel with potency and respect. two take what is not theirs to take, and so vitality, then we believe God wants us to When you read this, I will be on a use and abuse creation and Creator. Then be present, visible and strong as a com- sabbatical leave. My commitment is to they try to hide their action and them- munity of faith. We understand that, in the use this time to take the experience I have selves. It is interesting how blame and the future, we may come to look quite differ- of the life of the church in Canada and the disintegration of community quickly fol- ent as a church than we do today. We are connections I have in the church beyond low. The other model is given us in the not afraid of that and we trust God to lead Canada, to reflect on how we might com- gospels: receiving (taking what is given), us. bine the best of our history with the cir- blessing, breaking and sharing. It is taught The third conviction is that we need to cumstances of our present to help discern us by Jesus, and it not only forms the basis continue our discussion with the federal God’s will for us in the future. I encour- of our worship, it is meant as a pattern for government. In every instance, the gov- age you to talk with one another, to find our life. And it is interesting that what ernment is our co-defendant, and dia- opportunities to think about what ways follows is a putting together, the growth logue is crucial if we are to find alterna- there might be for you as a leader in the of respect and regard in community with tives to endless litigation. Our discus- church, for your own parish or faith com- one another. sions need to include a realistic assess- munity and for your diocese to become The litigation we find ourselves facing ment of our capacity to provide restitu- engaged in this journey of reconciliation. today results from the first pattern. There tion. We must not seek to avoid restitu- This is a significant moment in our life. was a taking of what was not ours to take– tion; it is a significant part of the healing children taken from their homes, lan- process. At the same time it is clear that Michael Peers is Primate of the Anglican guage and culture taken from peoples. there is an inequality of resources be- Church of Canada. Reprinted from Leg- There was abuse and there was hiding. tween government and church. The gov- acy and Hope, a special edition of Minis- We are in a time when what was hidden is ernment has already gone on record as tryMatters. Open / Summer 2001 / 13

Excerpts from the presidential address

The thirty-sixth session of the General to plague our society. It is now five years ure to sustain a visible style” rather than Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada since the release of the Report of the actual moral failure. Loss of image is held A RCHBISHOP MICHAEL PEERS Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peo- dearer than loss of trust. “Remorse,” says Anglican Communion News Service ples, and for the most part, its recommen- Archbishop Williams, ‘has to do with an greet you in the name of the Father, dations remain ignored. The Government uncomfortable powerlessness. . . To ac- Son and Holy Spirit. Greetings first of of Canada has demonstrated little enthu- knowledge the past, the past in which I am all to you who have come from every siasm for dealing with the Report. Heal- enmeshed with countless others and which I ing and reconciliation cannot be forward- I cannot alter by my own will, is entirely part of this wonderful land–chosen by your diocese as delegates to this Synod.... ed by a refusal to deal with our history. and unavoidably a risk, an exposure of Through the length of this meeting, I Within our own Anglican community, vulnerability.” (p.109) invite you to remember that you are here it is in the history of the residential schools I agree with him: concern for image is for the well-being and mission of the that we most clearly see the wounds. The concern to remain in control, and that whole church. I encourage you to speak history of the schools is well known to us. distances us from one another. Remorse your mind and heart. We need to hear But think back: what did you know of this holds the potential for recovering intima- your voice–whether in plenary debate, in story ten years ago, or even five years cy and friendship. your home group, or in other settings ago? Those who had been students in the To acknowledge and mourn together within Synod. At least as much, I ask you schools, and their children and grandchil- the deep wounds of the past means listen- to listen with your mind and heart. . . . dren knew what they experienced. It was ing when we would rather not hear, voic- Finally, I greet those who are here as written in their souls, in their hearts. And ing apology when we would rather be “indigenous partners.” You are more than sometimes it was simply too difficult, silent, naming an offense we would rather partners; you are “us.” It is good that you confusing and painful to voice. It is only conceal. But friendship demands open- are here, for you