Threading a Quilt for Reconciliation

June is Indigenous History Month and we celebrated in style!

On the morning of June 14 we gathered in the narthex (a church's inside entryway just outside the sanctuary) for a ceremony to dedicate a beautifully designed and crafted art quilt featuring Anishnaabe fabric art panels. We were honored to have both Wendy Watson, president of the Symour's Quilters Guild and Riva Nelson,  the maker of the quilt join us for this special occassion in the life of our congregation. Following prayers and words of reflection by Riva Nelson and Pastor Vida,  Cari Klaassen blessed the quilt with smudging ceremony, drumming and the singing of the Bear Song handed down from generation to generation and which she learned from her brother. Wendy Watson was inspired to give the quilt the name, "The Reconciliation Quilt" because it's design invites us to ponder how we can enter more deeply into the work of reconciliaton.  

Because in the end, this is not only about a quilt.

It is about how we live with one another,
how we carry what has been entrusted to us,
and how we learn, slowly,
to walk in a way marked by respect,
truth, and gentleness.

You are invited to learn more about the quilt by reading Riva Nelson's Arist Statement, Journey to Sacred Earth on our website blog.  

You can also view the smudging ceremony on our FB page here.