Our Home and Native Land…
Honestly, I don’t know how to respond to the Caledonia stand-off involving members of Six Nations. I wish I could go down there and stand alongside the members of Six Nations and say ‘Despite all the racism you may be feeling, I’ll stand with you.’ But the voices gather: ‘I’m too busy. I have to go to work. I’m moving in a few days. I’m busy.” or “It’s not my battle. They can stand on their own, why would they need me?” or “Well, even the elected officials from the Band Council aren’t backing the standoff. I don’t know enough about the issue to make a stand either way.”
I think what infuriates me most is the lack of understanding in the public and even the media to print quotes such as this “However, the Henning brothers told CBC.ca they have clear title to the land.” The members from Six Nations ALSO believe they have clear title to the land, hence the standoff. The members from Six Nations don’t really care if the Henning brothers think they have clear title to the land. They believe it is a nation to nation issue, that is between Canada and Six Nations. If I stole something and then sold it to someone the person I sold it to would be holding that item illegally, regardless of whether the transaction between him and I was legit. At least that’s my infantile understanding of our laws and the issue at stake here. Developers who would like to build and make a profit on land under dispute between the Federal Government and First Nations groups in Canada should be very very cautious. They shouldn’t claim ‘They simply want to do business and don’t want to be political’ – a line that reveals their ignorance and desire for only profits. Being a developer in Canada is developing on land that we took,stole,confiscated or otherwise from the Aboriginal people of Canada. It is an inherent political exercise and it always has been. We desperately need greater understanding on the issues. We need to talk more, interact more and listen much much more.
Along that note above, I had a wonderful time touring Stoney Point/Kettle Point F.N. last Friday with Darlene’s Western University ‘Teaching Aboriginal Students’ class. It was very interesting to tour the school and see how the community is developing their young children to be their very best, to be proud of their heritage and to gently balance both the traditional and the modern. I wouldn’t be surprised if some amazing Aboriginal leaders come from the Kettle Point education system in the future. Granted, they will have to overcome a hoard of racism and barriers within our larger society. Grab your hammer, let’s break down the walls. Or better yet, grab a piece of the floor and sit and listen to an elder for an afternoon.
Changes! Comics and The Word
I’ve made some changes to this site recently. One of the exciting changes is the addition of a daily comic strip at the bottom of the page. The comics are from 3 great strips: Peanuts, probably the most classic comic ever; Calvin and Hobbs, a modern hit of creativity and imagination; and Pontius Puddle, a pithy Christian comic with a message.
Another addition to my website is a daily Bible verse on the right hand column. You can read the verse or listen to it. This service is courtesy of Biblegateway.com. I hope this adds a bit more meaning to my site and shows a bit more of who I am and where I find my hope. Please enjoy 
You gotta see this inspiring movie!
The above image comes from a flash movie on cancer that Darlene’s mom showed me last weekend. The movie is done extraordinarily well. Through the use of images, music and text it provies a glimpse of life with cancer. The beautiful images and text show the struggles, the fight, the determination and all the other emotions that are linked to the cancer fight. If you know of anyone that is going or has gone through cancer I’d recommend watching the movie. It’s touching, difficult and inspiring all at once.
Watch the movie
Want to help fight cancer? I’m collecting donations for the 10k Terry Fox Run I’ll be completing on September 18. Help keep Terry’s dream alive – donate online
“Secularism is one of the great successes of the Republic,” Chirac
In France Muslim girls are being turned away from school for wearing headscarves, also known as hijabs. This follows legislation in France that banned all overtly religious dress and signs, including Muslim headscarves, Sikh turbans, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses in schools. Yet, most of the media attention has been on the banning of Muslim headscarves or hijabs. Over 600 students have violated the act since it took effect on September 2, 2004. The French government is claiming that it is simply holding to its commitment to separate religion and state. In the words of Jacques Chirac, President of France “Secularism is one of the great successes of the Republic…It is a crucial element of social peace and national cohesion. We cannot let it weaken.” Personally, I think these words are ridiculous and fail to take into consideration the major role that faith and religion play in society. I feel Mr. Chirac is saying that denying the practice of religion is one of the greatest steps to peace and social cohesion a country can take. While I’m not proposing a state religion, I am proposing that national cohesion and peace will not be accomplished by intolerance and the prevention of freedom of religion. True peace will only be accomplished when nations and individuals attempt to understand and tolerant the religions of their citizens and neighbours.
Click here to read the CBC article.
Grace versus Competition
Last week I co-led a soccer camp for children in grades 1-6. Myself and the other lead instructor had a difficult time trying to create games that would reinforce teamwork instead of competition. Yet, in many ways it seemed natural to create games that were focused on competition. In fact, many children seemed to enjoy the competition of some of the drills we tried. This debate about whether competition is healthy or harmful has been in my mind a fair bit, heightened by taking a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Waterloo. Henri Nouwen in his book “The Return of the Prodigal Son” views competition as a distraction from our God-given right to belong to God’s kingdom. Nouwen in his fiinal chapters suggests that much of competition in this world tellls us that we need to jump higher, run faster or get better grades, etc. in order to be worthy of anything. In essence, Nouwen is suggesting that competition portrays to us that we need to earn everything in life, and that if we are not the best, or close to the best, then we deserve very little. Many of you reading this are probably noticing the contradictions between the philosophy of competition and the basic Christian theology of grace. God tells us that we deserve the kingdom of God and deserve to be a part of God’s kingdom, not because we are spiritual giants, or we read our Bible more than other people, but simply because you or I as a sinner asked for forgiveness. I truly believe that Nouwen’s understanding of how the world makes us feel inadequate by its competition and how God wants to tell us that we belong to him just for coming to him is a deeply profound word that we all should hear. I pray that I would be able to listen more to my belonging to God, instead of the competition of the world.
