Show Notes
“If we are going to offer reconciliation to the world, we need to offer space. Space to reconcile ourselves to God and space to reconcile to ourselves”.
Jacqueline Block is a MCC Saskatchewan board member, has a Masters of Theological Studies in Old Testament, and recently finished training as a Spiritual Director. Jacqui believes that her own journey of reconciliation with God, in Christ, compels her to seek peace with and for others. Within this episode Jacqui challenges the listener to take risks in relationships, to know that there will be hurt and woundedness, but trust that we can turn to God for a true reconciliation.
Jacqui’s invitation to enter the reconciliation journey is to offer space. She states, “If we are going to offer reconciliation to the world, we need to offer space. Space to reconcile ourselves to God and space to reconcile to ourselves”. For Jacqui this means trust, graciousness, forgiveness, and risk as we engage in relationships. Jacqui goes on, “I allow God’s grace and forgiveness to come into my heart and allow this to be the key thing that reconciles”.
We invited Jacqui to our house for a meal and conversation around these five questions:
1. How would you define reconciliation?
2. What experiences have defined this understanding?
3. Where have you seen grace in the reconciliation journey?
4. How would you invite other people into understanding reconciliation?
5. Why is reconciliation important to you?
Then we recorded her reflections.
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Links from the episode:
Queen’s house Retreat and Renewal Centre
Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Mennonite Central Committee Saskatchewan
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Reconcile. Everyday Conversations is a project of Mennonite Central Committee Saskatchewan aimed at facilitating conversations among settler/non-Indigenous Canadians around our role in reconciliation.
Project Coordinator: Heather Peters
Recording and Editing: Jo Kroeker
Music by A Northern Road to Glory
More from Reconcile. Everyday Conversations
“Action is the part I really focus on in my understanding (of reconciliation) because we can say a lot of things and people can come to a lot of discussion tables, but if you're not actually doing the stuff it is going to be forgotten.”
“I think now though, it's using my voice to create safe spaces, to have tough conversations, but have this conversations in a respectful and safe way. So we can … hear that before you get to reconciliation, you need to hear this ugly truth, right?”
“The chef coat that you see is actually modeled after the Turkish army. And I think there's a lot of a lot of rules and etiquette, and kitchen ways of being that are actually at odds with indigenous culture. So I'm trying to, I guess you could say decolonize that kitchen experience for people.”
In all my conversations with people about reconciliation I have heard that it isn’t an individual journey people are on. The reconciliation path is filled with relationships, teachers, learners and explorers – it is filled with other people. So we have created a reconciliation study guide that accompanies this podcast for you to be able to take to your friends, churches, communities, or neighbourhood book clubs to engage with these conversations together.
“You have to be open to it. You might not want to listen or hear what someone has to say that has a different belief system…. God calls us to love everyone, to listen to their stories. This is what have gotten me started and motivated.”