Prelude
People gather in a circle in the sanctuary.
Choral Introit: MV 10 Come and Seek the Ways of Wisdom v. 1
Come and seek the ways of Wisdom,
she who danced when earth was new.
Follow closely what she teaches,
for her words are right and true.
Wisdom clears the path to justice,
showing us what love must do.
Welcome
Acknowledgement of the Land
As we gather to worship, we acknowledge with respect that we live and work and worship on Treaty One Land, in the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, and Dakota peoples, and in the heart of the Metis Nation. May we live in peace and friendship with the peoples of this land, honouring their relationship with the land and water, the plants and animals through the many generations.
The 40 days of Lent are a traditional time of lament, of repentance, and of seeking reconciliation and the mending of relationships.
During these 40 days of Lent, we are invited to lament the deep harm inflicted upon the First Peoples of Canada through the imposition of Western ways and culture, through the residential schools. In lamenting, we open the path for reconciliation and healing that will bring wholeness and well-being to all the peoples and the land of Canada.
To lament is to express sorrow and grief.
To lament is to weep, to sob, to wail in the face of injustice.
To lament is to mourn what has been lost and to express regret for wrongs done.
This first Sunday of Lent we will go back to what was the beginning of colonization and Land inequity issues, the Doctrine of Discovery.
Norah McMurtry, Marian Matthews and Kerry LaRoque will lead us in trying to understand and begin to unravel this part of our history.
These are difficult topics, and as you listen to the stories, you may experience deep emotions. If you need a quite room for yourself, you are welcome to use the room adjacent to the sanctuary. If you wish warm support or listening ear, Joan McDonald, our pastoral care elder will be there for you to support.
Story
There was a gathering of Elders which met annually for eight summers. Elders from many Indigenous nations came together, and what was unique about these weeklong gatherings was that they also welcomed non Indigenous church leaders to be part of it all.
One morning a young Indigenous man came into a teepee and said to the Elder, “I want you to send these Christians home. There are too many of them and they are taking all of the Elder’s time with their questions.”
The Elder invited him to stand with him outside the teepee. “Look at that mountain, along the creek at its base there are many willows. Just above them are large poplars and birch, further up you see various evergreens. These trees do not argue about who belongs on this mountain.” ~ Stan McKay
God, Children & Us: Lenten Campfire
Call to Worship
From Discover Repentance, Ramone Romero, (Read the full text, in Yours, Mine, Ours, p 87)
Come, My people,
come and look
at what was done by your forefathers.
Come and discover
the doctrines they created
and used for their greed
to oppress nations in My name.
Come and repent, My people.
Come to the Cross and repent
to the descendants of the oppressed
for the sins of your forefathers.
Come, for I have nailed your sins
to the Cross of forgiveness,
but I want you to take part
in repentance and reconciliation.
Come and take part in healing
and bearing the fruit of repentance
for the descendants of the oppressed;
come and seek their restoration.
Come and see the magnitude
of your forefather's sins,
and find salvation from their effects
in the forgiveness of the Cross.
Come and repent to them,
speak words of life to them,
and work for their healing
and for their restoration.
Come and repent -
be ministers of reconciliation.
Come and repent -
be ministers of healing.
Come and repent -
be ministers of justice.
Come and repent -
be ministers of the Cross.
Hymn: MV 79 Spirit, Open My Heart
Scripture Readings (using the interpretive words in Yours, Mine, Ours)
Colossians 3:9-11
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
Acts 17:26-27
From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us.
The Choir Anthem: O Holy Spirit (Kyrieleis)
Reflections: Unravelling the Doctrine of Discovery
Norah McMurtry, Kerry LaRoque and Marian Matthew
After each reflection, Norah, Kerry and Marian "unravel" the cloth knitted with yearns with mistakes.
The Introduction: Unravelling History
The First Reflection: The Ten Elements of Discovery
1. Christianity
2. Civilization
3. First discovery
4. Actual occupancy and possession
5. Pre-emption
Meditation
Chant: VU 411 O God, We Call
O God we call, O God we call,
from deep inside we yearn,
from deep inside we yearn,
from deep inside we yearn for you.
The Second Reflection:
6. Indian/Native title
7. Limited Indigenous sovereign and commercial rights
8. Contiguity
9. Terra nullius
10. Conquest
Meditation
Further Reflection
Hymn MV 141 We Are All One People
(Saskatchewan Cree composers, Joseph Naytowhow and Cheryl L’Hirondelle, 2000)
We are all one people,
we all come from one Creation way on high.
We are all one nation under one great sky, you and I.
We are all one people, we are all one colour in her eyes.
We are all one people, we are all one nation,
we are all one colour if we try.
Offering:
Sung Dedication VU 540 Grant Us, God, Grace
Grant us, God, the grace of giving,
with a spirit large and free,
that ourselves and all our living
we may offer faithfully.
Prayers of the People
Sung Response VU 400 Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Lord, send your Spirit in this place;
Lord, listen to your children praying,
send us love, send us power, send us grace!
The Life and Work of the Church
Hymn: VU 678 For the Healing of the Nations
Commissioning and Benediction
Passing each end of the yarn threads unravelled from the cloth to make further unravelling by the congregation and by doing so connecting each other with the threads.
Choral Extroit: MV 86 Give Peace to Ev’ry Heart (Da Pacem Cordium)
(singing a round)
Give peace to ev’ry heart.
Give peace to ev’ry heart.
Give peace, God.
Give peace, God.
Postlude
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