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| Selwyn Inlet, Haida Gwaii. Image by Brett Hodnett |
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A GREETING
I prayed, and the ability to reason wisely was given to me.
I called out, and Wisdom’s spirit came to me.
(Wisdom 7:7 CEB)
A READING
Trustworthy friends are a strong shelter;
whoever finds one
has found a treasure.
Trustworthy friends have no price,
and no one can estimate their worth.
Trustworthy friends are life’s medicine.
(Sirach 6:14-16a CEB)
MUSIC
Sung in Haida, the lyrics translate:
Those Born Before Us, Those Yet to be Born: We Respect You.
Those Born Before Us, Those Yet to be Born: Help Us.
Those Born Before Us, Those Yet to be Born: We Want to do the Respectful Thing.
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
By your actions, you taught your people that those who do what is right
must always want what is best for others.
...In this way you encouraged them.
(Wisdom 12:19 CEB)
A POEM
nite
sinks down
upon the earth
turning
its face
from the sun
at last
people singing
applauding
and crying
as all the stars
co-operate
and come out shining.
–"Nite" by Wayne Keon,
found in Native Poetry in Canada: A Contemporary Anthology
ed. by Jeannette C. Armstrong and Lally Grauer
VERSE OF THE DAY
The foundations of generations past you will restore.
(Isaiah 58:12a CEB)
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| Gwaii Hanaas, Haida Gwai. Image by Brett Hodnett |
The waters of the Pacific follow the Alaska shoreline south until the province of British Columbia takes over. At the approximate place of that transition, roughly 232 km from Prince Rupert into Queen Charlotte Sound, is Haida Gwaii, an archipelago of islands belonging to the Haida people who have lived there for more than 13,000 years.
The story of this island that is covered with towering Sitka Spruce and Red Cedar, is one of unbridled greed and exploitation and also resistance and recovery — and a lasting model for how to be on the land in right relationship with others. It hasn’t been easy: after Canadian governments mined and fished the lands empty, they turned to clearcut logging, with the intention of razing all the old growth forests. The Haida blockaded and stood firm until first in 1993 and then in 2000 the Gwaii Haanas agreement was reached protecting more than 5180 square km of land and helping to bring back hundreds of species of at-risk wildlife. Then last year in the spring of 2024, the British Columbia government enacted a law recognizing the Haida as having title to their land. It was the first of its kind.
In today’s reading, Sirach reminds us of what it means to have a trustworthy friend: such friends are a strong shelter, a treasure; they are life’s medicine. Those closest and dearest to us are easy to identify in the collection. But how much are we a trustworthy friend to the earth’s creatures, to its flora and fauna? How can we take the Haida Gwaii pledge and expand it in our hearts to include peoples and nations?
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A PLEDGE OF RESPECT
When you visit Haida Gwaii, you are invited to take the pledge (see link), a commitment to showing respect for the land, water and air that you enjoy and to take only what you need to feed yourself for the day. What would our world be like if such a pledge existed with all communities, and every visitor and traveler lived accordingly?
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Resources in today's devotion:
Scripture passages are taken from the Common English Bible version.
Wayne Keon is an Indigenous Canadian poet.
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LC† Streams of Living Justice is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!