Anglican Indigenous Sacred Circle 2000
Some Personal Reflections

Gabriel Constant is a handsome young man with an air of quiet dignity about him. Wise beyond his years, he spoke about his own spiritual journey and his entrance into the Christian community. "My father, now deceased, was an Anglican priest; my mother is now one too. But in my earlier years I couldn't connect the church with my own spiritual growth. What it had to do with me and Aboriginal culture and religion. I have slowly learned that the two are inter-connected."

Every provincial and diocesan area were asked to lead a service of Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer. The youth were asked to conduct one too: lead the service, read the lessons, preach and choose the hymns. Gabriel was asked to preach and he told the following story:

"I had a dream one night. I saw two bright lights in the sky hovering over the trees. The one on the left was lower and brighter and many people were flocking to it. The one on the right was smaller and dimmer; and it had only a few people in it. The light on the left was absorbing and destroying the people. As I looked to the right the light became stronger and stronger and rose higher and higher. And it had many people in it, but the light on the left grew dimmer and dimmer, smaller and smaller...."

A dream and hope that illustrated the feelings of the people present that "the Kingdom of God was unstopped." Although the present and future may look bleak and dreary, in the end God's light will conquer the darkness of the world. (cf. St. John's gospel, chapter 1.) The residential school issues and the law-suits must be seen in this light or context. The possible bankruptcy of the Anglican Church of Canada and of some of its dioceses is an opportunity for the Church to cleanse and reform itself. To focus itself more clearly and strongly on the gospel of Christ with its stress on justice and righteousness; care and concern for the world, instead of institutional church concerns.

Bishop Andrew Atagotaaluk, suffragan Bishop of the Arctic, is a short stocky dynamic young man. You could feel his strength and dynamism as he walked by and spoke. A great preacher, Andrew spoke on the personhood of God in contrast to the church's stress on institutionalism. "God is a person. God has a personal relationship with his people. God is not an institution or an organization. God is a person who can sympathize, love, have mercy, forgive and be compassionate." This was made in reference to the victims of Residential School abuse, i.e. "God loves you and has not forgotten you." Institutions however can forget that we are persons. "St. Paul thought, before he became converted to Christianity, that he was persecuting a movement, a sect, an organization, an institution - when instead he was persecuting Jesus, a person. St. Paul or Saul was so institutionalized that he arrested and harassed Christians - fellow human beings. Institutionaliza-tion had made him inhuman. When the people who were victimized by the Residential schools cried out in their pain, they were not heard - because they cried to an institution not a person. Only a fellow human being, a person can hear - and a person heard their cry: the Primate who apologized on the Church's behalf. The Primate put a human face on the Church; only people with love, mercy, compassion and care can make healing and reconciliation a reality."

The people present felt it was a real possibility for the future. The people for their part felt, "It is time to move on to the future and put the residential school experience behind us." Realizing that some victims of residential school abuse will need a lot of time to recover.

I thank Bishop Charlie Arthurson, suffragan Bishop of Saskatchewan, for jogging my mind and reminding me of the gains resulting from the aboriginal Anglican Convoca-tions; the overseas partner for pressuring the Anglican Church of Canada to allow ab-original Anglicans to speak for themselves. Prior to this aboriginal Anglicans had little or no voice on aboriginal issues and affairs. The dominant white Anglican Church spoke for them and set policy. With the development of Aboriginal Convocations, aboriginal Anglican leadership has blossomed among clergy, lay and youth. At the beginning of the Convocations there were no aboriginal Anglican bishops in Canada; now there are four. Of course there are many priests, many catechists, more lay or people in the pew. All of them bring a sense of hope and confidence for the future. "We have a vision for the future, a vision where Aboriginal Anglicans will be united (be one) in partnership with our White Anglican brothers and sisters in Christ. We invite the Anglican Church of Canada to join us in this venture."

The care and love of the aboriginal Anglican people present at the Convocation are still in my heart: the songs, the hymns, the sermons, the fellowship, the humour and jokes, the singing and dancing, the fashion show are still with me. God bless you.