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June 11 Apology Commemoration: Liturgical Resources
By Rev. Curtis Korver, for Committee for Contact with the Government
Dear Worship planners, Leaders and Pastors,
Greetings from your Committee for Contact with the Government.
June 11, 2008 marked an important event in the relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other party leaders offered a formal apology to survivors of abuse in Indian Residential Schools. The apology was welcomed by the aboriginal community in hopes of a new relationship with other Canadians.
Sadly, there has been little momentum for a new relationship since last June. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is to be a series of seven events across the nations at which survivors could tell stories, those responsible would listen, and apologies could be made and accepted, has stalled. A national archive of the stories has been slow to take shape. A struggling economy has trumped almost all other government concerns, to the great frustration of the aboriginal community.
June is a month of national healing and reconciliation. The Assembly of First Nations, many Canadian Churches, social justice organizations and the Committee for Contact with the Government are working to ensure that the apology is not forgotten. In positive ways that radiate hope, we call for individuals and government to forge a new relationship between aboriginals and non-aboriginals.
Please consider joining churches across the nation by:
- the ringing of bells on June 11 at 11:00am,
- addressing the topic in Sunday worship on June 7 or 14, 2009,
- inviting someone who attended a residential school to tell their story, and
- using the prayers and litanies included in this package
We are treaty people. Our non-aboriginal ancestors signed treaties with aboriginal ancestors. Embedded in those treaties were promises of respect and security. Those promises and treaties were violated by the abuse suffered by so many at Indian Residential Schools. Now we have both the responsibility and the wonderful opportunity to participate in healing.
Please find enclosed worship resources, two sample sermons and one survivor's story. Consider how your church might be involved.
May the God who desires peace and reconciliation for all his children bless you.
Rev. Curtis Korver, on behalf of
Committee for Contact with the Government
Jump to:
A prayer for reconciliation
Across the barriers that divide race from race:
reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.
Across the barriers that divide rich from poor
reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.
Across the barriers that divide people of different cultures:
reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.
Across the barriers that divide Christians:
reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.
Across the barriers that divide men and women, young and old:
reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.
Confront us, O Christ, with the hidden prejudices and fears
that deny and betray our prayers
Enable us to see the causes of strife,
remove from us all senses of superiority.
Teach us to grow in unity with all God's children. Amen.
—The Worship Sourcebook (Grand Rapids: Faith Alive Christian Resources), 731-2
Prayer for healing
Voice 1
Father of all, look at our brokenness.
We know that in all creation, only the human family
has strayed from the Way
We know that we are the ones who are divided
And we are the ones who must come back together
to walk in the Way
Voice 2:
As we reflect on the history of the relationship
between the church and Aboriginal peoples,
we pray for openness.
All: In our learning and our growing, may there be healing.
Voice 1:
As we open ourselves to the stories of Aboriginal peoples
hurt and wounded by abuse of power,
we pray for compassionate listening.
All: In the telling and hearing, may there be healing.
Voice 2:
As we feel the pain of individuals and communities,
and come to recognize our impoverishment of spirit through our failures
to honour the ways, gifts, and visions of different cultures,
we pray for a hunger to seek new ways of walking the Earth together.
All: In our recognition of the need for forgiveness and change, may there be healing.
Voice 1:
As we work together to embody the spirit of reconciliation and healing,
we pray for expectant anticipation that our life together in the church will
be enriched and deepened.
All: In the giving and the receiving, may there be healing.
Voice 2:
As we move forward as the people of God,
lifting up and supporting our sisters and brothers of All tribes and races,
we pray for God's richest blessings.
All: In the honouring and the sharing, may there be healing.
Voice 1:
Creator, Sacred One,
Teach us love, compassion and honour
That we may heal the Earth. And heal each other.
All: Amen
—excerpted from KAIROS Canada
A Prayer of Confession
God of new beginnings,
Be with us as we take this step
On a reconciliation journey.
We bring before you O God, the hurt and suffering of so many at Indian Residential Schools. Though we want to say—we were not there, we didn't do it—still we cannot absolve ourselves of blame.. For the Church is the body of Christ and we are his arms and legs, his mouth and feet. We speak, walk, and act on Jesus' behalf. So when the churches in Canada have sinned we are all besmirched. We share the guilt.
We ask your forgiveness, God, as we come to understand the results of our church's and nation's failures toward Aboriginal People: we see the damaged lives, devastated by the disease of alcoholism, unable to escape the grip of poverty, sometimes caught in a cycle of violence and abuse—and we are sorry beyond the words to tell it. We wish we could go back and do things differently, but the river of life flows in one direction only. No matter what we wish for, we must make the best of the situation we have now.
We thank you, God, for your generous, unstinting gift of forgiveness that makes every day the possibility of a new beginning. May this gift help us to begin to heal and make new connections, as Jesus would have, with our Aboriginal sisters and brothers. May we be fearless and unafraid as your children. Give us the courage to face those from whom we so often turn away. Let us live with a deep abiding respect for all your children, and for your wondrous, beautiful, matchless creation, O Great Creator.
God of new beginnings,
Be with us as we take this step
On our journey together—toward reconciliation
Amen
—based on "Toward Truth and Reconciliation" from the United Church of Canada. Note to pastors and worship leaders: This profound story is important context for the journey of reconciliation and healing. Given its length it might not fit a worship hour. Please consider using excerpts in a service or providing copies of this important testimony.
