Simple Moodlings \'sim-pѳl 'mϋd-ѳl-ings\ n: 1. modest meanderings of the mind about living simply and with less ecological impact; 2. "long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering" (Brenda Ueland) of the written kind; 3. spiritual odds and ends inspired by life, scripture, and the thoughts of others
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Friday, December 24, 2021
A simple Christmas Prayer for 2021
Friday, December 10, 2021
Wisdom and serenity for our present circumstances
The video below is full of hard truths about the cost of progress and our denial of the many problems we face as a human race... and offers some helpful suggestions for how to move beyond them. It's also quite liberating in the way it demonstrates that human short-sightedness is, quite simply, something that's centuries old, something we cannot blame on each other in our present day, something we have to forgive ourselves for, and about which we need to continue to be compassionate towards others. Had human civilizations understood, as many of our Indigenous communities do, that reciprocity with nature rather than its exploitation is the only way to sustainable living, we wouldn't be facing so many crises now.
There are always more questions than answers when it comes to the future, but the real trick is to move forward just doing our best -- and drawing the best out of each other. Grow a garden, grow community, grow kindness, do what we can to care for the planet (love-in-action) and leave the rest. Grieve, adapt, and change as best we can, and encourage others to do the same.
If you haven't heard of Michael Dowd, I recommend checking out his website, postdoom.com. There's a heckuva lot of wisdom there...
Friday, December 3, 2021
Sharing more music -- Hometown, by Double Double
The kids have done it again... Today Double Double released their entire collection of new tunes, and as a proud mama, I'm sharing the link to Hometown, their EP, here.
Left on the Light tells the story of a waning relationship. So Fine is about a couple who keep flying off in different directions and who look forward to being together. Lucky is a reminder to appreciate what we have (a favourite theme of mine here in these moodlings!) and Downtown Girl just rocks and rolls.
Enjoy! And have a good weekend!
Sunday, November 28, 2021
Sunday Invitation: Hope and longing
Today's moodling is just a quick invitation to Advent Prayer. Join me online, live at 7 pm MST this evening, or anytime afterward at the link below... I will post the video at the link, and it can be viewed for the next few weeks.
https://www.facebook.com/events/430838638423614
Advent hope, peace, joy and love to you all!
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Desperation -- and St. Jude
If you've been following these moodlings for a while, you'll know that I have lots of struggles with the Catholic church -- its patriarchal system that can't see its own misogyny, its archaic black and white thinking on so many contemporary issues, its unwillingness to change, its lack of understanding when it comes to the LGBTQ2S+ community... I could go on.
But there are many things about it that I love, too, and the Communion of Saints is one of them. I think of all the small s saints on my list of family and friends who have died (up to these past All Saints'/All Souls' feast days my list has 225 names on it), and I definitely have favourites among the capital S saints who have been officially recognized as such. The idea of all these folks surrounding me and amplifying my prayers is a definite comfort.
Lately, I've gone a step further in my appreciation of one particular saint. St. Jude Thaddeus was one of Christ's disciples, and in some literature, is thought to be Jesus' step-brother, born before Joseph took Mary as his partner. I've heard it said that because St. Jude and Judas Iscariot, Christ's betrayer, had the same name, St. Jude's determination to not be confused with the other guy means that he goes out of his way to assist people in dire straights.
I turned to St. Jude in desperation last week because one of my kids has recently been struggling with a lot of pain from complications after an important surgery. I've never been one to manage praying a novena, because so many of them are written in overly wordy archaic language that drives me up a wall, and I generally don't have the stick-to-it-iveness to get through nine days of prayer.
But in my desperation for Jay's well being, I decided to simplify and personalize a novena to St. Jude and pray it before bed every night for nine days. My partner prayed with me. And though Jay isn't out of the woods yet as far as complete healing goes, there's been a definite improvement that gives us hope.
Because old-fashioned St. Jude novenas generally carry a clause about spreading devotion to him through publishing his prayer for others to use, I am sharing my novena here. It's short and to the point, and it seems to have worked even though it doesn't have a Nihil Obstat (official approval) from any bishop.
In my understanding, novenas are formulaic prayers designed to assist us in seeking God's help through a saint's intervention... but I expect that God and St. Jude are just as happy when we use our own words. There's nothing to say we can't say/write our own novenas using words that work for us. What counts is just that we pray.
So I leave this idea here, in case you have someone in mind who might benefit from nine days of prayer... and I add a prayer for those of us who find ourselves feeling desperate enough to try anything!
