Prayer of a white settler on National Indigenous Peoples Day 2020
by Shannon Neufeldt
Photo by KS KYUNG on Unsplash
Creator God, I come to you with a humble heart, So grateful for Your creation, this place I am in. The land is full of Your glory this solstice day. Sunlight sparkles on fresh green leaves. Bees buzz as trees burst into bloom. Even as dew collects on dandelion leaves, Or raindrops gather in boiling thunderclouds, A morning sip of lifegiving water deepens my gratitude for the life that teams across Turtle Island. O Creator, perfect Host, Your care and compassion were, and are, echoed in the generous hospitality of the original peoples - Indigenous peoples. But the reciprocal relationships of host and guest have been shattered. And the pain continues. For the death and destruction, I pour out my sorrow in lamentations. It is for the sins of my own heart that I seek forgiveness. Cleanse me of the thoughts and emotions that keep those relationships from healing - wash away the toxic entitlement, prejudiced assumptions, defensive disinterest. O Creator, faithful Guide, Show me the path towards right relations, Shape not only my words and deeds, but even more, my reactions and thoughts. Open my heart to the wonder, the beauty, the gifts of the person next to me, the protestor on the news, the culture so different from my own. Expose my racism, Root out my deep-seated fear of change, That I may be healed within, even as I try to be part of the healing of Your world. Amen.
