June 1st, 2021Mennonite Church Canada joins MCBC in lament of children's remains discovered at residential school
We join our siblings in Mennonite Church British Columbia as they lament the discovery of the remains of 215 children buried at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Through the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) we as Mennonites have learned about the devastating impacts of residential schools on Indigenous children and their parents that will continue for future generations. This news of the discovery of children who died at the Kamloops school and therefore were never able to come home again or to be buried and grieved by their families is heartbreaking.
As regional and nationwide church communities we grieve together with all the families and all those who have been impacted by the news of these deaths. We pray for all those who have memories and scars from their time in residential schools and for those who have been retraumatized by this discovery.
Given the TRC 94 Calls to Action, we not only want to pray but also act in ways that can move in the direction of healing and reconciliation. We especially think of calls 48, 49, 59 and 61, which call for education, financial commitments and other meaningful ways in which practical help and reconciliation can be engaged.
MCBC has listed actions for its members to consider and invites our nationwide family to join them in action and prayer.