**Image borrowed from https://www.stjuderc.org/st-jude-novena.html
St. Jude, faithful servant
and friend of Jesus, patron saint of difficult cases, please intercede with
God. With confidence in you, we ask for God to help with ...
St Jude, Apostle of Hope,
Pray for us, that we may
grow in faith, hope, and love.
The Lord's Prayer
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Sunday, November 21, 2021
Sunday reflection: Love waits
Friday, November 19, 2021
Regarding Residential Schools: Listening is the important thing
Maybe you've seen it, and maybe you haven't. An email has been going around, written by a fellow with a good heart, no question, but what he says misses the mark. It's dropped into my inbox three times already, from friends who also have good hearts. Folks who wish that all the anguish about Residential Schools would just go away.
The email in question is the fellow's lengthy letter written to a newspaper columnist, extolling the virtues of the good people who worked in Residential Schools, telling how the missionaries in his more northern community provided education and healthcare when both were lacking in the area, even mentioning how a certain brother built a merry-go-round for the children who attended the school.
But white settlers like him spreading happy stories about all the good things missionaries did is tantamount to telling residential school survivors and their children who suffer from intergenerational trauma that their experiences are not valid, and that they should just "get over it."
The fact of the matter is that the Indigenous People of our country were doing just fine before Europeans arrived on the shores of this continent. They had a very rich cultural heritage. Their world view and spirituality saw all of creation as sacred. They lived in harmony with the land and its creatures and developed a kinship with them that helped their environment to thrive even as people harvested enough to live on. They operated with a sense of abundance rather than scarcity, and gave generously rather than hoarding or commodifying things. Yes, there were disagreements and even a few battles among tribes, but overall, they sued for peace in the covenants known as treaties, for the sake of good relationships. They had rich trading, gifting, and sharing practices, a deep understanding of the medicinal values of plants, and a deep gratitude to Creator for all the gifts Creator provided for them. They saw everything as gift.
To put it bluntly, THERE WAS NO NEED FOR RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS.
But then Europeans came with their sense of superiority over the Original peoples, and a desire to own this land, and the past almost 400 years of historical injustices wiped out entire Indigenous communities that had been self-sufficient for over a thousand years before settlers arrived.
Blaming government for setting up the system and creating legislation that took away Indigenous land and rights, and defending the missionaries who got mixed up in the mess (or took advantage of it as employment for its many religious folks) is definitely not what's needed right now.
Settler peoples have talked at First Nations people long enough. It's time to listen. With shame and humility. To hear their pain without defending anything. To let their hurts seep into our souls. To let them know that even though we are deeply ashamed about what happened to them and our own past apathy regarding their struggles, we are with them, and that we want to walk with them, to right past wrongs, so we can all move toward healing and hope as a community, as a planet.
We need to learn from Indigenous people by hearing their stories and their wisdom if they are willing to share. But we should not expect them to educate us -- they owe us nothing, and they have been through enough already without having to revisit their trauma for the sake of helping us to understand it. Rather, it's up to us to seek out the many educational resources available -- books, webinars, videos, documentaries, websites. There are so many options, and there is so much to learn.
And once we have learned, we need to shift our thinking, our world view, toward seeing that all is gift, including the people who are hurting -- and who are forgiving us. And we still need to listen. Listening and walking alongside them, and feeling that we are all relations is the only way to heal this centuries old rift -- and save our planet from the kind of destruction that has been caused by forgetting that we need to live in harmony with it and each other.
They are our teachers in learning to see everything as Creator's gift. Listen!
- Treaty Talk: Sharing the River of Life -- a beautiful 50 minute video about the re-beginnings of relationship between some settlers and Indigenous people in the last few years
- Indigenous Canada -- an excellent free course through the University of Alberta that teaches Canadian History from an Indigenous Perspective
- 21 Things You may not Know about the Indian Act -- short summary article by Bob Joseph and his more detailed book, 21 Things You may not Know about the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality
- Edmonton Public Library's Prairie Indigenous Collection, which includes books by Indigenous writers from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta (maybe your library has something similar, or has these titles in its collection)
- Aboriginal Peoples Television (APTN) and many CBC radio programs
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Sunday Reflection: The path
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Those last few bits of colour
On the weekend, Lee and I drove through a snowstorm to southern Alberta, and the greyness of the trip reminded me of winter's lack of colour. So today I'm appreciating the last few bits of colour as autumn drains away into winter -- it won't be long and these few holdouts will be on the ground too.
