Saturday, October 9, 2021
Prayer for the Captive
Ashley Wade
This video premiered one year ago, on October 10, 2020. We return to this piece in recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Performed by our choral scholars in St. John’s Church, the piece is a Shaker tune written by Sister Cecelia DeVere from Mt. Lebanon, NY. This choral arrangement was composed by Kevin Siegfried.
CONGREGATIONAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TERRITORY
Abenaki, “People of the Dawnland”
We acknowledge with respect the history, spirituality, and culture of the people of the Abenaki First Nation, upon whose traditional territory we gather as a community of faith. Abenaki leaders were brought to Portsmouth, perhaps along the Piscataqua River, named by the Abenaki, meaning "the water looks dark,” in July of 1713 to sign the Peace Treaty of Portsmouth, outlining the new rules tribes must follow under British command. We acknowledge our ongoing responsibility as Treaty members, and ask forgiveness for the loss and abuse of the First Nation peoples, atrocities performed in the name of Christ. As we speak truth with love, we acknowledge this sacred land. It has been a site of human activity for well over 11,000 years. Within the boundaries of present-day New Hampshire, is the home territory of the Abenaki First Nation. We thank them for their stewardship of Mother Earth, and we are grateful to have the opportunity to gather in community on this territory. We are also mindful of broken covenants and the need to strive to make right relations with all our relations. We also intentionally honour the heritage and gifts of the Abenaki people. To this ongoing process of reconciliation we intentionally pledge ourselves as dedicated participants.
-Acknowledgment written by Maren Tirabassi, adapted for St. John’s by Ashley Wade.
RESOURCES:
https://giftsinopenhands.wordpress.com/2016/11/03/6477/
https://www.nh.gov/folklife/learning-center/traditions/native-american.htm