Giving back to support community healing projects addressing the intergenerational impact of residential schools, the Diocese of Fredericton has donated its return from the Anglican Church of Canada Resolution Corporation to the Anglican Healing Fund.
Bishop David Edwards sent a letter in July to Archbishop and Primate Fred Hiltz enclosed with a cheque for $80,013.27, made out to the Anglican Healing Fund to use as they see fit. That amount represents the entirety of the return the diocese received from its payment to the Residential Schools Fund, less the portion due back to contributing parishes.
“I think it’s important [to offer support] because the Healing Fund does tremendous work in bringing about healing and reconciliation with a part of our population that we, as the Anglican Church, have been a part of causing great pain and suffering [to],” Bishop Edwards said. “So it’s actually our responsibility as the Anglican Church to do something to put that right.”
The decision to use their return to support the Anglican Healing Fund was made by the Diocesan Council at its June meeting. Council members believed it to be the most appropriate use for the money, given that the original payment was made out to help those impacted by the residential school system.
“The diocesan council felt that we’d given [the money] for a reason and this was part of the reason, so let’s give it back,” Bishop Edwards said.
“One of the reasons why we’ve been able to do this is that we’ve received some generous gifts recently,” he added. “God has been good to us and blessed us with some generous gifts, and our parishes have over the last few years met their diocesan shared ministry budget … We as a diocese have been blessed by God, and this gives us an opportunity to share that blessing.”
The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada has set out a goal in 2017 to replenish the Anglican Healing Fund for the next five years by raising $1 million.