Hearts Exchanged Builds and Grows

As the Hearts Exchanged learning and reconciliation experience goes into its fifth year, its numbers are growing, and its leaders have added a new element to help participants continue on the journey toward reconciliation.

Hearts Exchanged is an eight-month learning and action journey that aims to foster reconciliation between Reformed Christians and Indigenous neighbors.

The program was developed and led by Indigenous staff of the CRCNA working with their colleagues in the Canadian Justice Ministries. Contributors included urban Indigenous ministry leaders such as Shannon Perez, Harold Roscher, and Bert Adema, as well as Senior Leader for Indigenous Justice and Reconciliation Adrian Jacobs, members of the Canadian Indigenous Ministry Committee, and staff members in various justice-related ministries in Canada.

Envisioned as a concept as early as 2000, the idea resurfaced in a cross-cultural forum, and Hearts Exchanged began as a reality in 2020 as a pilot project with two cohorts – one in eastern Canada and one in western Canada.

In the next phase of the program more than a dozen cohorts across Canada started up in fall 2022 and gathered regularly in the months leading up to the Canadian National Gathering, held in May 2023 and focused on Indigenous reconciliation within the Christian Reformed churches in Canada.

Jesse Edgington, a participant from Edmonton, said he appreciated how the journey deepened his understanding, broadened his empathy related to Indigenous-settler relationships in the past, and gave him hope for future possibilities. “The resources are very well curated , and the discussion times with online cohorts have been life giving,” he said.

To date, over 500 people have participated in the eight-month program through their home churches or as individuals in larger, regional groups. So far, 42 cohorts have participated in Hearts Exchanged, representing at least 98 churches, said justice mobilization program manager Cindy Stover.

Rebecca Sooksum, a member of John Calvin CRC in Truro, N.S., participated in an online cohort that spanned eastern Canada. “I was interested in learning more about Indigenous reconciliation through the lens of the church and about the harms that the church had done – as well as meeting people from different churches who are also on this journey, and hearing their perspectives,” she said.

Sooksum said she learned a lot and appreciated hearing from Indigenous members of the CRC. In her work in the environmental field, Sooksum said, she sometimes works with Mi’kmaq organizations, and she found that her new understanding and perspective from her Hearts Exchanged experience have helped her better to engage in a respectful way with these organizations. She said this helps her in setting aside her own agenda and being more open to the needs and expectations of Mi’kmaq communities and organizations.

“I think that everyone in the CRC should consider taking Hearts Exchanged,” said Sooksum. “This issue of Indigenous reconciliation is one that ought to matter to all of us as Christians as we learn about the harms that have been done in Jesus’ name to our brothers and sisters in the Indigenous community. I think we need to recognize this and own it to a certain extent. It may not have been Christian Reformed churches that were running residential schools, but this harm was being done in Jesus’ name, and that impacts us too.”

“The [biblical] call to care for the oppressed, to do justice and love mercy – this same call applies to our relationship with Indigenous peoples,” agreed Jeremiah Basuric, a pastor at mosaicHouse Community CRC in Edmonton, Alta. “With our hearts bare, we were able to share our hidden pain, accept correction, remove callus apathy, and begin a journey toward healing.”

For past participants looking for opportunities to put their learning into practice, the Canadian Justice Ministries have introduced Hearts Exchanged: Communities of Practice, which will offer continued support from CRC staff and Hearts Exchanged peers to help congregations discern and implement local plans for their community’s continued journey toward reconciliation.

Funding from Lilly Foundation Inc. for Hearts Exchanged: Communities of Practice means that participants can request funds for additional engagement, such as planning book studies, hosting Indigenous speakers, covering travel costs to attend a nearby powwow, or participating in other learning events.

“These are just some of the great ways your community can continue a journey of reconciliation and consider where you might come alongside Indigenous peoples in the places and territories where you find yourselves,” said Stover.

The creators and facilitators of Hearts Exchanged hope that as more people sign up and participate, the experience will create a ripple effect, with participants bringing their learning to their local churches to create more dialogue and action. In this way, they hope, CRC congregations in Canada will become communities of reconciliation and belonging.

For more information, email [email protected].