Jesus demonstrated what reconciliation looks like. Though humanity sinned, God, was the one who initiated reconciliation by sending His Son Jesus to form a bridge and relationship with humanity. Though God did no wrong, He longed to be in relationship with us so much that He would give up everything, ultimately even His life, to reconcile with us. It is through the act of reconciliation, the work of the Cross, that God creates something new.
This is the example set for us at Lord’s Love Church. As a church, we seek to learn and relearn, becoming more aware of the history and hurts of the Indigenous Peoples in Canada. We lament and walk with those who have suffered deep pain from past and current atrocious acts. Though we weren’t there when it started, we own it as our history and denounce the Doctrine of Discovery. We also seek new relationships, especially with the First Nations Communities here in Vancouver and the rest of B.C. and Canada, because that is the context in which we are placed and called into.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we’re committed to the on-going work of restoration, redemption and reconciliation. We’ll also constantly remind ourselves the privilege and blessing we have in being placed in Vancouver and what it means to live, work and worship on the unceded, ancestral, and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples.
If you have any questions, please speak to any of our pastoral staff. Feel free to learn and pray by looking at the resource guide below.
RESOURCE GUIDE
Doctrine of Discovery: How the Centuries Old Catholic Decree Encouraged Colonization
Praying the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Repudiating the Gospel of Discovery
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
Truth and Reconciliation in Canada
Truth and Reconciliation Prayer Guide
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
September 25, 2022 Sermon on Truth and Reconciliation by Rev. Doug Wong
SUGGESTED READING LIST
Charles, Mark, and Soong-Chan Rah. 2019. Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery. Westmont, IL: IVP Books.
Heinrichs, Steve. Ed. 2019. Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization. Ossining, NY: Orbis Books.
Joseph, Bob. 2018. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality. Saanichton, BC: Indigenous Relations Press.
Rah, Soong-Chan. 2015. Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Trouble Times. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. (This is a book on lament and justice in general)
Twiss, Richard. 2000. One Church, Many Tribes: Following Jesus the Way God Made You. Chosen Books.
Wagamese, Richard. 2012. Indian Horse. Vancouver, BC: Douglas and McIntyre.