Across Canada, steps toward repairing broken relationships between Indigenous people and settlers are being taken. Long-established urban Indigenous ministries help the Christian Reformed Church serve local communities by meeting acute needs and helping to bring healing. Churches across Canada are also taking advantage of a variety of learning opportunities offered by the CRCNA to help them engage reconciliation in their own neighborhoods.
Edmonton (Alta.) Native Healing Centre: One unique program of the Edmonton Native Healing Centre is nurse-led foot care. Some people who visit the center can be on their feet for up to 20 hours a day. Free access to a nurse who can help with toenails, calluses, and general foot care can be life-changing.
Indigenous Christian Fellowship (Regina, Sask.): Indigenous Christian Fellowship has had a food support ministry for many years. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, food needs increased. Today, anywhere from 70 to 200 people participate in the weekly community meals.
Indigenous Family Centre (Winnipeg, Man.): In the heart of Winnipeg’s North End, this center equips parents and families to deal with trauma and create healthy homes. This includes horse-based training called “Parenting with Presence.”
Hearts Exchanged: Hearts Exchanged is all about going beyond the headlines into deep work that wrestles with how our churches can become places of belonging and embrace God’s call to reconciliation with Indigenous neighbors. Over 600 people across Canada have participated.
Walk for Reconciliation (Langley, B.C.): For more than nine years, members of Willoughby CRC have partnered with others to participate in a 40-kilometer walk to the former St. Mary’s Indian Residential School in Mission, B.C. The learning and the relationship building is meaningful to everyone involved.
Spark! (Truro, N.S.): Adrian Jacobs, the CRC’s senior leader for Indigenous justice and reconciliation, has been leading talks and workshops across the country, including at the Spark! Conference in Truro, N.S.
KAIROS Blanket Exercise: This workshop walks participants through the history of Indigenous people in Canada. It’s a great introduction to reconciliation, and the Indigenous Ministry team has delivered these across the country.
From Far and Wide in Canada
In the Christian Reformed Church in Canada, there is growing interest in becoming a healthy, intercultural church. This reflects the country’s increasing ethnic and racial diversity. According to Statistics Canada (2022), by 2041 half of Canadians will be Black, Indigenous, or another person of color. This change will bless and affect churches as well.
The Christian Reformed Church offers several ministries specific to the Canadian context designed to help the church respond to this evolving demographic landscape.
Intercultural Ministry is one component of this work. Committee members from a variety of cultural, ethnic, racial, generational, and geographical backgrounds, work closely with the senior leader for Intercultural Ministry to advise on and assist in promoting diversity and inclusion within the church.
Earlier this year, 40 people representing 13 churches from across Canada gathered at the Crieff Hills Community retreat Center outside of Cambridge, Ont., to discuss what it means to be a healthy, multicultural church. Supported by a Thriving Practices grant, this multicultural cohort agreed to embark on a 10-month learning journey together to become more informed about multicultural wisdom, share insights from various experiments, and develop new practices to encourage multicultural hospitality and community.
The CRC’s Indigenous Ministry office supports healing and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. This ministry is also advised by a committee that provides leadership and support for learning about Indigenous justice and reconciliation and developing steps to promote healing and justice.
Together, the Canadian Justice Ministries are committed to fostering unity and equity within the Canadian church. They not only respond to present demographic realities but are paving the way for a more inclusive future based on reconciliation, mutual respect, and shared growth.
About the Author
Victoria Veenstra
