Thursday February 4th, 11th, 18th, & 25th - 1:30pm EST
** Bonus week March 4th **
Join us in the online Learning Centre in February as together we read through
Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization
For generations, the Bible has been employed by settler colonial societies as a weapon to dispossess Indigenous and racialized peoples of their lands, cultures, and spiritualities. Given this devastating legacy, many want nothing to do with it. But is it possible for the exploited and their allies to reclaim the Bible from the dominant powers? Can we make it an instrument for justice in the cause of the oppressed? Even a nonviolent weapon toward decolonization?
In Unsettling the Word, over 60 Indigenous and Settler authors come together to wrestle with the Scriptures, re-reading and re-imagining the ancient text for the sake of reparative futures.
Created by Mennonite Church Canada’s Indigenous-Settler Relations program, Unsettling the Word is intended to nurture courageous conversations with the Bible, our current settler colonial contexts, and the Church’s call to costly peacemaking.
The book is available to purchase here: Unsettling the Word
Kindle and paperback copies are also available here: Unsettling the Word
New Leaf Learning Centre uses a pay-what-you-choose model. There are two options, a monthly subscription or a one-session pass. For the monthly subscription, please visit here. To sign up specifically for this February Book Club season of the Learning Centre, please see below.
If you are interested in these sessions but aren't able to attend live, recordings are made available after the fact for those who have signed up.
Week 1 February 4th
with Steve Heinrichs
Liberating the Bible
Pg. ix – Preface
Pg. 1 – “Return to the Good”
Pg. 12 – “The Foolishness of Petropolis”
Pg. 47 – “The 15 Commandments”
Pg. 190 – “A Shaman Appeared in Ventura”
Pg. 247 – “Good News to the Colonized?”
Pg. 256 – “Let Us Imagine”
Week 2 February 11th
with Cheryl Bear
Decolonizing Christianity
Pg. 123 – “No Fence Can Hold”
Pg. 134 – “Lament on Coast Salish Land”
Pg. 176 – “You and Madre Tierra”
Pg. 196 – “Mending the Broken Circle”
Pg. 216 – “For God So Loved”
Pg. 243 – “Dancing with God”
Pg. 271 – “Survival Space”
February 18th
with Sylvia McAdam (Saysewahum)
The Doctrine of Discovery
Pg. 37 – “Scouting the Haldimand Tract”
Pg. 40 – “The Boundaries and Limits of Settler Colonialism”
Pg. 52 – “Destroy Everything”
Pg. 112 – “Reconciled”
Pg. 184 – “Resisting the Great Co-Mission”
Pg. 223 – “Unholy Alliances”
Pg. 285 – Afterword: We Need our Lands
February 25th
with Steve Heinrichs
Reconciliation through Reparation
Pg. 31 – “In the Seventh Round of the 13 Moons”
Pg. 79 – “Lost and Found”
Pg. 162 – “With Mountains and Rivers Bearing Witness”
Pg. 220 – “Stolen Waters, Thirsty People”
Pg. 230 – “Voices Rise”
If you have been educated and encouraged by the Unsettling the Word Book Club conversations, please consider making a contribution. All proceeds will be given to Idle No More and the work of justice and decolonization that our guest speakers continue to do.
To contribute to the "virtual tip jar" the suggested amount is $10/session, simply choose “add to cart” below.
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