A Frosty Morning & Memories of Dreamer's Rock

 

                                            Dreamer's Rock Mishmountain James Simon Mishibinijima 

This morning I headed off for a walk in the woods even though it was -24C at the time. This may surprise you but there were no other vehicles when I arrived at the Conservation Area north of Belleville -- none when I left an hour or so later, either. It could have been the frigid temperature or having written about the death of a Sudbury centenarian who was a member of my congregation there years ago but I got thinking about an outing to a place of spiritual signficance called Dreamer's Rock.

Dreamer's Rock is on the way to Manitoulin Island and has a centuries old tradition of being the place for young Indigenous persons to go for vision quests. There is a hollow in a quartzite outcropping on the Whitefish River First Nation with a remarkable view across to the LaCloche hills and Georgian Bay. These youths would fast in this spot, sometimes for days. 

                                                An Old Postcard with the view from Dreamer's Rock

When I was lead minister of St. Andrew's United Church in Sudbury we took several groups teen confirmands there for what we hoped would be a spiritual experience at that signficant stage of their Christian journey. I also took then moderator Rev. Bill Phipps and his writer wife Carolyn Pogue on the hike to the top during a visit to the region. Bill Phipps was the moderator who issued the United Church apology to Indigenous peoples for our participation in Residential Schools in 1998.

I went to Dreamer's Rock on my own a number of times, in different seasons, for solitude and  spiritual renewal. I sensed the tradition of the place and was grateful for the connection with the Creator. This time in the natural world in still vital for me today. 

One New Year's Day perhaps 25 years ago Ruth and I set out on the morning of New Year's Day when the temperature was below -30C. Despite the intense cold the sky was blue and the vista at the top was spectacular. We likely took along a thermos of tea as we have been wont to do through the decades, and a few snacks. 

Mornings such as this one and that one years ago are reminders that Winter is not to be simply endured, nor the enemy. God the Creator is present in every season and at all times. 

                                      White Pine by A. J. Casson, likely painted near Dreamer's Rock