On the Sunday nearest Orange Shirt Day (Sept 30), St. Helen’s turned our attention to the work and the hope of reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and settlers. This is sacred work and we trust that, with God’s help, it will bear fruit in a more just and joyful future for this land.
Our service began with this teaching from St. Helen’s parishioner and co-chair of our Diocesan All My Relations Working Group, Audrey Lawrence:
Later in the service, our priest, Rhonda, shared a few thoughts and then another parishioner, Brenda Reid, shared an original poem about her childhood experience and the discovery of unmarked burial sites of children on the grounds of residential schools: