Truth and Reconciliation Meeting at Grace Presbyterian Church in Calgary – Calgary | The Canadian News

With his time in public office drawing to a close, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi says the importance of attending meaningful events, such as Sunday afternoon at Grace Presbyterian Church, is not lost on him.

“It was a beautiful day,” says Nenshi. “I was very excited”.

The mayor joined church representatives and members of the indigenous community to discuss the upcoming National Truth and Reconciliation Day.

There was often talk of “reconciliation-action”, what needs to be done to move forward.

“While many people’s hearts are broken, broken hearts are also open hearts,” says Nenshi. “This is our chance to work together to figure out what to do.”

The church was an important setting for the Sunday meeting.

On July 1, Grace Presbyterian was one of nearly a dozen churches in Calgary that were vandalized with red or orange paint following horrific revelations about unmarked Indian graves in Canada.

At the time, many of the churches chose to remove the paint, but not Grace Presbyterian. They chose to keep the painting as a way to remember the generational trauma caused by residential schools.

“When we had red paint splattered on our door, we realized that we did not have good relations with indigenous peoples,” says the Reverend Jake Van Pernis.

“We had to start training them.”

In the months that followed, Van Pernis says the land acknowledgments are read and the church is now a space for survivors of residential schools to share their stories.

On Sunday, Shirley Shingoose Dufour spoke about her experience and highlighted the importance of finding forgiveness.

“There was a lot of damage done. I still had to heal. I still had to forgive, ”he said.

Van Pernis is encouraging people to wear orange shirts on Thursday and look for ways they can be part of the solution.

“This was just one event, but we must participate.”