Falls rector takes up indigenous call to action

By Ray Spiteri
Niagara Falls Review
April 24, 2016

http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2016/04/24/falls-rector-takes-up-indigenous-call-to-action

A first-of-its-kind appointment has been made by Anglican Diocese of Niagara Bishop Michael Bird in naming Canon Valerie Kerr as an archdeacon for truth, reconciliation and indigenous ministry.

A Mohawk woman of the wolf clan, Kerr has been an ordained Anglican priest for more than 10 years, and is currently the rector of St. John the Evangelist in Niagara Falls.

Kerr will be charged with helping Bird implement the Anglican Church of Canada’s commitment to truth and reconciliation in the Diocese of Niagara.

This ministry will include teaching, building relationships, and fostering healing and reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.

The appointment comes as the Anglican Church of Canada seeks to live into the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action, and confront the ways in which it has embodied colonial attitudes.