When I read that Bishop Rob Hardwick is “is cycling across Canada in the name of unity, healing and reconciliation”, I thought to myself, “at last someone in the Anglican Church of Canada is symbolically making amends for the shabby treatment of conservatives who have left the ACoC.”
I was wrong, of course; he is cycling to reconcile with Indigenous people, a worthy endeavour, no doubt, but so much easier than reconciling with those with whom one is still at war.
From here:
The Right Reverend Rob Hardwick is cycling across Canada in the name of unity, healing and reconciliation.
Hardwick, who has served as the bishop of the Diocese of Qu’Appelle for the past five years, knows about the often uneasy relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada.He says that his diocese, located in southern Saskatchewan, had the longest-running residential school in Canada.
“The pain of that, the pain of that history, is with us,” Hardwick said. “The pain of so many people that have lost their culture and have been abused in various ways.”
“This bike ride is a form of penance, in a way, but it’s also to try and bring reconciliation.”
The peddling bishop had a little mishap on his journey: the less than green SUV and camper that were following him ended up in a ditch. A fitting metaphor for the final resting place of his church:
An SUV towing a camper crossed the highway and landed in the ditch with the camper jackknifed mid-afternoon today.
The vehicle belongs to Bishop Bob (Diocese of Qu’Appelle) who is cycling across Canada praying for unity, healing and reconciliation within the Anglican Church of Canada and Aboriginal peoples (Living the Mission – Bishop’s Ride).
The bishop was interviewed by the Planet a few years ago…
http://anglicanplanet.net/interviews/2013/2/13/lent-2013-robert-hardwick.html
… Your link about crashing into the ditch is broken.
So it is, thanks for letting me know – fixed now.
Did he choose to cycle because it would be more environmental? Having a SUV tow a big trailer along for support kind of defeats that idea.
Or is he a bicycling enthusiast? Combining his hobby with his work? If so is he doing this on his own time (ie. vacation time)? Or is he doing this on work time? In which case if I were his employer I would be asking if this were an efficient way to spend his time.
He’s using his sabbatical.
David, your opening paragraph gave me the best laugh I’ve had in some time… thanks!
Looks more like a standard van than an SUV. Did anyone in the bishop’s entourage find out the manufacturer’s specifications for maximum towing capacity of the vehicle before they hooked up a large camper to it? Did they think about how heavy the camper was and what braking mechanisms were needed?
You know what, the reconciliation walks, the reconciliation bike rides, it’s all just you know what (BS). Why not just make Churches incredibly welcoming to Indigenous people? Why not show up on reserves and help fix houses? Also, the Anglican Church of Canada is know to be pretty racist towards those of mixed-Indigenous race (or Urban Aboriginals). Why not seek out all the Urban Aboriginals and see what they might need whilst living off reserve? Bike rides and reconciliation walks are for the white people. True reconciliation requires something. Having said that, if you really want to beat ACoC at their own game, I think this blog should show a bit more compassion to Indigenous people, otherwise you’re just as bad as the ACoC that you love to make fun of.