I fell in love with nature at an early age, as I played on the rocky shoreline and swam in the fresh waters of Lake Huron. As an adult, the words of the New Creed of the United Church of Canada, calling us to “live with respect in Creation” became a guiding light as my husband and I sought to find farming practices that would honor and care for the land that has been entrusted to us. Later, my heart was opened to Celtic Christianity – to Creation as a vessel of God’s Word, to the interconnectedness of all, to God’s presence in all. Today, I am most at peace in my kayak on a small Manitoba lake, quietly observing wildlife in their natural habitat.
This past summer, climate change became starkly real as the prairies experienced severe drought and record high temperatures. If that wasn’t enough, wildfire smoke originating from fires hundreds and thousands of miles away filled the sky, changing the noon sun to a pink ball. I found it very unsettling. Terrifying. And as I looked into the face of our newborn grandson, tears welled up as I wondered what the future holds for him.
How do people of faith authentically respond?
Dr Randy Woodley’s discussion of historical wrongs and white supremacy were illuminating and thought provoking, as was his explanation of Indigenous understandings of living in concert with nature. But during our time together, the topic of “Indigenizing our theology” arose, and it is a concept that I have struggled with – just as I have struggled with the historical wrong of Christianizing the Indigenous population. Our First Nations people have much to teach us if we open our hearts with humility to their wisdom, much that can help us live in deeper relationship with one another and with Creation, and much that can help us in this time of climate crisis. As the church has strayed over the centuries from its historical roots to the support of Empire, horrendous wrongs have and are being perpetrated in the name of Christianity. These wrongs are based on beliefs and understandings that have drifted far from the teachings of Jesus and his way of being in the world – a way of being that holds remarkable similarity with many Indigenous ways. Is our best response to Indigenize our theology? I wonder if we would be wiser to truly acknowledge the wrongs while intentionally seeking the Divine through our own path, moving from belief about God to deeper and deeper relationship with God. Perhaps our place of error is in straying from our root connection to Truth.
None of us have a monopoly on what is completely “right”. We are all learning. To fully be the person God created me to be, to authentically offer the world the gifts that only I can offer, requires me to be true to who I am. I am not Indigenous. I cannot be Indigenous. I am white. I am Christian. I remember the analogy of spokes on a wheel. We start on the outer portion and move inward. Regardless of our faith tradition, moving inwards moves us closer to Ultimate Truth. Deepening relationship with the Divine though our own faith tradition can lead us to a place of respect and reverence for all of Creation. Solid in who we are and our place within Creation, we can then be open to Indigenous understandings that can help inform our actions towards right relationship, as together we work to protect and care for our shared planet.
3 comments
Amen Jan! I have shared many of these thoughts, questions, terrors (anticipating now the regularity of the pink-sun summer days because of wildfire smoke!) and questions of where I fit into it all. I appreciate the willingness you recognize the regretful history of western Christianity upon our Indigenous brothers and sisters. And am looking how to build relationship with them that is humble, reconciling, learning and partnering but recognizing, as like you said, I am not Indigenous, nor will ever be other than white. So I am curious, what does it look like for you to wrestle and contemplate these ideas in your community/relationships that are also occupied by white, Christian people?
You pose an interesting question, Lin. We live in a very white, conservative thinking area. Families have lived here for literally generations. Neither you nor your neighbour will be moving on, so there is a very strong social understanding to “live and let live,” to “get along” because you have to. In reality, most people are starting to hear more about Indigenous issues following the federal Truth and Reconciliation commission hearings and report on residential schools. But that said, they are likely not aware of the TRC recommendations and while many would seriously regret that part of our history, many would feel it’s not a huge issue in our communities. There is a group that is working to broaden community understandings of Indigenous issues, but while they have had reasonable turnouts to their meetings, they represent a small percentage of the population. The school division is working to broaden ties with our Indigenous community, but work there is also slow. I guess in reality perceptions and beliefs that have been in place for decades will take time to change. Patience and persistence are necessary.
Yes Jan~
I hear you wonder, as I have, how this white Christian can enter and indigenize ourselves to admit the harm, hear the consequences of that harm, and address with humility our part in causing harm all while living out of our own theology. You’ve said it beautifully. Thank you.
It is an open question for me as I lean into the heartfelt pain I heard in Dr. Woodley’s sharing. I felt it though I, like you, cannot walk in his shoes. I appreciated his call to right relationship and yours–we will come to the hub of that wheel and together know peace.