On September 25, 2018, the Board of Directors for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada (SDACC) selected Campbell Page to serve as the Coordinator/Liaison for Indigenous Ministries in Canada. Page, a registered Métis, holds a doctoral degree in building interfaith community understanding and partnerships.
Page states, “There is a Cree word kintohpatatin, which essentially means, ‘You’ve been listened to by someone compassionate and fair, and your needs will be taken seriously.’ I hear this in Christ’s first message in Luke 4, and in His life, death, and resurrection. Just a cursory look by any individual will reflect how Canada’s treatment of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people has inflicted a soul wound of immense proportion; and that in turn has held them captive from their own health as a people.
“As a Métis Canadian, I have long desired to see the Indigenous Peoples of Canada regain the culture, language, and voice that was taken from them. As a Christian, I am impelled to be a blessing to all people. Every person on this earth is a part of God’s family. A Lakota phrase found in the thinking of most Indigenous Canadians, Mitakuye Oyasin, meaning ‘all my relations,’ echoes this biblical principle and incorporates so much more. Building on the work of Monte Church, Ed Dunn, and the many front-line believers in Indigenous ministry, I hope the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada will become a place and people known for providing kintohpatatin as we join with God in His work of healing and reconciliation among Mitakuye Oyasin, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike. I am humbled and honoured to pick up this mantle.”
The SDACC president, Mark Johnson, affirms, “I know Cam’s commitment to Christ and His people. I am confident that his ministry will be productive throughout all our communities.”
For more information, contact:
Stan Jensen
Communication Director
905/433-0011
jensen.stan@nulladventist.ca