Pain Still Runs Deep: a survivor's story
Truth and reconciliation for many of the former students affected by Indian Residential Schools has yet to unfurl. The Remembering the Children Tour, organized by the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, along with spiritual leaders from the Anglican, Presbyterian and United Churches and representatives from the Roman Catholic Church, took place this past March in a multi-city tour with stops in Ottawa, Vancouver, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is an official independent body that will oversee a process to provide former students and anyone who is affected by the Indian Residential School legacy with an opportunity to share their individual experiences in a safe and culturally appropriate manner through statement taking or truth sharing.
"This is the opportunity for all of us to hear the voices of the children who attended residential schools, to listen to their stories and to learn (maybe for the first time) of the impact that residential schools have had on Canada's First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities," says David MacDonald, the United Church's special advisor on residential schools and one of the organizers of the leaders' tour.
The tour also aims to raise awareness about the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and will help to educate Canadians about the legacy of residential schools and the impacts of colonization on Aboriginal people and their communities.
Elaine MacNeish, a member of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada's Aboriginal Ministries Council, participated in the Winnipeg leg of the tour and sat down with her mother, a residential school survivor, to revisit the emotionally painful journey.
The following interview, conducted between Elaine and Nadine Agbedetse, EFC's ministry partnerships services coordinator, seeks insight into a tragedy that still deeply affects her mother.
What is your personal connection with the residential schools?
My mother spent eight to nine years in the Anglican Residential Boarding School in Pelican Falls, Ontario. Her five siblings were also part of this ordeal.
Why should this event be important to all Canadians?
Canadians should know about the pain and suffering of the Aboriginal people to help the next generation with the problem of racism. This truth should also be recorded in Canadian history books, through our educational system in Canada, as an accurate account of what happened to our people. It is unfortunate with these kinds of events that when they are over they are forgotten. I feel it may be the same with this event. A society should never forget their tragedies, lest they happen again.
Why do you feel so many survivors still suffer from such emptiness and disillusionment?
I asked my mom this question and she became silent. This "emptiness" we speak about began to surface in her so strongly that I myself could feel it. It was like she didn't even know it existed deep in her soul, but the reality of it poured through her, in very few chosen words.
"I don't know why," she said. "I don't know why so many still suffer."
As I listened to my mother I realized that she didn't even know her own pain, and the tone in her voice changed to a childlike humility.... innocent. She said, "I don't know why this happened to us."
As mom continued to speak to me, I began to feel the sorrow that was inside of her and the truth of what happened to her and her siblings hit me like a ton of bricks! It became very real to me, almost like it happened to me as well. I realized that her pain was still fresh and that she had tucked it away in a place where she didn't want to go. The reality of what actually took place for her and her siblings is beyond comprehension to me. I look to my own child, nieces and nephews and I think, How could something like this have happened? Being ripped from your parents arms while kicking and screaming, not knowing by whom and where you're being taken. I can't even imagine this happening to me and my child.
Mom said, "...it left me feeling confused and when we got out we had to go on with our lives. We were used like child laborers and lots of the kids were sexually abused and beaten. What can you do? We were just kids. You just have to make the best of it and go on."
What positive next steps can be taken towards reconciliation?
This is the million dollar question. I asked my mom this question and she responded: "It's over. We can't change it. We just have to live and let it go."
Are there any prayer requests on behalf of the Aboriginal Ministries Council that the Evangelical community can focus on in regards to issues and/or reconciliation?
As Christians we know that fervent prayer will move the heart of God. I believe that prayers of forgiveness must be prayed. I believe the Aboriginal people (one person at a time) need to forgive their oppressors and move forward with their lives. It doesn't matter how old they are or how long they have lived with this pain, forgiveness will set them free, one person at a time. We as Christians know that true forgiveness can only come through the Spirit of God. It is the perfect work of the Holy Spirit that enables us to forgive far beyond the ability we have in our sinful human state. Our Aboriginal people need to know the lover of their soul. They need Jesus.
My mother's final words: "Not everybody thinks the same way about what happened. Some of us want more to come out of this, and some of us don't even care anymore about it. For me...it's over and I lived my whole life. I'm ready to leave this life now and when I got my money, I thought it was finally over. I thought that's just how it ended and I don't want to think about this anymore ... I lost my culture a long time ago."
—from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
Sample Sermons
- "Keeping Promises" by Rev. Curtis Korver, for National Aboriginal Day, June 24, 2007. Proverbs 22:28, 23:10-11.
- "The Gift in Apology" from the United Church of Canada, for First Nations Day of Prayer, June 226. Micah 6:1-2, 6-8; Matthew 5:21-26.
Multimedia Presentation
- Prepared by the CRC's Aboriginal Ministries Committee for National Aboriginal Day, this four-minute presentation echoes the words of the Prime Minister's Apology on June 11, 2008. It is ideal for a meditative pre-service or offertory segment.
Special thanks to Anita Vanzummerin and Sam Cooper.
Technical note: Please open the compressed folders and scroll to a file called 'shortversioncrc.ppt'. This is formatted to play on multiple systems.
© 2009 Committee for Contact with the Government. All rights reserved.
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