Day one of this first national gathering of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission began at 5:19 a.m. yesterday with the lighting of the Sacred Fire at sunrise here at The Forks in Winnipeg. It was a moving and generous ceremony whereby a crowd of us—Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal together—gathered ’round to participate fully in it all, including a water ceremony and teachings about water, “the veins of Mother Earth.” The teachings spoke powerfully to connections between the health of our souls and our relationships with one another and with the Earth.
© WonderCafe. All Rights Reserved
Brought to you by the people of The United Church of Canada
Opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily those of WonderCafe or The United Church of Canada
Comments
Melchizedek
Posted on: 06/22/2010 22:30
Where's the truth and reconciliation in the rituals?
Would it be a contemporary 'heresy' to wonder that if true reconciliation is the goal, that we not hold up just the positive things about First Nations'/Aboriginal spirituality but also that of the best of Christianity's central ritual??
It also seems a bit bizarre that there is a celebration in Canada of the 400th anniversary of the baptism of a First Nations' chief and no-one has the nerve to say, "Wait a minute...a First Nations' people celebrating religion-sanctified colonialism."
Does anyone else wonder about these two scenarios that strike me as strange??