Together on the Journey:
A Weekly Blog
This Sunday, June 21, we will be marking the Indigenous Day of Prayer. This day comes in the middle of Indigenous History Month, a time when we celebrate Indigenous heritage, history, resilience, and diversity.
One way I always love to celebrate this day is to read the gospel reading from the Indigenous translation of the New Testament at our Sunday worship. This version, which was released in 2021, provides an English Bible that connects, in a culturally relevant way, to the traditional heart languages of the over six million English speaking First Nations people of North America. It provides a retelling of Creator’s story following the oral tradition of Indigenous storytellers. It is not a word-for-word translation, but rather a thought-for-thought translation. Therefore, it tries to get at the intended meaning of the Biblical writers, but translate it into an Indigenous context. It’s always wonderful to hear this translation read in church, and we will be using it this coming Sunday.
Another way I like to celebrate this day is by educating myself about Indigenous culture, values, and the importance of the continued work of reconciliation. This is ongoing work and not something that we ever fully complete. If you are wondering where to start, the diocese has a website on truth and reconciliation that will direct you to resources. You can find the website here: https://www.toronto.anglican.ca/diocesan-life/social-justice-advocacy/indigenous-justice/?lang=en
The Indigenous Day of Prayer is a day to celebrate Indigenous values, customs, languages, and cultures. It is a time to hear stories, learn lessons, and centre the traditions of our Indigenous siblings which, here in Canada, for so long were shoved to the side, or seen as less important than our own. Indigenous culture has so much to teach us about faith and about life. And so I invite you to keep listening, keep learning, and keep discussing. Maybe then, we as a church can continue moving in a meaningful way towards reconciliation with our Indigenous siblings.
This will be my last blog post before I head on vacation for July. After this week, there will only be blog posts every two weeks, to coincide with the e-news schedule for over the summer. Father Andrew will be writing the blog in July. Bye, everyone, see you in August! And thanks for reading.
– Jess