The Intercultural Learning Experience (ILE), directed by Marc Potvin, Director of Field Education, aims to provide students with an encounter that goes beyond academic study and moves toward personal engagement. “Informative, insightful, eye-opening,” he says. “My aim for the ILE is to provide first steps for students to begin an intentional reconciliation journey with First Nations.”

Encounter and Discovery

The week included a visit to Kahnawake where they met with leaders of the Kahnawake United Church and a visit to the Abenaki Museum in Odanak, outside of Sorel.

In Odanak, students encountered centuries of Indigenous history and living heritage. Among the museum’s exhibits was a display of artifacts unearthed in the village, some more than three thousand years old, offering tangible evidence of the Abenaki Nation’s long relationship with the land.

For some, this visit was more than educational, it was transformative. Nathaniel McMaster reflected, “There were many memorable moments. Our guide in Kahnawake spoke about the impact of the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway on the community. It made me realize all the possible ways that what we, white North Americans, might never think of as challenges or obstacles—or even simply important—can pose great challenges for Indigenous people or have negative consequences on their communities.”

The same student was struck by a small framed document in Odanak, listing family names present in the community since the early 19th century.“It was fascinating to see how some Indigenous names had become more French over time, how some French names had been adapted into Indigenous language, and how some names had remained the same. It was indicative of the nature of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, exchange, adaptation, and resistance.”

Confronting Ignorance

Another student, Danny Fontaine, noted that the experience revealed how much mutual understanding still needs to grow.“I was struck by how two groups of people can live in such close proximity to each other and yet know very little about each other. Actually, Indigenous people know a lot more about us than we about them. One of the initial barriers to reconciliation is simply ignorance.”

Referencing The Invisible Nation, a film narrated by Richard Desjardins, Nathaniel added, “We tend to assume that other people live lives comparable to ours, or that their lives are so different that there can be no exchange. In either case, we remain ignorant of their reality.”

“Everyone training for ministry in North America should learn more about the Indigenous peoples in their area. History always shapes context, context shapes ministry, therefore history shapes ministry. The history of Indigenous peoples plays an important role in the history of our culture and country at large, often in ways we do not realize.”

Listening and Relationship

Students were particularly moved by stories of resilience and healing.

At the heart of the experience was the opportunity to meet and listen. “Meeting the people, hearing their stories of creation, and realizing that we are not that different,” said Danny.
“Being informed of their side of the story, what they’ve been through, and how they are trying to rebuild themselves on top of these traumas, listening to them, connecting with them, and recognizing their part in our story… these are people that were instrumental in building major infrastructure across North America”

Another student, Juyoung Lee, shared, “As an international theology student in Montreal, this was my first time journeying to hear the stories of Indigenous peoples, on their land and through their voices. The stories I had heard before were from a distance. But this time was different. I was on their land, walking, feeling the breeze, hearing the sounds of animals, and listening to their stories. A kinship was built between us, and through that relationship, our stories came together in the light of the Creator. ‘Now our minds are one.’ As the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Prayer says, when we gather and build relationships, the fear of the unknown, disguised as cultural differences, loses its power, and we become one in God.”

Toward Reconciliation

For many, the trip deepened awareness of the Church’s historic role in causing harm and the ongoing need for humility and repair.
Danny Fontaine reflected: “Reconciliation comes slowly but surely by listening to their stories, supporting their projects, and walking together in the rehabilitation of their rights.”

A Continuing Journey

For these students, reconciliation is not a theory but a practice, a journey of listening, learning, and walking alongside. As Marc Potvin reminds them, “The ILE is not an end, but a beginning.”
Their steps toward understanding, taken together on the lands of Kahnawake, mark a shared commitment to healing and to a future where the Church’s ministry is rooted not in words alone, but in relationship.

The post Walking Together: The In-Ministry-Year Students’ Journey Toward Reconciliation appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

For Jôsi Pretto Simmons, a political science and international development student at McGill, MMI offered a rare chance to bring together her deep concern for social justice with her Christian faith. “I came into the program wanting to connect my heart for social justice with my faith because I felt like there wasn’t really any opportunity to do so,” she explains. Having heard about the program from a friend and campus ministry staff, Jôsi saw MMI as a unique opportunity for growth.

