Voices from the Past, Voices for the Future
by John L. Kater, Jr.

One of the most significant developments in theology over the last half-century is surely the emergence of new voices claiming a place at the conversation table.

For most of Christian history, theology was an enterprise jealously guarded by a small elite, composed almost entirely of clergy professionals, white and male, who not only determined the diet but also the table manners. Approaching theology was like going through a cafeteria line where you begin at a designated starting point, move in only one direction, and end up at dessert.

The end of World War II and the beginning of the end for Western colonialism changed all that. All over the world, Christians began affirming the right of peoples to engage in theology from the starting point of their own context. Voices which had been silenced for generations and centuries began to be heard. In half a century, Christian theology has been forever changed. Latin American, Asian and African liberation theology, black theology, feminist, womanist and mujerista theology, theology from the vantage point of gay, lesbian and transgendered people, theology from the context of indigenous peoples, theology in dialogue with other religious traditions — the list goes on and on. Theology is no longer a controlled cafeteria line. It has become a banquet, an all-you-can-eat buffet, where you can graze the table and go back for seconds and nobody minds whether you start at one point or the other.

This process of reshaping theology has resulted in an understanding of Christian faith that is at once more honest, more authentic — and more complex. Nowhere is this more evident than in the urgent rethinking of theology by indigenous people.

This process of reshaping theology has resulted in an understanding of Christian faith that is at once more honest, more authentic — and more complex. Nowhere is this more evident than in the urgent rethinking of theology by indigenous people. The First Peoples Theology Journal, published by the Episcopal Church’s Indigenous Theological Training Institute, grew out of a conscious effort begun in the early 1990’s "by Native Peoples from North America and the Pacific who belong to churches in the Anglican Communion… to establish a network to support each other’s ministries and to identify and address common concerns." The journal

is the next step in our journey together, and it brings to a broader audience, both indigenous and non-native, our insights on the wide range of topics and issues that are part of our lives as Native Peoples seeking to integrate our traditional histories with our commitment to Christ and the Gospel" (Vol.1, i).

The First Peoples Theology Journal relies on an Editorial Board, made up almost entirely of Native people, for its content. Volume 1 consists of materials in a variety of formats and covers a wide range of topics. There is poetry here, and history, as well as a number of essays and reflections on themes broadly related to spirituality. This should not surprise us; as Bishop Steven Charleston writes in his introduction, "We are a people who place the spiritual at the center of our lives" (Vol. 1, 4).

Some, perhaps most, of the history recounted in the Journal is painful to read, and while known all too well to Native people, the wider church has much to learn of the suffering of indigenous Anglicans, often imposed by an uncaring and disrespectful Church.

The second volume of the Journal is organized around "Creation and Other Stories." This is a valuable resource for learning or remembering the Creation stories of a number of Native Peoples from all over the world: the Siksika, Ojibwe, Caddo, Choctaw, Cree, Oneida, Osage, Pascua Yaqui, and Muscogee of North America; Native Hawaiians; the Maori of Aotearoa/New Zealand; and the Aboriginal people of Australia. Bringing together these stories makes it easier to highlight the importance of identifying elements they share, while appreciating the unique aspects of each context. The volume also includes several helpful essays for interpreting the material: "Beneath Mother Earth: The Politics of Creation Theologies" by Steven Charleston; Mark MacDonald’s "God’s Creation: It’s in the Font;" "Native Hawaiian Creation Story: Excerpts from a Voyage of Rediscovery," by Charles G. Kamohoali’i Hopkins; Moeawa Callaghan’s "A Reflection on Creation Stories in Maori Tradition," and Vine Deloria, Jr.’s "Creation, Creator and Tradition."

[There is an] undoubted need for a forum where Native Anglicans can tell their stories in all their richness. As Steven Charleston observed, "The cultural survival and integrity of indigenous life is always fragile… Survival is never something we can take for granted."

There are several reasons why I believe the appearance of First Peoples Theology Journal is of considerable importance. The first is the undoubted need for a forum where Native Anglicans can tell their stories in all their richness. As Steven Charleston observed, "The cultural survival and integrity of indigenous life is always fragile… [S]urvival is never something we can take for granted" (Vol. 1, 2). Native people need, says Alberta Pualani Hopkins, to "remember what happened when Christianity was proclaimed to us, and recognize the wrong that was done in stripping us of who we were in order to make us Christians…". Others "in turn must listen and recognize the truth and pain in what we say. Only then can we begin to work together towards reconciliation…." Reconciliation which truly allows us "all to come before the altar bringing our unique gifts as different peoples", she insists, "means rethinking and reworking our theology and liturgy and institutions to be more inclusive" (Vol. 1, 42). The First Peoples Theology Journal is a treasury of resources for remembering, for listening and for recognizing.

At a time when many people are learning — or re-learning — the value of listening to traditions other than their own, the Journal is also a valuable resource for enriching our common understanding of the depth and breadth of what it means to be spiritual people. Many of the authors represented here live in two worlds, and are able to serve as bridge people, reliable guides and translators so that all of us are enriched by each other. Writing from his perspective as a Native Hawaiian, Charles Kamohoali’i Hopkins observes that the underlying vision is one "in which diversity is a given" (Vol.1, 28). These initial volumes of the Journal can help our churches move to embrace that vision and make it a reality. The table is prepared. Can we sit down together?

The Rev. John L. Kater, Jr., is Professor of Ministry Development and Director of the Center for Anglican Learning and Life (CALL) at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. He previously served as rector of Christ Church in Poughkeepsie, New York and as Education Officer of the Episcopal Diocese of Panama. John is the author of Christians on the Right: The Moral Majority in Perspective, Making Sense of Life: Theology for Teenagers, and Finding Our Way: American Christians in Search of the City of God, as well as two books for children. He assists at the Congregation of El Buen Pastor in Redwood City, California and serves on the Diocese of California's Hispanic Commission and Multiculturalism Task Force. He may be reached by email at jlkater@aol.com