Westwood Community Church.
Hillside Community Church.
King of Life Lutheran Church.
Friendship Baptist Church.
Eagle Ridge Bible Fellowship.
The Stirring Church.
Westwood Alliance Church.
And Vancouver Revival Centre.
These are the eight Tri-City places of worship whose names will be on a letter of apology delivered to the Kwikwetlem First Nation this week.
It’s a significant letter — a first in the local history books for Tri-City churches to come together and to take responsibility for the suffering the Christian churches caused on Aboriginal people across Canada in years past.
It’s also a first step, they hope, in a long road of healing between the two communities.
There were so many things leading up to this letter, said Anena Simpson, associate pastor at Hillside Community Church in Coquitlam.
This year’s celebration of 150 years since the signing of the Confederation was a prompt.
The call to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission also carried much weight, Simpson said.
Of the Commission’s 94 recommendations made in December 2015, at least three of them are directed at the church.
And one of the calls is for the church to make amends and to educate about its sins against the First Nations people,
That includes teaching about the brutalities that happened in government- and church-run facilities such as boarding homes and residential schools — places where thousands of children were ripped away from their families and abused, sometimes to death.
Now is the time to acknowledge the churches’ failings and to rebuild ties with the First Nations, Simpson said.
“It’s going to be a long journey. We need to reach out to them and to beg for forgiveness — not just for the residential schools but all all the atrocities since first contact.”
Recently, Simpson spearheaded the Rising Eagle Organization (REO) to get Tri-City churches on board with the rebuilding process.
And, on Friday, REO will host a free concert at Coquitlam Town Centre Plaza for the public to witness the reading of the apology letter.
There will be a prayer for forgiveness, words from Kenny Blacksmith of Gathering Nations International and music from Art Lucier and the Reviver Band. Hillside will also present a $1,000 cheque to Kwikwetlem for its inaugural golf tournament on Aug. 24, where money will be raised to build the band’s first-ever health and wellness centre.
Still, while local churches are speaking out, it’s unclear if anyone from Kwikwetlem First Nation will be listening.
A representative for Chief Ron Giesbrecht said he’ll be out of town this week and council members have yet confirm their attendance, said REO executive director Karen English of Riverside Community Church (Kwikwetlem said in an email today it would not be taking part).
Invites also have gone out to other First Nations officials across B.C., she said.
“It takes time to build trust,” Simpson said.
Partial funding for the concert will come from the Canada 150 Fund via the Coquitlam Foundation.
REO also has secured several sponsors including the city of Coquitlam, the Evergreen Cultural Centre and Livable Region Consulting Inc., a company owned by Port Coquitlam Mayor (and Metro Vancouver board chair) Greg Moore.
He and Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart are expected to be at the concert.
