When Churches Burn

 In days past I joked with colleagues that the United Church needed to equip a few dark vans with tinted windows and teams with flamethrowers to address the problem of far too many church buildings and not enough people. Needless to say I wasn't serious in suggesting this as a solution to the "edifice complex" of congregations which were no longer viable.

Now I am pondering the spate of church burnings which have happened since revelations of the unmarked graves of Indigenous children who died while "students" at Residential Schools in Canada. These young people were often malnourished, abused in a number of ways, including as child labourers, and rarely given adequate medical attention. Thousands died due to neglect and what transpired is our national shame. Christian denominations were an integral part of this systematic destruction of Indigenous culture and lives so it is little wonder that anger is directed toward institutional religion in this fashion.  

While the Roman Catholic Church was the principal perpetrator and the denomination which refuses to formally apologize for the abuses, a number of the churches which have been destroyed are from other denominations, including two United Churches. Officials and congregants are on edge in many communities, wondering if their buildings are next. While the United Church we can never truly redress our participation in Residential Schools we have formally apologized, paid restitution, established a Healing Fund, and participated in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

Several Indigenous leaders and survivors of Residential Schools have spoken out saying that burning churches is not the answer. A Pentecostal pastor, Jenn Allan-Riley, herself a ‘60s Scoop survivor and the daughter of a residential school survivor, maintains that these acts of  arson are fuelling further division between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people: 

Burning down churches is not in solidarity with us indigenous people. As I said we do not destroy people's places of worship. We're concerned about the burning and defacing of churches bringing more strife, depression and anxiety to those already in pain and mourning.

Some of these torched church buildings were familiar sanctuaries for Indigenous Christians who've sought solace to address the resurfaced trauma of recent revelations. When we lived in Northern Ontario I regularly visited the Anishnabe Spiritual Centre near Espanola and Manitoulin Island which was developed by the Jesuits for Indigenous people. I recall sitting at a table over coffee, listening to two older First Nations individuals respectfully discuss their own spiritual choices. One was a devout Roman Catholic whose Christian faith sustained her. The other had stepped away from his Christian upbringing to explore traditional ways which were more authentic and meaningful for him. I appreciated their ability to listen to one another  and actually both participated in traditional practices despite divergent paths. 

What the various denominations perpetrated against Indigenous peoples was sinful and contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We woke up today to more grim news about the discovery of well over 100 unmarked graves in another community. It's inevitable that there will be more. I hope those who are tempted to express their legitimate outrage will find ways other than destroying more churches. Our willingness to bring about meaningful change will be vital to healing.