Placing Ourselves in Colonialism

4-part series from April 24 - September 25, 2023

A 4-session workshop for settlers and newcomers to explore our histories and stories, with some time in the middle for you to learn and share about your own family history too. Where do we connect with the forces of colonization? What are our responsibilities to the places where we have “settled” and the people whose lives that has impacted? Where does this lead us in our discipleship?

This series, which includes a panel discussion, a book study, and your own research (we’ll help!) and sharing, is inspired by the work of Elaine Enns and Ched Myers (authors of Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization). It will also feature Chinook Winds Indigenous Minister Rev. Tony Snow, United Church of Canada Anti-Racism and Equity Lead Adele Halliday, and United Church of Canada Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice Animator Sara Stratton.

While there is one registration form for the the full series, you may choose to attend only some of the individual sessions.

Module 1: Panel Discussion: Settler Colonialism

"live" meeting on Monday April 24 7-9 PM ET

• • Elaine Enns and Ched Myers
  • Tony Snow
  • Adele Halliday
  • Sara Stratton, Moderator

What does it mean to be a “settler colonial”?  Our panelists and moderator explore their thoughts on the implications of accepting this identity, and how it might (or might not) advance reconciliation. Plenty of time for Q&A!

Module 2: Book Study: Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization

With Elaine Enns and Ched Myers

"live" meeting on Monday May 1 7-9 PM ET

Elaine and Ched take you on a brief tour of their book, Healing Haunted Histories, and share the questions and reflections that helped to frame their exploration of  family histories, and how they intersect  with colonialism, and their impact on contemporary discipleship.

Healing Haunted Histories tackles the oldest and deepest injustices on the North American continent. Violations which inhabit every intersection of settler and Indigenous worlds, past and present. Wounds inextricably woven into the fabric of our pers onal and political lives. And it argues we can heal those wounds through the inward and outward journey of decolonization. Part memoir, part social, historical, and theological analysis, and part practical workbook.

 Promo code for 20% off the cover price!

Registrants will receive a promo code for 20% off the price of the book, if you purchase through the United Church Bookstore. Order your own copy so you can participate fully in this discussion!

Module 3: Researching your own history

Following these two sessions, we invite you to spend the next 4 weeks exploring your own history, using the following as guiding questions:

• Pick one ancestral line that you can trace. It could be the one that you have the most connection to, or the one you know the most (or the least) about. Entry points include conversations with family,  ancestry websites, and general research on the area you came from.
• Where did they come from? What was the land like in their homeplace? What drove the economy? Were they pushed to migrate through circumstances like famine, or were they pulled by forces like economic opportunity?
• Where did they land and settle? Did your people move on from their landing place? Why? To where? Did they have access to land or employment? Were they indebted by their journey?
• Who were the Indigenous people where your people settled? How were they affected by your peoples’ migration? Is there a treaty?
• Where do you live now? How far is it from where your family originally settled? What pushed or pulled you to move? Who are the Indigenous people where you live now? What are the issues facing them? Are you involved in their struggles?
• What other peoples have been affected by your peoples’ and your own movement? What are the issues facing them? Are you involved in their struggles?

 We will provide an online portal where you can share your results for others to read and reflect on.

Module 4  Telling Our Stories

"live" meeting on Monday May 29 7-9 PM ET

 Time for sharing and reflecting on what we’ve learned so far, and what we are called to do.

Module 5: Checking Back

"live" meeting on Monday September 25 7-9 PM ET

Time for a check-in on what we’ve learned and where we think we are in this path of decolonizing discipleship.

Leadership

	Elaine Enns has worked across the restorative justice field since 1989, from facilitating victim-offender dialogue in the Criminal Justice System to addressing historical violations and intergenerational trauma. With a DMin from St. Andrews College Saskatoon, she trains and teaches throughout North America, and with her partner Ched Myers published Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization (Cascade, 2021) and the two-volume Ambassadors of Reconciliation: A New Testament Theology and Diverse Christian Practices of Restorative Justice and Peacemaking (Orbis Books, 2009).  They codirect Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries (www.bcm-net.org). Ched Myers is an activist theologian and New Testament expositor working with peace and justice issues. He is a popular educator, animating scripture and literacy in historic and current social change movements. Ched has published over a hundred articles and eight books, including Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus (Orbis, 1988). He and Elaine are ecumenical Mennonites based in the Ventura River Watershed of southern California in traditional Chumash territory.
	Adele Halliday is the Anti-Racism and Equity Lead staff at the national office of The United Church of Canada. An experienced anti-racism educator, workshop leader, and award-winning writer, Adele has been involved in anti-oppression work with churches in Canada and beyond for many years. She has been the Moderator of the World Council of Churches' Advisory Group on Overcoming Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Xenophobia, and she is passionate about working towards equity for people of all identities. Adele's family roots are in Caribbean island of St Kitts. She holds a Master of Education as well as a Master of Theological Studies, and is currently studying towards a Doctor of Education in Social Justice Education.
	Tony Snow is a member of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. He grew up on Treaty No. 7 land at Morley, Alberta, where his father Rev. Dr. Chief John Snow Sr. attended the Morley Indian Residential School. Tony is a Day School Survivor who now works as the Indigenous Minister of the United Church of Canada’s Chinook Winds Region. As a Traditional Knowledge Keeper, minister and consultant, Tony has worked for decades in public engagement and government relations, bringing awareness and healing to communities of faith and Indigenous peoples, as a continuation of his father’s and grandfather’s work.
	Sara Stratton serves the United Church of Canada as Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice Animator, and is active in the church’s commitment to becoming an actively anti-racist denomination. She also worked for 16 years as an educator and communicator for the ecumenical agency KAIROS, and taught history.  She is a Newfoundlander, raised in Corner Brook (Qalipu M’ikmaq territory) and shaped by her family’s almost 300 year history in Northwestern Bonavista Bay, part of the traditional territory of the Beothuk.  Sara has attended the United Church since she was three years old, when she put a quarter in the collection plate and took back 20 cents change.  She holds a PhD in history from York University, is an avid birdwatcher, and is married to Kelly.