Sacred Hoops: An Indigenous People's Day Prayer Service
From dancing autumn leaves to children playing together, we discover lessons in seeing, receiving, and belonging. Inspired by Nicholas Black Elk’s sacred hoops and our circles of love, we explore living with LovingKindness. Indigenous peoples’ music and prayers are woven throughout our celebration, deepening our connection with all Creation.
Rev. AndreaGrace’s Prayerful Ponderings
The Gift of Seeing
My absolutely delightful 24-year-old nephew, Giovanni, is here from Italy for three weeks! As people have been meeting him, they've been telling him how wonderful it is that he's here in time to see the foliage.
"Foliage" is a foreign concept to him!
What conditions lead to "good foliage" is a lesson in itself. Yet, this year, we are seeing the magnificent fruits of those conditions in the spectacular colors all around us!
The other day, as we were waiting at a stoplight, I pointed out, "Look at the dancing golden leaves!" He looked where I was pointing, but he didn't see what I was seeing.
Later, as we were driving, I pointed out, "Look at the color of that beautiful tree!"
"Oh!" he exclaimed as he pulled out his camera. I rolled down his window so he could receive the photo!
Capturing or Receiving?
Capture a photo... or receive a photo?
When I took a class on photography and spirituality, my instructor invited us to shift our language from capturing a photo to receiving one.
Think about that for a moment.
To capture something suggests taking possession of it. There's an element of control, even domination.
But to receive? That's very different.
Receiving invites us to recognize the gift being offered to us. It invites us into a relationship with another being, rather than seeking to possess or control it.
And perhaps that's a lesson that extends far beyond photography.
A Season of Transformation
We are in a season of transformation in nature. The leaves are changing into magnificent colors before being released, preparing the trees for the seasons ahead.
And perhaps we, too, are in a season of transformation in our society.
Perhaps we are finally beginning to develop eyes to see...
To recognize how much of what we call our white European heritage and our Christian heritage has been shaped by a desire to dominate rather than to live as kin.
We've sought to conquer rather than coexist.
We've sought to convert rather than to learn.
We've sought to possess rather than to receive.
These attitudes have shaped our philosophies, our language, and our ways of living with one another and with Creation.
What if we began to see differently?
Perhaps we can turn to our First Nations neighbors and other Indigenous peoples, not to take their wisdom as our own, but to listen and learn with humility.
To learn about living in harmony with Creation.
To recognize the sacredness of the land, the waters, the trees, the animals, and all beings - even the rocks that pulsate.
To discover what it means to be friendly and to be kin, living in relationship rather than domination.
And to deepen our awareness of the Great Spirit, the Holy Presence dwelling among us and throughout Creation.
What might change if we approached our world with the intention to receive rather than to capture, to learn rather than to conquer, and to live as kin rather than to dominate?
Lessons from the Playground
A few weeks ago, I told you about an excursion with another nephew, Luca, who is just three years old, and our adventure at a playground.
We sat together on a tree trunk. But what I didn't tell you is that another little boy, David, came over to us.
David and his dad were speaking a language different from the one Luca and I spoke.
Yet, somehow, David, Luca, and I were communicating!
We were looking at the rings of the tree trunk. We were building towers with the pieces of mulch scattered around us.
At one point, Luca noticed that David's binky was no longer in his mouth and expressed concern for his new friend.
We stayed and played in the mulch, learning together that we shouldn't throw it at each other because that hurts!
We didn't need to speak the same language.
We didn't need to come from the same background.
We simply needed to be curious, to be open, and to care for one another.
And there, gathered around a tree trunk, two little boys reminded me of what Jesus -Creator Sets Free taught: we need to be like children. And something we adults so often forget.
We don't need to be the same to belong together.
Living as Kin
Jesus — Creator Sets Free — invites us to truly look at and consider the elements of nature and become more child-like.
To notice the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields.
To trust in the Creator's abundant care.
