{"id":2375,"date":"2021-06-28T13:55:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T13:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2021-06-28T13:55:17","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T13:55:17","slug":"a-statement-regarding-residential-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375","title":{"rendered":"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Dear friends,

In response to the devastating confirmation of unmarked graves on the grounds of former Residential Schools in Canada,\u00a0a statement was published<\/a>\u00a0on June 15, 2021, written in consultation with the\u00a0National Indigenous Ministry Council<\/a>, a Committee of the General Assembly, and signed by both the Rev. Dr. Dan Scott, Moderator of the 2021 General Assembly, and by the Rev. Amanda Currie, Moderator for 2019\u20132020. It speaks, through repentance and lament and in humility, for the lives of all the children who were lost, those we know who died at the schools and those still to be found in unmarked graves. The statement makes many commitments for the church to act upon.

In various ways, the church has begun responding to the commitments outlined in the statement. However, any work regarding former Residential Schools and the land they are or were on must be done in conversation with and after listening carefully to the affected communities and in line with their wishes. Additionally, we work in consultation with the National Indigenous Ministry Council.

This work takes time and must be respectful of the impacted communities\u2019 wishes. We know there are cemeteries associated with some of the schools that The Presbyterian Church in Canada ran but we do not know for sure whether there are unmarked graves on the grounds of these schools, though it is likely. We are working on opening conversations around searching the grounds of both Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School and Birtle Residential School. The church has also begun looking into how to approach those affected by the schools that The Presbyterian Church in Canada ran but that closed before 1925. We have also contacted the United Church of Canada about how we will work together with regard to the schools The Presbyterian Church in Canada ran before 1925 but then became associated with the United Church of Canada.

As a colleague in ministry, I am writing to ensure that you and those associated with the ministry you serve have seen, read and considered the statement,\u00a0available here<\/a>.<\/strong>

You can learn more about the ongoing work for reconciliation and Indigenous justice as well as any news regarding this issue at the\u00a0Indigenous Justice page of our Social Action Hub<\/a>. It is a living resource that we keep updated.

Get Involved<\/strong>

We all have a responsibility to deepen our understanding of the ongoing impacts of anti-Indigenous systemic racism, of which residential schools were part, and to act. Here are only some of the ways to respond after reading the statement issued on June 15, 2021

Read the\u00a0Statement<\/a>\u00a0publicly. Additionally, read Calls to Action 71-76 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.\u00a0

Learn about the\u00a0Ministries<\/a>\u00a0with Indigenous Peoples<\/a>\u00a0of The Presbyterian Church.\u00a0Watch a worship service by Indigenous ministry leaders<\/a>\u00a0to mark National Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day.\u00a0

Seek to understand the harms of intergenerational trauma on Indigenous peoples and communities.\u00a0

Read the\u00a0Final Report and Calls to Justice<\/a>\u00a0of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and use the PCC study guide on the final report:\u00a0Why work to decolonize?<\/a>

Read the resources and support the work of Indigenous organizations such as the\u00a0Native Women\u2019s Association of Canada<\/a>.

Learn about the impacts of colonialism, why it was necessary for the church to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery, and PCC-run residential schools.\u00a0Resources are online here<\/a>.\u00a0

Learn about any schools operated near your community. As much as possible, seek\u00a0information from Residential School Survivors, Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers.

Read about the work that has been done regarding the cemetery for the Regina Industrial School in “The Regina Indian Industrial School (1891-1910): Historical Overview and Chronological” by Douglas Stewart (available through Amazon).

