Yesterday I spent a good deal of time at Cathedral Park and then St. Johns Community Center with the Lummi nation (near Bellingham, WA) representatives. I was invited to represent our faith community at their totem pole blessing ceremony and then share a meal and meeting with faith leaders and the totem journey group. Their purpose is to journey along the proposed routes for the transport of coal from Montana to ports along the west coast and to stand against the coal export proposals that would desecrate their sacred lands and waters at Cherry Point. Jewell James, tribal elder, spoke/preached powerfully about the sacredness of the land, the need for us to protect creation for the next 7 generations as each generation is called to do in their tradition. He described the songs they sang- to the four directions and then at our meal spoke from his heart about the pain suffered by his people and other Native Americans because of the conquest of the Christian churches (my words). Yes, our legacy as Christians leaves a lot to be desired, but there have been bridges built. The Lummi people appreciated our presence with them and need our support for the journey- not monetary, but our willingness to stand up, draw the line and say no! to coal transport through our communities. We need to say no! to the desecration of holy lands, all lands, our air and our water. The price we all will pay and our children & grandchildren will pay is too much. I invite you to prayerfully look at this issue and then voice your concerns to your political representatives. I invite you to pray for the Lummi people and their journey.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 18:33:16 +0000
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