Sunday, October 31, 2021
Sunday Reflection: Starting from a place of belovedness
One of the things that drives me a little crazy about the faith tradition I grew up with is its insistence on Original Sin. Yes, we are sinners, and yes, we need to frequently ask forgiveness of each other and of God, and yes, I love the sacrament of reconciliation, but it seems to me that if we were better at believing that we are beloved children of God, our deep sense of belovedness would make us into more loving, less sinful people to begin with. So, you might say that I have very little patience for all the sin and redemption language that comes through so loudly in so many Christian denominations, including my own.
My life experiences to this point make it impossible for me to believe that Jesus died for my sins. I think Jesus came to show me how to live with sin and failure by living his own life of goodness and love as the Way for me to follow. But his Way was a threat to the sin economy of the faith leaders of his day, not to mention their temple coffers, and his loving kindness made them look foolish, so they made sure he was crucified. Jesus wasn't about sin, he was about love.
I suspect that's part of the reason why I feel so at home at The Community of Emmanuel, where I spend most of my Sunday mornings with Inner City Pastoral Ministry. Sin language isn't helpful there, where people are already quite broken. It's like kicking us when we're already down. So the old prayer that you find in the rosary after the Glory be is the last thing I would pray there. You know, the one that goes, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell..."
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Sunday Reflection: Let me see...
Friday, October 22, 2021
They're So Fine
They've done it again... Double Double has put out a catchy new song with a pretty neat little music video that I can't help but share here for your enjoyment.
I've been following the band's work quite closely because I happen to know them, and this tune has been one of my favourites since the very first time I heard it in a crowded little place on Whyte Avenue. It's taken directly from the lives of two band members who relied on long-distance phone calls for a while because their work kept them apart quite a bit in their relationship's beginnings. Big kudos to the video creator(s) -- nice to see the Edmonton skyline in the background of this fun little stroll taken by the band and their musical instruments! The walkers, in order, are Neil, Christina, Jessamy, and Landon.
If you like this tune as much as I do, you can add it to your music through most of the big music apps: here's are links to Spotify and Bandcamp. And if you leave the band a comment, I'm sure they'd love to hear your feedback.
Way to go, Double Double and friends! And Matt, I love the video! Well done.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
A small tribute to Dr. Walter Moser
Walter, centre, playing French horn |
Two professors stood on the stage, only one whose name I can clearly remember. The younger man, dressed in corduroys and a loud sweater, left no lasting impression on me other than his clothing, but the elder, Dr. Walter Moser, wore suit and tie and had a thick Austrian accent that took a few minutes for me to understand. Once my ear had acclimatized, I found myself fascinated -- and amused -- by him and his dry sense of humour, as he taught us basic undergrad biology.
I looked forward to Dr. Moser's lectures much more than the other prof's. I can't really remember any lecture details so many years later, but I do remember Dr. Moser's little jokes, usually directed at himself. He would rattle through his notes and chuckle whenever something about the natural world amused him, when his chalk broke, or the slide projector malfunctioned, or a student question struck him as particularly interesting. Because the class was large, I don't think I ever interacted with him directly, just completed what he called "multiple guess" exams, and was sad when the class ended in December that year and there would be no more of Dr. Moser's gentle humour in my life.
Fast forward maybe eight years. At the end of a Taizé Prayer evening at St. Paul's United Church on campus, my very musical friend, Karen, was helping me lead the prayer with only guitar, voices, and her trumpet. As we often did, we asked if there were any musicians in the crowd who would be willing to help us lead our monthly musical meditation.
We'd asked the same question many times without results, but this time, a couple approached and explained that they were delighted to find our prayer, that Walter played french horn and cello, Clara played piano and flute, and that they had come very early to the prayer, expecting the church to be so full that they might not get seats. They had heard about Taizé from a friend in Innsbruck who had been there, and they were very excited about joining our music group. And so, as Clara recently reminded me, they joined our very next rehearsal in my living room a few weeks later, using music I had photocopied for them until they could purchase their own books.
From then on, Clara and Walter became invaluable members of our musicians' group, and a beautiful and prayerful musical collaboration was born. Karen and I took to calling Walter "the Maestro" because he had a fine sensibility when it came to how the music should be sung and played -- I fondly remember him reminding us to go gently on the words "in laetitia" and suggesting not to sing "Dona la pace, Signore" so heavily -- "You're singing about peace, make it peaceful, but with longing!" The Mosers also brought many friends to make music, and where it had once only been Karen and me, we nearly had an orchestra!
