The office will be closed Friday September 30th to mark this day.  

As an Anglican church, and as Canadians, I believe we have a special charge to observe this civic holiday. 

Some of the things I invite you to join with me in on Friday: 

Wear an orange shirt.
As followers of Jesus who worship with colour and cloth; with symbol, ceremony and story, we know the power and significance that these things can have. 
Therefore, I invite you to wear an orange shirt as a public sign of our solidarity on Friday. 

Read Phyllis Webstad’s story, who founded Orange Shirt Day, the same day as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, here:
https://www.orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story.html

Pray
As Christians, one of the most important things we can do is pray. I invite you to pray for those who did not come home from residential schools, those who did, and those who continue to experience intergenerational trauma and brokenness.  
I invite you to pray for the transformation of ourselves, our communities and societies so that all may flourish, particularly the first peoples of this land. 

Merciful God, you call us to loving relationship with one another.
Be with us now as we seek to heal old wounds and find joy again in this relationship.
Replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh.
Give us the gifts of honesty and openness, and fill us with your healing power and grace.
We ask this in Jesus name. 
Amen.                                 (Anglican Healing Fund prayer)

Learn
We are called to works of reconciliation, but also to truth. Therefore, facing and learning about the truth is important so that we may not forget. There are so many articles, books, podcasts and resources available right now, but a couple things that I commend to you are to…
Read the 2015 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (already 7 years ago),
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/indigenous-people/aboriginal-peoples-documents/calls_to_action_english2.pdf

Read the apologies given by the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada in 1993,
https://www.anglican.ca/tr/apology/ , as well as an addition made in 2019, https://www.anglican.ca/news/an-apology-for-spiritual-harm/30024511/

Read about the “Raising Hearts” project, organized by Kerry Baisley, our diocese’s Indigenous Justice Missioner, https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/raising-hearts-to-remember-never-look-away-again, and it’s installation, https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/installation-of-the-medicine-wheel

You can also look at some more resources in the “Reconciliation Toolkit”, put together by the Anglican Church of Canada. https://www.anglican.ca/tr/reconciliation-toolkit/

Give
It is important, I think, to put our money where our mouth is. 
While there are many opportunities to support Indigenous businesses and organizations, a few that I recommend are: 

The Indian Residential School Survivor Society, who provide services to survivors. 
https://www.irsss.ca/

Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre, who enable ambassadors from the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations to grow and share their cultures. 
https://slcc.ca/donate/

The Anglican Church of Canada Healing Fund, which is part of the Anglican Church’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation. This fund financially supports local, community-lead healing projects around the country. 
https://www.anglican.ca/healingfund/give-now/

Attend an Event
There will be many events around the country, in person and online in various forms, but I would like to draw your attention to the ceremony for the unveiling of a new public art piece at Brennan park, which will follow the annual march to Juncation Park and O’Siyam Pavilion.   
https://www.squamishchief.com/local-news/celebration-of-xwalacktuns-new-squamish-art-installation-to-be-held-friday-5873179#:~:text=There%20will%20be%20a%20ceremony,known%20as%20Orange%20Shirt%20Day.

Grace & Peace be with you forevermore,

CG+