bring with you crucial as people have found courage to share ness. How can we in the dominant society insights for us to consider. We need your their stories, to speak of hurt and anger learn to be a friend, if we cannot mourn voice, your wisdom and your spirit. Your that the history has begun to seep into the our history of cultural imperialism? presence is precious indeed as together souls and consciousness of the rest of us. Friendship depends on transparency, and we seek the gifts of healing, reconcilia- And as it has, we have responded in a transparency is the furthest thing from tion and new life that God has to give. variety of ways: sometimes disbelief and damage control. In a few days, a service And for those members of Synod who denial, sometimes with a word that says of healing will take place to which we are come from places in which there has not “But it was meant well . . . ,” sometimes all invited. Our purpose is to come before been opportunity ever to connect with with our own anger, sometimes with deep God seeking healing for ourselves and for aboriginal persons, I offer this word from sorrow and shame. our church, for all relationships that have one of our indigenous members: “Well, The Primate of Wales, Archbishop been broken by sin. We will listen to for someone who says they’ve never met Rowan Williams, in a recent book, Lost stories, there will be opportunity to speak an Indian, here I am!” It is time to get Icons, contends that in modern European/ our apology, to seek the laying on of together.... North American culture, we seem no long- hands, to ask God’s blessing and recon- er able to think of ourselves in concepts ciling love to reach into the depths of our Friendship between indigenous and non- that were once potent. He reasons that life together. This service is not an end; it indigenous peoples there are areas “in which some kinds of is a moment when we move towards one The theme of this Synod is one that recog- discourse seem to be getting more and another knowing that our Lord is in our nizes that the relationship between indig- more labored, more and more inaccessi- midst. It is a step towards life. enous and non-indigenous peoples has ble to our culture…” (p. 4). One of the The work of healing has hardly begun, been one characterized by a history of areas he includes is remorse. We are but it has begun. It will be the work of colonialism, racism and broken trust. Trea- finding it increasingly difficult to be re- generations to come. It is our privilege to ties were made and then often ignored by morseful, to mourn when we have done lay foundations, so let us pray that we lay the dominant society. Land was confis- wrong. Archbishop Williams points to a them well. Some of the stones are in cated, people dislocated, rights abused. kind of contemporary leadership that sim- place: the Sacred Circles, the Covenant, Within Canada, events in Oka ten years ply wouldn’t imagine saying sorry. Rath- the working document “A New Agape,” ago and, more recently, in Burnt Church, er, it might own “errors in judgment” or the Healing and Reconciliation Fund, the make visible the deep pain that continues “inappropriate” actions. Sometimes it sim- commitments we have made to stand in ply shifts blame. So failure becomes “fail- solidarity with aboriginal peoples in Can- 14 / Open / Summer 2001 ada in their struggle for land rights. But the cornerstone is found in Christ Jesus I do not minimize the pain, who calls us friends, who leads us into a or the potential of our circumstances to undo what new life with each other and who calls us to be at home with one another.... has been built over more than a century. But nor will I minimize the strength Friendship under strain Our Church in Canada plays a unique role and power of God to raise up life from the depths. within the Anglican Communion. At the Primates’ Meeting in Kanuga in March, I showed the video (produced for the Dioc- esan Consultations) on residential schools somehow we risked alienating one anoth- parishes. At the outset of this address, I litigation and our commitment to healing. er . . . asked you to speak and to listen with your The response ran from near disbelief that mind and heart, as a member of Synod, so much of our legal expense resulted That is precisely the point. It is exciting and with a sense of loyalty to those who from government action against us, to to hear this person’s testimony: sent you here. I emphasize that again. amazement about our willingness to be so Many of you will have been involved in open. I have used the word “transparen- What we can all take from Synod… is that consultations between General Synod and cy” a number of times. Let me do it again. we as a church can talk to each other dioceses that took place last year. They The former Primate of Central Africa has respectfully about anything and that dif- have helped enormously in opening up said of us that “you are the most transpar- fering even substantially on major issues, issues identified throughout the church. ent church” in the Communion. I suppose need