T + R = ?

SEPTEMBER 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Truth plus Reconciliation equals hard work, openness, forgiveness and a change in behaviour.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation commission provided the Canadian people with specific guidelines in the 94 Recommendations that were drawn up. The 3 minute video “Reconciliation Thunder” outlines a systematic update of where each of the 94 Calls to Action is at this point in the life of the inception of the TRC Recommendatations. https://mailchi.mp/dfd338566063/call-to-action-65?e=40d3797d18

These recommendations came as a result of the legacy of the Residential School system and the very traumatic harm done to some 6,000 Indigenous, Metis and Inuit children and their families.

If we colonizers, and victims, as well as the surviving families of the Residential School system can look at truth together, there can be an honest opening of the mind, which can lead to a softening of the heart, and then constructive action can follow. See below the 20 minute video “They Came for the children” from the series. ( http://www.kmproductions.ca/id.html)

If, after watching this, your heart is moved, please acknowledge that first to yourself, then possibly to others and perhaps constructive action may be able to follow.

If you are non-Indigenous, there may be guilt, shame for what some of our ancestors and our government and Church did in the past.  If there is a genuine resolve to never let this happen again, a new harmony is possible.

If you are Indigenous, Metis or Inuit, as victims of this horrendous history, much healing is necessary in order for you to initiate the process of forgiveness.

Robert Schreiter in his book The Ministry of Reconciliation: Spirituality and Strategies, writes “It is through the victim that the wrongdoer is called to repentance and forgiveness. Seen from this perspective, repentance and forgiveness are not the pre-conditions for reconciliation, but are rather the consequences of it.” (p. 15)  (Emphasis mine)

Orange Shirt Day is inspired by Phyllis Webstad’s story of how her new orange shirt was taken away from her when she arrived at the residential  school near Williams Lake, BC in 1974 when she was only 6 years old. https://orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story/

Eddy Charlie and Kirsten Spray, two Indigenous Studies students at Camosun College made this public and initiated Victoria Orange Shirt Day in 2015.

When we wear an orange shirt or ribbon for Sept. 30th, we are saying loud and clear that this day acknowledges that residential schools are a part of our history. Wearing an orange shirt is a national movement to recognize the experience of those who went to Indian residential schools, to honour them, and show a collective commitment to ensure that Every Child Matters.

 -Sister Kathleen Lichti, csj

Good Neighbours

SEPTEMBER 28 - National Good Neighbor Day

We hear a great deal about conflict and suffering in our cities and towns, as well as in many far-off places. We also know that in many of these places, there are countless stories of "good neighbors." These are the people who step up in the face of need and do good deeds. Most of them do not make the headlines. Therefore, I am writing this blog to call attention to these good deeds that go unnoticed, yet make life a little easier for us or someone else.

I have a little story about a neighbour of mine.  We needed to replace the storm door at the front of our condominium.  The neighbour had us examine the door on his place and said he could order one like it and then install it for us.  Other then the cost of the door which we paid for, all the labour and time were generously offered by this good neighbour.  He checked with us each step of the way, and worked very quietly doing this deed and then came back to see if we were satisfied at the end of the process.  He asked for nothing and was glad to help.

This deed and so many other countless good deeds seemingly unnewsworthy, that actually make the world go around. Look around you today or tomorrow. There are many neighbors around us who could benefit from us being a "good neighbor".

Welcome all these moments – they are moments of grace in which God is among us.

- Joan Atkinson, CSJ

Images: Unsplash/Christian Stahl

National Day of Encouragement

Can you remember those early days of COVID when we longed to leave our homes and go to the grocery store or the drug store or for a walk in our neighborhood?  We were cautioned daily about where we could go and warned that it was important to wear a mask, sanitize our hands upon entering and exiting buildings including our own homes.  In the stores we moved down the aisles in an orderly fashion, keeping our distance from the person ahead of us. Rarely did we see anyone stocking shelves and only met workers at the checkout counter behind plexiglass not seeing any smiles or hearing greetings of welcome.

I recall the urge to offer words of encouragement and thanks to those folks who faithfully served my needs during those long months of isolation from the mainstream of society.  It seems to me that ‘many of us were kinder and more caring’ and took time to recognize people when we passed them on the street those days.  It meant a lot to have someone say hello (even though they were masked) and we found other ways of acknowledging people with a nod of our head or a deliberate attempt to have eye contact.  We learned and lived the importance of encouraging folks to “carry on” as best as they could given the situation we were living in during those 3 years of COVID.

A recent incident has called me to be mindful of using words of encouragement when I meet people during my day.  A young woman whom I have recently met called me over to her table and said these words “I am proud of you!”  I was taken back at her words, thanked her and asked her why she would say this. “Because you are old, and you are volunteering here” was her response.

In the end, it is not what was said but rather realizing that someone has taken a risk perhaps to recognize another person and make a comment that could be the highlight of the person’s day.

I invite you on this National Day of Encouragement to take notice of the folks who cross your path today and offer words of encouragement and kindness.  Words can harm and words can heal – it is our choice!

-Sister Ann MacDonald, CSJ

Header Image: Unsplash/Katrina Wright