Mennonites attend Indigenous theological studies symposium
The 20-or-so Mennonites who attended the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies (NAIITS) symposium were humbled by the grace of their hosts who welcomed them, without hesitation, into the conversation. They gathered in early June at the Acadia University campus in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, for this symposium on white supremacy, racial conflict, indigeneity and…
Questions of conscience
Last month, a Canadian Mennonite was arrested—for following his conscience. In the tradition of our 16th-century Anabaptist ancestors, civil disobedience was an expected path. But nowadays, we don’t see things so clearly. A recent discussion concerns the April protests at the Kinder Morgan pipeline in Burnaby, B.C., where Steve Heinrichs took part in an…
When strangers become neighbours
Music continues to be the catalyst for growth in the relationship between Mennonite Church Saskatchewan and its Indigenous neighbours. On Earth Day, April 22, 2018, Mennonites and members of the Muskeg Lake community gathered for An Afternoon of Song at Our Lady of Guadalupe Roman Catholic Church in Marcelin on the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation.…
What does ‘sorry’ mean?
“Sorry” is a very Canadian expression, but what does it mean? To the more than 200 Sixties Scoop survivors gathered at the Amiskwaciy Academy in Edmonton on March 1, 2018, the word is problematic. The hearing is the last of six events held across Alberta by the NDP government in an effort to make an…
Who is my neighbour?
Farmers with Firearms are flexing on Facebook. Indigenous activists are indignant. Justin Trudeau is straining to hit all the enlightened notes, as usual. And Murray Sinclair is urging justice reform, again. But will multicoloured juries, cardboard placards, online platitudes and Ottawa photo ops—all of which have their place—actually bring the healing and fairness needed for…
Seeking reconciliation through jubilee
What does the ancient Levitical concept of jubilee have to do with reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and their settler neighbours? Plenty, according to Steve Heinrichs. During Rosthern Mennonite Church’s Deeper Life Days on Jan. 26 and 27, 2018, Heinrichs, who is director of Indigenous-settler relations for Mennonite Church Canada, presented a three-session workshop entitled “Unsettling…
Seeking reconciliation through multicultural art
Around 200 people gathered at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery on Jan. 26 to celebrate the opening of Reconciliation Through the Arts, an exhibition of Indigenous and settler art that explores the history and present reality of colonization in Canada and different visions of reconciliation. Clairissa Kelly, coordinator of the Peguis Post-Secondary Transition Program at…
Celebrating a legacy of respect
Among the many memories shared at a reunion of past and present Mennonite Church Canada Indigenous Relations workers, several included references to the late Jeremiah Ross (1909-2002). A Cree man from Cross Lake First Nation in Manitoba, Ross served as pastor of Elim Mennonite Church there for 30 years. He was able to successfully bridge…
On a journey towards reconciliation
Twelve years ago, Conrad Grebel University College planted a black walnut tree and erected a sign marking the 200th anniversary of the arrival in 1805 of the first Mennonite settlers from Pennsylvania and the establishment of the “German Company Tract.” But time has a way of altering understandings of events and history. On Sept. 22,…
Edmonton church experiences blanket exercise
On Pentecost Sunday, June 4, 2017, a spirit of truth and reconciliation filled the fellowship hall and sanctuary of Edmonton's First Mennonite Church. Instead of the regular Sunday School time, adults and youth gathered for a “blanket exercise.” Developed by KAIROS (an ecumenical movement for ecological justice and human rights) in response to the 1996…
