Stories and Celebrations at Inuvik TRC Event
Two Hundred Kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, in the land of the midnight sun, Principal Clerk Stephen Kendall and seminary student John Constant represented the Presbyterian Church in Canada at the second national Truth and Reconciliation event in Inuvik, N.W.T., from June 28 to July 1.
In addition to hearing residential school survivors describe their experiences to the commissioners and their staff, the church delegates participated in the proceedings, and offered apologies on behalf of the denomination.
“It is important that our church say to survivors that even though we had no schools in the north, we did participate in the residential schools legacy, we apologize for the harm we have caused, and we are committed to walking together with them on a journey of healing,” Stephen Kendall wrote on a blog he kept over the course of the four – day event.
Constant, a Cree man and a worker at Flora House, part of Winnipeg Inner City Missions, shared some of his experiences working with children at Flora House, and spoke of the support he has received from the church as he studies at the Vancouver School of Theology.
The duo presented a copy of One in the Spirit, a book produced by the Justice Ministries department, to be included in a bentwood box that travels with the commissioners and houses mementos of residential school – related journeys.
To celebrate the birth of Canada on Canada Day, church representatives also helped ice 700 cupcakes for residential school survivors, who did not celebrate their birthdays as they grew up in residential schools.
The PCC operated 11 residential schools in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario; four closed before 1925 and five were transferred to the United Church as a part of church union. The remaining two schools in Kenora, Ont., and Birtle, Man., were eventually transferred to the federal government along with all remaining residential schools in 1969. ¦ —C.Purvis
Making History in the Archives
Researchers hired by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the Presbyterian Church’s archivists posed for a photo as the very first document was scanned for the Indian Residential Schools National Research Centre.
The PCC’s was the first of 88 church and government archives to be visited by a TRC team; eventually, several million documents are likely to be produced and scanned as part of the project.
“Through our archives’ comprehensive and significant collection of Indian residential school – related documents dating from 1885 to 2011, we are able to contribute to the overall story of our denomination’s involvement with this legacy to the TRC,” archivist Kim Arnold wrote to the Record. “It is hoped that much learning and healing becomes possible in the years to come through the accessibility of these documents by all researchers, most notably the survivors and their family members.”
The creation of a national research centre is part of the TRC’s mandate, although it has yet to determine what form the centre will take. ¦ —C.Purvis
Picton Pitches Pews
Church pews are a thing of the past at St. Andrew’s, Picton, Ont. As part of a $70,000 sanctuary renovation that was completed this Easter, the congregation opted to sell off their pews—raising $3,000 in the process—and create a versatile, open – concept space.
“We were looking at everything, including furniture and architecture, and asking, does this serve God right now? Does it serve the community?” said Rev. Lynne Donovan. “Everything in your church sends a message. And churches usually err on the side of clutter.”
The congregation engaged an architect for the redesign, aiming to preserve the beauty of a building Donovan describes as a “grey brick church that looks like it was built on the moors,” while adapting it to modern tastes and making it more useful for the community. The former chancel area became a stage, chairs have replaced pews, glass doors have replaced wooden ones, and some traditional sanctuary features—such as hymn boards—have been removed.
The bulk of the funds for the renovation came from a bequest left to the church in April 2008; the congregation raised an additional $7,000 over and above the $3,000 provided through the pew sales.
The church is set to premiere a new one – act Christmas Eve opera by composer Victor Davies; it was chosen predominantly because of the versatility of its sanctuary. The church also hosts concerts, a glee club and an afterschool program for girls at risk. ¦ —C.Purvis
B.C. Minister Turns Political
A Vancouver minister is taking her pastoral care skills into politics. Rev. Jane Swatridge, minister at West Vancouver, said it was her ability to listen—along with an eclectic set of skills—that made MP John Weston offer her a job as his executive assistant.
In her new position, she will be responsible for coordinating three constituency offices, listening to people in a riding she calls “massive geographically and demographically,” and acting on behalf of the Conservative MP. “He describes me as his ‘alter ego,'” she said. “When he has to be in Ottawa, I’m him.”
