Webpaper 22

Page 1

Local athletes hit the track at Sections.

What kind of book don’t you read, but’s money in the bank for all?

Page 10

See Neighbourly News, Page 5.

Vol. 106 No. 22

THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015

20 pages

$1.25

History up in flames in Perdue A blow to the community as the Perdue Arena burned to the ground this past Saturday. Firefighters contained the blaze, minimizing damage to nearby homes, but could not save the home of hockey, figure skating, cultural activities. Cause

of the fire is still under investigation. (Photo for The Independent courtesy of Julie Lemon)

On the road to reconciliation by Pastor Mark Kleiner, PALS The bells will ring at St. Paul’s Anglican Church this Sunday, marking an observance of the abuses suffered in residential schools. Between the 1870s and 1996, over 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children attended more than 130 residential schools located throughout Canada, run jointly by the Government of Canada and several churches. Children often went to these schools against their parents’ wishes,

and were not permitted to speak their language or observe their traditional culture. The impacts from these schools, born of colonial and assimilationist policies, continue to resonate throughout society. In 2008, an out of court settlement was reached between former students with the Government of Canada and the churches who ran these schools. Besides financial compensation for survivors, the agreement included money to establish the

Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) with a mandate “to learn the truth about what happened in the residential schools and to inform all Canadians about what happened.” To this end, the TRC has held national and regional events across the country over the last five years, hearing stories from people connected to the schools. The closing event of the TRC takes place in Ottawa from May 31 to June 3, and to mark this occasion, churches

across Canada will ring their bells at 12 noon EDT/10 a.m. CST on Sunday, May 31. Here in Biggar, the PALS community will participate in this act of observance, by meeting at St Paul’s Anglican (Fourth and King) for the bell ringing at 10 a.m. this Sunday morning, and then proceeding to Redeemer Lutheran (Seventh and Ontario) for a 10:30 a.m. church service. This service bears the title ‘On the Road to Reconciliation’, and

includes special prayers, music, and other worship elements focused on acknowledging the abuses of the residential schools, and seeking healing for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians on the road ahead. Reconciliation, as the TRC states, is “an ongoing individual and collective process that will require participation from all those affected by the residential school experience. This includes, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis former

students, their families, communities, religious groups, former Indian Residential School employees, government, and the people of Canada.” That is, in other words, close to all of us. PALS encourages everyone interested in marking this important event to meet at St Paul’s this Sunday morning and join in ringing the church bell at 10 a.m., as we join with so many across the country in saying it’s time for reconciliation.


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