Sacred Assembly at 30: A Moment That Still Calls the Church to Listen

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January 2025 in Winnipeg, several hundred people gathered on Treaty One Territory to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Elijah Harper’s Sacred Assembly. Adrian Jacobs, the CRC’s senior leader for Indigenous justice and reconciliation, was invited to speak at the commemoration, offering a theological call that challenged churches to understand justice as central to faithful worship. I also attended, representing the CRC as someone who carries Indigenous ancestry through my father’s line and who lives and works within the church. That dual belonging is not always easy, but it shapes how I listen, what I notice, and what I feel responsible to name. Sacred Assembly is not something I encounter as an observer looking in from the outside; it touches histories, losses, and hopes that live close to home.

The commemorative gathering marked a recommitment to Harper’s vision of healing, spiritual reconciliation, and justice—one that remains urgently relevant today. The following quote comes from the notes of the National News Archives of 1995: “The Creator wants to restore justice in this country and wants to restore the land to the original people—that’s why we’re having this gathering,” said Elijah Harper. When he convened the original Sacred Assembly in 1995, it was unprecedented and prophetic. A Red Sucker Lake Cree leader and politician, Harper believed reconciliation required more than political agreements or policy change; it demanded spiritual grounding, truth-telling, and relational accountability. In his address to parliament in March of 1996 Harper said:

I have challenged our aboriginal leaders, our aboriginal people to maintain the unity of the country. In December of last year I called for a sacred assembly to bring people of this country from different walks of life, with different spiritual and religious denominations together. This included the Mennonite central committee, the Catholic church, the Anglican church, the United church, the Presbyterian church, the Reform church, and so on. All churches were included plus the non-Christian people, the Hindu, the Jewish people, and our traditional people. The aim was that we begin to understand each other through that process, to develop an open mind with tolerance and an understanding of each other.

The Christian Reformed Church, through lawyer Loraine Land (Citizens for Public Justice), was involved in the original assembly and assisted with the drafting of the Reconciliation Proclamation with Terry LeBlanc and Bruce Clemenger. Further representation came from Arie Van Eek, Canadian director of the CCRCC, who also contributed to the drafting of the Reconciliation Proclamation.

The Reconciliation Proclamation was adopted by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in 1995. Thirty years later, the Winnipeg commemoration reminded participants that this call—to the church as much as to the nation—has not diminished.

Reconciliation

In addressing those gathered in Winnipeg, National Chief Cindy Woodhouse-Nepinak reflected on the significance of the 1995 Assembly as a turning point for churches confronting the harms of residential schools. She noted that it helped lay the groundwork for what would later become the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. From that moment forward, churches began to name wrongdoing and offer apologies. Yet, she reminded us, reconciliation must be demonstrated in both word and deed. Speaking about the ongoing apprehension of Indigenous children by child welfare agencies, she emphasized her hope that children would grow up in sober, violence-free homes within their own communities. Healing, she said, is a collective responsibility, and we are stronger when we act together.

Several speakers returned to the intertwined themes of forgiveness, belonging, and identity. Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham opened by acknowledging that forgiveness cannot be legislated; it is spiritual work that begins in the heart and unfolds through grace. Rev. Daniel Kikawa of Hawai‘i reflected on how belonging and identity are rooted in culture. God, he said, creates each of us within a particular people and places us on specific land. Cultural expression is not incidental to faith but a form of worship—one that allows the heart to open and the spirit to breath. His invitation to “go back to the future” called listeners to reclaim the fullness of who God created them to be.

Testimonies of Indigenous-led initiatives addressing pain and loss marked the urgency of this work in communities across the country. These testimonies reminded listeners that reconciliation is not abstract, but it is lived out in being present in relationships, walking with Indigenous people and offering hope, often in places where resources are scarce and wounds run deep.

CRCNA Presence

When addressing the attendees, Jacobs’ central argument was that the Sacred Assembly was and is a direct call to the church that worship without justice is rejected by God, and reconciliation without action is not reconciliation at all. The Sacred Assembly named justice for Indigenous peoples as a spiritual mandate, calling churches not merely to apologize, but to repent—change behavior, restore relationships, and sustain advocacy alongside Indigenous communities. He reminded listeners that churches have previously acted courageously—such as through Project North and later KAIROS—when they chose advocacy over institutional comfort.

For Indigenous communities, Jacobs emphasized, denominational distinctions matter far less than whether the Church acts justly. Debates over orthodoxy or reputation mean little to people who have suffered under colonial policies and the legacy of residential schools.

He read from several passages of Scripture. Most notable for me was Amos 5:21-24.

21 I hate, I despise your religious festivals;

your assemblies are a stench to me.

22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,

I will not accept them.

Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,

I will have no regard for them.

23 Away with the noise of your songs!

I will not listen to the music of your harps.

24 But let justice roll on like a river,

righteousness like a never-failing stream!

This presses home the point that the Church cannot sit on the sidelines. Justice is not an option, and reconciliation is not symbolic. Worship that is separate from action is hollow. Jacobs’ words, echoing Harper’s call, challenge all of us to move from reflection to faithful, sustained participation in God’s work of restoration.

For me, these reflections converged most clearly around the question of the church’s role in justice and reconciliation. Attending the Assembly as someone who walks within both Indigenous and Christian worlds made it clear that reconciliation is not optional for the church. It requires entering into relationship, seeing the image of God in Indigenous peoples. Faith communities are called not only to apologize or reflect, but to repent, to listen deeply, and to walk faithfully alongside Indigenous peoples in sustained action.

Thirty years later, the Sacred Assembly still calls the church to embody justice, to walk alongside Indigenous communities, and uphold the dignity and life of all people. For people like me, who live at the intersection of Indigenous and Christian worlds, this gathering reaffirmed that this double identity is not a burden but a calling. It is a mandate to witness, accompany, and act—not as spectators, but as participants in God’s healing work. Justice, mercy, and humility are the measures of true worship, and the church’s faithfulness is tested not in ritual alone, but in lives restored and relationships made right.