Before she entered ordained ministry 12 years ago, Swatridge took her undergraduate degree in political science, worked in legal publishing, and then in marketing and advertising.
“This is the culmination of everything I’d done. One of the reasons I want to do this is because of the magnitude of the changes you can make in people’s lives—and you can do it in good time.”
The riding spans six coastal communities, and boasts the longest name in Canada: West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. ¦ —C.Purvis
Integrated Camping Walk
On Sept. 17, Camp Cairn will be among 36 Ontario camps participating in Walk a Mile in My Shoes.
The pledge – based walkathon raises funds each year to support Reach for the Rainbow, an organization that partners with summer camps to provide integration programs for children and adults with disabilities.
Money raised by each participant is divided equally between Reach for the Rainbow and the camp the participant represents. Last year Cairn received enough pledges to build an accessible ramp to their health centre building.
For more information about the walkathon, visit reachfortherainbow.ca/walkamile. ¦ —EW
Kouwenberg “Retires” to VST
After more than 38 years in pastoral ministry, Rev. Dr. Hans Kouwenberg said he was “excited to be going back to school.” He began work Sept. 1 as the part – time Presbyterian director of denominational formation at St. Andrew’s Hall, the church’s college at the Vancouver School of Theology.
“I have always been interested in theological education, both as a student at Knox College in the early 1970’s, thinking I would go on to do graduate work but ending up very satisfied as a general practitioner pastor,” said the former moderator, who has served on the governing boards of all three of the church’s colleges.
He steps into the new position after “retiring” from his pastorate at Calvin, Abbotsford, B.C., where he served for 18 years.
He will be taking the place of Rev. Dr. Glen Davis, another past moderator, and a former missionary and general secretary, who retired from the position in June. ¦ —C.Purvis
Lori Ransom Joins TRC Team
The church’s healing and reconciliation animator bid farewell to national offices, and joined the ranks of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in September.
“I am very excited that this opportunity will allow me to continue the work which I have grown even more passionate about through these past five years of work for the Presbyterian Church in Canada: healing and reconciliation with indigenous peoples,” Lori Ransom wrote to the Record. “And I am delighted that by working with the TRC, I should be able to maintain working relationships with many of the colleagues in the PCC and the ecumenical and aboriginal partners with whom I have been privileged to work in recent years.”
Ransom will begin an 18 – month assignment with the TRC on Sept. 19.
David Phillips will take on the position of healing and reconciliation animator part – time. He served on the healing and reconciliation advisory committee since its first meeting in December 2006. He will also continue in his current part – time position with Canadian Ministries/the Vine. ¦ —C.Purvis
Citizens for Public Justice Bids Farewell to Founder
Gerald Vandezande, a Christian activist and founder of Citizens for Public Justice, passed away on July 16 at the age of 77.
Throughout his life, he championed a multitude of causes, and received the Order of Canada in 2001 in recognition of his “powerful and respected voice for social justice.”
He founded CPJ, a Christian social justice organization, in 1963 and continued to be active in the group until his death. ¦ —C.Purvis
Ten Thousand Villages Celebrates 65 Years
Ten Thousand Villages, a string of non – profit, fair trade stores, traces its origins back to one woman.
Sixty – five years ago, Edna Ruth Byler, an American Mennonite, launched a fair trade movement when she began selling embroidery from Puerto Rico to her friends and neighbours. She bought items at prices that would allow artisans to support their families with the proceeds of their sales.
Others joined her, and the initiative was eventually taken up by the Mennonite Central Committee to become a string of craft sales and shops. Ten Thousand Villages is its most recent incarnation.
The stores are staffed predominantly by volunteers and run by local boards. There are 48 locations across Canada, including a Presbyterian – supported one in Montreal, and one in Picton, Ont., which was spearheaded by a group from St. Andrew’s. ¦ —C.Purvis