not imply division. However, here we are a gathering in which that is a boast. But I think it reveals, too, every diocese is present together, and our commitment to foster genuine shar- I cannot tell you how significant that is. “I together we need to hear what is being ing and solidarity with Anglican sisters call you friends. No love is greater than to said across the whole church. I invite you and brothers. lay down one’s life for the sake of one’s to some deep sharing. What are you hear- We know the discord that has devel- friends.” [John 15:13, 15] ing? What stories do you bring? What are oped recently in the Communion–more Perhaps the gift we best can share in you seeing? What word needs to be spo- of which has been apparent in the last few the Communion is that of a style of deal- ken and reflected upon in this gathering? weeks. I have said my piece before, so I ing with difficult and divisive issues. We need to think and talk through all this will restrain myself now. Most of the Within our church are views and theolo- together as friends in Christ. controversy is rooted in a discussion of gies in which we often find ourselves at The second thing has to with princi- what place gay and lesbian persons will great distance from one another–experi- ples. For two years, the Diocese of New have in the church. We know this to be a encing real strain and tension. We are not Westminster worked together at finding a major concern in our own church. In this immune from conflict. But, at least to this way to enter a hard discussion together. It regard, I want to commend the Bishop point, we have found it possible to hold is difficult enough to enter into dialogue and people of the Diocese of New West- together, to talk to one another. Friend- with brothers and sisters on an issue that minster. Although Bishop Ingham comes ship costs at least as much as separation. presses people apart. It is even more in for his share of demonization, I want in But it is surely worth the price. difficult to do that in the public eye. The the strongest way possible to commend nature of the issue was such that it could his openness to listen and his willingness Friendship and the future not help but be in the public gaze. Every- to stand in the difficult place. As well, the These thoughts bring me back to the mat- one–conservative, liberal, parish, indi- members of the diocesan synod have ter I mentioned earlier and to which I vidual–becomes a target, and the tempta- shown an ability to speak and listen to one promised to return: the challenge of liti- tion is to be distracted, to let others deter- another as friends even when it has been gation, bankruptcy and the future of the mine your response. I invite you to take the toughest of tasks. national church. Never before have we the high ground: to be focused on friend- A warden in one of the diocese’s par- contemplated a possibility such as the one ship rather than on division, to be focused ishes who was present at Synod, wrote we are now facing. We have come to a on prayer and listening to God, rather this reflection for his parish newsletter: moment in history in which we may be than on the prurient interests of the media. facing the winding up of the General Being in the public gaze is both taxing The atmosphere was tense at the begin- Synod. There are some things I want to and alluring. We must put up with the ning and remained so throughout… The say about this. stress, but we must also resist the allure tension… came not from the subject it- The first thing is to invite you to share that distorts and sidetracks. Pay attention self… [but] from deeply felt concern that what you are hearing in dioceses and to the Lord who calls you friend and to the Open / Summer 2001 / 15 friends who gather here with you. The third thing I want to say has to do Episcopal Church encourages with being clear about the issue. What is under threat nationally is the General compromise on public funding Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, not the Anglican Church of Canada. We will remain the church. Whether it is the of ‘faith-based’ social services General Synod, or some dioceses, it is the structures that are at risk, not the essence of our life. Because the structures have Episcopal News Service called for establishing a balanced ap- served us well, and continue to do so, we he Episcopal Church has called proach in accepting public funds in some sense the possibility of real loss. We have upon Congress and the Bush ad- cases, while maintaining important safe- been negotiating with the government Tministration to seek out compro- guards regarding discrimination, account- because we believe that the program and mise in the current debate over faith- ing and church-state separation. The res- the systems that deliver it are of great based initiatives. According to a recent olution also called on the federal govern- value, and we do not want to see that statement, the church supports the “long- ment to increase public funding for pro- disappear. Structures are important– standing practice