Indigenous Autonomy Within The UCC
The United Church of Canada recently voted overwhelmingly to grant full autonomy to an Indigenous National Organization within the UCC. All regional councils voted in favour of this change, and 1,482 United Church congregations, including Manotick United Church, voted in favour. Only 17 congregations were opposed.
What does this vote mean?
Indigenous church communities within the United Church of Canada are currently required to seek approval from the UCC for any changes to their governance system. They rightly view this as an extension of old colonial ways. This vote will allow Indigenous communities to make their own important decisions while remaining within the United Church of Canada.
Moving Forward
The voting process engaged many across the church in in-depth and sometimes challenging conversations about right relations with Indigenous Peoples in the church. Throughout this process, it became particularly clear that there is a need for deeper and ongoing work to address the issues of systemic racism which persist in the church despite our commitment to reconciliation. We will re-engage this important work this year.
In anticipation of the General Council enacting this change in October, the National Indigenous Council, the National Indigenous Elders Council, and the Executive of the General Council will continue to work together to identify and lay out a framework for the autonomous Indigenous organization within the United Church.
