Pastors, Churches Invited to Reflect during Canada 150

The Christian Reformed Church in North America invites pastors and churches in Canada to consider together what it means that the land we call Canada has been inhabited for far more than 150 years.

What do the biblical calls to hospitality and reconciled relationships mean for your church’s relationships with local Indigenous peoples? How can you become better guests? How can you enter mutual relationships of respect with your Indigenous hosts?

Here are some topics to consider and issues to think about. (At the end of this article, we’ll offer some resources and provide a challenge for pastors and congregations.)

It is important to realize that hospitality was a big deal in the culture of God’s people. Abraham hurried to offer “three seahs of the finest flour” and a “choice, tender calf” to three visitors, even before learning that his guests were no mere humans (Gen. 18).

The disciples on the road to Emmaus urged the resurrected Jesus to stay with them, learning his true identity only later (Luke 24).

God’s commands to his people to offer hospitality to foreigners can be found throughout the Old Testament, and hospitality was a key quality commended to church leaders like Titus (Titus 1:8) and Timothy (1 Tim. 3:2) in the New Testament.

There’s another side, of course, to hosting: being a guest. Being a gracious guest honors the way that your host has honored you. Hospitality honors and reinforces relationships, and we know from passages throughout the biblical text that reconciled relationships are important to God.

For example, we are to be ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5), to reconcile with our neighbor even before making an offering to God (Matt. 5:23-34), and, as much as possible, to “live at peace with everyone” (Rom. 12:18).

The theme of being a guest is also found throughout Scripture:

• Ruth the Moabite followed her mother-in-law Naomi back to the land of Israel, where she became a guest. She said to Naomi, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). As a guest who listened and received well, Ruth became an essential part of the line of David and Jesus Christ – Ruth was blessed and became a blessing.
• We become the guests of the Lord at the Lord’s Supper, where he offers his very self to us. We are commanded to reenact this meal to regularly “remember” Christ’s death and resurrection by becoming guests at his table (Luke 22:19).

When the first Europeans arrived on Turtle Island (now known as North America), Indigenous people welcomed them and shared the good gifts of the land with the settlers.

Those who “discovered” this part of the world never would have survived without the hospitality of their Indigenous hosts. Over time this sharing led to formal treaties. In 1613 the first formal treaty was signed near Albany, N.Y.: the Tawagonshi treaty between the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois confederacy) and the Dutch. This treaty was one of mutual sharing and noninterference and was based on covenant principles. This treaty of peace and friendship was also recognized by both parties as a sacred agreement between them, with Creator God as witness.

Treaties of peace and friendship were a blueprint for settlers to be good guests here on Turtle Island. Sadly, over time, the guests began to ignore the covenants of peace and friendship, and started to take land using law and force – they became ungrateful guests. This is especially sad when we consider that these treaties were based on biblical ideas of covenants – often written and signed by Christian believers.

Those of us who are not Indigenous are guests in North America. You may have heard territory acknowledgments before at the opening of a conference or event. They often sound something like this: “I acknowledge the fact that we are worshiping and living and moving on the traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinabeg Algonquin Peoples.”

In acknowledging territory, we honor the relationship with Indigenous peoples, who lived on and stewarded these lands for thousands of years before European “discovery.”

Being a gracious guest is about understanding our role as a guest and showing appreciation. It is also about learning where we’ve gone wrong as guests. It’s about humbly listening to our hosts.

It’s about recognizing that a relationship has been broken, that respect for original inhabitants has been lacking, that covenants of peace and friendship have been cast aside -- and that there is hope for reconciled relationships through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We invite — and challenge — pastors to present a sermon linked to some of the issues and biblical texts we have described.

Submit a recording (with a written outline) or a complete manuscript of a sermon you preached about reconciliation and being a guest to [email protected] by Nov. 30, 2017. (Questions can be directed to this email address as well.)

Sermon entries are expected to

• allow the Scripture text to lead the message.
• explicitly address questions of justice and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and their relationship to biblical justice, especially including local examples.
• highlight the truth and hope of the good news of Jesus Christ.
• have been preached, preferably to a CRC or RCA congregation.

The sermons will be shared on the Do Justice blog as an example to other churches and pastors who may be inspired to follow your example.

You won't journey alone

Once you’ve submitted a sermon, you’ll receive coaching from Shannon Perez, an Indigenous Christian and CRC leader working with the Canadian Aboriginal Ministry Committee, with regard to honoring and forming relationships with local Indigenous groups.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to reconciling broken relationships, but with Shannon’s coaching, you will have a wise guide for the journey. She will advise you as you work to connect with a local Indigenous elder--a key part of the reconciliation and territory acknowledgment journey.

Here are some resources and ideas to help you get started in putting together a sermon. Some of these resources will also be valuable for your entire congregation, which might be interested in learning more and perhaps in finding ways to integrate some of this material into worship:

• Native-land.ca (a good starting point to learn about which territory your church is on)
• Visit your local friendship centre or Native healing centre, and speak with Indigenous elders about this subject.
• An infographic to help you get started
• An example of territory acknowledgment from schools in Toronto, Ont.
• Going deeper into the systemic injustices faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada
• Have theological questions? We'd be happy to pray and discern along with you, or connect you with others who are also working through such questions.
• Resources for worship: Indigenous Justice Worship Resources; Resources from the Canadian Aboriginal Ministry Committee.