The Truth and Reconciliation Committee was formed to address our parish’s responsibility as identified in the Calls to Action in the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).
Our mandate is to study the specific calls to action and develop and launch annual parish initiatives in response to the same. The following is the call directly related to parish-life
“#59. We call upon church parties to the Settlement Agreement to develop ongoing educational strategies to ensure that their respective congregations learn about their church’s role in colonization, the history and legacy of residential schools, and why apologies to former residential school students, their families and communities were necessary.”
Over the past few years we have held a number of special events to raise awareness and inspire action including:
St. Cuthbert’s Leaside, Acknowledgment of Indigenous Territory
This sacred land is the territory of several Indigenous Nations – the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the An-ishnaabe, with special recognition to the Mississaugas of New Credit. We also acknowledge that we are on the shores of Niigaani-gichigami/Lake Ontario. This territory is governed by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Treaty, an agreement between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Anishnaabe Confederacy to peaceably share and sustain the life of the Great Lakes. In the spirit of that Treaty we seek to place at the centre of our gatherings the values of respectful reciprocity, diversity, peace, responsibility, and mutual aid.
Resources (links are provided as you move your cursor over the selection)
The Anglican Church of Canada’s Reconciliation Toolkit provides links to a number of resources including the 94 calls to Action, Response of the Churches to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and more
View the late Rev. Dr. Ginny Doctor’s Strawberry Story by clicking here.