of receiving public fund- grams aimed at critical human needs, and whether they are physical buildings, or ing for faith-based social services so long requested that the government improve the ways in which we organize our life as such programs do not discriminate or the delivery of assistance to faith-based and mission. I am under no illusion that if proselytize as part of receiving services.” organizations by simplifying paperwork these things vanish, it will be a blow that While concerned with the current “char- requirements and providing timely pay- we would grieve for years to come. Nev- itable choice” provisions of a bill before ment for services, as well as appropriate ertheless, we are a community held to- the House of Representatives, the state- technical assistance. gether first and foremost not by struc- ment said the church is “encouraged” by “This position balances the increasing tures, but by relationship. Relationship the administration’s willingness to ad- need for social services with fairness and endures and it will prosper. And we can dress constitutional and discrimination accountability in the use of public dollars. dare to face the future with hope, with concerns raised by the faith community. The church recognizes that discrimina- heart and confidence because we are peo- “Receiving public monies from local, tion has no place in the delivery of social ple of faith in God who has called us into state or federal governments is nothing services,” said Thomas H. Hart of the relationship. Our God heals, our God new to the Episcopal Church or other Episcopal Church’s Office of Govern- reconciles, our God offers new life in faith-based groups for that matter,” said ment Relations in Washington, D.C. “The Christ Jesus. God has been Friend and Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold. “I government should and certainly can ex- Savior in both past and present, and we am pleased the questions around this is- pand the opportunity parishes and faith believe that the future is equally God’s sue have brought serving the needs of organizations have to help those in need home. others to our public discourse.” with public funds, but should clearly put I do not minimize the pain, or the The Executive Council of the Episco- new money behind those proposals and potential of our circumstances to undo pal Church, meeting in Salt Lake City, critical existing programs.” what has been built over more than a approved a resolution on June 11 which century. But nor will I minimize the strength and power of God to raise up life from the depths. So I invite you to be friends to one another, and to a ministry of friendship in the world. I invite you to explore together the future, to be what ______you are in this week–the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, dis- F OR MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION cerning the presence and call of God for us in our time and context. We are held AND ORDERING BROCHURES and set free by God who loves us in Christ, and who, through us, desires to VISIT OUR WEB SITE make known his love for the world. University of Waterloo www.associatedparishes.org Waterloo, Ontario 5 July 2001 ______16 / Open / Summer 2001

Native bishop forgives church and Primate

L EANNE LARMONDIN For it is in forgiving that we can find peace Anglican Communion News Service and it is in rebuilding that we will become strong again as nations. ishop Gordon Beardy of Keewa- tin formally forgave the church became head of the Diocese of Keewatin spoke publicly of their residential schools Bfor its past dealings with indige- in 1996. After he attended the Presbyteri- experiences earlier in the synod. nous peoples at a native healing ceremo- an Church-run Cecilia Jeffrey Residen- Archbishop Peers said the forgiveness ny during the recent meeting of the Gen- tial School in Kenora, Ontario, for just caught him a bit by surprise. “I was told eral Synod of the Anglican Church of one year at the age of 11, he never re- that the Bishop of Keewatin wanted to Canada. The forgiveness comes eight turned to school and did not even com- include an absolution,” said the Primate. years after the Primate, Archbishop plete primary school. “I thought, maybe, it would be a liturgical Michael Peers, apologized on behalf of His forgiveness is significant because text, but not that way of personalizing the the church for its part in the residential it is one step beyond accepting the church’s response.” school system. That apology was accept- apology for its role in the residential That personal response, said Arch- ed at the time by the elders at the national schools system, said the Rev. Canon Sue bishop Peers, was an ideal response to his native convocation held in Minaki, On- Moxley, a non-native observer at several own personal apology, delivered in 1993. tario in 1993. As the Primate stood quiet- national gatherings of indigenous people “It has been said that (my) apology ly beside him, head bowed, Bishop and a partner of the Anglican Council of changed it from an institutional response