CALGARY -- Hillhurst United Church will toll its bells 215 times Tuesday in recognition of the 215 children whose remains were discovered at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.
“Each bell symbolizes a child’s life,” said Tony Snow, Indigenous Lead at Hillhurst United and Indigenous Minister for Calgary-area United Churches, in a press release.
“As we stop and listen to each bell toll, we remember a child who never returned home.”
Hillhurst church is also calling on other faith communities to join them in tolling their bells at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday or else observing a moment of silence in solidarity with the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation and First Nation communities across Turtle Island (North America).
Tuesday, June 1 is also the start of National Indigenous Month.
The tolling of the bells will be livestreamed Tuesday on Hillhurst United's Facebook page and also shown during its Sunday service, shown at 10 a.m. MST on the Hillhurst United YouTube channel.
ATB Financial's President and CEO Curtis Stange also announced on Twitter that McMahon Stadium will be lit in orange Monday night.
"We are in mourning after the horrific discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a residential school," Stange said, in a tweet. "To honour their lives and their loss, @atbfinancial will light McMahon Stadium orange tonight. As a nation, we must all become active participants in reconciliation."
