“This church acknowledges being on the traditional territories of …”
At the opening of our Sunday worship on June 18, Cecile Wagar, Senator of the Oshawa and Durham Region Metis Council, led the congregation in a ceremony to dedicate a stone and plaque that acknowledges the Mississaugas of Scugog Island, the Iroquoian-speaking Wendat, and the 1923 Williams Treaties First Nations as the traditional owners of the land on which the church now stands and has done for 151 years. The indigenous lands marker is a symbol of All Saints’ ongoing commitment to pursuing truth, justice, reconciliation and healing for the children of God.
The All Our Relations Metis Drum Circle provided drumming and spiritual music of First Nations and Metis heritage, and the congregation processed to the front lawn and formed a circle around the stone marker for a smudging and blessing ceremony. The smudging feather and bowl were returned to the chancel steps for the service, filling the sanctuary with the scent of cedar, sage and tobacco as the Canon Vail delivered a moving homily on the Gospel call to pursue justice and the wholeness of the human family, so that we all might live in right relationships with each other and with the Creator.
Creator God,
from you every family in heaven and earth takes its name.
You have rooted and grounded us
in your covenant love,
and empowered us by your Spirit
to speak the truth in love,
and to walk in your way towards justice and wholeness.
Mercifully grant that your people,
journeying together in partnership,
may be strengthened and guided
to help one another to grow into the full stature of Christ,
who is our light and our life. Amen