Rev’d Helen’s Letter: June 2020

I started reading a new book. It is one of those books that is difficult to put down, as it speaks about the most important issues of today. It’s called Native: Identity, Belonging and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B Curtice, an American white coded Potawatomi (Indigenous) woman. Her story is one of movement and learning and rediscovery. She talks about the American history that has been hidden through colonised people’s. Her tribe’s story of creation is completely integrated with the sacred. How we seek out sacred from our shared stories of creation.  The importance of the land, water and trees; sources of all our nourishment.

It is our Celtic history which also honours the land and the stories of the people and our land. I am struck by the similarities with indigenous people/First Nation people. How people dwelt completely within nature and valued all the sources of life.  One of things that first attracted me to Celtic Spirituality  was care of creation. Honouring the land also honours the people who live on the land. Listening to the stories of those who know the land so well, that we can learn.

In a sense, we have all found out more about the importance of nature and the land through isolation. I have been blessed by people sharing photos, videos and posts about nature. This has given us a chance to pause and be made much more aware of the sacred beauty of our world. It is sacred as it’s given us hope as we’ve watched Spring and abundance so closely. This connection has connected us to each other so that we honour each other too. So that every life matters and we are rightly angry when we see violence. This connection is like the tree roots that intertwine and nourish each other. We nourish each other when we share our lives as a community and when we honour the land that sustains us.

My hope is that we are changed through this time and that we notice so much more and enjoy the physical coming back into connectedness with each other. We lament the loss and learn to celebrate what working together has brought us. Deeper bonds of compassion, care and honouring.