Dear Friends in Christ,
Most mornings, I have a spiritual practice of taking a picture from my window of the sun rising above Toronto and posting it on social media. The morning sunrise is a reminder to me of God’s faithfulness, and the reality that the sun came up and I had nothing to do with it; it encourages me to trust that God will continue to guide me through the day, whatever comes next. And, so, I move into the day grateful for its beauty and trusting in God’s faithfulness.
As General Council 43 ended in 2018, God challenged us with a time of hard, painful conversation about what we said we—as faithful disciples of Jesus—wanted to be as a church. At that national meeting, many of the Indigenous and racialized participants clearly named their difficult experiences of racism and exclusion within this church and called the whole church to engage in a time of learning and transformation. The whole church was also invited to think about the breadth of our collective commitment to becoming a justice-living community.
There was beauty too in that challenging conversation, because it reminded us of our collective call to continue to trust in God’s faithfulness and the movement of the Spirit.
Committed to Being Justice-Seeking People
Remit 1: Establishing an Autonomous National Indigenous Organization is another such opportunity to remind ourselves that we are committed to being a justice-seeking people. To you, the non-Indigenous church, I appreciate that there is some nervousness about the unknown and about what an autonomous Indigenous structure within the United Church will look like. Some people in the church have also named their uncertainty about the implications of such a structure in the context of overall declining revenues, and concerns about doctrine and theology.
One thing that is critical to note, is that if this remit passes, the Indigenous Church will remain part of The United Church of Canada. It also means that the Indigenous Church would determine their own structure without the need to come back to the non-Indigenous church for approval. The Indigenous Church has put forward a vision of autonomy within the United Church, not a vision of a separate, independent church.
This means that as a part of the United Church, the Indigenous Church—including communities of faith and the Indigenous Ministries and Justice unit of the General Council Office—will continue to be funded. In recent years, the national church has made commitments to keep this funding stable, and regional councils have also committed to sharing proceeds of surplus property sales into a reserve fund for the Indigenous Church. The Indigenous Church will participate in the conversations that will need to take place as we face the context of declining revenue overall.
I have heard your concerns about theology and doctrine. As with any part of our church, while there may be theological differences, we share a commitment to scripture as foundational, and to our doctrine and theologies as expressed in our statements of faith. Indigenous peoples within the United Church have long held together their Christian faith and Indigenous spiritual practices. The church as a whole has, beginning with the 1986 Apology and most recently in embracing the Calls to the Church, recognized and welcomed this.
There may well be issues that need to be worked through as we navigate a new path. We commit to doing so in the relationship the National Indigenous Council envisioned in their proposal to General Council 44: as two canoes travelling parallel in the same river.
Remit 1 is only one facet of our church’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation. Others include adopting the principles, norms and standards of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and enacting the Calls to the Church from the Caretakers of our Indigenous Circle.
Your Vote Is Vital
Please remember that the governing body of every pastoral charge needs to vote on this remit by March 31, 2024. If your pastoral charge does not fill out and return a ballot, it is considered a vote against the remit.
For this remit voting process, it does not matter how large or small your pastoral charge is. What is vital is that each and every community of faith responds in this process.
Resources
Background on the proposal and remit, and voting forms, is available on the General Council 44 website. There is also an introductory educational video, which will answer some questions, and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) resource. In addition, we have two new videos, one from members of the Indigenous church speaking to their vision of the remit at the 2023 National Indigenous Spiritual Gathering, and another featuring members of the non-Indigenous church speaking to some of the questions we have heard.
Reach out to your Regional Council Office to learn more. Finally, you can also send questions to remits@united-church.ca.
I know many of you want to know how the future will unfold, particularly in a time of demographic and financial challenges for the church. The invitation from the Indigenous Church is for the rest of us to take a new path together, living into the promise of the apologies.
Trust In Each Other
Remember how uncertain it felt in 2018 when the church moved from four courts to three? We, as the non-Indigenous church, took the appropriate time to work out a structure that made sense. Although there are commonalities among regions, each one is different. Then, we sought to trust each other and to learn from the process.
We will not be able to determine exactly how this journey will take place. What is clear, however, is that there will be an ongoing relationship between the Indigenous Church and the non-Indigenous church. We will seek to trust each other and learn from the process.
Now, as the Indigenous Church seeks to enter its own process, may the rest of us demonstrate that we truly mean what we say about relationship and reconciliation. Please take the time to have the conversation and vote.
Peace,
The Rev. Dr. Michael Blair
General Secretary, General Council
The United Church of Canada
