Mid-Week Message - October 1

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!

Yesterday was the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and yesterday morning a group of us gathered at Westfield in the church parlour for an open conversation about how the United Church of Canada participated in colonization and residential schools, as well as what steps towards reconciliation we have taken so far.  I want to bring our conversation that we had to all of you. (And for those of you who were present - you'll find all of those resources I was sharing here - you can click on the blue hyperlinks to be taken to the different websites.)

Let's begin with some history.  The precursor to the residential schools were Indian Day Schools which began here in New Brunswick in the Sussex area.  The purpose of these "schools" was not to provide education, but rather to assimilate Indigenous children into a European culture. Many of the children were sent out (to settler families) as unpaid farm labourers or house servants.  The people who started these day schools were pleased with what they had set up, but thought that they would be more effective (ie more effective at stealing language and culture from Indigenous children) if the children were not able to leave the school. As a result, the first Indian Residential School was opened in 1831 - the Mohawk Indian Residential School in Brantford, ON.

More and more schools opened up, and they were run by churches on behalf of the government - primarily the Roman Catholic church, the Anglican church, the Presbyterian church, and the Methodist church. Following Church Union in 1925, all of the Methodist residential schools, and most of the Presbyterian residential schools were transferred to the United Church of Canada. The motivations for the churches running the schools were complex. The theological world-view at the time meant that the churches thought that they were bringing about the kingdom of God by working towards making the world better and better. (We might argue today with their definition of "better.") There was also the factor of inter-denominational prejudice and competition - the protestant churches wanted to run some of the schools, "otherwise all of the Indian will become Catholic, and we know that our faith is so much better"... and vice versa. And without an understanding of cultural trauma, some of the people who worked in the schools thought that they were genuinely doing a good thing; even though we can now see the inter-generational horrific effects of what was done.

(I'll also say that the physical and sexual abuse that has come to light wasn't designed into the system; but the circumstances of the schools - ie children isolated from their communities with minimal oversight - created a space where someone who was looking to abuse children could easily hide. Not an intentional design, but a consequence that shouldn't be surprising.)

Now some statistics.  As of 1920, the law required all Indigenous children between the ages of 7 and 15 to attend Residential Schools.  Between 1831 and 1997, there were 139 Indian Residential Schools across the country - for a list of the schools, you can click here. Between 1925 (Church Union) and 1969, the United Church of Canada ran 15 of these schools. An estimated 150,000 children were taken from their families to attend residential schools. Thousands of children died - the exact number is unknown because most of the deaths were undocumented.  These deaths were remembered by the communities that the children came from, even though most of us who are not Indigenous had the privilege of not knowing this until the unmarked burials were "discovered" outside the former residential school in Kamloops. (And to answer one of the questions that was asked yesterday - yes, ground-penetrating radar has discovered unmarked burials on sites where the United Church of Canada ran residential schools.)

You can learn more about the United Church residential schools on a website that the church has developed:  The Children Remembered.

In 1986, 17 years after the last United Church run residential school closed, the United Church apologized to Indigenous people for participating in a colonial project that robbed them of their language and culture and spiritual practices.  This first apology did not mention residential schools, and in 1998 a second apology was issued apologizing explicitly for the harm that residential schools caused. These apologies were "received but not accepted" by the Indigenous church, acknowledging that apologies without actions are empty words, and encouraging the church to support the apologies with actions towards reconciliation. You can read the full text of both of these apologies, along with a response from the Indigenous church in 1988, by clicking here.

There were class-action lawsuits launched by residential school survivors beginning in the '90s, and part of that legal settlement was the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that ran from 2010-2015, collecting stories from survivors and issuing 94 calls to action. You can read the United Church statement to the TRC by clicking here; and you can read through those 94 calls to action by clicking here.  (For calls to the church, look for numbers 48-49 and 58-61.) You can read a 2022 update from the United Church of Canada on progress made to-date on these calls to action by clicking here.