After a few years of praying together at our monthly prayer evenings, the Mosers took a trip to Basel, Switzerland, and decided to experience Taizé themselves. It took them three trains and a bus to get to la Communité, and they thoroughly enjoyed their week there. Having an extra day before their train would take them back to Switzerland, they wanted to remain in Taizé, but their room was spoken for by new visitors.When I pointed out the difference between our books, he was mortified to realize that he had blamed me for an honest mistake. A few days later, a package arrived in the mail with a letter of apology, an index of songs listed by titles, page numbers, and the books in which they appeared, and a music book with the "right" page numbers, matching his. It is my favourite music book because of its inscription: "From Walter Moser to MARIA." I am still deeply touched by his determination to make things right.
Walter and Clara's involvement in our Taizé musicians' group lasted several years, until they decided it was time to "retire." Their absence left a huge hole in the rich music we had enjoyed making together... it was back to guitar, voices and flute (if we were lucky) -- no more cello, horn, sax, or piano, as several of the other musicians that came with the Mosers also moved on. But I kept Clara and Walter on the email list to let them know of our prayer evenings, hoping they could join us now and then.
In February of 2020, just before Covid-19, I received an email from Clara to let me know that she and Walter were downsizing and had some extra Taizé music books -- could I use them? So I had a lovely cup of tea with Clara (Walter was napping) and brought home more Taizé music books than I know what to do with. I wish I had seen Walter then, because now he is gone -- Karen called last week to let me know he has recently passed away.
Dr. Walter Moser was a biology professor who, I'm sure, inspired many of his students. I can't begin to speak to all that he accomplished in his years in academia because I don't know very much about that side of him. I am quite sure that he was a devoted father and grandfather (probably great-grandfather by now) just by the way he treated my own children, and that he passed his love of music on to his very musical family.
If you are someone with a story of Walter, or if you knew him better as Dr. Moser and don't mind sharing something in the comments below, I think that would be a wonderful thing. Because his academic career was mostly before our internet age, and because he was a humble man, it's next to impossible to know about him because he flew under the world's radar when it comes to fame and fortune. But those of us who loved him know him as someone very special, and our stories about him are definitely worth sharing.
What I know for certain is that my time with Walter the musician proved that he was a friend who was gentle, funny, talented, kind, and passionate about music -- and prayer. I will never forget the twinkle in his eye and the kindness in his smile. Certain people leave indelible marks on the hearts of those they meet, and he has definitely left his mark on mine.
Hugs and heartfelt condolences to Clara and the family.
Dear Walter, I look forward to making more beautiful music with you in the great beyond! I'm so grateful that you were so much more than a single-term biology professor in my life. Thank you for all the joy you brought, and the beauty of your soulful cello and exultant French horn that still resonate somewhere in my heart and soul.
Rest in peace, my friend.
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Sunday Reflection: Approaching God's grace with boldness
Chapter 21 in particular really moved me. White's recounting of Badger's Treatise -- on the story of the creation of the creatures on the fifth and sixth biblical days -- gave me a different image of our Three-In-One Creator, whose love for all they made shines through in the dialogue. I wish the author had been a bit more careful with his pronouns throughout (he got it right toward the end), and though I've always had issues with God setting "man" above the rest of all creation, given that the story was first published in 1939, I guess we have to take it as it is.
"People often ask as an idle question whether the process of
evolution began with the chicken or the egg. Was there an egg out of which the
first chicken came, or did a chicken lay the first egg? I am in a position to
state that the first thing created was the egg.
"When God had manufactured all the eggs out of which the
fishes and the serpents and the birds and the mammals and even the duck-billed
platypus would eventually emerge, he called the embryos before him, and
saw that they were good.
"Perhaps I ought to explain… that all embryos look very much
the same. They are what you are before you are born, and, whether you are a
peacock or a cameleopard or a man, when you are an embryo you look just
like a peculiarly repulsive and helpless human being…
"The embryos stood up in front of God, with their feeble
hands clasped politely over their stomachs and their heavy heads hanging down
respectfully, and God addressed them.
"He said: ‘Now you embryos, here you are, all looking
exactly the same, and We are going to give you the choice of what you are going
to be. When you grow up you will get bigger anyway, but We are pleased to grant
you another gift as well. You may alter any parts of yourselves into anything
which you think would be useful to you in after life. For instance, at the
moment you can’t dig. Anybody who would like to turn his hands into a pair
of spades of garden forks is allowed to do so. Or, to put it another way, at
present you can only use your mouths for eating with. Anybody who would like to
use his mouth as an offensive weapon, can change it by asking, and be a
corkindrill or a saber-toothed tiger. Now then, step up and choose your tools,
but remember that what you choose you will grow into, and will have to stick
to.’
