Gathered in a sacred circle of love, prayer, and hope, we placed the Gospel in the centre and listened to hear God’s voice. Seventeen years after The Covenant, our communities are still in crisis and we are convinced that we must act in defense of the people and the Land. Though gathered as a consultation on governance, we have realized that our task is more urgent and more extensive. We affirm that God has a plan for us in the Gospel and that we must claim the freedom to become what God has called us to be. We believe that we must act now to reaffirm our sovereign identity as the people of the Land and to revive, renew and reclaim the ministries in our communities. Empowered in faith, we will live and work to overcome the crisis that brings overwhelming death to the peoples of this land.
We need to explore the possibilities and potential as spelled out in the Indigenous Covenant Implementation Commission’s work that would develop structures of authority, ministries and jurisdiction up to and including the development of a fifth province.
Our collective experience over decades of struggle of reconciling the historical wrongs and now the impact of assimilation upon our Elders, our children and grandchildren tells us that realistic answers come from our ways of living upon the Land and from our relationship we have always had with God, through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. We are called by our Elders to take responsibility to practice and express our way of life so our children and their children can live as the people of the Land, your neighbors, friends and partners of our Church.
We know God is calling our peoples through our Elders’ Vision to renewal and restoration. With respect for our various traditional ways of living we hear God’s call to our peoples to unite as the renewed and restored peoples upon the Land. We will begin, today, to live towards a vision of ministry to Indigenous peoples throughout our native lands, many of us know as Turtle Island. We commit to plan and pray towards a full expression of God’s truth and love among the People of the Land. We call upon our partners in the Anglican Church and beyond to join us in the fulfillment of this calling.
September 17, 2011
The Four Points, Toronto (“Meeting Place”)