Locally, at Two Rivers Pastoral Charge, we commit ourselves to continuing to learn our history, to continue to acknowledge the land on which we are located, and to search for ways to build relationships with our Indigenous neighbours that might lead towards reconciliation.  (The 2026 pow wow season has ended, but is there any interest in carpooling next summer to attend a pow wow? The schedule is usually released in the spring each year - a couple of years ago there was a pow wow in Saint John, but the closest "regularly scheduled" pow wow is in Oromocto, usually held in early July.)

Moving on to announcements for this week:

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville and 11:15 at Westifeld and Facebook live. There is lots going on this Sunday! The choir is going to be back at Westfield, and it is Worldwide Communion Sunday! (And the scripture we will be reading is a challenging one, especially on a Sunday when we will be gathering at the communion table where everyone is invited - Matthew 21:33-46.)

• Bible Study will be back next Wednesday at its regularly scheduled time (10-11:30 in the parlour at Westfield). We always have great conversations, and everyone is invited to join!

• Bake Sale / Plant Sale / Stone Soup Lunch - coming up this Saturday from 10-1 at Westfield United Church. You can see the poster by clicking here. Cathy T. is going to be making the Stone Soup on Thursday evening, so if you have anything that you think would improve the flavour of a stone in a pot of water, you can leave it at the church before then. (Cathy says that she is hoping to be at the church at 3-ish on Thursday in case you don't have a church key.)

• Church in the World - Judy is excited to gather together our Church in the World committee to brainstorm and plan out our work for the coming year. This committee is open to anyone with an interest in outreach and living our faith beyond the walls of our churches, so you are welcome to attend (or talk to Judy or to me if you would like more information). We will be meeting on Tuesday October 13 at 7pm at Long Reach United Church in the River Room.

• Bulletin Dedication - it has been a while since I have seen any bulletin dedications, so this is just a reminder that if you would like to dedicate a bulletin to a loved one, it is easy to do! Just let Daniel know in the church office (office@tworiverspastoralcharge.com) what date you would like to dedicate the bulletin, as well as the wording of your dedication; and then place an extra donation in the offering plate at your church (suggested donation of $20 per name). This is a great way to remember and honour your loved ones on their anniversary or birthday or any other special date.

• Shift Youth Group - a reminder of the new Saint John area United Church youth group for youth in grades 6-12. The first gathering is going to be on Sunday October 18 from 6:30-8 at St. David's United Church in Rothesay. You can view the poster by clicking here; and spread the word to any youth you have in your life who may be interested!

• Sandwiches for Romero House - a reminder that we're going to be making sandwiches for Romero House on Friday October 16. This time around, we will be making:

  Westfield:  Egg Salad (no onion)

  Long Reach:  Ham and Cheese

  Summerville:  Bologna

  Just butter the bread; no condiments. Each sandwich should be placed in a baggie, then the baggies can be stacked in the bread bag. Pick-up will be at 9:30 am on October 16 from each of the churches, and the sandwiches will be delivered into town.

• Remembrance Day Turkey Dinner - the UCW met last week, and the Remembrance Day Turkey Dinner is a go for this year! Stay tuned for more details about tickets as well as how you can help...

Thank You Corner - this week's thank you goes out to someone who usually prefers to work quietly in the background, but who contributes much to the life of our pastoral charge. Thank you to Cathy Thorne, for lots of things, but this week specifically for writing and sending out cards on behalf of our church. Some of you may have received a card from the church when you have been going through a rough patch - thank you Cathy for this important ministry!

For a closing thought this week, continuing the theme of the opening of this newsletter, click here to listen to a song called "Raise My Fist" by Shy-Anne Hovorka, an Anishinaabe singer-songwriter from northwestern Ontario. Both the words and the video carry a powerful message.

Blessings to you and yours, today and always! Kate.

Rev. Kate Jones Two Rivers Pastoral Charge (506) 757-2201 (office) (506) 343-1307 (mobile) www.tworiverspastoralcharge.com Pronouns:  she/her/hers

"Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: "You must love your neighbour as you love yourself. (Matthew 22:36-39)