The Rev. Canon Hilary Murray represented the Anglican Church at an interfaith vigil to honour the memory of Indigenous children who did not return from Indian Residential Schools held at the Human Rights Monument in downtown Ottawa on June 5.
She offered words from Archbishop Linda Nicholls, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada:
“We grieve with all whose children never came home.
The Anglican Church of Canada shares in the painful legacy of residential schools. We remain committed to the long, hard road of reconciliation including apologies made for our part in residential schools (1993) and for the devastating spiritual harm caused (2019) and ongoing work towards reconciliation and support for healing for personal and intergenerational trauma….
We, as Anglicans, commit to working with Indigenous communities, leaders and elders to heal this legacy and honour the lives of the children who never went home.”
Murray also shared a message from Bishop Shane Parker, who had instructed that all parishes observe a moment of silence for the children at services that Sunday:
“Now is a time to listen to Indigenous voices, and to hear the profound pain, anger, and wisdom in those voices. The lives of the Indigenous Children matter very much, and the voices of Indigenous People matter very much as we absorb the full reality of this heartbreaking horror….May the bracing and challenging love of God be with us all as more stories of Indigenous children who perished in residential schools come to light.”
St. John, Antrim — Deanery of the Southwest