Local Healing of Memories Group Focusing on Long-term Effects of Residential Schools

Fr. Michael Lapsley, honorary canon for reconciliation and healing for the Edmonton diocese and founder of the Institute for Healing of Memories (IHOM) in Cape Town, South Africa, has visited our diocese on a number of occasions, most recently for a workshop and training event in the fall of 2019. Five facilitators from the Edmonton diocese make up the Healing of Memories (Edmonton) network member group and are focussing their efforts primarily on the long-term effects of the residential school system.

“In early 2020, we were looking forward to a workshop that May with an inner-city ministry,” writes the Rev. Stephanie London in the IHOM 2020 Annual Report. “We were also working to build partnerships with several organizations involved in healing and reconciliation with Indigenous people. This relates to colonial projects that destroyed language and culture, separated children from their families, and often exposed them to abuse. Unfortunately, circumstances paused our progress. The pandemic prevented the workshop from taking place…”

You can read more about the work of the global IHOM Institute network in the 2020 report.