Indigenous Prayer over Oblations

Prayer over the Oblations

Our loving God, Your Son gave his life to gather your scattered children into one family. We offer you these gifts of our lives, our energies, our hopes and dreams. As we acknowledge them sacred, we consecrate them as the saving sacrament of life. May this sacrament heal those scarred by oppression and rejection. May it release those still unjustly deprived of liberty and give them freedom of mind and heart forever. Amen.


From https://www.dominicancenter.org/indigenous-peoples-day-liturgy/

Indigenous Prayer After Communion (Roman Catholic)

Prayer after Communion

Loving God,
One thing we know: You alone are God
And You reveal the richness of your Truth, Your Beauty, Your Love
Through the many cultures and faiths and peoples of Your creation.
Keep us open to the nourishment you offer us through them all,
That we may approach them with Eucharistic gratitude, and
That we may enter more deeply into the fullness of Your Life.
We make our prayer in the name of Jesus. AMEN.

Originally found at the Dominican Center,  https://www.dominicancenter.org/indigenous-peoples-day-liturgy/

Indigenous Prayers of the People

 Prayers of the People                       adapted from Church of the Four Winds, Portland, Oregon

Presider      Creator and Redeemer, as we approach YOU in prayer: 

make us walk in beauty and balance, 

     make us open our hearts and minds, 

          make us speak the truth. 

We pray first for your Community, 

     the Church, the Body of Christ. 

We pray for all our relatives 

     and the circle of life throughout all creation; 

for those chosen to be our leaders and teachers; 

All              Creator, teach us and show us the way.

Leader        In peace, we pray to YOU, Lord God.

              We call upon the Earth, our Mother and Home, 

     with its beautiful depths, soaring heights, and deep waters; 

          its vitality and abundance of life; 

and together we ask that it

All              teach us and show us the way.

Leader        We call upon the mountains and tundra, 

     the high green valleys and prairies filled with wild flowers, 

          the snows, the summits of intense silence, 

and we ask that they

All              teach us and show us the way.

Leader        We call upon the land which grows our food, the nurturing soil,     

     the fertile fields, 

          the abundant gardens and orchards, 

and we ask that they

All              teach us and show us the way.

Leader        We call upon the forests, 

the great trees reaching strongly to the sky 

with earth in their roots and the heavens and their branches, 

     the Fir and the Pine, 

          the Cedar and the Maple, 

and we ask them to

All              teach us and show us the way.

Leader        We call upon the creatures 

of the fields and forests and the waters, 

our kindred the wolves and deer, 

     the eagle and bear, 

          the great whales and the fish. 

We ask them to

All              teach us and show us the way.

Leader        In intercession, we pray for the sick and the infirm; especially

X

Leader reads names of those on our prayer list: plus

 for the hundreds of missing and murdered Indigenous women all across this hemisphere; 

(Please add your own concerns)

X

Silence

Leader        Creator, we are surrounded by our ancestor saints, 

especially Martin of Tours, Molly Brant, Onongwatgo, Helen Peterson, Noah Brokenleg, Hehaka Sapa, Enmegabowh, David Oakerhater, Kateri Tekakwitha, Tipi Sapa, Kamehameha and Emma, and countless others. 

On this Feast of All Saints and All Souls, we remember now before YOU all whom we love, but see no longer, 

especially those in our columbarium, and those we now name:

X

(Please say the names of those departed you wish to remember.

You are invited to write them on a card and place them on our Altar of Remembrance)

X

Silence

All              Creator, YOU made the world and declared it to be good: 

the beauty of the trees, 

          the softness of the air, 

                    the fragrance of the grass speaks to us; 

the summit of the mountains, 

          the Thunder of the sky, 

                    the rhythm of the waters speak to us; 

the faintness of the stars, 

          the freshness of the morning, 

                    the dew drops on the flowers speak to us. 

But above all, 

     our heart soars,

          for you speak to us in Jesus Christ, 

                    in whose name we offer these prayers. Amen.

--From the Church of the Four Winds, Portland Oregon, found in National Indigenous People's Day of Prayer from the Anglican Church of Canada, https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/nidp-liturgy.pdf 

A Prayer of the Four Directions (Indigenous Opening Acclamation)

 Opening Acclamation ^{standing as able}                    A Prayer of the Four Directions, adapted from a prayer used at the Washington National Cathedral, A Celebration of Native American Survival, 1992.

 

Presider      Creator, the strength of the people, we honor you. 

Listen to the thoughts of your people. 

We respect the truth of your spirit world 

and care for your creations 

to the East, to the South, to the West, and to the North. 

All           We honor you by deeds and not words. 

Presider      We live by the ways YOU have entrusted to us 

within the circle of life.

All           Come, Great Spirit, as we gather in your name.

