A Living Apology
What is a living apology?
From MinistryMatters, Fall 2008
Fifteen years ago, Archbishop Michael Peers stood in a Minaki, Ont. lodge, and, as Primate, apologized to Aboriginal Anglicans for the church’s involvement in residential schools. He was at the National Native Convocation, and for almost a week he had listened while former residential school students told their stories: of lost homes, foreign education, abuse, and confusion at the hands of church-run schools. He had stayed up late the night before, writing the apology and memorizing all of its 611 words.
That day, on August 6, 1993, the Primate spoke on behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada: “I am sorry, more than I can say, that we were part of a system that took you and your children from home and family,” he said. “I am sorry, more than I can say, that we tried to remake you in our image, by taking from you your language and your signs of identity.”
Archbishop Peers spoke these words during a tumultuous time for the Anglican Church of Canada. Survivors’ stories were coming out, churches’ financial futures were uncertain, and many former residential schools staff felt that their stories were not being listened to. Many Anglicans remember these times as dark days.
Fifteen years later seems like a good time to consider where we’ve been. Have we weathered the storm? The Anglican Church of Canada has certainly been blessed to have survived financially. Many parishes have taken steps toward healing and reconciliation. Some parishes and dioceses have done antiracism training, and produced resources to help improve relations between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. In some areas, priests have represented the Anglican Church of Canada at legal hearings of residential school survivors.
Yet the lives of many Canadians continue to be strained by the legacy of residential schools, so the apology needs to live.
What is a living apology? It is not a constant prostration in search of forgiveness from a maligned group. Aboriginal Anglican leaders have extended an invitation to walk together. This is the kind of forgiveness only Christ can enable. Now we must actually do the walking, step by step, in conversations and relationships and programs, trying to build right relations between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. This is how the apology lives.
It lives in surprising and vibrant ways. There’s a new National Indigenous Anglican Bishop, Mark MacDonald, who has been criss-crossing Canada visiting Aboriginal Anglicans and encouraging their faith and ministries. He and others in Indigenous Ministries are exploring ways for Aboriginal Anglicans to govern themselves.
And the Anglican Church of Canada is trying to put its money where its mouth is. The Anglican Healing Fund has distributed over $3 million for projects that promote healing and wellness. These include training survivors in prayer ministry, training community counsellors, and supporting cultural and traditional programs for youth. This funding is ongoing.
