Prayers for
Peacemakers, 5 July 2017
In the shadow of
big national anniversaries of Canada and the USA, let us remember in our
prayers all Indigenous peoples of the Turtle island and their struggle and pray
for the CPT Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Team and its partners.
This week two countries on the
Turtle island celebrate important anniversaries of their existence as sovereign
states: 150 years since the creation of Canadian confederation and 241 years
since the declaration of independence and formation of the United States of
America. The grandiose patriotic celebrations and media coverage rarely
remember the impacts of these historic events on the Indigenous peoples who had
lived on and cared for these lands and nature for thousands of years.
Today, let us remember in our
prayers the Indigenous nations of the Turtle island who “official
histories” have attempted to ignore, erase and silence. Let us pray for
the descendants of settlers, who built their country on genocide and land
appropriation, because they (and we) are given an opportunity to learn about
the past in order to understand the presence. Let us ask the Creator to lead us
on the path of transformation to become good allies and partners of future
change. Let us pray for the CPT Indigenous Peoples Solidarity team and all
their partners who play a pivotal role in these efforts.
