PWRDF works with impacted dioceses to identify needs; this could include emergency accommodations, gift cards to purchase food, water and essentials, counselling and post-trauma supports, or locally identified long-term recovery activities to help rebuild community assets and increase community resilience.

To donate to PWRDF’s In-Canada Emergency fund, go to pwrdf.org/give-today.

Or mail a cheque to PWRDF at 80 Hayden Street, 3rd floor, Toronto, ON, M4Y 3G2. Please indicate In-Canada Emergency in the memo field.

On a local note, we are looking for new people to take on leadership roles in our Montreal chapter of PWRDF.We would love for some new people to join our planning team, to decide on the best ways forward. We would especially welcome young people to become involved, to help us with our social media efforts.

The work being done through PWRDF is an inspiring and tangible manisfestation of our faith. We have found being involved in it to be so rewarding; we would love others to experience it as well. There is so much opportunity and support through the national organization. We just need a few more enthusiastic souls to further the cause here at home. Interested? Contact Ann rhodesbartow@gmail.com or Ros roslyn.macgregor@gmail.com

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Since Archbishop Chris had already been approached by the Diversity in Community group from St George’s Place du Canada, the two groups decided to work together on the event, which was held in November.

This webinar, which was hosted by PWRDF’s Janice Biehn, was a huge success. We learned some important things that we who live in Christian communities should focus on.

Being a Christian trumps everything else. Being a Christian means that we are all part of one family, the family of God. Being human means that we tend to do things that hurt others. Being Christian means acknowledging and accepting individual responsibility for the things we do wrong.

Being human often means that we are afraid of truth. Truth is important because it is a necessary part of the healing process. Archbishop Chris spoke about forgiveness. True forgiveness comes from the heart. God forgives us because God loves us. When we love others we are accepting them as children of God.

Archbishop Chris also spoke about treaties that had been broken and that Canadians do not receive enough learning about our own history. He said we can all make a difference, and he had changed the role of the Indigenous Archbishop to helping the diocesan bishops to support indigenous people in their dioceses.

I hope that your appetite has been whetted to learn more of what Archbishop Chris told us. The recording of the webinar is posted on the PWRDF part of the Diocesan website.

I want as many people as possible to listen to Archbishop Chris’ message. As a Lay Reader who had been assigned to lead a service of morning prayer at my home church, St George’s Ste Anne de Bellevue, I found an opportunity. I was able to shorten the morning prayer service and show the Archbishop’s part of the webinar instead of the usual homily.

We started in the church and during the gradual hymn proceeded to the hall where the gospel was read and the video played. When the talk had finished we continued morning prayer downstairs and sang our closing hymn.

If you have questions regarding this latter event, contact me at rhodesbartow@gmail.com.

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Many of us can claim roots in Europe and the influence of its hierarchical societies. “The rich man in his castle, the poor man at the gate, God made them high and lowly…” reflected society in 1848, when the hymn, “All things bright and beautiful”, was written. Although in the 19th century society tended to be divided into rich and poor, today we find many more ways to separate people; education, skin colour, athletic ability to name a few.

Our Anglican Church is not immune, not only with its bishops, priests and deacons but in the division of the priesthood versus laity. Those in the ‘higher’ levels of a society tend to feel superior and to make rules for others.

The worst in all of this surfaced in the treatment of Indigenous people by the settlers (colonizers).

There are many situations where Jesus’ commandment “Love your neighbour as yourself” has not been fully understood. It is not just providing food for the hungry or contributing to a charity; it is learning to understand one’s neighbours; it is learning to understand the effect of our actions on others and asking how we would feel if we were the recipient of our own actions.

PWRDF’s Indigenous Responsive Program provides funds from which an Indigenous community can apply for a grant for a local project. Instead of this project becoming a PWRDF project, with overtones of colonialism, ownership now stays with the Indigenous community.

Raising funds to help provide grants is the focus of the Diocesan PWRDF for this year. Please join us in supporting this campaign.

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We will learn about the Indigenous Responsive Program from both Archbishop Mark MacDonald, National Indigenous Archbishop of Canada and Lisa Phillips, Executive Director of KORLCC – Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center in Kahnawake. Indigenous Responsive Program Grant funds were applied for, and received by, KORLCC.

Join us to learn more at the upcoming webinar this spring Date to be announced.

As always, you are invited to join us at our monthly meetings happening remotely. Email Ros for more information:

roslyn.macgregor@gmail.com.

For more info and photos:

KORLCC: www.korkahnawake.org/

www. pwrdf.org/indigenousgrants/

“Grants Allocated to Indigenous Partners” on Page 2 of the February issue of PWRDF’s Under the Sun

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PWRDF has formed a consultative group for actions that affect the Canadian Indigenous communities. 

PWRDF’s Indigenous Program Advisory Committee (IPAC) includes representatives from the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP).

A brief bio of the members of IPAC can be found at: pwrdf.org/indigenous-program-advisory-committee

ACIP’s participation in the group is important because of its role in the Indigenous community. It’s our guess that many people have not even heard of ACIP. So let’s do some demystifying.

ACIP was formed during the second half of the 19th century and its current membership is drawn from Indigenous people across Canada. One of the criteria for membership is to be Indigenous. 

Since its formation ACIP’s goal has been to work towards self determination of the community of Indigenous peoples within the Anglican Church of Canada. More about ACIP and also our Indigenous partners can be found on the Anglican church website. www.anglican.ca/about/ccc/acip

There is so much we can learn from and about the Indigenous people. All people have needs, but doing things for others may be seen as implying that those others are inferior. 

People often need tools not others taking over!  PWRDF’s new venture tries to do just that. 

With the Indigenous Responsive Program, PWRDF is fundraising to create a bank of funds which the Indigenous community can access to carry out their own projects, to be developed and managed by themselves. 

We provide the general funds and the choice of the use of those funds is made by the Indigenous people as they apply for monetary support in one of four predetermined areas. These are:

• Community Health – programs aimed to foster awareness, educate, deliver and support to the Indigenous community in areas/sectors such as suicide and addictions prevention, family violence, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), HIV and AIDS, mental health promotion, traditional caregivers, midwives and doula/birth work support, etc.

• Youth Engagement – initiatives that promote knowledge, expertise, empowerment, self-sufficiency and practice of traditional cultural values, such as youth self-esteem and identity strengthening, leadership and entrepreneurship training and development, revitalization of their culture and language through connections to the land, knowing their history and values, etc. We affirm partners’ priority on youth’s aspirations for the future.  

• Climate Action – programs that assess and promote alternatives, opportunities and development of training and job creation in areas of Indigenous farming, trapping, fishing activities, including dissemination of community findings as response to climate change).

• Safe Water – programs that support work experience and training on maintenance and operation of drinking water infrastructure, including water treatment plant; as well as skills development in installation of water and wastewater systems as part of local strategic initiatives aimed to ensure safe, clean, drinking water in Indigenous communities).

A brief description of this venture can be found in the World of Gifts, and more on the PWRDF website www.pwrdf.org.

Montreal PWRDF will work hard through 2021-2022 to raise funds for this Program. Posters and other tools will be available to churches and other groups.

Contact Ros Macgregor (roslyn.macgregor@gmail.com), Ann Cumyn (acumyn@sympatico.ca) or your local PWRDF rep for information. 

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