Beardy–who Synod members only ex- Indigenous People. “Someone can say to a personal one. I was thinking just now pected to deliver a dismissal–made clear ‘I’m sorry,’ and I can say I accept your that if you personalize an apology, then that he spoke not as a bishop, but as a apology, but I have to do my piece of the best response is a personal one.” native person who had attended residen- work to actually forgive,” said Moxley, a The 1993 apology is considered by tial school. priest from the diocese of Nova Scotia many to be a watershed moment in the “From my heart,” said Bishop Beardy, and Prince Edward Island. church’s relationship with native people. “I would like to say that I forgive you and Bishop Beardy said later in an inter- It has recently been cited as the cause of I want to forgive your church which has view he thought the church was deserving much of the litigation by former residen- become my church. I forgive your people of forgiveness. “Sometimes an apology tial school students, but the Primate re- who have become my people. I accept can be empty but this church is develop- sponded earlier in the Synod that the your apology because you have worked ing, progressing. We have communities church’s legal advisers are unanimous in so hard to break down the barriers. Where healing, we are responding to, we are their belief that the apology was not only things that were condemned before, to- hearing native people, and I am proud,” the “right thing to do,” but did not open day you receive them with joy. Where said Bishop Beardy. “This is not a white the church up to lawsuits. He told the once we were outsiders, today we are with church anymore; I feel it is our church.” Synod members that the federal govern- you, as a friend, as a leader, as a brother. He said he felt it was the right time on his ment also apologized to native people for So, I extend my hand. “healing journey” and that of many other the residential schools system, and with “My children will hear what I said. My native people to forgive their church. all their legal advisers, they would never grandchildren will hear. For it is in forgiv- Many of the roughly forty indigenous have apologized if there had been any ing that we can find peace and it is in partners present at Synod have supported chance that an apology would result in rebuilding that we will become strong him since he made his statement, he said. lawsuits. again as nations.” Donna Bomberry, the national Following his statement, the bishop church’s coordinator of indigenous min- and primate clasped hands and embraced istries, said the fuller inclusion of indige- The article on the back page is written by for a half minute, both of them near tears. nous people at this meeting of General Doug Tindal, Director of Information Bishop Beardy is one of four indige- Synod likely helped the bishop forgive Resources for the Anglican Church of nous bishops in the Anglican Church of his church. “This is the first time we’ve Canada. It is reprinted from Legacy and Canada, but is the only native bishop who had so many people who were able to tell Hope, a special edition of MinistryMat- is responsible for an entire diocese. Elect- their stories [at a national gathering],” ters, a publication of the Anglican Church ed as a suffragan bishop in 1993, he said Ms. Bomberry. Many native people of Canada. Open / Summer 2001 / 17

Associated Parishes publishes a series of brochures. ______AFTERTHOUGHTS Please indicate the quantity you want: A collection of columns, visionary, daring, and often outra- geous, by the late Henry Breul. ______HOLY BAPTISM: A Liturgical and Pastoral Commen- tary ______ASSOCIATED PARISHES AND THE MAKING OF A redoing of the earlier Ministry I—Holy Baptism, provid- THE 1979 PRAYER BOOK ing detailed discussion of the pastoral, theological, and History of AP, by Michael Moriarty. practical concerns of Christian initiation. Price ______PARISH EUCHARIST 1-19 copies $3.00 each postpaid A redoing of AP’s first brochure to reflect the present prayer 20-49 copies $2.50 each postpaid book, emphasizing the primacy of the eucharist as the central 50+ copies $2.00 each postpaid act of every Sunday in parish life. $ ______q Enclose check to Associated Parishes ______THE CELEBRATION AND BLESSING OF A MAR- q Charge to credit card: RIAGE A practical and theological guide to the rite of holy matrimo- ny. Revised 1996! VISA/MasterCard No. ______Exipiration Date ______THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD: A Commentary A guide for burial using the insights of the prayer book to Send this page to: redeem Christian dying from its captivity by the funeral industry. Associated Parishes PO Box 27141 ______HOLY ORDERS: The Ordination of Bishops, Priests, Baltimore, MD 21230-0141 and Deacons A brochure discussing the rites as presented in the Book of Common Prayer and in the Canadian Book of Alternate Name ______Services. Address ______City ______THE PARISH WORSHIP COMMITTEE State/Province ______Zip/Code______A guide to the selection, formation, and operation of the Country ______committee.

AP Membership Form Associated Parishes PO Box 27141 Baltimore, MD 21230-0141 q $30 Regular Member, 1 year q $1,500 AP Publisher, funds one issue of Open q $55 Regular Member, 2 years q $100 to 500 AP Patron, funds reprints of brochures q $80 Regular Member, 3 years q $50 to 100 Sustaining Member q $15 Student or Retired Member, 1 year q $500 Life Member q _____ Group (3 or more, $15 per person/copy of Open, mailed to one address), #______x $15 = $______Membership includes a free copy of all brochures. Name______Diocese ______Address______Parish ______City ______State/Province _____ Zip/Code______Country ______Phone ______Fax______E-mail ______18 / Open / Summer 2001

A renewed mission?

M ARK MACDONALD We should begin by celebrating he Santa Fé Statement on mission the Santa Fé Statement and the events is very significant in its own right. TPlaced alongside recent events at of the Canadian General Synod. the Anglican Church of Canada’s Gener- al Synod meeting, it is part of a fundamen- However, we cannot be faithful to God tal shift in the church’s self-understand- ing and, further, its mission. Hopeful, we without living their full and larger may ask whether these are true signposts on the way to a renewed and faithful meaning. This calls, at a bare minimum, apostolicity in the church. for a full and robust recognition On July 9, the Anglican Church of Canada, meeting in its General Synod, of the sovereignty and authority gave a day to the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP). The plan of the First Nations, among the nations was to outline the end to the colonial mission of the past and move to the accep- and within the church. tance of a “new agape”–a plan for the self-development of a church of the In- digenous Peoples. The first part of the day was devoted to the repudiation of the The term “discovery” implies terra Nations. Many Anglican bishops and cler- “doctrine of discovery.” nullius. It is also implicit in the continu- gy around the world were signatories to Some of the General Synod partici- ing pattern of settlement and exploitation the treaties. It is, therefore, amazing that pants seemed surprised when, in the midst in areas belonging to Indigenous Peoples they have ignored the implications of the of some dramatic portrayals and testimo- in the so-called First, Second and Third treaties for their own life, governance and nials, Fr. Michael Stogre, S.J., stood to Worlds. This ongoing process has been mission. We must admit and confess that deliver a lecture on the term terra nullius. called World War III–it is as far-reach- we are still an institution shaped by colo- It seemed, at first glance, to be out of step ing, ubiquitous and deadly as the First and nialism. Our continuing refusal to allow with the content and tone of the serious Second World Wars. inculturation to happen in our liturgies and urgent concerns of the day. On the The church and many national and and institutions indicates that terra nul- contrary, it soon became clear that here international government agencies have lius is still alive among us. was the heart. condemned terra nullius, implicitly or The problems we have with the con- Terra nullius is a legal term used to explicitly, for centuries (beginning with a tinuing effects of colonial mission are not describe an “unoccupied land.” It was statement by the Pope in 1537). In prac- contained in the Canadian residential first used concerning Iceland. If a place tical terms, however, the same bodies school crisis alone, as the Santa Fé state- was determined to be terra nullius, it gave happily accept the results. European set- ment makes clear. Terra nullius has an the right of ownership, governance, occu- tlements, economic exploitation and ongoing life in the church that extends pation and exploitation to the one who wholesale destruction of peoples are “facts beyond our relationship with the First “discovered” the land. Later, the meaning on the ground” to the modern colonial Nations. We have only begun to face our of the term expanded to include lands nation-states and their churches. The pro- challenge and opportunity in this matter. inhabited by people who showed no sign cess and results of terra nullius shape the The first non-Roman Catholic mis- of “civilization.” A land, they said, is politics of today and, sadly, the mission of sionaries in North America received their terra nullius if it has no western style the western churches. Further, terra