First, congratulations to the Record for garnering so many recent Church Press awards, including the prestigious A. C. Forrest Memorial Award and of course, “Best in Class.” I believe the number of awards in one year likely exceeds those of any publication ever. It should send a clear message to the church that in the eyes of many, including your peers, the Record is doing an exceptional job. Of course, there will always be some readers whose “season of discontent” is perennial.
Secondly, I am pleased to read in Promised Lands, June, that the issue of First Nations and Presbyterians is being highlighted. Connie Purvis is to be applauded for using strong and honest quotes that might make some people angry, but will make others uncomfortable. I was sad however to note in the next article, Equipping Ambassadors of Reconciliation, that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, after getting off to an ignoble start, might reinvent the wheel. I quote the third from last paragraph, “The commission will … gather and document the history of residential schools …” This has been done in depth by our church and the other denominations within the past 15-20 years; “… gather experiences from those who went to the schools, those who ran them, and from the second and third generations of people who have been affected.” Again, done! Painfully so, and in great detail, presented to the church, and culminated in an historic gathering in Winnipeg where all those groups were represented
I feared those extensive efforts had been wasted and the Commission would now waste more time before getting on with helping groups and individuals become more aware of the issues involved and take meaningful actions towards actual reconciliation so that native and non-native groups will interact and get to know each other.
Not so! The day after I wrote this I received an email with the website of the Commission outlining very professionally its intentions and the work already begun. I am heartened that the Commission is beginning at the beginning, which will add to its credibility, especially with native communities, and ensure a thorough examination and more importantly, resolution, of the issues.
Rev. Stewart Folster, in the previous article says, “It’s time. It’s time to live together.” I trust now that we won’t reinvent the wheel or continue like hamsters to spin around and around with wasted effort, because I believe that everything will happen at a time God chooses.
Editor’s Note: Ms. Stevenson was editor of Glad Tidings for 24 years and a WMS delegate to Sacred Assembly, Ottawa and at Presentation of Confession to First Nations, Winnipeg, 1994.
