United Church congregations are being called to embrace the five-year process of the federal government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which held the first of seven national events in Winnipeg last June. TRC proponents hope the process will allow Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to heal from the legacy of the Indian Residential Schools, which is still impacting Canadians.

 

“There’s a promise of liberation for everyone in this,” says Mardi Tindal, the United Church of Canada’s Moderator, who attended the Winnipeg event.

 

Not all of the dates and locations have been set for the national TRC events yet, but the next one is in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, in June 2011. Church members who helped in Winnipeg recommend people get involved when these are held in their areas.

 

If there won’t be a national event near you, the TRC is encouraging your community to hold its own event. It is even offering funding so local communities can document survivors’ stories and start to build right relations in their areas. For more on that, check the TRC’s Community Event Criteria Guide.

 

Jamie Scott, the United Church’s General Council Officer for Residential Schools, says the United Church has been calling for the TRC process since 2003. Now he’s encouraging congregations to get people engaged in this process through workshops, sermons, reaching out to Aboriginal neighbours, and participating in community events.

 

“[Congregations] can begin to establish relationships and get their educational grounding to understand why this is such an important event in Canada,” he says. “Part of the goal is to prevent a repetition of this story.”

 

Share your ideas. How can we help to build better relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people?