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Truth and reconciliation commissioner visits national office

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By Ali Symons on 
November 3, 2008

On Oct. 28, Jane Brewin Morley, a commissioner with Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on residential schools, visited the Anglican Church of Canada’s national office in Toronto, Ont.

For the next five years, the federal TRC will listen to those affected by Indian residential schools, including the over 30 schools run by the Anglican Church of Canada at various times between 1820 and 1969.

At the meeting with Ms. Morley, several staff gave brief presentations on how the Anglican Church of Canada has been dealing with the legacy of residential schools. Nancy Hurn, General Synod archivist, described the church’s research into school records. Donna Bomberry, Indigenous Ministries coordinator, spoke about the work of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) and also about the role and ministry of National Indigenous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald.

“I think there’s a number of ways that the church can be very central to our process of truth and reconciliation,” said Ms. Morley after the presentations. The church’s archives will be helpful in the commission’s own research, she said, and the commission could also benefit from the church’s involvement with grassroots communities.

“I heard a lot about the work that you’re doing in terms of Indigenous ministry, and I think that connection with communities will be an important one for us to build on and work with,” she said. “Also I think the connection with the non-Aboriginal community and Anglican people who go to church every Sunday…the church is an important connector there as well.”

Ms. Morley, a lawyer, and Claudette Dumont-Smith, a health care worker, are the two remaining commissioners on the $60-million commission, launched in June 2008. The commission chair, Justice Harry LaForme, resigned on Oct. 20, citing a disagreement with Ms. Morley and Ms. Dumont-Smith about the vision of the commission.

On Oct. 24, the Anglican Church of Canada issued a joint ecumenical statement that stated their confidence in the remaining commissioners and their desire to see the work of the TRC begin soon.

Acknowledging the land and God’s creation

This acknowledgement is crafted in light of the Principles of Reconciliation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as we seek to live faithfully in Christ and in right relationship with all. 

We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, forests and all living beings, and for the abiding presence of Christ among us. From coast to coast to coast, these have been cared for and nurtured by First Nations, Inuit and Métis through countless generations. 

We honour the enduring relationship Indigenous Peoples have cultivated with these lands and waters, and the treaties and agreements that reflect these sacred bonds. We acknowledge the harms caused by colonial expansion, through frameworks like the Doctrine of Discovery and structures like the residential school system. We recognize our past failures as a Church, including disruption of connections to the land and suppression of Indigenous spiritualities. 

Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we confess our need for healing. We commit ourselves to seeking truth, pursuing reconciliation and nurturing harmony with all creation. We place our trust in Christ, through whom all things are reconciled to God. 

May God strengthen us to live faithfully as stewards of the Earth. Let us walk in love, justice and reconciliation, joining in God’s work to restore all creation.