The Indigenous Ministry Christmas Eve service with the Chinook Winds Region went live at noon on December 24, 2021.

Many First Nations continue to follow their form of Christian faith while lifting up the Indigenous traditions and teachings of their ancestors. This Christmas service shares traditions from the Treaty 7 area, while remembering the connection to early Christian missionaries like Rev. Robert Rundle and Rev. Henry Bird Steinhauer who came there in the 1840s and 1850s. We remember their relationship building and the profound impact they had on the Stoney Nakoda people, who continue to practice Christian traditions today.

We know that there is struggle between Indigenous traditions and the history of the Christian Church. Through the TRC Calls to Action, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Calls to the Church from the Elders’ Caretakers Circle in the United Church of Canada, we continue to pursue justice and reconciliation in our work in the Chinook Winds Region (southern Alberta). We thank all members of the region for their support of our ministry and the ongoing work of relationship repair and redress of social justice issues.

We offer this service in the spirit of reconciliation and the beautiful traditions Indigenous people continue to practice.