I usually begin these Thursday emails with a question, a story, or something funny but not today. Today my heart is heavy with grief.

As I write this, I await the release of further details in a press conference on the hundreds of unmarked graves found at the Marieval Indian Residential School on the Cowesses First Nation. As I wait for the details, my mind thinks about the similar discovery in Kamloops, and my heart grows heavier. As Marieval is just down the highway from us, I decided to spend some time reading part of the school’s history. Some of the school’s history was recorded in “Shattering the Silence: The Hidden History of Indian Residential Schools in Saskatchewan,” an ebook available on the University of Regina website.

Six months ago, we finalized what we were going to talk about on Sundays this month; by God’s providence, it could not have been more fitting. We’ve been wrestling with four truths all month long. Two of the truths we are looking at address questions many are wrestling with after the news in Kamloops and now in our backyard. Many are wondering, “If God is good and if everyone matters to God, then how can he allow this to happen?” 

This Sunday, Pastor Colin will be talking about the truth that “Everyone Matters to God” and whether we believe this is true. If we believe that everyone matters to God, then it should change the way we respond to the news of unmarked graves, and it should change the way we relate to the people around us.  I can’t think of a better time to talk about this truth as a church. If we genuinely believe that everyone matters to God, then the news of these graves should cause us to grieve. If we truly believe that everyone matters to God, then our hearts should be concerned for our neighbours impacted by this news. If we believe everyone matters to God, then we should do everything we can to help our community and the families that each grave represents find healing. 

I hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we wrestle with whether we really believe everyone matters to God and, if we do, how it should change the way we live and relate to the people in our lives and the events taking place in the world. 

See you soon,

Pastor Kirk