On June, 2024 we organized the first annual “Our Journeys of Hope” Indigenous Spiritual Gathering. It was a long awaited gathering of people from Many Nations living in covenant with Creator. This gathering was organized by a team of all First Nations living around BC, each of whom is involved in reconciliation ministries in some way. Cultural protocols with which all team members were familiar, were followed for seeking permission from the host Nation to hold a gathering in their traditional territory. The elected chief of T’exelc First Nation expressed gratitude for this level of respect by a church, and a cultural leader offered to attend the gathering to welcome participants into their territory. In an act of reconciliation, the Cariboo Centre for Healing and Hope who sponsored this first gathering also donated the same amount that was paid to Gavin Lake for facility use, to the T’exelc First Nation Language Revitalization Program. This gift was presented to Chief Willie Sellars at the Father’s Day Powwow for which there was a loud round of applause by all who were in attendance.
It was important for the planning team that Our Journeys of Hope Spiritual Gathering provided opportunity for First Nations people to experience healing and hope together. All speakers were First Nations sharing their life journey of hope in Christ. Trained Counselors were onsite available to provide emotional support for whomever needed it during the weekend. It was equally important that participants experienced joy and wellness, fellowshiping with other First Nations Christians walking a similar journey. There was plenty of worship music to our Creator throughout the weekend by youth, adults and elders, many of whome shared music in their traditional language. There were early morning and evening sweat times available in the sauna, and an afternoon of land-based family fun activities like canoeing, bouldering, archery, and nature walks with scavenger hunts. Each day provided multiple occasions for land-based Bible teachings, small group prayer time, and fellowshiping in a relaxed environment. A local youth-led ministry, Thrive Book Nook, was set up and several people took home bibles, books and spiritually educational materials, at no cost.
There were two grand highlights of the weekend. We were blessed with the opportunity to conduct a wedding ceremony for one of our presenters and his fiance on the opening night. It was a beautiful ceremony celebrating two young people committing their lives together in Christ contextualized through their Haida culture. The weekend ended with a blanketing ceremony where participants who were on a healing journey were blanketed and prayed over by Pastor Randy and Cheryl Elliot, followed by annointing. We also recognized allies in attendance who are committed to humbly investing their lives in Reconciliation Ministries, through effective collaboration with First Nations people. First Nations attendees were asked to encircle the allies in prayer. Overall, new connections and friendships were developed that will continue beyond this weekend, and more First Nations Christians were empowered to invest their lives in the work of Reconciliation Ministries in their own communities. We had a successful turnout of about 60 people, and look forward to having this gathering draw even more each year!
First Nations Bible Teachers have followed up with creating an online Indigenous Bible Journeys Study Group for all those who expressed interest in learning to study the Bible for themselves.