Sincerely,\u00a0\u00a0
The Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald,\u00a0
General Secretary,\u00a0The Life and Mission Agency\u00a0\u00a0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear friends, In response to the devastating confirmation of unmarked graves on the grounds of former Residential Schools in Canada,\u00a0a statement was published\u00a0on June 15, 2021, written in consultation with the\u00a0National Indigenous Ministry Council, a Committee of the General Assembly, and signed by both the Rev. Dr. Dan Scott, Moderator of the 2021 General Assembly, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,3,6],"tags":[143,140,141,142,139,71],"class_list":["post-2375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-christian-education-archive","category-congregational-development","category-w-m-s","tag-colonialism","tag-indigenous-ministry","tag-justice","tag-pcc","tag-residential-schools","tag-resources"],"yoast_head":"\nA Statement Regarding Residential Schools - CNOB<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools - CNOB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear friends, In response to the devastating confirmation of unmarked graves on the grounds of former Residential Schools in Canada,\u00a0a statement was published\u00a0on June 15, 2021, written in consultation with the\u00a0National Indigenous Ministry Council, a Committee of the General Assembly, and signed by both the Rev. Dr. Dan Scott, Moderator of the 2021 General Assembly, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CNOB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-28T13:55:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-28T13:55:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM-1024x432.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alex Fensham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alex Fensham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alex Fensham\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/616c68239f2c71dfca1da3d1ee22c10d\"},\"headline\":\"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-28T13:55:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-28T13:55:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375\"},\"wordCount\":629,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM-1024x432.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Colonialism\",\"Indigenous Ministry\",\"Justice\",\"PCC\",\"Residential Schools\",\"Resources\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\",\"Christian Education Archive\",\"Congregational Development Archive\",\"WMS Archive\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375\",\"name\":\"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools - CNOB\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM-1024x432.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-28T13:55:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-28T13:55:17+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM.png?fit=1189%2C502&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM.png?fit=1189%2C502&ssl=1\",\"width\":1189,\"height\":502},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2375#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"CNOB\",\"description\":\"Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"CNOB\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/CNOB-Banner-Logo-01-01.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/CNOB-Banner-Logo-01-01.png\",\"width\":2084,\"height\":939,\"caption\":\"CNOB\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/616c68239f2c71dfca1da3d1ee22c10d\",\"name\":\"Alex Fensham\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a4c55914eb0d9cf031083f53ab109fd53939d2f737cf4d811a773782c18ef536?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a4c55914eb0d9cf031083f53ab109fd53939d2f737cf4d811a773782c18ef536?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a4c55914eb0d9cf031083f53ab109fd53939d2f737cf4d811a773782c18ef536?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alex Fensham\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools - CNOB","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools - CNOB","og_description":"Dear friends, In response to the devastating confirmation of unmarked graves on the grounds of former Residential Schools in Canada,\u00a0a statement was published\u00a0on June 15, 2021, written in consultation with the\u00a0National Indigenous Ministry Council, a Committee of the General Assembly, and signed by both the Rev. Dr. Dan Scott, Moderator of the 2021 General Assembly, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375","og_site_name":"CNOB","article_published_time":"2021-06-28T13:55:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-28T13:55:17+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM-1024x432.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Alex Fensham","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alex Fensham","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375"},"author":{"name":"Alex Fensham","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#\/schema\/person\/616c68239f2c71dfca1da3d1ee22c10d"},"headline":"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools","datePublished":"2021-06-28T13:55:12+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-28T13:55:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375"},"wordCount":629,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM-1024x432.png","keywords":["Colonialism","Indigenous Ministry","Justice","PCC","Residential Schools","Resources"],"articleSection":["Blog","Christian Education Archive","Congregational Development Archive","WMS Archive"],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375","url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375","name":"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools - CNOB","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM-1024x432.png","datePublished":"2021-06-28T13:55:12+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-28T13:55:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM.png?fit=1189%2C502&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-28-at-9.41.06-AM.png?fit=1189%2C502&ssl=1","width":1189,"height":502},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2375#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Statement Regarding Residential Schools"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/","name":"CNOB","description":"Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#organization","name":"CNOB","url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/CNOB-Banner-Logo-01-01.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/CNOB-Banner-Logo-01-01.png","width":2084,"height":939,"caption":"CNOB"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#\/schema\/person\/616c68239f2c71dfca1da3d1ee22c10d","name":"Alex Fensham","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4c55914eb0d9cf031083f53ab109fd53939d2f737cf4d811a773782c18ef536?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4c55914eb0d9cf031083f53ab109fd53939d2f737cf4d811a773782c18ef536?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4c55914eb0d9cf031083f53ab109fd53939d2f737cf4d811a773782c18ef536?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Alex Fensham"},"url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?author=5"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2375"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2382,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions\/2382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}