Reconciliation

RECONCILIATION

St. Paul describes reconciliation as a—and perhaps the—key Christian activity. We are impelled to strive for reconciliation with others and of others to God because of God’s gracious and loving mercy displayed in the Incarnation of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
(2 Corinthians:14-20)

We aspire as a Diocese to learn the habits and delights of the work of reconciliation and to recognize it as our central ministry with one another and the world. A sign of this commitment is our membership of the Community of the Cross of Nails, based at Coventry Cathedral. All of us are called to be reconcilers in the widest sense and to recognise that there is a spectrum of reconciliation, not a single focus. As Canadians and Anglicans we are also called to reconciliation with the Indigenous Peoples of the land and especially in the Diocese of Huron; this is a specific instance of the broader imperative of reconciliation that includes but also exceeds “reconciliation” as commonly used with reference to the actions and initiatives arising from the Reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and subsequent activities. Reconciliation also relates to dealing with the existing and future conflicts encompassing everything from personal or theological disagreements as well as our human brokenness that leads to serious situations that contravene Safe Church protocols. As a Diocese we aspire to model what the Archbishop of Canterbury has called “good disagreement,” which fosters rather than imperils reconciliation.

The ongoing work of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, especially with those who are pre-founders of the Diocese of Huron, is a particular obligation for all of us and is a key objective of Turning to Grace. Because “[w]e need Indigenous voices woven into every key decision we make,” we will regularly and intentionally review our policies and practices to ensure that this is so (“Living Hope: Our Identity and Mission in Christ,” Bishop’s Charge To Synod, 2020).