Press Release: Gloria Dei Church to bring “KAIROS Blanket Exercise” to North Shore
Lin Parkinson
February 6, 2020
Gloria Dei Church to bring “KAIROS Blanket Exercise” to North Shore
North Vancouver, BC., January 30, 2020 –Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, located at 1110
Gladwin Drive, is inviting the public (age 13 years and up) to a learning event known as
the KAIROS Blanket Exercise—a visual and participatory activity that helps people learn
about Canada’s history from the perspective of Indigenous peoples. The exercise will be
facilitated by KAIROS Canada, an ecumenical advocacy network working to promote
justice and human rights and is especially suited to anyone wanting to deepen their
understanding of Canada’s colonial history. The event will take place on Saturday,
February 22 from 1:30PM to 4:30PM. There is no cost, but registration is required.
As the name suggests, the Blanket Exercise begins with blankets arranged on the floor to
represent Canada before the arrival of European explorers and settlers. The participants, who
represent Indigenous peoples, begin by moving around on the blankets. While the facilitator(s)
reads from a script, other participants – representing the Europeans or newcomers – join and
begin to interact with those on the blankets. As Indigenous history unfolds some blankets are
removed and they become a metaphor for disappearing lands and relocation to reservations.
Because participants learn by “experiencing,” the exercise reaches both the mind and heart and
opens up possibilities for participants to learn how they can work towards reconciliation. “The
represent Canada before the arrival of European explorers and settlers. The participants, who
represent Indigenous peoples, begin by moving around on the blankets. While the facilitator(s)
reads from a script, other participants – representing the Europeans or newcomers – join and
begin to interact with those on the blankets. As Indigenous history unfolds some blankets are
removed and they become a metaphor for disappearing lands and relocation to reservations.
Because participants learn by “experiencing,” the exercise reaches both the mind and heart and
opens up possibilities for participants to learn how they can work towards reconciliation. “The
purpose of the KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE) is to teach a history of Canada that we didn’t
learn in school. It’s kind of starting at the very beginning again, but if we understand one
another we can work better together,” says Carin Crowe, a KBE Facilitator.
learn in school. It’s kind of starting at the very beginning again, but if we understand one
another we can work better together,” says Carin Crowe, a KBE Facilitator.
Rev. Vida Jaugelis, interim pastor at Gloria Dei, says how hard it was for her to grasp the
uncomfortable truth that the country that embraced her immigrant parents and countless
other refugees was built at the expense of Indigenous people. “As I have wrestled with this
hard truth, I have come to understand that although my parents came to Canada to find refuge
and peace after fleeing war and oppression in their own land, upon arriving on these shores
they became part of another story of dispossession.” Learning about that painful story is a
necessary step before any meaningful reconciliation can happen and is the reason Gloria Dei is
bringing the KAIROS Blanket Exercise to the North Shore and inviting the community to attend.
uncomfortable truth that the country that embraced her immigrant parents and countless
other refugees was built at the expense of Indigenous people. “As I have wrestled with this
hard truth, I have come to understand that although my parents came to Canada to find refuge
and peace after fleeing war and oppression in their own land, upon arriving on these shores
they became part of another story of dispossession.” Learning about that painful story is a
necessary step before any meaningful reconciliation can happen and is the reason Gloria Dei is
bringing the KAIROS Blanket Exercise to the North Shore and inviting the community to attend.
To register, send email to pastorgd@shaw.ca
The KAIROS Blanket Exercise was recently endorsed as a “Successful Practice and Resource” by
Indspire, a national Indigenous-led registered charity that invests in the education of Indigenous
people for the long-term benefit of these individuals, their families and communities, and
Canada.
Indspire, a national Indigenous-led registered charity that invests in the education of Indigenous
people for the long-term benefit of these individuals, their families and communities, and
Canada.
______________________________________________________________________
- For information about Gloria Dei Lutheran Church contact
Rev. Vida Jaugelis: 604-813-4451; pastorgd@shaw.ca
- For information about KAIROS contact Ed Bianchi: ebianchi@kairoscanada.org
- To book a Blanket Exercise please go to https://www.kairosblanketexercise.org/find-a-facilitator/
- For BC Inquiries about the Blanket Exercise please contact Bonnie Van Hatten,
BC/Yukon Blanket Exercise Manager at BVanHatten@kairoscanada.org