"All the embryos thought the matter over politely, and then,
one by one, they stepped up before the eternal throne. They were allowed two or
three specializations, so that some chose to use their arms as flying machines
and their mouths as weapons, or crackers, or drillers, or spoons, while others
selected to use their bodies as boats and their hands as oars. We badgers
thought very hard and decided to ask three boons. We wanted to change our skins
for shields, our mouths for weapons, and our arms for garden forks. These boons
were granted to us. Everybody specialized in one way or another, and some of us
in very queer ones. For instance, one of the lizards decided to swap his whole
body for blotting paper, and one of the toads who lived in the antipodes
decided simply to be a water-bottle.
"The asking and the granting took up two long days – they
were the fifth and sixth, so far as I remember – and at the very end of the sixth
day, just before it was time to knock off for Sunday, they had got through all
the little embryos except one. This embryo was Man.
"‘Well, Our little man,’ said God. ‘You have waited till
the last, and slept on your decision, and We are sure you have been thinking
hard all the time. What can We do for you?’
"‘Please, God,’ said the embryo, ‘I think that You made me in
the shape which I now have for reasons best known to Yourselves, and that it
would be rude to change. If I am to have my choice I will stay just as I am. I
will not alter any of the parts which You gave to me, for other and doubtless
inferior tools, and I will stay a defenseless embryo all my life, doing my best
to make unto myself a few feeble implements out of the wood, iron and other
materials which you have seen fit to put before me. If I want a boat I will
endeavor to construct it out of trees, and if I want to fly I will put together
a chariot to do it for me. Probably I have been very silly in refusing to take
advantage of your kind offer, but I have done my best to think it over
carefully, and now hope that the feeble decision of this small innocent will
find favour with Yourselves.’
"‘Well done,’ exclaimed the Creator in delighted tones.
‘Here, all you embryos, come here with your beaks and whatnots to look upon Our
first Man… the only one who has guessed Our riddle, out of all of you, and
we have great pleasure in conferring upon him the Order of Dominion of the
Fowls of the Air, and the Beasts of the Earth, and the Fishes of the Sea. Now
let the rest of your get along, and love and multiply, for it is time to knock
off for the week-end. As for you, Man, you will be a naked tool all your
life, though a user of tools: you will look like an embryo till they bury you,
but all others will be embryos before your might; eternally undeveloped, you
will always remain potential in Our image, able to see some of Our
sorrows and to feel some of Our joys. We are partly sorry for you, Man, and
partly happy, but always proud. Run along then, Man, and do your best. And
listen, Man, before you go…’
"‘Well?’ asked Adam, turning back from his dismissal.
"‘We were only going to say,’ said God shyly, twisting their hands together. ‘Well, We were just going to say, God bless you.’"
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Sunday Reflection: Thanksgiving pants
Thursday, October 7, 2021
Watching the birds bathe, and other stories
It's been a busy end of summer and early autumn. You can tell by these two pictures that we've been working hard to put the garden to bed...
September 14th |
October 7th |
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
International Teacher's Day 2021
A first year teacher (me) and some of her students |
The exercise is simple but challenging. Name the significant teachers in your life, people who have taught you, people who have taught important people in your life (I've included some of my colleagues and my kids' teachers, too). I'm sure I've missed quite a few, and it was definitely challenging to remember some of their first names, but here are the ones I am thinking of today:
Lillian Howrish, Alida Janzen, Violet Hansen, Florence Carson, Aline Collins, Gloria Vilbrunt, Robert Motut, Julian Usyk, Rick Lemieux, Ken Donnelly, Collin Collister, Bob Chorney, Diane Washuta, Heather Bedford-Clooney, Palma Covelli, Lorraine Gallant, Karen Douziech, Fr. Fee Otterson, Gary Kozens, Lee Vilbrunt, George Stepney, George Fortier, Gina Charbonneau, Glen Kirkland, David Leigh, Dr. Eileen Conway, Fr. David Louch, Dr. Walter Moser, Fr. Tim Scott, Dr. Olenka Bilash, Dr. Barbara DeLuna, Ingrid Zukiwsky, Dr. Bob Ware, Dr. Ron Stephens, Arthur Szynkowski, Pat Dusyk, Kathy Dekker, Michael Marien, Shirley Marien, Pat Turner, Monique Gratrix, Maria Lentz, Sr. Teresita Kambeitz, Shirleyan Threndal, Fr. Dave Norman, Lucille Lewans-Rezac, Fr. Ron Rolheiser, Louise Potvin, Fr. Don MacDonald, Fr. Paul Fachet, Bishop Gerry Wiesner, Ruthie Wasylenko, Gilles Denis, Michelle Widynowski, Priscille Jong, Janice Barton, Margaret Bujold, Richard Beaudoin, Michelle Dupuis, Karen Koester, Moira Hecker, Dr. Tracy Bear, and last but definitely not least, Jeanine, my dear sister.How many can you name from your life?
