Indigenous Day of Prayer, the Sunday before National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21), is an opportunity to celebrate First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples’ values, customs, languages, and culture.
Worship Ideas
- 2024 Indigenous Day of Prayer Service (68.5 KB) (Word): A service of blessing and celebration from the settler church for the autonomous Indigenous Church.
- 2024 Indigenous Day of Prayer: We Are All Spirit First (73.72 KB) (Word): Traditional teachings offer us assurance that we are Spirit first and we will always be part of creation.
- All God's Beloved Children | 2022 Indigenous Day of Prayer (40.44 KB) (Word): Worship service, including sermon, by the Rev. Jan Jorgensen.
- All My Relations | 2022 Indigenous Day of Prayer (256.14 KB) (PDF): A worship service and sermon by the Rev. Nancy Best and music by the Rev. Dr. Lisa Waites.
- Being a Good Neighbour | Indigenous Day of Prayer 2021 (52.19 KB) (Word): Worship resources and a service bulletin/outline by Read Sherman, intended for use by non-Indigenous communities of faith.
- The Possibility of New Beginnings | 2023 Indigenous Day of Prayer (58.95 KB) (Word): Worship service that addresses change and the remit on an autonomous National Indigenous Organization in the United Church.
- The Sacred Drum | 2023 Indigenous Day of Prayer (61.39 KB) (Word): Celebrating Indigenous Spirituality and Strength. A worship service by Shane Goldie.
Related Material
- Acknowledging the Territory in Worship (170.12 KB) (PDF): A brief guide to help congregations and bodies of the church incorporate an Acknowledgement of Territory into their gatherings.
- Moderator's Message for Indigenous Peoples Day 2024 (video): In her National Indigenous Peoples Day message, Moderator Carmen Lansdowne reminds us that we can all take specific actions to celebrate or recognize this day and National Indigenous History Month.
- Moderator’s Message for National Indigenous Peoples Day 2024: Transcript (47.61 KB) (Word): Transcript of Moderator Carmen Lansdowne's video message.
- Prayer for Students of Kamloops Residential School (Moderator) (35.18 KB) (Word): A prayer for the 215 children whose remains were found in Kamloops in May 2021.
Worship Blog
Walls of Welcome
Rev. Anne Hines writes how our church’s Truth and Reconciliation project transformed our walls, and our lives.
“Our Movements for Justice Are Linked”
On National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Mitchell Anderson writes that Indigenous justice and reconciliation can only take place in ways that ensure that Black lives matter.
Why an Indigenous Day of Prayer?
In 1971, the observance of June 21 as a National Indian Day of Prayer was formally recognized by The United Church of Canada, at the 24th General Council. In 1982 the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations) called for the creation of a National Aboriginal Solidary Day.… Read more
Under the Big Top: Thoughts on National Aboriginal Day
I took these pictures last August while visiting my mother’s relatives in the central part of Saskatchewan on the Muskoday First Nation. They capture some of the 825 dancers that participated in the 25th annual traditional Powwow.
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