Anglican Indigenous Sacred Circle 2000
A welcome encounter and awakening in faith

I was one of eight non-aboriginal people who attended a gathering of 150 Aboriginal Anglicans from across Canada, as a partner in the Anglican Sacred Circle of Indigenous People. I will never be the same.

Elders and young people, men and women, Cree, Ojibway, Metis, Inuit, Saulteaux, Kitkatla, Kwakuitl, and members of other tribes came from all corners of the land that we now call Canada. We prayed together, sang, danced, cried, and laughed. Mostly we told stories and we listened to each other.

How can I begin to tell you about the faces and the names and the hearts of the people I met?

One was an elder, who had been an alcoholic for fifty years. He told me he drank to ease the pain. "Now I'm free," he said. He spoke about his faith in Jesus and that his healing journey began as Aboriginal Anglicans shared stories of suffering in residential schools.

I met an elder from British Columbia, a member of the Kitkatla nation who shared the stories told her by her grandfather. She wept for the loss of pride that she remembered her elders had shared in their people. "The sun will rise again tomorrow," her grandfather had said, and she added, "in order to be healed, we need to forgive."

I met a Cree Elder from Northern Ontario who told us about being stranded in the bush after their radio contact advised them that the bush plane could not land on the ice. All the hunters turned to the Elder and said, "what do we do?" "We turn to God," was his answer, and that evening they gathered in a circle and prayed, in confidence that the Creator knew their needs. They were rescued the next day. When we shared what we need for the healing journey, this same Elder said simply, " I need my brothers and sisters."

I was afraid to be a minority person amongst the native peoples and worried that I would be hated because I am a member of the dominant culture which is responsible for so much injustice and pain. Instead, I met my brothers and sisters in Christ who welcomed me, took me into their hearts, shared their stories and their pain, and reminded me that we must follow God's teaching on this healing walk together.

Little do we know the treasure we have in our Aboriginal brothers and sisters who are with us in our Anglican Church. Chimiigwech my friends. 'Til we meet again.

Ann Keating is the Director of Community Ministries in the Diocese of Toronto.