Truth Telling Task Force
As a result of the Truth-Telling work done at the General Convention in 2022, our Diocese created its own Truth-Telling Task Force to examine our church’s history, especially with groups or peoples who may have been harmed by our Church. We began this work by looking at the history of our Episcopal Church with native and indigenous peoples in our part of the land that is now known as California.
That report on our Church’s history will be available in October 2024.
We offer these other resources as we consider our Church’s history:
The Office of Indigenous Ministries
The Office of Indigenous Ministries celebrates the longstanding presence and influence of Native Americans throughout the history of The Episcopal Church.
Exercising a deep spirituality grounded in respect for and care of creation and others, Indigenous Episcopalians enrich the church through myriad roles in lay and ordained ministry, modeling wisdom, resilience, and forbearance.
Indigenous Ministries works for the full inclusion of Indigenous people in the life and leadership of the church.
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/indigenous-ministries/
Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery
As an institution, The Episcopal Church recognizes and repents of its harmful treatment of Native Americans. In 1997, the church signed a new covenant of faith and reconciliation almost 400 years after Jamestown colonization, apologizing for its past actions and launching a decade of “remembrance, recognition and reconciliation.” In 2009, the church’s General Convention passed a resolution repudiating the 15th century-based Doctrine of Discovery, which “held that Christian sovereigns and their representative explorers could assert dominion and title over non-Christian lands with the full blessing and sanction of the Church.”
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/category/doctrine-of-discovery/
Land Acknowledgements
A Land Acknowledgement is a statement about the native and indigenous peoples who were on church land long before we were.
In response to two resolutions passed at the 80th General Convention (2022), many congregations, dioceses, and other church groups and organizations have begun the practice of making land acknowledgements regarding the Indigenous tribal people who used to live on the land they currently occupy, and in some cases still do.
When implementing a land acknowledgement, it is important to be aware of their purpose.
In short, a land acknowledgement is the start of a process that is intended to lead to something more. This could result in any number of possibilities, with the overall objectives being a deepening of the awareness of Indigenous peoples and living in right relationship with humanity and all of creation.
Land Acknowledgement Resource Document
Who Was On the Land Before Us?
We are not the first people to be on the land on which our churches currently reside. Use this online resource to discover who has gone before us.
If you have any questions about the El Camino Real Truth Telling Task Force, please contact David Howard-Pitney at [email protected].