Where does wisdom come from?
Found in a book on Canadian diamond mining:
“Man puts an end to darkness, and searches every recess for ore in the darkness and the shadow of death. He breaks open a shaft away from people, in places where there is no foothold, and hangs suspended far from mankind. That earth from which bread comes is ravaged underground by fire. Down there, the rocks are set with sapphires, full of spangles of gold. Down there is a path unknown to birds of prey, unseen by the ey of any vulture; a path not trodden by the lordly beasts, where no lion ever walked. Man attacks its flinty sides, upturning mountains by their roots, driving tunnels through the rocks, on the watch for anything precious. He explores the sources of rivers, and brings to daylight secrets that were hidden. But tell me, where does wisdom come from? Where is understanding to be found?
Job 28:3-12
Sisters in Spirt Campaign
On Monday night I had the chance to go to the local kick-off of a national campaign called Sisters in Spirit. The national wide campaign is raising awareness about 500 Aboriginal women who have gone missing in Canada. Throughout the next year local organizations across Canada are going to seek ways to address the issue of violence against women and specifically Aboriginal women who tend to simply get ignored or forgotten. To imagine that these children of God are simply forgotten or largely dismissed by the rest of us really is a shame. The event on Monday night consisted of a service at St. Matt’s church in Timmins that blended Christian traditional hymns with traditional Aboriginal drum and vocals. The service was very powerful and meaningful. Following the service there was a sharing ciricle at Timmins Friendship Centre. There was 22 women and 5 men in the sharing circle. The women had many stories to tell, many of the stories were heartfelt cries related to their struggles with violence and abuse against themsevles or other Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal women. As a man it was difficult to listen to how men have oppressed women in so many ways, not only through physical violence but also through emotional violence and the way men view women. During my time here in Timmins I’ve been going to Grace Bible Chapel with reservations regarding the silencing of women in the church. I didn’t want to judge at first and wanted to look for understanding of what I saw as a bit of a different culture. Increasingly as Darlene has often heard I’ve been finding it hard to witness the oppression of women in the church on a weekly basis. Darlene has a passion to work in the church in a position of leadership and many of her struggles have been about her self-esteem, about feeling she’s not good enough and I feel that largely men in the church have led women to feel that they couldn’t do the job as well, which is not true. The church could definitely use the voices of women in the church, they have a lot to offer, in fact I believe we need their voices or our body as Christ is not complete. I understand that I’m sort of ranting now, but I guess a blog is a place to be honest and open and after a few months this is how I feel. I know there are different persectives out there, so I’d welcome some response and further reflection, thanks.
The belated review from The Passion
My previous entry was my thoughts prior to watching The Passion, which I didn’t get too many comments on…oh well. I have now seen the movie and can comment on my thoughts after seeing Mel Gibson’s highly talked about movie. My first response to the movie was one word “disturbing”. The movie was highly disturbing. The constant images of Jesus being beaten and bloody were disturbing and difficult to watch. As Jesus was continually beaten I couldn’t help but wonder my part, our part, in that violence. I got to thinking that each one of Jesus’ scars were witness of each one of our sins. Probably the most profound moment for me was when the Roman soldier chose the man out of the crowd to carry Jesus’ cross and the man said that he would carry the cross but that ”everybody should see that he was an innocent man doing this for a condemned man”. The irony of the moment I felt was deep and profound. The movie is indeed worth watching but I think that someone should not watch the movie unless they are willing to take some time afterward to reflect on just how disturbing the movie is. What about my initial thoughts about the movie possibly being too violent? Yes, there are a few scenes that go overboard with gruesome violence and yes the camera views and music are specially set up to make the movie shocking and to focus on the blood and gruesome acts, but regardless of those hollywood exaggerations the movie is stunning and impactful. One last thought as I walked out of the theatre was about how difficult it is for us to relate to all the circumstances surrounding Christ’s death and resurrection. Living in Canada in 2004 I find it very difficult to relate to an event of that magnitude that occured around 2000 years ago in a land far away and a social and cultural context that is even farther away.
What everybody is talking about -The Passion
Well I guess I’d better join the bandwagon about having my say on Mel Gibson’s movie ”The Passion”. Being a person who believes that we are called to bring peace to this world and not greater violence or images of violence my question before I see the movie is whether violence in the movie crosses the line between historical reality vs. gruesome blood for the sake of Hollywood drama and getting a reaction out of people? I haven’t seen the movie yet so I will withhold any other opinions until I have seen it. But today I read an article in Maclean’s which asks questions about Jesus the historical figure versus Jesus the Christ. I thought it was interesting enough. You can find it online here
MACLEANS article
There also a movie review in Macleans about The Passion.
Official website of Jonathan R. Schmidt