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How can the Church practice "colonial harm reduction"?

Writer's picture: Christine VanagasChristine Vanagas

Updated: Jun 4, 2023

Not long ago, I was asked to submit a sample of my writing and was tasked to explain within the assignment what a certain Indigenous practice was to a "pretend" audience with limited knowledge of said practice. As someone who was familiar with the teachings of my grandparents and many Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, the easiest approach would have been to write down a simple explanation and submit the piece of writing. I admit that I sat with a 'blank page' in front of me for days as I talked with God and read through the Bible to consider how to approach the subject. In the end, the assignment was a gift as it allowed me to not only articulate a position on the matter, but it also opened my eyes to a blind spot of my own.


There are times as Believers that we can get in the way of sharing the "Good News" despite our intentions. Consider the Pharisees at the time of Jesus. They adhered to and enforced strict rules - they believed if they lived perfectly, the Messiah, whose arrival they waited on for thousands of years, would show up. One could argue their religious mindset got in their way, and in Matthew 23:37 Jesus laments "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who murders the prophets and stones [to death] those [messengers] who are sent to her [by God]! How often I wanted to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling" (AMP).


In Mark 11, we read about Jesus entering Jerusalem in the days leading up to His death and a certain incident in the Temple upon His arrival:


When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (Mark 11: 15-17, NLT).


The first time I can recall hearing this story, it was in the context that money and greed is bad (and I don't disagree), but the words recorded by the gospel writer also give us a greater understanding as to what angered Jesus. Here Jesus makes reference to Isaiah 56:7 that the Temple was intended for all nations. When examining the layout of the Temple, it was divided in different courts, or sections. The outermost court was called the "Court of the Gentiles", which implied that it was open to everyone. At the time that Jesus was entering the temple in Mark 11, more than 250,000 lambs were sold for Passover according Josephus, a 1st-century Roman–Jewish historian. The Court of the Gentiles would be the only logical area large enough to permit the vast buying and selling of temple wares, like the lambs and doves for sacrifice.


In Jerusalem, The Temple that Jesus visited. Source: Stephen Douglas Wilson, Baptist Press


It seems Jesus' anger is not only about profits by the religious leaders and money changers, but because their occupation of the outer court would leave nowhere for the Gentiles to come for worship. His accusation of being a den of thieves would then point to the leaders as being spiritual thieves as well.


Certain methods of 'Christianizing' Indigenous peoples, as evidenced through the residential school system, shows a Church that tried to create mirrors of itself in Indigenous children through assimilation. They cut the children's hair; gave them Western-style uniforms to wear; replaced their names with names deemed to be more 'Christian'; and told them their language was of 'the devil' and forced them to speak the language of the Colonizer. How then, can one pray, worship and have a relationship with God if one is not able "come unto Him" just as He created them? Because the Church did not understand the Indigenous peoples' relationship to God, the Church assumed they didn't have one.


Students at Onion Lake School. Source: National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation


We as Believers become like the religious leaders Jesus encountered when we push others out of our spaces by trying to create mirrors of ourselves that do not comfortably reflect who the other person is. Doing so does not create pathways for others to seek and pursue God. I'm sure if the Gentiles came to the courtyard of the Temple in Jerusalem they would have dressed differently, prayed differently, spoke differently, and worshiped differently. They might have danced in ways and played instruments that were foreign to the Jewish people. But the design of the temple demonstrates that God had a space for them anyway.


There is a lot of concern within the Church that Indigenous practices are in direct contradiction to the teachings of the Bible - I would agree there is caution to be exercised. But not necessarily for the same reasons. I believe certain practices and teachings have been misunderstood, and such misunderstandings have be perpetuated (with mostly good intentions of preserving knowledge) causing pan-Indigeneity and further loss of Indigenous knowledge. In acting out of an abundance of care, many Believers have wrapped everything Indigenous in caution tape and set it aside, rather than assist in exploring ways to reclaim these teachings and what they may tell us about our Creator.


The Scriptures promise that if we draw near to God, then He will draw near to us (James 4:8). While we might want to direct others in how to do so, I am brought back to imagining how the Gentiles would arrive at the Temple - different, misunderstood, and in great probability, unwelcome. It revealed that my task as a Believer is to create spaces for people to 'diligently seek Him' (Hebrews 11:6). My responsibility is not to understand it, but to stand in faith that my God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33) and will meet them wherever they might be.


If human beings are designed to be in relationship with our Creator, then my focus ought to be in facilitating opportunities for connection to our God, to help them see the amazing work of our Creator so we stand in awe of how He works everything together for good (Romans 8:28). Afterall, "His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. (Romans 1:20, ESV). The measurement to which we are on track, therefore, is in whether or not what we are doing is leading people towards seeking or pursuing God, and getting to know Him better. If it doesn't, then I would consider it a distraction, or in some instances, self-serving.


Young School Children (St. Michael's IRS). Source: National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation


It is now our turn as the Church to "turn over the tables" that are getting in the way of those seeking connection to God. I'm not sure if we are at a point in our reconciliation journey where we can reverse the harms of the past, but we can make efforts to lessen them. This includes supporting methods for Indigenous people to see themselves reflected back. For many years, the Church was complicit and, at times, the main force in suppressing the voices of Indigenous peoples. The void of Indigenous representation in the Church today can perpetuate this notion that Indigeneity does not belong there.


I'm not suggesting the solution is to splash Indigenous symbols on our walls - but perhaps consider the following: Are Indigenous people visible in these spaces? Are Indigenous people on your Boards or involved with leadership? If that isn't possible, are Indigenous people sought for input and advice? Are they invited to speak at your Bible Colleges, youth groups, conferences, or events? Do they have space in your choirs, worship and prayer teams? Are you engaging Indigenous people in the planning, or leading, of Church outreach activities and events?


A significant piece of "colonial harm reduction" is to learn about Indigenous people from Indigenous sources. Today, there are many Indigenous pastors, Knowledge Keepers, teachers and scholars who can teach about history from an Indigenous perspective and who can help explain Indigenous frameworks and ways of knowing. Ensuring the members of your Church, ministries and organizations have an understanding of the harms caused by the Church can do a lot in preventing repetition of the past.


Supporting Indigenous ministries is another avenue to consider prayerfully. Such support addresses economic disparity experienced by Indigenous people as a result of dispossession of land and resources. The Church can also support projects that are aimed at family reunification, as well as efforts to reclaim Indigenous languages, land-based education and other avenues that support re-connection to Indigenous learning.


Finally, we can continually look inward to determine that the impulse to bring back any furnishings of exclusion are not acted upon, or to ensure that they were not simply rearranged.


Heavenly Father,

You are worthy of all praise!

Thank you that you desire to be in relationship with each and everyone of us. Help us not to have blind spots as we carry out Your kingdom work here on earth, but help us to embody Your love for others even when we don't understand them or Your plans. Help us to be mirrors of You and not to seek to create mirrors of ourselves.

Would You bestow unto us the boldness and creativity to create space for others to encounter You? Would You gently nudge us when opportunities to Love our Neighbours arise and give us the faith to act them?

Would You make our hearts malleable so they align with Your heart and Your Will for our lives and for those around us?

Thank You that You are working all things together for our good and that according to 1 Peter 5:7, we can bring all these concerns to You, because You always care for us with deepest affection and watch over us.

In Jesus' name,
Amen!



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