The members of Trinity’s God’s Diversity Committee invite our community to join us in celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, October 14 and in recognizing the resilience and diversity of Indigenous Peoples of the United States.
Since 1991, dozens of cities, several universities and a growing number of states have adopted Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a holiday and a celebration of the history and contributions of the original inhabitants of this land that has become the United States.
Perhaps the best way we can honor our indigenous brothers and sisters is to join our voices in a prayer of recognition, lament, atonement and restoration. The following is an adaptation of prayers written by Episcopal Congregations in the United States and Canada that have significant numbers of indigenous members.
Dear Savior, we give thanks to the first peoples of this land. They were the original masters of agriculture, horticulture, hunting and fishing. Give us the fortitude to emulate their profound respect for our earth, one of your great gifts to us.
Forgive and heal us, from our participation in the systematic oppression of indigenous sovereignty, language, culture and spirituality; from our complicit tolerance of the decimation of indigenous family structures leaving children vulnerable to abuses of every kind; and from our continued acceptance of unjust legal, educational, health and social structures that continue to oppress and destroy the lives of many indigenous people.
Draw your Church together, O Lord, into one great company of disciples, together following you into every walk of life, together serving you in your mission in the world, and together witnessing to your love on every continent and island of your creation. Amen.