K̲unéix̲ Hídi NORTHERN LIGHT UNITED OVERTURE
Northwest Coast GA Overture APPROVED by Full Assembly, July 2022
Recent News - K̲unéix̲ Hídi Northern Light Overture
In the news:
10/11/23 Alaska’s News Source: Presbyterian Church apologizes for racist closure of Juneau’s ‘Native church’ in 1960s (alaskasnewssource.com)
10/10/23 National Native News: https://www.nativenews.net/?powerpress_pinw=27073-podcast
10/10/23 Juneau Empire: ‘This is just the beginning’: Apology for closure of Juneau’s Memorial Presbyterian Church means healing decades later
10/9/23 KTOO: Presbyterian leaders apologize, begin reparations for 1962 closure of Juneau church led by Rev. Walter Soboleff
10/5/23 PCUSA: Acting Stated Clerk of the General Assembly to deliver apology in Juneau
N.d. Flyer on Sealaska Heritage Institute website: https://www.sealaskaheritage.org/
10/5/23 T&H Press release: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Tlingit---Haida-eNews-10-05-23.html?soid=1124597381696&aid=HwWN0Zj7FRc
10/4/23 National Native News broadcast Wednesday, October 4, 2023
The Center for the Repair of Historic Harms invited members of the delegation from the Office of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Healing Task Force to share their thoughts, reflections and insights as they discern their experiences during this journey.
Here are some:
https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/what-if/
https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/perhaps-vulnerability-is-what-god-was-looking-for/
All reflections will be posted to the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms webpage, under the Stories heading: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/center-for-repair/
Read entire article: A reading as a first act of repentance
by Fred Tangeman | General Assembly News - July 6, 2022
Maxine Richert introduced RGJ-09: “On Directing the Office of the General Assembly to Issue Apologies and Reparations for the Racist Closure of the Memorial Presbyterian Church, Juneau, Alaska,” and the team that researched and wrote the overture, including members of Northern Light United Church in Juneau — a congregation that grew even as Memorial, a majority Tlingit congregation, was closed in the 1960s and its popular Native pastor, the Rev. Dr. Walter Soboleff, removed.
The GA225 co-moderators relayed a question about how recipients of reparations and repatriation would be determined. Dr. Corey Schlosser-Hall from the PMA said that the under-development Center for the Repair of Historical Harms would be willing to help coordinate efforts among the PMA, other national agencies and other groups to establish reparations processes.
Two videos were produced by K̲unéix̲ Hídi Northern Light United Church to aid in this effort – one with the history, and the other with the request for approval of the overture. Please share these with anyone who may be interested in this overture.
For more information:
To read the full overture, as approved click here -- https://www.pc-biz.org/#/search/3000897
https://nluchurch.org/overture/ where these documents and more are found.
K̲unéix̲ Hidi Northern Light United Church and its Native Ministries Committee recommended and the NWC Presbytery voted to overture the 225th General Assembly (2022) of the PC(USA) to work to eliminate all forms of White supremacy and racism in its institutions and, specifically, to meaningfully address the wounds inflicted on Alaska Natives, who were directly impacted by the sin of the unwarranted 1963 closure of the Memorial Presbyterian Church, a thriving, multiethnic, intercultural church in Juneau, Alaska…
Read the entire Overture
Resolution
Letter from NLUC to NWCP
and more information in the article,
Segregation of Faith, by Joaqlin Estus (Tlingit)
The Northern Light Educational Task Force (of the NWCP Executive Board) curated additional resources and organized them by focus areas to give opportunities to increase understanding and engagement with the overture. We urge everyone to set aside time to read the overture and additional resources.
Additional Resources: