“The sacred walk is a distinctly Canadian and Indigenously flavoured act of political, spiritual and social witness.” Bishop Mark MacDonald, National Indigenous Bishop, Anglican Church of Canada
- Friday evening, June 2 5 to 6pm. Gather at Fort Langley National Historic Site – children’s activities and catering available. 6:30pm. Walk from Fort Langley to TransCanada Trailhead (River Road/88th Ave. east of 264th St.)
- Saturday, June 3, 9am. Re-start Walk at TransCanada Trailhead, ending at Matsqui Trail Picnic Area (Mission Bridge). Lunch will be provided along the way.
- Sunday, June 4 (Pentecost) 2pm. Re-start Walk at Matsqui Trail Picnic Area, ending at the St. Mary’s site in Fraser River Heritage Park, Mission. 4pm, Ceremony of Healing and Reconciliation. Full details of the itinerary are being sent to parishes and should be available in church bulletins in the next few weeks.
When Rev. Paul Guiton, a retired priest living in Langley, read the above words from Bishop Mark in the Anglican Journal, it seemed to suggest a perfect opportunity to respond to the TRC by creating an event that would witness both the Christian (pilgrimage) and Indigenous (Sacred Walk) traditions.
In this case, the Walk would be from the colonial bastion of Fort Langley to the site of the nearest Indian Residential School – St. Mary’s in Mission. Although St. Mary’s was actually operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, the experience of residential school survivors, sadly, was not that much different among the different denominations who contracted for the schools with the Government of Canada.
The Walk retraces the steps of so many indigenous children, uprooted from their families and sent to a place that was unfamiliar in both culture and language.
Click this link to access the full news story on the diocesan website news pages.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Paul Guiton 604.897.5070
Cecelia Reekie 604.816.2125