Orange Shirts & Honouring Rivers

 

This past Sunday we joined with others in prayerfully acknowledging the upcoming Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We wore our orange tee-shirts and at least half the congregation came dressed in orange in some form. It was meaningful as Rev. Isaac led us through our prayerful, penitential, and respectful worship which acknowledged the terrible harm done to Inidigenous peoples in what we call Canada by Christian denominations which ran Residential Schools. 

It was also World Rivers Day on Sunday so before church we drove north of Belleville to paddle in our kayaks on the Moira River -- wearing those orange shirts, of course. We were mindful that in days past the Moira and nearby rivers including the Trent, the Salmon, and the Napanee were used as travel routes by First Nations peoples and served as a source for food. Over time these rivers were degraded by industrial and human waste and their biodiversity was undermined. No one expects to see salmon in the Salmon River now. 

In recent decades efforts have been made to clean up these waterways and its's working. This summer we've paddled in our canoe and kayaks on all these rivers and we've seen plenty of wildlife. On the stretch of the Moira we paddled on Sunday there have been otters, mink, beavers, as well as bald eagles, ospreys, and blue herons in abundance throughout the seasons. We see fish jumping and schools of gar. There are wildflowers in abundance along the shore. We regularly give thanks to the Creator for all we see and hear and smell. 

There was a sense of the holy as we paddled on Sunday and again on Tuesday. Because of recent heavy rains we were able to make our way through a maple swamp which was like a cathedral. 

We are realizing that the spirituality of Indigenous peoples here and around the world has been Earth-honouring. Our Judeo/Christian tradition encourages Creation care as well, but somehow we drifted away from that essential aspect of our faith. Perhaps we will develop the humility to listen and learn as we seek to "live with respect in Creation."