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National Indigenous
Peoples Day
June 21, 2024

This day in Canada, we celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day. It is an opportunity to honour the cultures, traditions, and spirituality of the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples across Canada. This day was chosen because of the connection with the summer solstice, which lands on June 20 this year in the Northern Hemisphere.

This Sunday at Sunnybrook, our worship theme honours National Indigenous Peoples Day. In preparation for this Sunday, Rev. Leila Currie from Gaetz and I interviewed Lyle Keewatin Richards in Coronation Park at the site of the Grandfather Stones. A video of that interview will be shared, and during the Prayers of the People, Lyle will offer a smudge. I hope you are able to come and hear the story of the stones as we celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day and the beginning of
summer.

As we move into summer, don’t forget about our summer theme: A Moment in Time – Celebrating the Spirit of Ordinary Miracles. Wherever you travel in the next couple of months, we hope you will be on the lookout for experiences of ordinary miracles, and that you snap a few pics and send them our way. Many of you will remember the song Sarah McLachlan recorded, Ordinary Miracles.

Our hope is that by the end of the summer we will incorporate this beautiful song into worship, along with the pictures you have submitted. I can’t wait to see how this all comes together in a musical/visual tribute to the ordinary miracles of our summer travels.

Peace and joy,
Nancy