Resources

Prepared by Rev. Lauren Sanders, Indigenous Spiritual Care Chaplain, FIRST UNITED (Prairie Band Potawatomi/mshkodéni bodewadminwen, Kickapoo Nation of Kansas/kiikaapoa, African American/Black)

“‘Liturgy’ is a Greek word, meaning ‘work of the people.’ Uniting our voices around a common action and commitment is sacred.

This liturgy was created to be used in United Churches and can be used in other settings and sacred ceremonies. This liturgy was based on the story of Abel and Cain. In this ancient Hebrew story, Abel and Cain are brothers who give gifts to God. Cain felt that his gifts were deserving of as much praise as Abel’s. Cain was jealous of God’s response to Abel’s gifts and kills his brother. God says that Abel’s blood cries out to God.

I wondered what God hears when our Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit folx go missing or are murdered. We know that the systems of justice in Canada and U.S. are slow to respond unless it is to amplify a message similar to Cain’s “Am I my brother’s keeper?” And in these kinds of sacred stories, the answer is always yes, we are the Keepers of healthy community.”

Gathering

Leader: We gather in the presence of the Creator, who hears the cries of the land and the people. We gather to remember, to lament, and to commit.

All: We come with open hearts and listening spirits.

Responsive Scripture Reading – Genesis 4:9–10 (NRSV)

Leader: Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

All: Where is your sister?
Where is your daughter?
Where is your Two-Spirit kin?

Leader: Cain said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!”

All: Their voices cry out from the land.

Scripture Reading – Luke 15:1-4 (NRSV)

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?

Prayer For Our Murdered and Missing

Loving Creator, you asked, “Where is your sister?”
And the silence was deafening.
The earth, soaked with sorrow, cried out:
“Their voices rise from the ground.”

Immanuel, God with us, you ask us,
“Where is our gender fluid, gender diverse, trans sibling?”
You go and find them.
You plead with us to find them too.
They are our Clan Mothers, our wisdom bearers, our knowledge keepers.
 
We hear them in the rivers,
in the rustle of cedar and sweetgrass,
in the mourning songs carried by the wind.
Their blood cries out from the land,
from highways and forests,
from city streets and remote roads.

We remember the ones who were taken.
We remember the ones who were silenced.
We remember the ones who still cry out.

Creator, teach us to listen.
To hear the truth in the cries of the land.
To walk the path of justice,
with humility, courage, and love.

Let our prayers rise like smoke.
Let our hearts break open.
Let our hands be ready to heal.
Let our voices join the cry:
We will not forget.
We will not be silent.
We will not look away.
Amen.

All: We hear their cry. We will not forget.

Ritual Action

-Lighting candles for each name remembered

-Red ribbons or dresses placed around the sanctuary

-Drumbeat or silence to honour the lives lost

-Invite participants to speak names aloud, or hold silence

Communal Commitment

Leader: Will you remember?
All: We will remember.

Leader: Will you speak out?
All: We will speak out.

Leader: Will you walk with courage?
All: We will walk with courage.

Song Suggestions (Voices United / More Voices)

-MV 90: Don’t Be Afraid

-VU 639: One More Step Along the World I Go

-MV 115: Behold, Behold, I Make All Things New

-MV 143: We Cannot Own the Sunlit Sky

Closing Blessing

May the Creator guide our steps,
May justice rise like the sun,
And may healing flow like water.
Amen. All our relations.