Blog post
These questions guided my presentation to the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity Reference Group. The group met from 16-22 September, at Vancouver School of Theology, on the un-ceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. As a Korean Canadian minister and teacher, I explored companionship through histories connected to the place where I live and work.
At the centre of my reflection was the Two Row Wampum Belt. I placed two local stories alongside it. The first is the friendship between Musqueam families and Chinese vegetable gardeners. The second is the life of William Scott (1886–1979), who responded to racism by working alongside Korean Christians during Japanese colonialism in Manchuria and beyond.
Learning to travel alongside
I began learning about the Two Row Wampum in 2008 at the Francis Sandy Theological Centre. Ray John of the Oneida Nation of the Thames compared its two rows to his right and left shoulders: separate, yet connected. His teaching showed me that differences can remain within a relationship.
The Two Row Wampum, called Gaswéñdah, comes from the Haudenosaunee treaty tradition. According to Haudenosaunee oral history, it records an agreement made in 1613 with Dutch traders. In this account, the Dutch wanted to be called “father.” The Haudenosaunee refused, because that relationship would give one people authority over the other. They suggested instead that the two peoples call each other “brother.” This idea of equal relationship shaped later treaties, including the Treaty of Niagara of 1764 a foundational document for Canadian law and reconciliation.
The belt has two rows of purple beads on a white background. The rows are understood as a canoe and a ship travelling on the same river. Each carries its own laws and ways of life, and neither steers the other. The belt expresses a lasting commitment to friendship and peace, with respect for each other’s ways of life.
I receive this teaching as a learner. It belongs to a living Indigenous tradition, and it challenges my Christian understanding of helping others. Even with good intentions, we may assume that we should decide where others go and how quickly. For me, companionship means being willing to be changed by those I travel with. Those with greater power must listen attentively, exercise restraint, and take responsibility for the harm their institutions have caused.
Companionship in the gardens
In the early 20th century, Musqueam families and Chinese gardeners farmed together on Musqueam reserve land. Both faced colonial racism, in different ways. Colonial policies restricted Musqueam people’s ways of life and control over their territory. Chinese migrants faced exclusion and discrimination.
By 1917, at least 18 farming leases covered more than 20 acres. Celery and cabbage grew beside bok choy and gai lan, supplying fresh vegetables to greater Vancouver. The gardens sustained this work for about 50 years. The two communities shared labour and food. Some gardeners lived on the reserve and joined community celebrations. Marriage also created family ties between the communities.
In the mid-1950s, the Department of Indian Affairs replaced annual leases with 30-day permits, making farming unsustainable. The gardens sustained life amid injustice, but government policies brought that shared work to an end. Companionship, then, includes challenging the systems that harm shared life. As a Christian, I also hear an invitation to learn from companionship already practised outside the church.
Companionship across the Pacific
In 1914, William Scott was finishing his studies at Westminster Hall in Vancouver (one of the predecessor institutions of Vancouver School of Theology). That year the Komagata Maru arrived with 376 passengers from British India, and Canadian officials used racist laws to turn most of them away. Scott later said this injustice helped lead him and his wife, Katie, to become missionaries in Korea.
In Korea, his respect for Korean Christians’ autonomy found expression in sharing authority. In 1924, he set up school boards with equal numbers of Korean and missionary members. He also encouraged Koreans to lead their own institutions. This school produced many prominent people including Yun Dong-ju (poet and independence activist), Moon Ik-hwan (pastor, reunification activist, and poet) and Ahn Byung-mu (Minjung theologian). For me, this is a real test of companionship: does respect change who makes the decisions?
The Korean theologian Kim Chai-choon was condemned for his approach to biblical interpretation. Scott stood with him and was condemned alongside him. Kim helped found the seminary that became Hanshin University, and their shared stand contributed to the birth of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea. Korean Christians shaped their own future. Scott supported their leadership and accepted the cost.
Becoming an intercultural church
I explore these questions further in my forthcoming book, Becoming an Intercultural Church: Companionship in a Wounded World, to be published by WCC Publications. Writing for church leaders, I ask how service can grow into companionship. How can churches become communities where different cultures shape one another, where power is shared, and where wounds are named honestly? I hope it will encourage churches take the journey of companionship.
Let’s paddle together
The gardens and Scott’s work belong to different histories. I bring them beside the Two Row Wampum as a learner. I do not assume that these communities understood their relationships through this tradition. They, however, invite us to look closely at our own relationships. Whose knowledge shapes our decisions? What power are we willing to share? Will we stay when the journey becomes hard?
The river keeps moving, and our boats carry different histories. I hope we can learn to travel alongside one another, sharing responsibility without taking control.
Let’s paddle together.
WCC Pilgrimage Reference Group to gather in Vancouver (WCC news release, 15 September 2026)
Learn more about the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity
Photo gallery: WCC Pilgrimage Reference Group meeting in Vancouver
About the author :
Rev. Prof. Dr Hyuk Cho is Associate Professor at Vancouver School of Theology. An ordained minister of The United Church of Canada, he is a member of the Central Committee of WCC. He is the author of Relation without Relation: Intercultural Theology as Decolonizing Mission Practice (2025) and co-author of Decolonizing Diakonia: From Servanthood to Companionship (2025).