 

Presider      We face East: 

to your symbol color Gold, the breath of the morning sun, 

to your animal sign the Eagle 

which soars ever upward in the praise of the Creator 

and calls us to do the same, 

to your words calling us to balance our minds

in the spirit of humility and truth. 

All           We invoke your spirit of illumination and far sighted vision. 

Presider      The ways have shown us how to love you and each other with     heart, mind, and soul, and we pray:

All           Come, Holy Creator’s Spirit, Come.

 

Presider      We turn to the South: 

to your symbol color Red, the hue of revelation, 

to your animal sign the Wolf… strong and enduring. 

All           We invoke your wisdom, grace, and goodness of the ages.

Presider      The ways call us to balance of Spirit, 

and harmony with all nations, tribes, and clans, and we pray:

All           Come, Holy Creator’s Spirit, Come.

 

Presider      We turn to the West: 

to your symbol color Black, the stillness of night, 

to your sign Thunder, mighty and bold, 

to your animal sign the Buffalo. 

All           We invoke your spirit ways of seeing within the community 

and its strength to endure.

Presider      The ways call us to balance emotions 

in the tradition of truth and honesty, and we pray:

All           Come, Holy Creator’s Spirit, Come.

 

Presider      We turn to the North: 

to your symbol color White, the truth of clarity and brightness, 

to your animal sign, the Bear, 

who touches us with earthiness and all things growing, 

to your words calling us the balance of our body 

in the spirit of a good sense and humor. 

All           We invoke your spirit of innocence, trust, and love. 

Presider      The ways open our eyes to the sacredness of each living thing, and we pray:

All           Come, Holy Creator’s Spirit, Come.

 

Presider      We turn to complete the circle: 

to God the creator who cleanses the world 

with snow, wind, and rain; 

to the Creator’s Son, Jesus the Christ, 

who fills us with mercy and loving embrace of all nations; 

and to the Holy Creator's Spirit, who guides us; and we pray:

All           Come, Holy Creator’s Spirit, Come.

 

Presider      Creator, you bent the Earth like a bow 

     until it was one, round, shining planet. 

At your word the land was drawn 

     into mountains and tundra, 

     forests and prairies; 

          the waters were gathered together 

          into rivers, lakes, and seas. 

Many times, when people crossed these seas from other lands 

     they broke the circle of your creation 

     by their greed and violence, 

     and they shattered the lives of others. 

Creator, renew the circle of the Earth 

and turn the hearts of all people to one another; 

that they and all the Earth

     may live and be drawn toward you 

through the love of Jesus Christ, 

     who lives with you and the Holy Spirit 

          in the circle of the Trinity, 

               forever One. Amen.

-- adapted from a prayer used at the Washington National Cathedral, A Celebration of Native American Survival, 1992, found in National Indigenous People's Day of Prayer from the Anglican Church of Canada, https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/nidp-liturgy.pdf

The Powwow at the End of the World

I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall
after an Indian woman puts her shoulder to the Grand Coulee Dam
and topples it. I am told by many of you that I must forgive
and so I shall after the floodwaters burst each successive dam
downriver from the Grand Coulee. I am told by many of you
that I must forgive and so I shall after the floodwaters find
their way to the mouth of the Columbia River as it enters the Pacific
and causes all of it to rise. I am told by many of you that I must forgive
and so I shall after the first drop of floodwater is swallowed by that salmon
waiting in the Pacific. I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall
after that salmon swims upstream, through the mouth of the Columbia
and then past the flooded cities, broken dams and abandoned reactors
of Hanford. I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall
after that salmon swims through the mouth of the Spokane River
as it meets the Columbia, then upstream, until it arrives
in the shallows of a secret bay on the reservation where I wait alone.
I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall after
that salmon leaps into the night air above the water, throws
a lightning bolt at the brush near my feet, and starts the fire
which will lead all of the lost Indians home. I am told
by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall
after we Indians have gathered around the fire with that salmon
who has three stories it must tell before sunrise: one story will teach us
how to pray; another story will make us laugh for hours;
the third story will give us reason to dance. I am told by many
of you that I must forgive and so I shall when I am dancing
with my tribe during the powwow at the end of the world.


-- Sherman Alexie (1966- ), Spokane/Coeur d/Alene poet, novelist, playwright, and filmmaker.

Prayer for Indigenous People's Day

O Great Spirit, God of all people and every tribe, through whom all people are related, call us to the kinship of all your people. Grant us vision to see through the lens of justice, the brokenness of the past.

Creator, we give you thanks for all that you are and all that you bring to us within your creation. In Jesus, you placed the Gospel in the Center of the Sacred Circle through which all creation is related.

You show us the way to live a generous and compassionate life. Give us your strength to live together with respect and commitment as we grow in your spirit, for you are God, now and forever. Amen.

-- jointly prepared by the ELCA NorthwestWashington Synod and the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, found at Faith for Justice.