Recently, at its Winnipeg convention, the Presbyterian Church approved the
following statement:
Our Confession
The Holy Spirit, speaking in and through Scripture, calls the Presbyterian
Church in Canada to confession. This confession is our response to the
word of God. We understand our mission and ministry in new ways, in part
because of the testimony of Aboriginal peoples.
1. We, the 120th General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church in Canada,
seeking the guidance of the Spirit of God, and aware of our own sin and
shortcomings, are called to speak to the Church we love. We do this, out
of new understandings of our past, not out of any sense of being superior
to those who have gone before us, nor out of any sense that we would have
done things differently in the same context. It is with deep humility and
in great sorrow that we come before God and our Aboriginal brothers and
sisters with our confession.
2. We acknowledge that the stated policy of the Government of Canada was
to assimilate Aboriginal peoples to the dominant culture, and that The
Presbyterian Church in Canada cooperated in this policy. We acknowledge
that the roots of the harm we have done are found in the attitudes and
values of western European colonialism, and the assumption that what was
not yet moulded in our image was to be discovered and exploited. As part
of that policy we, with other churches, encouraged the Government to ban
some important spiritual practices through which Aboriginal peoples
experienced the presence of the creator God. For the churche's complicity
in this policy we ask forgiveness.
3. We recognize that there were many members of The Presbyterian Church in
Canada who, in good faith, gave unstintingly of themselves in love and
compassion for their aboriginal brothers and sisters. We acknowledge their
devotion and commend them for their work. We recognize that there were
some who, with prophetic insight, were aware of the damage that was being
done and protested, but their efforts were thwarted. We acknowledge their
insight. For the times we did not support them adequately nor hear their
cries for justice, we ask forgiveness.
4. We confess that The Presbyterian Church in Canada presumed to know
better than Aboriginal peoples what was needed for life. The Church said
of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, "If they could be like us, if they
could think like us, talk like us, worship like us, sing like us, work like
us, they would know God as we know God and therefore would have life
abundant." In our cultural arrogance we have been blind to the ways in
which our own understanding of the Gospel has been culturally conditioned,
and because of our insensitivity to aboriginal cultures, we have demanded
more of Aboriginal peoples than the gospel requires, and have thus
misrepresented Jesus Christ who loves all peoples with compassionate,
suffering love that all may come to God through him. For the church's
presumption we ask forgiveness.
5. We confess that, with the encouragement and assistance of the
Government of Canada, The Presbyterian Church in Canada agreed to take the
children of Aboriginal peoples from their own homes and place them in
Residential Schools. In these schools, children were deprived of their
traditional ways, which were replaced with Euro-Canadian customs that were
helpful in the process of assimilation. To carry out this process, The
Presbyterian Church in Canada used disciplinary practices which were
foreign to Aboriginal peoples, and open to exploitation in physical and
psychological punishment beyond any Christian maxim of care and discipline.
In a setting of obedience and acquiescence there was opportunity for sexual
abuse, and some were so abused. The effect of all this, for Aboriginal
peoples, was the loss of cultural identiy and the loss of a secure sense of
self. For the Church's insensitivity we ask forgiveness.
6. We regret that there are those whose lives have been deeply scarred by
the effects of the mission and ministry of The Presbyterian Church in
Canada. For our Church we ask forgiveness of God. It is our prayer that
God, who is merciful, will guide us in compassionate ways towards helping
them to heal.
7. We ask, also, for forgiveness from Aboriginal peoples. What we have
heard we acknowledge. It is our hope that those whom we have wronged with
a hurt too deep for telling will accept what we have to say. With God's
guidance our Church will seek opportunities to walk with Aboriginal peoples
to find healing and wholeness together as God's people.
Trevor Falk phone (416) 425-6343
Water's Edge Consulting fax (416) 425-6712
32 Lankin Boulevard E-Mail: Trevor_Falk@eyenet.north.net
Toronto, ON M4J 4W8