The King's Connection Magazine Volume 24 // Number 1 | Page 4

Faithfulr

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

PRESENCE

W

 hether or not you agree with his conclusions, James
Davison Hunter in his book (2010)—To change the
world: the irony, tragedy & possibility of Christianity in the late
modern world—asks some important questions about power
that perpetuates rather than heals the “dark nihilisms of our
modern age.” Hunter suggests a different path for engaging
with those around us, that of faithful presence.
“If there are benevolent consequences of our engagement
with the world,” Hunter writes, “it is because it is an
expression of a desire to honor the creator of all goodness,
beauty, and truth, a manifestation of our loving obedience
to God, and a fulfillment of God’s command to love
our neighbor.”
The stories of Indian Residential school survivors in Canada
are incredibly painful. At The King’s University College we
recently cancelled classes for two days so that our entire
campus community could be, in Hunter’s terminology,
faithfully present. On March 26, it was a distinct honour to
be able to offer an expression of reconciliation on behalf of
King’s to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission Of Canada,
reprinted below in its entirety:
Dear Esteemed Commissioners of the Indian Residential
School Truth and Reconciliation Commission:
My name is Melanie Humphreys. I am the President of
The King’s University College. I am a settler, born in

2 /// The King’s Connection /// Summer 2014

Dawson Creek. Most of our faculty, staff and students
are settlers. We are situated on Treaty 6 land and we are
grateful for the use of that land.
Commissioners, elders, former students and survivors,
and children of survivors, thank you for allowing us to
speak an expression of reconciliation. I am joined her by
my colleagues Roy Berkenbosch, director of the Micah
Centre for Social Justice at King’s and Will Van Arragon,
associate professor of history. I invite other members of
our community to stand as a sign of our commitment to
reconciliation.
For the past two days we cancelled classes so that our
entire campus community could devote itself to learning
about the history and impact of residential schools. We
want to know the truth and we have learned that the
truth is painful beyond bearing. We have listened to the
experiences of survivors. We have been moved by their
tears, inspired by their courage, and impelled to seek
greater understanding of pathways to healing and hope
so that we may know how to walk our life-affirming
journey together.
As President I acknowledge that this is no mere intellectual
exercise for us. Our mission is to engage and educate
students to become agents of reconciliation and hope.
You are teaching us powerfully that this work must begin
here at home, in Canada, in Alberta, in Edmonton.