OTTAWA – Bishop Shane Parker brought parishioners from several parishes together in mid-June at St. Stephen, Ottawa to talk about ways that Anglicans across the diocese could help to better serve the large and growing community of Inuit living in the city.
The Rev. Canon Aigah Attagutsiak, who grew up in Arctic Bay (Ikpiarjuk), is the associate incumbent in the parish of St. Margaret, Vanier, which has an Inuit congregation as well as a non-Inuit congregation. She conducts services, offers sermons and pastoral care in Inuktitut in the parish and beyond.
Aided by simultaneous translation in Inuktitut, much of the discussion centred on how much the need for care and services there is in the Inuit community beyond the parish, needs that far exceed what one priest and current volunteers can provide, and how Anglicans in the rest of the diocese may learn from Inuit how to act in solidarity with them for the changes they want to see.
There are thousands of Inuit living in Ottawa and the surrounding region, the gathering heard. They travel or move to the south for a variety of reasons – to access specialized health care not available in the north and sometimes to accompany a family member for medical treatment, for educational and job opportunities, better housing and a lower cost of living. Some are only in Ottawa temporarily, others move to the city permanently.
Whatever brings them to the city, Canon Attagutsiak said it is common for those arriving to feel lost in a big city and culture very different from their own. They may be unaware of services and Inuit organizations that can help them navigate this new experience.
Bishop Parker noted in his remarks that because of the Anglican Church’s historical relationship to the Inuit in the north, many Inuit may look to the church for pastoral care, community, and support in Ottawa. Canon Attagutsiak said that St. Margaret’s Inuit congregation can be a source of comfort and cultural connection.
“It’s so wonderful to be hearing the sermons in Inuktitut,” St. Margaret’s parishioner Jukeepa Hainnu said.
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