The federal policy of assimilation had its origin in the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857, which was reinforced by the Indian Act of 1876 and sanctioned by successive parliaments of Canada. The Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United Churches provided staff and administration to the schools established by the government.

Reconciliation: Grand Chief Ron Evans called it a “journey we have to take” in his welcome to those gathered at the Remembering the Children event at the Forks Market in Winnipeg. Comparing reconciliation between the church and First Nations people to a journey did not surprise me, realizing it was a journey I myself have to take. I was prepared for polished presentations from church and aboriginal dignitaries signifying their willingness to cooperate with each other. As the Gaudry Boys opened the evening with fiddling, I settled into my chair prepared to observe the production with polite detachment.

It was a “historic and sacred moment in the history of Canada,” said Rev. Dr. J. H. (Hans) Kouwenberg, reflecting upon the second stop of the Aboriginal and Church Leaders' Tour to Prepare for Truth and Reconciliation, held at the University of British Columbia on the evening of March 5. Beginning at the Vancouver School of Theology, well over 300 attendees were led by the beat of a Musqueam drummer, Victor Guerin, on a ceremonial walk to the Museum of Anthropology. It couldn't have been a more suitable setting for this time of truth-telling, listening, learning and healing – sitting in the great hall with the totem poles as a backdrop, in the area that had once been the site of a Musqueam warriors' village. Garan informed the audience that his people's warriors were first and foremost peacekeepers.

“There is an emerging and compelling desire to put the events of the past behind us so that we can work towards a stronger and healthier future. The truth telling and reconciliation process as part of an overall holistic and comprehensive response to the Indian Residential School legacy is a sincere indication and acknowledgement of the injustices and harms experienced by Aboriginal people and the need for continued healing. The truth of our common experiences will help set our spirits free and pave the way to reconciliation.”

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” – Ezekiel 37:1-3

Norman Wirzba writes in Living the Sabbath of “the principle that was well-known in ancient or traditional cultures: bodily health includes the health of many bodies, human and non-human, we necessarily live with.” He echoes the teachings of Canada's First Nations that everything around us, animate and inanimate, is “all my relations.”

It was fitting that the Marketplace Court at the Forks in Winnipeg should be the last stop in our national Aboriginal and Church Leaders' tour. For it was here, at this traditional stopping place at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, that Aboriginal peoples gathered for centuries to meet, to share food and medicine, to discuss issues of common concern and to trade. It was here, too, that new inhabitants of Canada met with the Aboriginal peoples and shared their cultures, thereby offering an opportunity to grow together as peoples and become enriched as individual human beings in building bonds of friendship and new understanding.

“We are appealing to the general public to talk to their Members of Parliament, their legislators … to encourage them to get the Prime Minister of Canada to formally apologize for the atrocities that occurred at the hands of the governments of the past,” Chief Lawrence Joseph of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations said to the 500 people gathered at the Saskatoon Western Development Museum.

Sunday, March 2 was the launch of Remembering the Children, a cross-Canada tour promoting the upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools. Aboriginal and church leaders gathered along with a colourful collection of singers, dancers, musicians and children in the Grand Hall of the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa. This enormous hall, designed by Aboriginal architect Douglas Cardinal, is home to six reconstructed Native houses from coastal British Columbia and 43 totem poles, the largest collection in the world. Through the three-storey windows, you can see across the river to Parliament Hill. It proved an appropriate backdrop to a dramatic evening.

As stewards of the earth, Presbyterians are increasingly becoming aware of our need to walk more gently on the earth, to use energy wisely and not squander the financial resources we have been given. But while most citizens of Canada have been pushing governments to move toward sustainability, many congregations have been reluctant to invest in measures to save energy. However, now that energy prices have begun to increase at rates far above inflation, congregations and individuals have begun to realise the value in energy conservation and renewable energy sources. Congregational budgets are already tight enough without paying higher heating bills.

Have you ever wondered how Adam got his name? Given all the possibilities, and the obvious importance of naming, we need to know why this particular name was given and not some other. As it turns out, all the clues we need are found in the story itself.

'I am sure God has a plan for my church. And, I'm pretty sure what we're doing isn't it.” These are two of the three concerns I heard repeatedly while doing a congregational visit where I met with every member one-on-one. (It was a very small congregation and that was possible.) The third, however, was the punchline: “And, I'm the only one who feels that way.”