Organizers hope sharing circle at church aids reconciliation process

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/08/2018 (2806 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Organizers behind a monthly sharing circle at Knox United Church are hoping to aid in the reconciliation healing process through cross-community relationship building.

“That connection to the (Indigenous) community wasn’t there, and yet the church was willing and wanting to live out the apology somehow,” said sharing circle facilitator Susie McPherson.

“I thought the sharing circle would be a place we could get together and be together. Whatever came out of that would be better than what we had, which was kind of like a divide, it seemed.”

The sharing circle launched in December 2016 and was inspired by the experience of reconcilation in Canada. The circle averages between 14 and 30 guests each evening, and always welcomes new members.

Each sharing circle session opens with a smudging and a prayer or song in celebration. Guests at the event share their experiences with a focus on telling the story, for better and worse, of the Indigenous experience in Canada.

The event is designed to be a safe space aimed at discussing the difficult path toward reconcilation, which McPherson said they are currently charting. The sharing circle is focused on developing solutions that can help aid in the healing process.

“I kind of see it as a place to learn from each other, to listen to each other, to be with each other,” McPherson said. “I found that in the time we’ve been together there’s been a vision that comes out of that already.”

McPherson launched the circle after she found that members of the congregation and Indigenous community wanted to share their experiences of both the reconciliation process and Indigenous culture.

McPherson has been attending another sharing circle for 26 years and said she was amazed at the transformative impact it had on participants through the process of sharing and listening to others’ unique stories. She said that the experience helped her reconcile her personal experience of being a traditionally raised Cree women who is Christian.

She said she was “transformed” through the process of attending that circle and thought it might have the same impact on people at Knox United Church.

The experience of the circle varies for participants, but McPherson said it is always a place of trust that uses sacred experiences to create stronger community bonds in the face of reconcilation.

Members have even started bringing their kids to meetings or events in an effort to share the work of the circle with a broader audience.

She said that some members have experienced a noticeable change in their willingness to talk about and explore what reconciliation means and the steps that need to be taken.

One of the more important ideas to come out of the circle has been the importance of preserving Indigenous languages. Some members have offered to possibly host Cree and Ojibwa language classes in the future.

Debby Dandy, a church member who helps organize the circle, said difficult conversations can take place during meetings, but they can help participants learn and grow from the experience.

She cited the topic of cultural appropriation and explained how engaging in Indigenous cultural practices can be a difficult road to navigate.

“Those kind of things you can put out there (during meetings),” Dandy said. “Most people are not having the opportunity to have that conversation.

“People don’t know where to go or how to begin and this (sharing circle) is such a strong beginning for people to feel in real communication.”

She said she hopes the conversations in the sharing circle will help guide and create change in Canadian and Indigenous relations because the event is able to validate people’s feelings and help others better understand the Indigenous experience in Canada.

“It makes us stronger,” Dandy said. “When we leave the circle we feel better able to be a voice to guide what happens around us to create change.”

» ckemp@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp