Murdered. Missing. These words evoke fear, anger and grief. We hear of murders and disappearances on a regular basis. Yet, unless it happens to someone in our family or among our friends, it is easy to see it as tragedy at a distance.
Violence and murder are a significant reality for many Indigenous women and children in B.C. and across Canada.
We have been called into reconciliation as individuals and churches in Canada to honour, respect and walk as Indigenous and non-Indigenous people together. We aim to emulate Jesus’ model of love and welcome to all God’s peoples. We haveseen the struggles and work to honour the dead, the ancestors and to heal and forgive all that Indigenous Peoples have and continue to endure. What can we do as Lutherans?
We can empathize with the years of loss of beloved daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts and children through murder that has not been brought to justice or missing loved ones not found. Church of the Cross and Grace in Victoria, have been attending the Stolen Sisters March and have done a memorial at each church in February for the last three years. Each memorial looks different, as circumstances and resources dictate. Each memorial has increased our congregations’ response, interest and commitment.
On Sunday, Feb. 17, the two congregations honoured the memory of 21 B.C. First Nations women who were murdered or missing.
As worship began at Church of the Cross, a red dress hung from the processional cross. Twenty-one women silently made their way from the congregation to stand in front of the communion table. Each carried a sheet of paper with the name of one of those 21 women, one was an infant. Their names were read one by one. Their age was given. The date of their murder or disappearance was spoken. Most of the disappearances or murders were noted as unresolved.
At Grace there was a memorial processionat the end of worship with a woman’s red dress covered in a traditional wrap carriedon the processional cross. A red carnation was given to each woman of the congregation. In both congregations, prayers were offered for loved ones and asking for help to walk together. We both are on a reconciliation journey that goes further.
The following prayer was offered at Grace:
Dear God, help us as a church and as individuals to honour Indigenous sisters who have been murdered or reported missing through the years in Canada. We pray for your healing touch over the families and friends of these women and children across Canada, who are still deeply grieving. Send your Spirit to inspire all the supporting women and men who honour their memory and have participated in the March or in national civil or church ceremonies, so that we all examine the reasons for violence and find and champion ways to stop the violence done to Indigenous women, and all women across Canada.
Creator, we also pray that you would help us to learn the real history of the Indigenous Peoples, to shed prejudices and to treat one another with the honour, respect and welcome that was modeled by our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to stand together for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and to support one another in crises and in work toward healing and forgiveness, for we are brothers and sisters through your perfect love for all through Christ. Amen
While we grieve the loss of these daughters, sisters, mothers, grandmothers and aunts, we are empowered by the gospel of Jesus to stand in solidarity with the survivors of missing and murdered Indigenous women. We are empowered to seek justice for them and to seek reconciliation with grieving Indigenous communities.
Remembering and honouring the victims of the ultimate violence is an important action in the journey of healing as Indigenous and non-Indigenous people together.
Consider how your congregation can add its voice in remembering murdered and missing Indigenous women in your community.—Craig Knight and Barb Smart
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