nul- training in the military occupation of the industry, government or churches. We lius clearly defines the basic boundaries highlands. They served as the model for find one especially glaring example of the of our relationship with the environment: those that came later, even though their term’s use in Australia: terra nullius was we own the land; we exploit the land. methods were both cruel and ineffective. the basis for the occupation of the land The churches have a laudable and con- In the same way, the colonial mission without benefit of treaties or compensa- sistent record of support for the treaties became the paradigm for our view of tion to the Aboriginal People. and the sovereignty they grant to First those whom we “discover” on the mar- Open / Summer 2001 / 19 gins of our institutional life. The culture, life and hearts of those outside or on the To continue this discussion of the church’s mission, margins of Christendom–including those who are marginal due to race, ethnicity, join the Associated Parishes list online. poverty, gender or class–are a kind of Go to http://groups.yahoo.com terra nullius in our strategies for mission and sign up as a member. and evangelism. The wounds inflicted by such a view are painfully obvious. Then join the “ap-members” group. Facing this, what shall we do? We should begin by celebrating the Santa Fé Statement and the events of the The most troublesome barriers are on the in our own engagement with the Gospel. Canadian General Synod. However, we side of the would-be evangelists. They Though we may be saddened by the occa- cannot be faithful to God without living still are today. sion of these matters, let us rejoice in the their full and larger meaning. This calls, The Santa Fé Statement and the events opportunity it offers–true repentance, true at a bare minimum, for a full and robust of Canada’s Synod are signposts on the life. recognition of the sovereignty and au- way to a renewal of our true apostolic thority of the First Nations, among the mission. We will find its first real moment Mark MacDonald is Bishop of Alaska. nations and within the church. This in- cludes proactive support for the treaties and rights of the people of the land. We must go further towards a repen- tant and renewed understanding of our Members of the Council of Associated Parishes Gospel mission in the world. The “mod- ern age” of mission, begun in the occupa- Officers Juan Oliver, Garden City, NY tion of the Americas, must give way to a Clayton D. Crawley, president Jennifer M. Phillips, Kingston, RI church reshaped in its mission and its John W. B. Hill, vice president Ormonde Plater, New Orleans, LA inner life; reshaped, as well, in its attitude Marilyn Haskel: secretary Juan Reed, Chicago, IL and understanding of those who are mar- Carlos Mercado, Jr., treasurer Nigel Renton, Oakland, CA ginal to its institutional existence: the A. Maylanne Maybee: at-large member Donald Schell, San Francisco, CA poor, the outcast, the despised and the of executive committee Susan M. Smith, Berkeley, CA stranger. Karla Woggon, College Park, MD My hope for this future is in the Gos- Council Members pel. Its power is evident even in the dev- Valerie Ambrose, Salem, OR Associate Members astating recognition of our complicity John F. Baldovin, SJ, Cambridge, MA Otis Charles, San Francisco, CA with evil. We have sinned. However, the Robert J. Brooks, Willimantic, CT Joachim C. Fricker, Burlington, ON message is clearly greater than the mes- Jean Campbell, OSH, Wappinger Falls, Paul Gibson, Toronto, ON senger. This is the Good News found in NY Richard F. Grein, New York, NY all of the above. Use the Gospel to op- Clayton D. Crawley, New York, NY Frank T. Griswold III, New York, NY press, and you plant the seeds of freedom Joe Morris Doss, Mandeville, LA Marion J. Hatchett, Sewanee, TN for the oppressed. Use the Gospel to Elizabeth Morris Downie, Fenton, MI Mark L. MacDonald, Fairbanks, AK control the natives, and you end up with Marilyn Haskel, New York, NY Leonel L. Mitchell, South Bend, IN Nelson Mandela. John W. B. Hill, Toronto, ON William H. Petersen, Rochester, NY It is commonplace to consider that the Mark A. DeW. Howe, Burlington, VT Neff Powell, Roanoke, VA barriers to evangelism and church in- Bruce W. Jenneker, Boston, MA Thomas K. Ray, Marquette, MI volvement are in the hearts of those out- Jeffrey Lee, Medina, WA Orris G. Walker, Jr., Garden City, NY side our institutions. The matters at hand