I have long considered myself to be a person of both passion and compassion. I have raged against the inequalities portrayed on the news (I rarely encountered them in person) and I criticized those in power who seemed unwilling to come to the aid of people living with tremendous need. The compassion, however, was rarely personal.
Last spring, I enrolled in a course led by Professor Derek Suderman titled “The Bible and Peace.” The course aligned with the Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference, hosted by Grebel (June 9-12, 2016) and Derek invited several of the conference participants to our class. Each guest spoke passionately about the ways in which their faith has called them into action. The first guests were Steve Heinrichs (Director of Indigenous Relations, Mennonite Church Canada) and Elaine Enns (Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries), who spoke of their desire to bring awareness of the realities of colonization to Canadians.
Entering the class, I felt reasonably confident that I had an appropriate outlook regarding Indigenous peoples. I had carefully taught my children that white men came and took land away from those who lived there first. I carried an awareness that something needed to be done, and I called on the government to fix the problem. However, in class that day, I was shaken by the realization that colonization is personal. On my bookshelf, I have a book that outlines the history of my family who settled Markham in 1804. In one horrifying and sickening flash of clarity, I recognized that the grant of land given to my ancestors was a part of the separation of Indigenous peoples from the land. That separation is the foundation of today’s spiritual crisis. In that moment, my detached mourning was transformed into a deeply personal passion.
Part of my passion revolves around a desire to see Christian institutions address the violence in our past. I do not think it is wise to explain away the actions of others by claiming that they were not “true Christians.” The residential schools were run in the name of Christ. If all Christians, not just members of the churches who ran schools, do not acknowledge this, then it is presumptuous to think that anyone would listen to our words of apology.
But apologies are not enough. Grebel provided funding for me to attend a conference that focused on the calls to action issued to the church by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. At the conference, I heard the truth about residential schools from those who lived there. It was made evident in those moments that true repentance requires action.
I returned to Grebel with a desire to act and found plenty of opportunities. Churches are not the only Christian groups who need to prayerfully consider change. Our educational institutions, engaged in the spiritual formation of so many people, must also take time to reflect. For that reason, I put together a reading course with Professor Jeremy Bergen during the winter term. The purpose of the course was to creatively consider ways in which Christian institutions could intentionally pursue restorative relationships with Indigenous peoples. There are no easy solutions. Institutions rarely think in terms of relationship, but I am convinced that we must step outside of our impersonal structures if we hope to promote a different way of life together. We have the gift of the biblical account of Jesus—one who personified love and relationship—as a model.
While reading for my course, I was struck time and again that many people feel we need to look to Indigenous traditions and ways of thought in order to move forward. I agree. I experienced a profound awareness of the Holy Spirit in a conversation with a friend who claims no relation to Christianity.
I have much to learn from the practices and traditions of others. However, we also need to consider how our Christian theological tradition speaks to the restoration of relationships. The recognition of this truth reflects one of the greatest opportunities that Grebel offers students. I have been given the space to fully explore how theology and action can, and must, intersect. My doctrine has become my practice.
Joy De Vito is a graduating student in the MTS program, coursework stream. She is a collaborator on the upcoming book Lifting Hearts off the Ground: Declaring Indigenous Rights in Poetry published by Mennonite Church Canada. Joy plans to begin studying in the MPACS program at Grebel in the fall.
