Native American Heritage Month Worship Resources

In recognition of Native American Heritage Month in the U.S., we offer these worship resources written by Rev. Delana Taylor, Local Pastor from the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference.

PRAYER

Creator God, as you have gathered us in generations past, lead and guide us this day
As we seek your wisdom and your vision for our people.
Give us eyes to see one another as you see us,
People of one God,
Connected to one another and to you
In all our relations, and in your son Jesus.
Give us ears to hear the wisdom of our elders
And the laughter of our children.
Give us words of blessing and healing for a hurting world.
Open our hearts and lead us on the path of peace.
We stand together on sacred ground with grateful hearts,
Knowing that the One who promises is faithful and true.
Amen.

RESPONSIVE READING

L: Walking in the footsteps of our ancestors, listening, praying, singing songs of hope. Their words remind us that despite hardship and injustice,

P: We are still here, with grateful hearts. God is with us on our journey

L: Creating in the image of the Creator, we sow and water, tend and harvest with the cycle of the moon and the seasons of the Earth.

P: We are still here, with humble hearts. God is with us on our journey.

L: Hearing the voices of those who stepped out in faith from generations past, they call us to shake off the burdens of this life, to sing and to dance.

P: We are still here, with joyful hearts. God is with us on our journey.

L: Bound in spirit to one another, through the stories of our people, connected to Creator and earth in a web of relationship, seeking grace and balance in all we do.

P: We are still here, with hopeful hearts, God be with us on our journey.

Resource from Worship and Educational Resources, Minnesota Annual Conference

CALL TO WORSHIP

L: O God, open us to the powerful winds of your Spirit.
P: Open our eyes to the wonders of your creation.

L: Open our nostrils to the smells of life.
P: Open our ears to the words of justice and truth.

L: Open our mouths to the taste of freedom and love.
P: Open our arms to the touch of our sisters and brothers.

L: Let us praise the God who formed the mountains and created the wind and gave birth to us in the divine image.
P: Let us sing to the One who made the stars and turns deep darkness into morning and day into night.

L: Let us turn to God, hating what is evil and loving what is just.
All: So, may justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amen!

Resource written by Rev. Anita Phillips, former Executive Secretary of Native American and Indigenous Ministries for the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Global Ministries

CALL TO WORSHIP:

Leader: Our God and Creator asks, "How will you live the life I have given to you?
People: Like a still, deep pool in the desert, we will live in a way that reflects your love back onto your world.

Leader: Our God and Creator asks, "How will you walk this path I have given to you?"
People: Like the creatures of the forest, we will walk in a way that respects all life created by your hand.

Leader: Our God and Creator asks, "How will you reach out to the world beyond yourselves?"
People: Like the branches of a sapling tree, we will strive to reach beyond the safe and the familiar, touching the world in your name.

All: Help us to remember we all are connected through the endless circle of life and creation. Teach us to trust and to follow the example of Jesus Christ who lived a life of sacrifice, walked a path of goodness and mercy, and reached beyond human differences. Amen. *

CATLIN’S CREED

Men: I love a people that have always made me welcome to the very best that they had.
Women: I love a people who are honest without laws, and who have no jails and no poorhouses.
Men: I love a people who keep the commandments without ever having read or heard them preached from the pulpit.
Women: I love a people who never swear or take the name of God in vain.
Men: I love a people “who love their neighbors as they love themselves.”
Women: I love a people who worship God without a Bible, for I believe that God loves them also.
Men: I love a people whose religion is all the same, and who are free from religious animosities.
Women: I love a people who have never raised a hand against me, or stolen my property, when there was no law to punish either.
Men: I love and don’t fear mankind where God has made and left them, for they are his children.
Women: I love the people who have never fought a battle with the white man, except on their own ground.
Men: I love a people who live and keep what is their own without lock and keys.

Women: I love a people who do the best they can. And oh how I love a people who don’t live for the love of money.

Catlin’s Creed is written by George Catlin, a well-known artist who traveled to the American West five times during the1830’s. He lived among 48 tribes of the Great Plains, and depicted them in their native territory. The creed can be found in the resource On This Spirit Walk by Dr. Henrietta Mann and Rev. Anita Phillips.

CIRCLE OF LIFE

Resources below from Prieres D’Ozawamick, Canadian Indian, 20th Century, United Methodist Book of Worship
Written by Rev. Judy Aaron, Choctaw/Creek, Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference

CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader: We have entered into the new day, You O God, have given us the breath of life.
Response: We rejoice!

Leader: We breathe in the morning air, we hear the sounds of creation, we rise up to take our place in the circle of life.
Response: We rejoice!

Leader: Today as we move in the world as a part of creation, may we be in balance with all life, using only what we need, respecting the presence of others, maintaining peace.
Response: We rejoice!

Leader: You have given us the energy of the four winds as strength to overcome obstacles in our path, you have provided family and friends to encourage us, you have given us your powerful grace and mercy to sustain us.
Response: We rejoice!

Leader: Our journey in the circle of life is one of a people, handed from generation to generation, tradition to tradition. Grant us the courage to take our place in the circle, to enter harmony with creation, to continue our journey. We ask your blessing upon our lives.
Response: We rejoice! Amen.

BENEDICTION

You have come from afar and waited, long and are wearied.
Let us sit side by side, sharing the same bread drawn from the same source;
to quiet the same hunger that makes us weak,
Then standing together let us share the same spirit, the same thoughts,
That once again draws us together in spirit and unity and peace.
AMEN!