A Spirituality of Decolonisation

A Spirituality of Decolonisation

2014 06 05 – Mozaik, magazine of the World Student Christian Federation

For years, now, I have been having the same conversation, in church halls, on buses, at conferences and protests across the landmass that is called North America on maps but which I know as Turtle Island.

Often it starts with a question about my accent, asking or implying ‘so why are you here?’ I tell them about coming from the UK to work with Christian Peacemaker Teams, and describe our model of operating international violence-reduction teams to support oppressed and threatened communities working nonviolently for peace. Then they ask if I have served overseas and I gently remind them that I am overseas. I list our project sites – Iraqi Kurdistan, Colombia, Palestine and Canada. Then comes the question; ‘So, where is there violence in Canada?’

We start from the beginning.