To approach life with wonder, openness, and trust.
And to recognize one another as kin.
How might our world — our country, our communities — be different if we could learn to see with new eyes - like Giovanni is doing?
If we could trust that the Creator provides enough for all of us, and learn to share that abundance?
If we could learn to play together, to delight in our differences, to care for one another...
The way Luca, David, and I did on that playground.
Can you imagine?
Perhaps the transformation our world needs begins with something as simple — and as profound — as learning to see differently.
To receive rather than capture.
To learn rather than dominate.
To play together rather than build walls between us.
To recognize that we are all part of the beautiful, interconnected web of Creation.
To live the KinDom rather than build the kingdom.
Expanding Our Image of the Divine
Have you considered these images of the Divine, inspired by Native American spiritual traditions:
● Grandfather, Great Spirit
● Jesus, Creator Sets Free and
● The Holy Spirit, Embodied in the Four Winds
Sacred Readings
Dominion or Radah - Root
A few years ago when I went to the Spirit Unbounded conference in Rome, I was struck by a reading of the charter for Christopher Columbus’ voyage to this land which reiterates over and over “discover, subdue and conquer some Islands.” It was about domination - about dominion - far from KinDom. We find the roots of this in the creation stories of Genesis. Read Pastor Dawn’s reflection
Psalm 106
Consider this translation found in Psalms for Praying: by Nan C. Merrill: A refrain is: Awaken us to the Oneness of all things, to the beauty and truth of unity. Read the excerpts.
Sacred Hoops as understood by Nicholas Black Elk
The Bible as we know it, is compiled of stories told over thousands of years. Creator God has continued to speak since Jesus Christ walked the earth. Today, we hear from Nicholas Black Elk who shares about “sacred hoops” that are connected. This is akin to the term “circles of love” which we so often use. Read the excerpt here.
A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew in the First Nations Bible
In our first reading, Pastor Dawn talked about translations and how they affect our understanding. Our gospel reading is taken from the First Nations translation of the New Testament. Notice the different names that are used. In the story, Jesus who is known as “Creator Sets Free” invites us to look at and learn from nature. Read the excerpt here.
Spiritual Companion - Nicholas Black Elk
Icon by Kelly Latimore
Venerable Nicholas Black Elk lived from 1 December 1863 – 19 August 1950
According to the Lakota way of measuring time, which is referred to as Winter counts, Black Elk was born in "the Winter When the Four Crows Were Killed on Tongue River." He was born on Little Powder River in the Oglala Lakota nation in present-day Wyoming. Lakota is the name of the nation - Lakota means “friendly.” The French gave this people the name “Sioux.” Sometimes the terms are used interchangeably but the Lakota people prefer their original name.
So this Lakota baby was named Heȟáka Sápa, which translates as Black Elk. Black Elk grew up to be a wičháša wakȟáŋ, a medicine man, a holy man, continuing a long line of healers. He was a second cousin of the war leader, Crazy Horse.
Black Elk grew up in a world on the verge of destruction. When Black Elk was nine years old, he was suddenly taken ill. He reported laying prone and unresponsive for several days. It was a life-altering experience during which he was visited by the “Thunder Beings” (Wakinyan) "... spirits [that] were represented as kind and loving, full of years and wisdom, like revered human grandfathers." During this vision he traveled to the center of the universe, and to the central mountain of the world and heard a call to save his people.
In 1890, the massacre at Wounded Knee occurred. Over 300 men, women, and children died and so did the Lakota’s way of life. Two years later Black Elk married a woman named Katie who converted to Catholicism and they had their three children baptized.
In 1904, after Katie’s death, Black Elk became a Catholic, taking the name Nicholas.
Eventually he became a catechist and traveled widely, spreading the Catholic faith. He remarried, Anna Brings White, a widow with two daughters. They had three more children together who were also baptized. He brought 400 Lakota people into the Catholic Church.
“The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things, and through which we see Him. If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen.”
Pocahontas:
The song, “Colors of the Wind,” echoes the colors that we prayed with in our opening prayer. This song is from Disney’s movie, Pocahontas. Pocahontas, was a nickname for a child some called Amonute others called Matoaka. She was born in the late 1500s in the Powhatan nation on land now called eastern Virginia. She was around 10 years of age at the time of the Jamestown settlement.
During the 1609 Anglo-Powhatan War, Pocahontas was captured and held for ransom and, while in captivity, John Rolfe, a leader in the white community, fell in love with her and was concerned with saving her soul.
“Pocahontas and Rolfe married in 1614, when Pocahontas was roughly 17 years old. In 1616, the couple traveled to England, where Pocahontas converted to Christianity and was baptized under the given name of Rebecca… To some, Pocahontas was thought of as a “Tamed Savage of the West” and was often presented as a princess of her tribe, though the tribe had no such reference to her. On the journey back to Virginia, she fell ill and died on March 21, 1617. The cause of death is speculated to be pneumonia, tuberculosis or poisoning.” Explore the fact and fiction of the movie here.
Listen to this “Colors of the Wind” with your heart. Does Pocahontas say anything that stirs your heart?
More Music to Lift our Spirits
Cherokee Morning Song. The Cherokee Tribal Nation currently live on land now known as Oklahoma and North Carolina. Pray with their beautiful morning song.
Meditate with Native American flute music
Be blessed with this Native American song. The translation is: May the stars carry your sadness away, May the flowers fill your heart with beauty, May hope forever wipe away your tears." And, above all, may the silence make you strong
Try These Spiritual Practices
A Welcoming in of the Four Winds. In many Indigenous traditions, at the beginning of a prayer experience, the Four Winds or Directions are honored. Recognizing that they are with us always - we greet them with the refrain: Loving, compassionate, Great Spirit, thank you. Consider this version of the Four Winds prayer. If possible, stand and face the directions as you greet the winds. If you are able to do so, what was that experience like? If you are Christian, how might the Four Winds be connected with the Holy Spirit who appeared as strong winds as the first Christian Pentecost?
Prayers for Transformation: We turn to Grandfather, Great Spirit, recognizing that the sin and trauma of generations is passed down. We pray that we may be a bridge of healing from what generations of our white European communities have done and failed to do. Consider these prayers.
The Our Father - or Jesus’ Prayer. This prayer has been translated into so many languages. Pray with this version from the First Nations Bible. What touches you? Stirs you? Invites you to go deeper?
LovingKindness in Action
Learn more about the First Peoples who lived on the land that you now call home. This website can be useful for this. May we dwell on these lands with respect and peace.
Spend time in nature. Can you connect with the Divine there? Use your 5 senses to notice creation. What do you think about living things - beyond humans - being kin?
A Blessing for Your Journey
Rev. AndreaGrace’s Prayer for YOU
A Prayer for Eyes to See and Hearts to Love
May Creator God give us eyes to see — to delight — to wonder.
May we learn to receive the gifts of Creation with gratitude and reverence.
May we have the humility to learn from those whose wisdom and ways are different from our own.
May we be given hearts that are open to playing together, even when we speak in different ways.
And may we recognize the many sacred hoops that are connected, the many circles of love intertwined throughout Creation.
May we learn to live as kin, rooted in LovingKindness.
Amen. Ameen. Aho. May it be so.
Nicholas Black Elk’s Prayer:
“Hear me, Four Quarters of the World - a relative I am!
Give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is!
Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like You.
With Your power only can I face the winds.”
Join us on Sunday mornings for a 60-minute beautiful prayer service
Each week, Rev. AndreaGrace and someone from the BeLoved Community prepare a theme-based service. Following Jesus’ example of welcoming all, and being rooted in the Catholic rituals, we welcome all who stop by to pray with us. Want to find out more, fill out this form to get notifications - no commitment needed! :)
PS
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