Anglicans from parishes across the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa found different ways to meaningfully mark this year’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Clergy including the Rev. Maria Nightingale, the Rev. Canon Rhondda McKay, the Rev. Canon Aigah Attagutsiak, and the Rev. Colin McFarland gathered after a special worship service at St. Margaret’s, Vanier in Ottawa on Sept. 30.
People from across the Parish of the Valley gathered at Holy Trinity Pembroke on Sept. 28, its 100th anniversary. The congregation was awash in orange. During the service, 41 quilts and quilt tops, and 35 quilt blocks made with love by quilters in the parish were blessed before being packed up for the journey to Timmins, Ont. where the Quilts for Survivors organization distributes the quilts to survivors of Indian Residential Schools. Marie Cheesman says the outreach project is near and dear to the hearts of the quilters in the Valley, adding her thanks to Jean and Byron Ostrom who volunteered to deliver the quilts to Timmins again this year.
“These quilts are a symbol of support, respect and love for those who have undergone the trauma of attending a residential school, and the need is vast; additional items are always welcome,” she wrote in a parish newsletter. She added that the cost of shipping quilts to survivors continues to be a significant financial pressure for QFS. Anyone interested in supporting their efforts can find more information on their website: www.quiltsforsurvivors.ca
The Rev. Rosemary Parker took this photo of St. Aidan’s parishioners Lois Wynn and Lise Gervais at Parliament Hill. The long red banner carries the names of thousands of children who did not live to return home from Indian Residential Schools.
Parishioners from St. Bartholomew and the Rev. Canon Catherine Ascah followed a reconciliation pilgrimage walk at Beechwood Cemetery. Some also walked in the labyrinth behind the church that evening. They were invited to pick up a stone from the pile in the centre and carry it with them as a symbol of what they were going to carry with them into the coming year by way of reconciliation.
The Ven. Rhonda Waters said that members of St. Helen’s who are either residential school survivors or the children of survivors spoke about their experiences and what it means for them to share their stories in church. “We displayed the Survivor Flag sign during the service and prayed that it would serve as an ongoing prayer of commitment and solidarity before placing it in our Quiet Garden. The stones along the Quiet Garden are placed by parishioners in memory of loved ones who have died, making it a site of remembrance and honour as well as contemplation.”
All Saints’ Westboro placed a heart underneath the survivors’ flag in front of the church. The Ven. Kathryn Otley explained that when the heart went out, there were no ribbons on it, but a bin with ribbons was placed beside it. Each person who passed by for the whole week was invited to pin a heart with a prayer for those children who never returned from residential school and also to take a ribbon and pin it on their heart. The bin was replenished throughout the week. From September 28 to October 4, we remembered and honoured those children.
Elder Louella (centre front) offered teachings about the Medicine Wheel at St. John the Evangelist in Ottawa.
Listening for God’s voice in a time of change