Please click to hear Marnie. 

Good morning
 
Today, I wanted to share a portion of a UCC resource for this year’s 2020 Indigenous Day of Prayer: The Seven Grandfather Teachings [By Deb Anderson Pratt].  This Sunday, we will honour National Indigenous Day with story and prayer.  Please join us!
 
“Some of the teachings we lived by were the Grandfather Teachings, which consist of Love, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility, and Truth, teachings you also find in the Bible. Before contact these teachings were taught freely and daily in our communities. The mothers spoke of them to their unborn children. They were the first lessons a child was taught that were repeated throughout their lives. After contact the teachings were presented in secret and taught very subtly.”
 
Truth is to know and understand all of the original laws given by the Creator and to remain faithful to them. The turtle teaches us about truth. It is said that in the beginning when the Creator made humanity and gave them the Sacred Laws, the Grandmother Turtle was present to ensure that the laws would never be forgotten.

On the back of a turtle are the 13 moons, each representing the truth of one cycle of the earth around the sun. The 28 markings on the turtle’s back represent the cycle of the moon of a woman’s body. The shell of the turtle represents the body’s real events as created by a higher power, and serves as a reminder of the Creator’s will and teachings.
 
1 John 5:20 teaches:
We know also the Son of God has come and given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (NIV)
 
We give thanks for this and so many other gifts shared that help us listen, become aware, and feel connected and blessed in solidarity with each other.

Be well
Christine