News from the Pews

Timothy, to me, proved beyond a doubt that my people were racists. Just a few weeks ago, at a restaurant in Berwyn, Illinois, I listened to four retired white men remember that era in their lives, four men who were part of the community that rejected those black children

First, let me tell you how we came to be refugees. In Putumayo, Colombia, we were very scared of the national army as well as the rebels.

My mom called and wanted me to pick her up so she could rest and be ready for work the next day. This is not an unusual request in and of itself, but my mom is an alcoholic and today she was under the influence. 

My wife and I travelled to India in October to visit relatives and friends. We have been there several times in the past 45 years and clearly, changes over that period are dramatic. Moving around parts of Delhi or hundreds of other cities throughout the subcontinent, the ambience appears to be more and more like that of cities anywhere else in the world. For visitors and for the growing middle class in India, life has become much more comfortable than it was four decades ago.

What happens in the Plaster Creek watershed has far reaching effects. 

Growing up, I had very little contact with my Mohawk heritage. As a third-generation, church-going, Indigenous person who grew up off-reserve, I feel this scenario is reflective of the separation that has occurred between the Indigenous nations and the rest of Canada – and also of the rift that currently exists between the church and Indigenous peoples. 

When I started to learn about injustices that were happening to indigenous peoples all over the world I wanted to do all that I could to help and fix them. I wanted to move all over the world and help everyone with everything. This, I soon realized, was impossible. I started trying to figure out how I could help best. This led me to study environmental studies and international development in college, which led to thoughts about working internationally on human rights issues.

Over the past year and a half, myself, as well as the community surrounding me have gone through quite a reformation in thought in terms of indigenous people, their impact on our lives, and vice versa. I had the opportunity to be apart of a team of students from Trinity Western University to visit, and live with the people in Fort Babine, an indigenous reserve located an hour north of Smithers, BC.

"Over the past three years I've been wrestling with my role in Reconciliation as an emerging teacher in Canada and my identity within Canada’s past- that is, what can I as a young, white, idealistic Christian woman do? All of these identifiers set me apart as ‘the other’."

One of the questions that plagues me as I care for creation is “When we are channeling money into climate change initiatives aren’t we taking money away from initiatives that help the poor?” I am deeply concerned about God’s creation and I am deeply concerned about care of the poor and most vulnerable in our world so this question is very important to me.