Stories of a Dakota Knowledge Keeper

Photo of 10 red dresses on hangers, suspended in front of a backdrop of birch trees
Photo by Ted McGrath of Jamie Black's REDress Project, via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 One gallery in the Canadian Museum of Human Rights is a permanent exhibit of the "REDress Project". The REDress Project was started by Winnipeg-based Métis artist Jaime Black 2010. Red dresses blowing in the wind are a reminder of the estimated 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.

Stories and knowledge of generations of Dakota women combine in this beautiful service. Join knowledge keeper Geraldine Yvonne McManus as she shares stories exploring her faith and spirituality as a Dakota woman.

Service Leader: Geraldine Yvonne McManus
Service Coordinator: Octavia MacIsaac

A quilt by Darlene Payne, titled  215 – My mother’s hands, is on display in the sanctuary this Sunday. This is the artist’s statement:

I began this quilt after the discovery of the first 215 potential unmarked graves at the site of the Kamloops Tk̓emlúps Residential School. Through the process I kept seeing my mother’s hands as I cut, sewed and hand stitched the quilt. I recognize the privilege I have had as a white settler in being able to watch my mother’s hands as she taught me to sew, to cook, to knit…I knew her hands so very well.

So many children did not get to know their mother’s hands, or their father’s hands.

This quilt is to honour the children who never returned home.

Welcome and Zoom Link

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Order of Service

Centering Thought

This is my give-away—

to touch what is good in you

with words your heart can hear

like ripples from a pebble

dropped in water

moving outward growing

wider touching others.

~ Gwen Westerman, from Give-away Song

Fanfare

The Prince of Denmark’s March (Trumpet Voluntary), by Jeremiah Clarke

Centering Prelude

Prélude (1913) by Maurice Ravel

Daniel Clark

Opening Words

Homecoming, by Gwen Westerman

Octavia MacIsaac

Chalice Lighting

A New Day, by Octavia MacIsaac

Gathering Hymn

#170 We Are a Gentle, Angry People

Land Acknowledgment and Welcome

Octavia MacIsaac

Affirmation

Love Is the Spirit

Love is the spirit of this church, the quest for truth its sacrament, and service is its law.

This is our great covenant: to dwell together in peace, to seek truth in love, and to help one another to the end that all souls shall grow into harmony with life.

Joys and Concerns

Octavia MacIsaac

Pastoral Hymn

#128 For All That Is Our Life (sung seated)

Share the Plate Speaker

Kate Sjoberg,

Offering

Our Share the Plate Partner for October is RaY, Resource Assistance for Youth.

The offering will be gratefully received, during or after the service. Donation options are at this link.

In addition to monetary donations, there will be a box in the foyer for the month of October to collect: socks, underwear, hygiene products (soap, shampoo, pads, tampons), backpacks, as well as gently used adult clothing items such as hoodies, sweats, leggings and warm winter clothing.

Offertory

The Lake at Evening, Op. 5, No. 1, by Charles T. Griffes

Daniel Clark

Meditation

Musical meditation led by Octavia MacIsaac

Hymn

#188 Come, Come, Whoever You Are

Sermon

Stories of a Dakota Knowledge Keeper, by Geraldine Yvonne McManus

Closing Hymn

#121 We’ll Build a Land

Announcements

Octavia MacIsaac and others

Closing Words

Give-away Song, by Gwen Westerman

Octavia MacIsaac

Chalice Extinguishing

Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again (x2)
Then we shall see a world of light and a world of joy
Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.

Gratitude

Gratitude to all who made this service happen, including

  • Leader: Geraldine Yvonne McManus
  • Coordinator: Octavia MacIsaac
  • Music Director: Shannon Unger
  • Music: Daniel Clark (piano)
  • Coordinator Lifespan Religious Exploration (CLRE): Ana G.Castañeda Aguilera
  • Childcare: Caroline Lentz
  • RE Volunteers: Debby Lake and Carl von Baeyer
  • Tech Team: Arthur Burstow, Christina Swindells-Nader, Theo Hawley
  • Centering/fanfare videos: Ashlyn Noble
  • This service’s ushers, greeters, and hospitality volunteers, including Paula Keirstead, Marian Siemens, Claire Nimmagadda, Maxine Hébert Malo, Joanne Green
  • Maintenance and set up: Jessica Hamm and Olivia Velazquez
  • Music for Affirmation: P.J. Buchan
  • Chalice Sculptor & Banner Designer: Jo’Anne Kelly
  • Chalice Logo Designer: Nancy Gilbert
  • Minister and Pastoral Care: Rev Stefan Jonasson
  • Lay Chaplain: Christina Swindells-Nader
  • Website, Office Support, and Rentals: Nathalie Waite

To contact SunServ (Sunday Services Team) with feedback or ideas for future services, please email worship@uuwinnipeg.mb.ca

Want to help on Sunday mornings? You can sign up for a hospitality setup or cleanup shift. Please contact the Volunteer Resources Committee for other ways to help.

To welcome and include all in our beloved community, please

  • limit fragrances and scented products as much as you are able,
  • turn off or mute electronic devices during the service,
  • refrain from taking photographs or recording unless you have the express permission of everyone involved, and
  • keep aisles clear for people with mobility challenges.

Thank you!

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