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Hi <<First Name>>,
A few weeks ago, I sent you a letter in the mail inviting you to make a gift to the Justice and Reconciliation Fund. I'm grateful for your generous past support of United Church Indigenous programming and I hope the story in the letter touched your heart! <<First Name>>, I know you're busy, so with Indigenous History Month drawing to a close, I wanted to make it easy for you to lend your support to this vital work by sending this quick email.
The projects being supported by the Justice and Reconciliation Fund are helping to build relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the Church and wider community. <<First Name>>, I told you about the Indigenous Discovery Weekend in my letter, can I share another story with you?
Last Fall, two United Church of Canada theological schools collaborated to offer the Right Relations Learning Circle, giving 25 Indigenous and non-Indigenous students the opportunity to confront the wounds of their historical relationship and wrestle with achieving meaningful reconciliation. Ceremony was a focus throughout the hybrid-attendance event, which was jointly organized by Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre (SSSC) and the Centre for Christian Studies (CCS), in response to TRC Call to Action 60.
During a powerful ceremony early in the session called "At the Wood's Edge" (from the Haudenosaunee tradition), SSSC's Adrian Jacobs acted as a "villager" while CCS attendees acted as settler "visitors" to the village. Adrian wiped their tears with deer skin, cleared their ears with a feather, and cleared their throats with water, "so that their grief would not stop them from hearing clearly and speaking bravely". He asked them why they had come.
So, why had they come? The CCS students prayerfully discerned and deliberated. Their response was to thank the SSSC participants for the perspective they would share, and they indicated their commitment to justice, acknowledging the ways in which justice has been-- and continues to be-- denied to Indigenous communities. They had come with open hearts, ready to learn and unlearn, respectfully seeking mutuality with their Indigenous neighbours.
Over the three-day session, students were introduced to forms of peacemaking and relationship-building based on a holistic worldview and Indigenous values: the significance of land and place, of creation and non-human relations- the foundation of gratitude and humility. Staff and students left feeling that the Right Relations Learning Circle had been incredibly worthwhile for all involved. "We became family," one participant shared.
<<First Name>>, it’s crucial that transformational events like the Right Relations Learning Circle can continue to happen!
Please, donate to the Justice and Reconciliation Fund today and lift up this vital work >>.
This year, the Review Committee for the Justice and Reconciliation Fund have opened an additional granting round for prospective projects. This means there may be even more vital reconciliation work that needs funding. This work is making genuine impact; if even one project was turned away because of a lack of funding, it would be heartbreaking!
None of this important work should go unsupported... your gift can help ensure it can happen.
With your support, these projects will honour diversity, help people heal as they speak their truth, and strengthen Indigenous communities and our United Church now and into the future. Your gift will grow steadily over time, and be ready as soon as it's needed to help fund new events and initiatives. Making your gift today is a meaningful way to show you care about working towards reconciliation.
Haudenosaunee philosophy recognizes that everything we do today is because of decisions made seven generations ago, and will have impacts seven generations into the future. For our grandchildren’s grandchildren and beyond, we must act now with humility, and in a spirit of reconciliation. On behalf of all those who will be impacted by important initiatives like the Right Relations Learning Circle: thank you, <<First Name>>, for your generous support. Future generations will know harmony and respect because of the effort we all make today!
In Solidarity,
Sarah Charters
President
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