Katherine M. Lehman, Menlo Park, CA Louis Weil, Berkeley, CA show the reality: the barriers are on our Barbara Liotscos, Kelowna, BC side of the Gospel. The barriers are in our Henry I. Louttitt, Jr., Savannah, GA Honorary Members hearts. This is true to the presentation of A. Maylanne Maybee, Toronto, ON Vivian Kingsley, Holland, MI the Gospels themselves. Consider Jesus Amy C. McCreath, River Hills, WI Michael W. Merriman, Townsville, and the woman at the well, Phillip and the Carlos Mercado, Jr., Rochester, NY Queensland, Australia eunuch, and the Samaritan and the man Ruth A. Meyers, Evanston, IL Borden C. Purcell, Athens, ON robbed on the road to Jericho. Consider Clayton L. Morris, New York, NY Frederick Putnam, Edina, MN virtually any of the stories in the Gospel. Leslie Nipps, Oakland, CA I am the church

ladys Cook of Portage La Prairie, elder of the Dakota I’d been living in a deep dark hole,” she recalls. “I went to hell Sioux people, holder of the Manitoba Premier’s Award and back so many times–but every time I surfaced, I saw beauty. G and of a Canada 125 medal, member of the Anglican “Through therapy, I began to see myself as a person. It made Council of Indigenous Peoples, remembers as a young woman such a difference to me. And especially, it meant so much to my being called a peacemaker, even though she felt herself filled children. Before, I’d seen myself like a sergeant-major, raising with hate and anger. them in the same kind of military style that I’d experienced in the “It shows how much I had learned to function without school. Very quickly after I started therapy, I realized I didn’t showing my true feelings,” she says. want that for them.” In 1934, before her fifth birthday, Gladys Cook was taken Gladys Cook has maintained a paradoxical relationship with from her home, as so many other children were, and sent to the the Anglican Church throughout her life. “It’s very hard to residential school at Elkhorn, Manitoba, where she was to spend connect God with anything that happened to me in residential twelve years, lose much of her culture, and be raped several school,” she says. “My parents gave me the meaning of the Great times, the first time when she was nine years old. Spirit, and I knew the Spirit was a support and comfort to me. Eight years ago, at an Elkhorn school reunion, she came face- The residential school’s god was a mean and angry god. to-face with one of the men who had raped her–and she forgave “People say, ‘The Anglican Church was so mean to you. him. Why do you keep coming back?’ I tell them, ‘I am the church.’ Between the little girl sobbing on the bloodstained sheets, But I’ve had lots of hate and anger inside me, and I don’t want and the mature woman courageously extending a hand of those things in my church. I have to help get rid of them.” forgiveness, lies a truly remarkable journey: marriage to an A deeper exploration of native spiritual traditions has helped abusive, alcoholic man; a parting from him and work at menial Cook reconcile traditional ways with a Christian faith. “Honesty jobs to support her children; confronting and struggling with and forgiveness are the two keys to my healing,” she says. alcohol; reconciliation, after almost two decades, with her “Sometimes people say, ‘I wish I had your calmness.’ They husband (by then sober); and ultimately establishing, without don’t know how hard I’ve worked at it.” formal training, a ground-breaking agency that would eventual- Even to the point of taking the hand of a man who had raped ly become known as the National Native Alcohol and Drug her as a defenseless child and offering forgiveness. How is such Abuse Program. forgiveness possible? Is it even desirable? Cook does not gloss While counseling Native people about alcohol and drug over the effort it took her to reach out that day–so much so, that abuse, Gladys Cook became aware that many of them had been afterward, she had to be helped to her car. But she has no doubts sexually abused as children. But she wasn’t ready to deal with that, for her, this was the right course. her own abuse, and so she turned many of them away. “Immediately, I felt a new sense of freedom. I knew then that It wasn’t until 1988–forty years after she was first raped–that the Creator and I were walking hand in hand. But not just my Cook sought therapy and began a process of healing. “It was like Creator: everybody’s Creator.”

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