Liturgy for Thanksgiving Weekend

November 22, 2022

Shonto Bengay | Pieces of Promises

About the Art:Pointilistic artist Shonto Bengay says dots of paint in his work"repeat like the words of a Navajo prayer.” May you receive each image as a prayer.

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INVOCATION 

from Kaitlin Curtice, Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places

Jesus, 
I am convinced that your flesh parts loved food just 
	as much as we do today.
I imagine you and your mom in the kitchen,
making flatbread and eating olives fresh rom the 
	yard. 
I imagine your lips curling into a smile of ease. 
because you knew the safety of that place, the good
and holy ground that you stood on. 
Teach us to remember you, 
to remember your humanity 
in our own.
Even at the table, 
even as we chop and sift and crack and pour, 
may we see your hands guiding ours,
just as your spirit guides ours
from here to there and there to there.
Hallelujah for the establishment of mealtime,
and for the good work and the senseless that leads us
	there.

Amen. 

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Shonto Bengay | In the Realm of Beauty

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READING

First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament
Matthew 5 | Blessings of the Good Road (The Beatitudes)

When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw this great crowd, he went back up into the mountainside and sat down to teach the people. His followers came to him there, so he took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and began to share his wisdom with them and teach them how to see Creator’s good road.

BLESSINGS OF THE GOOD ROAD 

Creator’s blessing rests on the poor, the ones with broken spirits. The good road from above is theirs to walk. 

Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who walk a trail of tears, for he will wipe the tears from their eyes and comfort them. 

Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who walk softly and in a humble manner. The earth, land, and sky will welcome them and always be their home. 

Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who hunger and thirst for wrongs to be made right again. They will eat and drink until they are full. 

Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who are merciful and kind to others. Their kindness will find its way back to them—full circle. 

Creator’s blessing rests on the pure of heart. They are the ones who will see the Great Spirit. 

Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who make peace. It will be said of them, ‘They are the children of the Great Spirit!’ 

Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who are hunted down and mistreated for doing what is right, for they are walking the good road from above. 

Others will lie about you, speak against you, and look down on you with scorn and contempt, all because you walk the road with me. This is a sign that Creator’s blessing is resting on you. 

So let your hearts be glad and jump for joy, for you will be honored in the spirit-world above. You are like the prophets of old, who were treated in the same way by your ancestors.

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Shonto Bengay | Promise of the Storm Coming

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CALL AND RESPONSE 

Thanksgiving Address by The Native American Rights Fund |
Greetings to the Natural World

CALL: TO THE CYCLE OF LIFE  

Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as people.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO MOTHER EARTH

We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE WATERS

We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms-waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE FISH

We turn our minds to the all the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give themselves to us as food. We are grateful that we can still find pure water. So, we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE FIELDS OF PLANTS 

Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE FOOD PLANTS

With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting of thanks.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE HERBS  

Now we turn to all the Medicine herbs of the world. From the beginning they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those special few who remember how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the keepers of the Medicines.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE ANIMALS

We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We are honored by them when they give up their lives so we may use their bodies as food for our people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE TREES 

We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many people of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE BIRDS

We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds-from the smallest to the largest-we send our joyful greetings and thanks.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE FOUR WINDS

We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help us to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE THUNDER BEINGS 

Now we turn to the west where our grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We are thankful that they keep those evil things made by Okwiseres underground. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE SUN 

We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE MOON 

We put our minds together to give thanks to our oldest Grandmother, the Moon, who lights the night-time sky. She is the leader of woman all over the world, and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE STARS

We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to the Stars.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE ENLIGHTENED TEACHERS

We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring teachers.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

✦

CALL: TO THE CREATOR

Now we turn our thoughts to the creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.

RESPONSE: Now our minds are one.

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Shonto Bengay | Pieces of Promises

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BENEDICTION

An Iroquois Prayer

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squash, which give us life.
We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit.
We return thanks to the wind, which, moving the air, has banished diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have given us their light
when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to our grandfather He-no, who has given to us his rain.
We return thanks to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all goodness,
and who directs all things for the good of his children.

Amen

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Black Eyed Stories is created on the traditional territory of the Council of Three Fires, a long-standing Anishinaabe alliance of the Ojibwe (or Chippewa), Odawa (or Ottawa), and Potawatomi North American Native tribes.