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Justice and Dignity – a snapshot on TRC Calls to Action 7-10

Lead Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Commissioner Murray Sinclair has the wonderful ability to speak important truths in great one liners.  Two of those one-liners have stuck with me for  the 7 years since the release of the final report of the TRC:  education got us into this mess and education will get us out and reconciliation is a generational project.  Both of these short-zingers have inspired our long-term work in the CRC in Canada to advocate for the implementation of TRC Calls to Action 7-10 that focus on justice and equity in First Nation K-12 education.

Beatitudes for a New Year

The calendar has turned, and so it is time (in the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘In Memorium CVI’) to “ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky// the flying cloud, the frosty light: the year is dying in the night”.  It’s time, to quote the same poem, to “ring out the old, ring in the new”.

Tennyson’s poem suggests that the changing of the calendar can be an opportunity for change that has less to do with personal resolutions and more to do with ‘ringing in’ a more just, humane, and peaceable world.  As he ends the poem: 

Justice Prayers - January 18, 2023

"Now, for good friends to cheer us, for seasonal weather to envelop us, for good work to engage us, we give You thanks."  - An Evening Prayer Neal Plantinga 

Silence the Avenger; Praise the Redeemer

“Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” -Psalm 8:2

Justice Prayers - January 11, 2022

"God made sky and soil, sea and all the fish in it. He always does what he says— he defends the wronged, he feeds the hungry. God frees prisoners— he gives sight to the blind, he lifts up the fallen." - Psalm 146:3 MSG 

The First Covenant

The first covenant made by my Haudenosaunee people and Europeans was with the Dutch in 1613. In 1609 Dutch explorer Henry Hudson “discovered” the Hudson River that flows from Henderson Lake in the Adirondack Mountains to New York City, New York. This city was originally called New Amsterdam in the early years of the Dutch colony. In the early 1600’s the Dutch were the leading colonizing power with colonies in places from North America to Taiwan.

Justice Prayers - January 4, 2023

Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. - Luke 5:5-7 MSG

What does reconciliation mean?

For me, it begins by accepting the gospel and reconciling with God through Jesus. It is repenting my sins and daily following Jesus by living according to his teachings. 

Justice Prayers - New Years 2023

Lord, thank you for 2022.  I put my 2023 in your hands.  

As we exit 2022 we intentionally pray with gratitude for good news from this year.    


U.S. Climate Legislation in 2022 Reaches New Heights

There were a myriad of legislative and industry successes in 2022, including:

Burnishing God’s Word

When I worked in the corporate world, I asked one of my outdoorsy work friends if he attended church. His response was “nature is my church.”  I perceived he knew about church as he spoke in a church lingo sometime; however, he chooses not to go to a church as an adult. Since then I have met numerous persons who have abandoned conventional Christianity, including Indigenous people who have said “nature is my church.”

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