For many years I’ve heard tragic stories about the abuse many First Nations people suffered in Indian residential schools. Some people running these schools may have had good intentions but the plan to isolate children from their families and communities had a malicious core. I find it particularly disturbing that many churches ran these schools in the name of Jesus Christ and ended up doing the opposite of what Jesus himself taught.
Five years ago, the federal government formed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to travel across the country, record the stories of people’s experiences in these schools and hopefully be a vehicle of reconciliation and healing.
There will be local events in Prince George on May 13 – 14, in Williams Lake on May 16 – 17 and a large regional event in Vancouver on Sept. 18 – 21. If you are interested in the details you can look them up online at www.trc.ca and www.reconciliationcanada.ca.
Whether or not we attended residential school, we all need reconciliation. All of us have broken relationships and ultimately we all have a broken relationship with our Creator. Even those of us in the church need reconciliation. The residential school system is a clear example of how easily entire churches can drift far from God’s good intentions for us.
Fortunately, the Creator seeks to be reconciled to us and even to use us as agents of reconciliation in the world. The Bible says, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. The same passage challenges each of us with an appeal: We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God (II Corinthians 5:19, 20.)
Jesus himself bore our brokenness and rebellion on the cross and offers us his healing and restoration. What is your response?
Jon Wyminga is pastor of the Cariboo Presbyterian Church in Nazko.