Anglican Indigenous Sacred Circle 2000
Walking a New Vision

Daily Reflections

Primate Honoured

The Most Reverend Michael Peers, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, was honoured today during the morning service.

Commending the Primate for his courageous stand for First Nations People and his compassion, Ethel Ahenakew from the Diocese of Saskatoon honoured the Primate with the following declaration.

"As the head of the Anglican Church of Canada, you are the instrument God has chosen to orchestrate the Church to start over, after admitting to the wrongs that your ancestors have committed. We can now start building bridges so that white and aboriginal people can come together and become strong as a church, a church where you have laid a strong foundation with your Apology."

The tribute was affirmed by the Circle with a standing ovation.
[full text of Ethel Ahenakew's statement]
[full text of the Primate's apology]

Youth Bring Hope to Gathering

Young people and children are a welcome sign of hope at this fourth Anglican Indigenous Sacred Circle in Port Elgin, Ontario. Maia Eyre and Sarah Boucher, daughters of Anglican Video staff, Lisa Barry and Becky Boucher, have been warmly welcomed, along with other children, by those attending the gathering. To many of the delegates having children around is like being at home.

Young people have been welcomed and integrated into the Sharing Circles. Their presence has been a real gift adding new life and vitality to the circles. Young people said that they have really felt a part of the group and that for the first time they have felt as if they have been listened to. The overall consensus with the youth in one group was that when their concerns, such as the language barrier, are met they are eager to participate .

At the Healing Service Mervin Wolfleg declared that it is the young people who will be the evangelists in this new day.

The service led by the youth on Tuesday morning was ample evidence of Mervin's statement. The homilist, Gabriel Constant held the audience's attention with a moving account of his faith journey and spell binding dream of two stars.

The youth closed the service by inviting all the clergy present to move up onto the platform and lay hands on them . The congregation joined in prayer with bishops, priests and deacons as they blessed the youth of their parishes. Many, if not all, were touched by the moving of the Spirit binding young and old together in love.

God's spirit continued to move as the youth share the peace of Christ among the Circle.

Strength For The Journey

Retelling history is a recurring theme. ?A couple of the people that I?ve met, particularly in my group, really value their history. A desire to have more conveyed to them through their people rather than the European--- this is the way it was done and this is what matters. But they want to know their own; and the de-sire to know their own is so strong for some people in our group.?

?It's really important to have the real history of the church and not just the European view of history in Canada. The partners had a thing up on the wall with that time line. And on it were written different things that had happened in Canada. We talked at one point that if, at a gathering like this, everybody could write in the bits that they knew, you might actually begin to have the history of the Indigenous people in the Anglican Church in Canada that we could do something with. Cause if everybody puts in the bits that they know from their own community you?d cover the whole country pretty quick. So having the real history and being able to tell it seems to be really important to a lot of people in our group because it keeps coming up.

A Healthy Balance

On Monday, August 21 Bishop Andrew Atugutaluk commented on the value of going back and reciting our history.

Today, Bishop Charles Arthurson pointed out the dangers of being mired in the past. One must maintain a healthy balance between using the past to effect healing and being consumed by the past to our detriment.

He quoted Paul's statement in Philippians:

"...But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

The challenge for the person of faith is to live out one's baptism.

Arthurson concluded by sharing a prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola:

Teach us, good Lord,
To serve thee as thou deservest; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rumours, Rumours, Rumours

"I guess one of the questions that I would like to know myself is that people keep hearing, I haven't heard it first-hand myself, but this is the end of the convocation. I mean what is it A.C.I.P. We didn?t discuss it in our group cause that's all it was a rumour , but There seems to be an awful lot of concern. And you can hear it come up time and time again that this should continue. And it seems like only a beginning cause the attendance is getting larger and larger I understand. This is my first one. I was invited to the second one but I couldn?t make it because of work It should continue. I don?t know. Nothing was said to me specifically. But it was one of our group from B.C. he said that you know it seems like it's just beginning and it's going to end? "

Keepers of the Memory

• Ethel Ahenakew, Saskatoon
• Gabriel Constant, Brandon
• Willard Martin, Caledonia