Hi,
I'm Greg and thanks for joining In This Way.
I live in Canada,
In British Columbia,
And recently at the site of a former Indian residential school we've discovered the remains of 215 children who died at this one school.
We don't know all the circumstances of the deaths.
We don't know yet when they happened,
Over what period they happened.
We don't know who was responsible for it.
We don't know who they are.
But we do know that this is a heartbreaking tragedy.
I grew up in,
And am now a minister,
In the United Church of Canada.
And the United Church was one of several in Canada that worked with the federal government to run the Indian residential school system.
It's only in our relatively recent history that we realized how harmful this was.
We've come to describe it with eyes wide open as a genocide.
I come from a line of United Church members and clergy,
And it's entirely possible that my family is more deeply complicit with the residential schools than I know.
So for today's practice,
I offer a prayer.
This isn't a prayer that I've written,
But rather something that I'll offer as it comes to me,
An extemporaneous prayer.
So I wonder if you would find yourself in a comfortable position.
If you wish to close your eyes,
You might do that now.
You might start by checking in with your body to realize what aches and tensions and stresses exist.
Notice how you're breathing.
Avoid the temptation to change or correct,
So to speak,
Any of these,
But just notice them and pay attention.
I'm sitting outside so you'll hear some noises in the background.
There is a persistent crow.
There is traffic.
But I'm in a beautiful garden,
Sitting under a beautiful,
Lush,
Purple rhododendron.
And it's a public space,
So there are people walking by.
The caterpillar in the distance is making its way toward me.
Dear God,
When we know by many names,
One about whom much is said and about whom little is actually known,
We name you as the source of life and the source of love.
We know you as an invitation to do more good than we ever thought imaginable.
In your presence,
We acknowledge the brokenness that is within us and around us.
We acknowledge some of our own shortcomings.
We acknowledge the ways in which we have been complicit in perpetuating injustice in some way,
Or the actions we have omitted from our lives that could have brought healing to those most in need.
We pray today for healing.
We pray for the healing of the families of those found in the mass grave.
We pray for the healing of the families whose children were taken from them and whose children were never seen again.
We pray for healing for those who are responsible for the atrocities.
We pray for repentance,
By which we mean a change of mind or a change of heart.
We pray that we would recognize our mistakes,
Recognize the injuries we've caused,
And seek to correct them.
We pray for wholeness in the communities of which we are a part,
The global universal community,
In which pain is real,
Healing is real,
And wholeness is possible.
May we know unity.
May we strive always to unite rather than divide.
May we seek peace.
May we seek to continue to be proponents of a world of peace wherein all life flourishes,
Where all species flourish,
Where no one person sees themselves as superior to another,
But rather each recognizes the common struggle that we share.
Be with our Indigenous siblings as they seek to make meaning out of this news.
May they know your love and your peace.
May they know how valued they are.
We ask for courage and wisdom to correct the injustices that persist.
Correct unfair power distribution,
Unfair wealth distribution.
May all know a fruitful life.
God would you mend the hearts that break?
Would you help us to keep the memory of these 215 children,
Many of whom will remain unidentified and unknown?
Would you keep the memories alive?
Would you let their spirits dance even though they,
In body,
Could not?
Would you let their spirits sing and speak their language even if they,
In body,
Could not?
God,
We know that you are the source of transformation and there are many in need of transformation,
From hurt and woundedness into healing and wholeness,
Neither forgetting nor ignoring the past or present injustices.
But being one with you,
We pray all of this and more.
Amen.
And I offer you gratitude for participating in this practice.
May you know peace.
May you know healing.
And may you know wholeness.
Until next time,
I'm Greg.
Peace.
