Tag Archives: water

Activities & Events, Indigenous

Niigaani-gichigami: Gratitude Walk and Festival, June 16th

Friday, June 16th,

6pm Sherbourne Waterfront

7pm BBQ St. James Park, King and Church St.

We would be honoured to have your presence amongst us in prayer and witness as we seek to come together as a diverse community to acknowledge our interdependence on one another, our faith traditions, the land, and the water we live on. This festival is interfaith and intends to express gratitude for Lake Ontario (Niigaani-gichigami in Anishnawbe, Ontario is the Huron-Wendat name). The June 16th Gratitude Walk and Festival will begin with  Loreen Blu Waters opening us in a water ceremony, followed by prayers and songs offered by different faith leaders. Continue reading Niigaani-gichigami: Gratitude Walk and Festival, June 16th →

Bulletins, Music, Worship

Many Waters

Here are a few excerpts from our recent Sunday gathering: Many Waters.

Come, launch the light canoe;
The breeze is fresh and strong:
The summer skies are blue,
And ’tis joy to float along;
Away o’er the waters.
The bright-glancing waters,
The many-voiced waters.
As they dance in light and song.

Susanna Moodie

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.

(Excerpt from Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, Greetings to the Natural World)

Lace your boots,
pick up your paddle,
mount your bike and go out
blessing each other—
strong, brave, laughing
and making hope wherever you may.
Amen.

Many Waters Bulletin – final

Activities & Events, history, Treaty People

Walking Taddle Creek @ Church of the Holy Trinity

When: Saturday, April 29 at 10:45 AM

Meet: Church of the Holy Trinity, 19 Trinity Square

As part of our exploration of the land we are a part of and its history, we will be taking a walk along Taddle Creek with Helen Mills of Lost Rivers. We hope that anyone who considers themselves part of our neighbourhood will join us as we ground ourselves in this place.

This walk is part of a larger project of understanding ourselves as part of this land. You can read more about that here.

Taddle Creek has been out of sight a long time, but there have been a number of articles and efforts to bring it back to light. Here is a post on BlogTO from 2012

We plan to leave promptly at 11am and return for lunch at 1pm. Please RSVP to knunn@holytrinitytoronto.org if you intend to come.

Indigenous, Justice Issues, Reflections, Sermons, Treaty People

A sip of ancient water

March 19, 2017; Holy Trinity.
Exodus 17: 1-7; John 4: 5-42

I’m sharing this image today by Issac Murcdoch on the pulpit in gratitude and respect to all the water keepers who are currently on the front lines of the struggle to protect sacred water. I made a small
handout on the 2017 Water Walk with Josephine Mandarin if you would like to know more.

Water is primal.

If you think about it, this planet should really be called water, not earth, since more than 70% of the surface is water, not land. Water — there there can be no life without it. Our bodies are 60% water – we are made of it. It’s the building block of our cells, the body’s transport system, a shock-absorber, it helps to regulate our temperature. Just give your hands a squeeze together and remind yourself that we are full of water – hopefully this doesn’t cause a mass exodus to the bathroom. Here’s the cool part, or the scary part, depending on which way it goes, not only are we full of water, but we are full of the water that’s around us. So if you’ve lived your life in Toronto, your body is 60% full of Lake Ontario.

Every time I hear it, I also find it quite marvellous to remember that the overall amount of water on the planet has remained the same for the last billion years. So we are made of the water that dinosaurs sipped. We are connected to this lake that in its ancient form was home to giant beavers, that was known as Skanadario, or sparkling water to Haudenosaunee people.

Read the full homily in this PDF document

Activities & Events, history, Indigenous, Justice Issues, Treaty People

becoming part of the land

As part of our ongoing work and hope for reconciliation with indigenous people, we realise that we need to change our understanding of who we are and to whom we belong. Through the season of Lent this year, we will be exploring our relationship with the land we share–the land our building is part of, the land we live on, the other people who share this land.

We invite any and all who share this place with us to join us in this process:

More information will be added to this page as details firm up. If you would like to  be notified of specifics or to ask questions, feel free to contact Keith at knunn@holytrinitytoronto.org