Amani Ciccarelli, a student at the University of Waterloo studying Environment, Resources, and Sustainability, applied after her grandfather forwarded her the opportunity. What started as a practical search for a co-op placement became something more.
“I hoped it might help me develop my faith,” she reflects. Having recently been confirmed in the Anglican Church, Amani was eager to keep the promises she had made in that spiritual commitment, and MMI helped her do just that.

Nicolas Shone, a Concordia University student in Human Relations with a minor in Theological Studies, was raised in Quebec City and heard about MMI through an Anglican priest mentor. Now rooted in Orthodox Christian tradition, he came to the program with a strong spiritual foundation but found himself stretched in new and unexpected ways. “It’s been a wonderful summer, getting to know myself better, getting to know the other interns, and really understanding what it means to serve God in our modern world,” he says.

Serving on the Ground

Each intern was placed with one or more community organisations across the city, gaining first-hand experience of ministry in action.
Jôsi split her time between Disarm the Dark, an anti-trafficking organisation, and St. Columba House, a mission-focused ministry in Montreal’s Point St. Charles neighbourhood. Her days were filled with a mix of research, policy work, and hands-on community service, helping with lunch preparation, youth programming, and political discussion groups. “It’s been a really great opportunity to be hands-on in the community,” she says.

At St. Philip’s Church in Montreal West, Amani tended gardens filled with vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, and berry bushes. “My day-to-day changed with the season,” she says, describing moments spent harvesting Saskatoon berries, making jam for a church bazaar, and battling beetle infestations. The garden, she says, was a place of abundance and mystery: “It’s amazing how well the plants grow there. Even though I help in the garden, I still don’t fully understand how everything thrives so much!”

Nicolas’s placement with the Ministry to Seafarers took him beyond the church walls and into one of the city’s lesser-known outreach efforts. His time was often unpredictable: “Some days, were quiet while other days we were visiting ships, picking up seafarers, talking with them, listening to their joys and sorrows.” As someone who prefers structure, he found the lack of routine surprisingly life-giving: “I was totally fine being thrown out of my comfort zone. Every day was the same, yet so different, and that’s what I loved the most.”

Encounters with God

All three interns spoke about moments when God’s presence was unmistakable. For Jôsi, it was often in the unexpected: her nervous first day that began in a cat café, or quiet times of connection with staff and community members. “I could see how God was really calling me to just be present,” she says.

She also highlights a moment from the program’s early days, climbing Mont Royal with fellow interns and choosing together to take the harder path. “We were panting and tired, but we all took that path together. At the top, we set our goals. It was an impactful moment.”
Amani found spiritual insight through the program’s reflective workshops, especially one on Ignatian discernment using stones and crystals. “It was really cool,” she recalls. “It helped us reflect on how much we rely on one sense. like sight and what it means to engage the world through others.”

These experiences helped her reconnect with a childhood faith that once felt lost: “As a child, I had a strong faith and felt like I could hear God. I still struggle with that, but I think I’m getting closer or at least more committed to working toward that.”
Nicolas, grounded in spiritual discipline, found that MMI expanded his understanding of ministry. “It made me realise that ministry isn’t all about preaching or big actions or beautiful vestments,” he says. “It’s about the quiet moments, the still, small voice of God in dark places where you wouldn’t expect to hear Him.”

Through his work with seafarers, he also came to a deeper understanding of grace: “Maybe this is where God comes in learning that God accepts us as we are, as the people He made us to be.”

Looking Ahead
The impact of the Montreal Mission Internship isn’t limited to one summer. Interns spoke about how the program has influenced their sense of vocation and faith going forward.

Jôsi is heading into her final year at McGill with a renewed sense of purpose. She and another intern plan to continue working with one of their host organisations. “It doesn’t stop here,” she says.

For Amani, MMI provided guidance in a time of uncertainty. As she looks ahead to graduation, she values the space the program gave her to ask hard questions and grow in commitment, even without having all the answers.

And for Nicolas, the experience was transformative. “MMI has been a place where I could be vulnerable. A place where I could be myself. And a place where God is glorified,” he says. “It shows you how the Gospel can be lived out, right here in Montreal.”
The Montreal Mission Internship is open to ages 18-25. Applications for 2026 open in February; montrealmission.ca.

The post Faith in Action: Interns Reflect on their Summer with the Montreal Mission Internship appeared first on Montreal Anglican.