This is the first in our final series of podcasts, called 'Continuing'. Here we are looking at resources for individuals and faith communities who have been engaged in the process of intentionally opening outwards to welcome cultural diversity. These episodes are perhaps a bit more complex/technical than earlier ones.
The way we 'continue' as open communities is not by maintaining, simply holding on to what we have - it is by continuing to challenge ourselves.
In this first episode we look at the critically important matter of decolonization. This word gets used a lot these days, particularly in 'progressive' circles - but we must be careful not to try to over-simplify this (one strategy we can use to help us feel we are on the right side of an issue). To effectively engage in the external processes of decolonizing, we need first to do some inner work. Because it is, for so many of us, inherently a challenging area for us, we need to 'decolonize our hearts' before our brains can really start to process or we can engage in shared action as reliable allies. This episode looks at 6 interior processes [for individuals and communities] that can help ready us to participate meaningfully, respectfully and vulnerably in conversations about what reversing colonization might entail.
This episode looks at this issue in a Canadian context - but folk in USA or Australia, etc, will likely find some common ground. This episode also helps ready us for the next one on indigenous-newcomer relationships.