In 2020 Meadowland Fellowship CRC, located in Ancaster, Ontario, started the Hearts Exchanged journey. Our journey has been enlightening as it helps us advocate for justice in places where justice has long been overlooked. 

Very specifically, the Hearts Exchanged program can be described as:

 “a co-learning space for Reformed Christians that models the sacred journey of reconciliation. It encourages mutual relationships of respect and reciprocity; developing postures for engaging with Indigenous peoples as neighbours and fellow image bearers.

Participants are transformed in their minds and hearts as they are invited into honest dialogue about the harms of colonialism, and encounter ‘hearts broken’ stories and experiences. Hearts Exchanged is intended to lead Canadian CRC churches further towards becoming communities of reconciliation and belonging” (Hearts Exchanged). 

Meadowlands has had four cohorts of participants since the inception of the program at our church. The latest cohort of learners began its journey in the fall of 2024. Six members of our church signed up for the program, and we have met regularly twice a month for the past half year. We have been privileged to have Adrian Jacobs as co-leader. Adrian is the Senior Leader of Indigenous Justice and Reconciliation for the CRC, and his insight and wisdom have been invaluable. 

The learning journey has been painful at times as we listen to the stories of Indigenous brothers and sisters who have had to endure injustice for centuries. The learning that takes place forces us to look at our own attitudes and biases related to discrimination and injustice. Through storytelling and education, we feel we are in a better place to advocate for justice alongside our Indigenous neighbours. 

We have also been challenged to reflect upon concrete ways that reconciliation can take place. As a result, in late October, 2024, Adrian was invited to speak to our church community about possibilities for Indigenous land justice, and we were introduced to the possibility of a sacred covenant between Meadowlands Fellowship CRC and the Six Nations of the Grand River, also located in Ontario. This sacred covenant is a way for churches, who do not pay property tax, to participate in reconciliation with their Indigenous brothers and sisters.

The Meadowlands church community overwhelmingly endorsed this request to enter into a sacred covenant

A request was made that our congregation give 1% of our annual budget to an educational institution on Six Nations as a “symbolic lease payment,” in recognition that a great deal of land was stolen from Indigenous peoples and recognizing that churches are called to be agents of reconciliation.

The Meadowlands church community overwhelmingly endorsed this request to enter into a sacred covenant with Six Nations as a gesture of reparation and acknowledgment that these lands on which we worship were originally Indigenous lands. We have added this covenant to our 2025 budget with a graduated program between budget and pledges starting with 25% budget and 75% pledges in 2025 to 100% budget commitment by 2028.

We are grateful to be a part of the latest cohort. So far over 45 members of Fellowship have been blessed by the Hearts Exchanged program. Our commitment to reconciliation with our Indigenous brothers and sisters through the sacred covenant is only one way we at Meadowlands Fellowship CRC are living out our mission to love God and love the world. Additionally, the Hearts Exchanged program provides us with the resources and learning activities necessary to understand how our Indigenous neighbours have been impacted by settlers of Turtle Island (North America). Although the learning journey is difficult at times, it pales in comparison to the injustices faced by the Indigenous Peoples, and we have been granted an opportunity to walk alongside our brothers and sisters in this sacred journey and to advocate for true reconciliation.