Heartfelt gratitude to all teachers today! They deserve it, now more than ever.
If you are able to express your appreciation to a teacher in person or online, go for it!
Monday, October 4, 2021
A belated anniversary moodling
Next spring's bulbs (178 of them) |
But at the same time, it's a season for slowing down and taking stock. The colours change, the days get shorter, and my spirit starts to relax into a deeper awareness of light and darkness, warmth and coolness, and the gift of time in general. As I watch the squirrels tucking our oak tree's acorns away for the winter, I am tucking away summer memories, and relishing the good muscle aches from spreading compost and collecting leaves to make next year's good black humus.
Life is a never ending cycle, and seeing the leaves fall in this covid season brings to mind the many losses and changes created by this pandemic. I think of all those we have lost to the virus, people who are slowly recovering from its effects, our medical people who are struggling to move forward as our healthcare system is being overwhelmed, and I wonder, at times, how our world will continue to function. Some days it's hard to imagine. But we keep on going.
On this feast of St. Francis, at this time when so many are so seriously ill with covid and there are still so many on our planet to be protected from it -- especially those with no access to vaccines, and children under 12 -- I ask the little saint of simplicity to pray for us, that we all do the right thing, not only for ourselves, but for our world as a whole. As I move into this 12th year of online moodling, I wish all my readers safe journeys through the darker months ahead.
May we all have the resilience of the bulbs I've buried deep in my front yard, and emerge into next spring's sunshine after a period of protecting the vulnerable through our patience, perseverance... and peace.
Friday, October 1, 2021
Gold strewn everywhere
Walking along the river valley this week has been breathtaking. Who needs that yellow ore mined from the depths of the earth when it's on all the trees once a year?
When I get to heaven, I'm going to ask God why they gave humans and magpies the desire for shiny things even as they filled the earth with enough beauty to suffice for all our lifetimes...
Here are a few pictures from this week's walks for your enjoyment. Have a beauty of a weekend!
Thursday, September 30, 2021
What have you been doing on National Truth and Reconciliation Day?
If you feel like reading, reading, reading, here's the link from Raven Trust, an organization that I support because they are land and people defenders. Their website absorbed a good portion of my day.
https://raventrust.com/reconciliation-is-a-verb/
I particularly liked what Ryan McMahon has to say, short and straight to the point:
Calling yourself a treaty person, doing a land acknowledgment: that is not reconciliation. Pick one action you know you can stick with in your life, and find people to bring along on your journey. If you have a strong heart, come to the front of the line. If you don't, get in line, and we'll get there. Show up. Be on the ground. Give your energy. Every single choice you make is reconciliation: there is no handbook.
I also appreciated this Maclean's Magazine article about Finding David Lightning, sent to me by my eldest. In my days as a teacher in Ponoka, I taught a youngster who was probably related to the Ermineskin Lightning family, possibly a great grand-nephew to David Lightning.
What are you doing on National Truth and Reconciliation Day? What have you learned that you didn't know before? What are you planning to learn and do in the weeks and months to come? I'd really love to know... please leave me a comment if you like...
Sunday, September 26, 2021
Sunday Reflection: How to do a "deed of power"
Sunday, September 19, 2021
Sunday Reflection: The birthday girl's prayer
Today is the birthday of Michelle, our Oskapewis/helper at The Community of Emmanuel/Inner City Pastoral Ministry. She led our Standing Stones service this morning, and the prayer and scripture she chose really moved me. Even more wonderful, she planned, collected volunteers, and held a barbeque for the folks who hang around the Bissell Centre -- a great way to celebrate a birthday!
I can't begin to tell you about her inspiring words this morning, but I will share that she encouraged us all to name four truths that we rely on in our lives. I think that the ones I rely on most are encapsulated in the prayer and the psalm below. Beautiful words for a beautiful Sunday:
I welcome you into my heart, mind, body and soul.