Mennonite Church Canada and Christian Peacemaker Teams create internship opportunity in 2021

CMU grad Allegra Friesen Epp interns in Winnipeg until August 2021

 

Allegra Friesen Epp is the first Mennonite Church Canada-CPT intern. Rachelle Friesen is Canada coordinator for CPT in Toronto, Ont. (Photos courtesy of Friesen Epp and Friesen.)

 

Mennonite Church Canada’s Indigenous-Settler Relations (ISR) program has partnered with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) to create a six-month internship for a young leader within the Mennonite Church to participate in nationwide peacemaking and solidarity work.

Allegra Friesen Epp is from Winnipeg, Man., and graduated in 2020 from Canadian Mennonite University with a degree in Biblical and theological studies and peace and conflict transformation. She is a member of Home Street Mennonite Church.

In 2019, Friesen Epp completed her practicum in the ISR office, helping to organize Walk for Common Ground, a 14-day walk from Edmonton to Calgary to raise awareness about treaties. From February to August 2021, Friesen Epp will connect with CPT partners and prepare resources for Mennonite Church Canada congregations to help them engage Indigenous solidarity work.

Rachelle Friesen is Canada coordinator for CPT and based in Toronto, Ont. She is mentoring and working with Friesen Epp during her internship. Steve Heinrichs, program director for Indigenous-Settler Relations, is also a supervisor.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

 

 

How did you come to be interested in Indigenous solidarity work?

Allegra Friesen Epp: It’s certainly something my church has engaged with over the years. I've always had a strong passion for justice. It's been kindled as I've learned more about the history tied to the lands I live on. 

After my second year of university, I volunteered with Mennonite Disaster Service for two months in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. That was the first time I had been on an Indigenous reservation. It was eye-opening. Pine Ridge, at the time, was the poorest county in the U.S. I became aware of how the poverty there was tied to racism and the colonial history that continued to play out in the present. I wrestled with questions of what it means to be a white settler in that reservation, coming in to "help" and rebuild homes. That was a pivotal experience for me.

Why did you apply for the internship?

I have worked for ISR before and have been increasingly fascinated with the work of Christian Peacemaker Teams. The opportunity to do something with a foot in both worlds really appealed to me.

What do you find fascinating about CPT?

I remember vividly, as a kid, hearing about the time four CPTers were held hostage in Iraq. I was so taken with the fact that these people would risk their lives for non-violent direct action in the same way soldiers might risk their lives on the front lines of battle. Since then I've admired and been inspired by CPT's willingness to take risks to be on the front lines of land solidarity efforts, to not be afraid to name things for what they are and to work so closely in partnership with the communities with which they are based.

I witnessed that most recently in Colombia in 2019 when I was on a delegation with CPT. I was impressed by the partnerships and connections the organization had established on the ground. It felt like very authentic and grounded work.

I've admired and been inspired by CPT's willingness to take risks to be on the front lines of land solidarity efforts, to not be afraid to name things for what they are and to work so closely in partnership with the communities with which they are based.

What gave you that impression?

CPT had earned trust from the communities it worked with and continues to work with. Our delegation learned about undoing oppressions, anti-racism work and Colombia’s complex history. I made a lot of connections between that history and things here at home on Turtle Island.

Can you give me an example of one of those connections?

Land is at the heart of conflict both in Colombia and on Turtle Island. Working classes, lower classes and Indigenous Peoples are caught in the middle of conflicts between the state, military and multinational corporations over resources of those lands. Voices are silenced and land defenders and community leaders are targeted. That was vivid in Colombia but is also becoming apparent to me here. Through legislative policies across the country (e.g., Bill 1 in Alberta, Bill 57 in Manitoba), Canada is targeting and trying to silence peaceful, Indigenous protests in defense of the land.

What is the connection between solidarity work and your faith?

A huge part of my faith is rooted in the Gospel message. Jesus to me is such an inspiring advocate for peoples marginalized in society. He's a peace activist. He challenged structures of oppression in his time and sought justice. For me solidarity work emerges out of those same roots, and a love for neighbour, a love for creation and a love for justice.

Mennonite Church Canada and CPT collaborate through this internship. Why is this internship important for CPT?

Rachelle Friesen: Mennonite Church Canada is a sponsoring body for CPT. It strengthens that relationship and makes it palpable.

A couple years ago, due to budget cuts, we closed the Indigenous Solidarity Team in Winnipeg. Out of that grew the Turtle Island Solidarity Network, which works at Indigenous solidarity across Turtle Island. Allegra will reconnect with some of our long-term partners, while helping support this network. Currently we're supporting 1492 Land Back Lane here in Ontario; we are exploring ways to support resistance against Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota; and we have folks supporting in Oak Flat in Arizona.

Who in particular do you hope to connect with through Allegra's work?

Once the pandemic eases we hope to connect more with Grassy Narrows. CPT has a long history of advocacy with that community, which has suffered mercury poisoning over the past six decades. It only recently received funding from government to clean up the river. CPT was asked by Grassy Narrows to combat the racism and white supremacy residents faced in Kenora. In non-pandemic times, we bring delegations to Grassy Narrows twice a year. Maintaining the relationship is fundamental to CPT work. We always want to amplify the voices of our partners.

We also hope to connect Allegra with a local prison abolition group in Winnipeg. Part of CPT's focus on Turtle Island is defunding the police. Connecting Allegra to a local, street patrol program is a way of showing how community protection is possible without relying on the police.

How will this internship work during COVID-19?

With a spirit of flexibility, grace and adventure (laughs). I hope it's not just a whole bunch of Zoom calls because that's not how CPT work is typically done. We plan to create a cross-country format for certain events so Allegra can participate. Right now there is a larger studying component, but the hope is for this internship to be an on-the-ground, active, organizing role.

How do you think you'll be challenged through this work?

Allegra Friesen Epp: While CPT and Mennonite Church Canada have a long-standing relationship, it will be challenging to be an intentional liaison, or bridge, when congregations and constituencies are in different places in terms of what it means to do the work of reconciliation. Land defences can be controversial, especially when they involve going against Canadian law or injunctions. Yet I think as Christians, as Mennonites committed to peace, we are committed to a higher law than what our state imposes. I think it's going to be a challenge to figure out how to live that out. I think the church has a lot to offer and I think the church has a lot to learn. Mennonites haven't always been comfortable being on the front lines. That's something we need to work at and that CPT can encourage us to do.

More personally, I am grappling with the ways white supremacy is embodied and works in my own life. Right now I’m learning the inherently colonial history behind the police and prison system and being challenged to think about some pretty radical transformation that can push me beyond my comfort zone, of being tempted to believe that reforming a system can be enough.

I think the church has a lot to offer and I think the church has a lot to learn. Mennonites haven't always been comfortable being on the front lines. That's something we need to work at and that CPT can encourage us to do.

What’s your hope for this internship?

Rachelle Friesen: This work is about land defense. It's about undoing settler colonialism. The Mennonite Church has benefitted from the settler-colonial project. I think what Allegra is doing is pretty cool because she's tackling those things head on but doing that from within her community, which is pretty radical.

Allegra Friesen Epp: My hope is to help the Mennonite Church engage in conversations and actions by providing resources and opportunities for engagement. I want to provide a lens that focusses on why this is important to our faith.

 

Media contact:

Steve Heinrichs