Truth and Reconciliation Prayer

As we mark this National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
we remember that you, Creator God,
have witnessed every moment of our histories.
You know by heart the thousands of years
of Indigenous stewardship of Turtle Island,
you saw the interactions of the first white people
who arrived on these shores.
You wept when settlers rejected the road of co-operation,
when white people sowed violence
and harvested a whirlwind of genocide.
These terrible truths must be remembered and named;
the massacres and intentional starvation of Indigenous families,
the exploitation of land and creatures,
cruelty upon cruelty not stopped by God’s tears.
Settlers stole the land and violated treaties.
For this we repent.
Today we especially name the sin of residential schools:
physical and sexual abuse, neglect,
and trying to erase culture and kinship ties.
These sins still have dire consequences today.
Through this all you have supported and sustained
Indigenous peoples and cultures,
and their quest for justice.
Show us a way forward
from inequality to compensation,
from racism to celebration of differences,
from ignorance to understanding,
from suspicion to trust.
Give us a longing for truth and reconciliation
so deep that we feel it in our bones
and in our communities.
A hope-filled future is bright on the horizon;
help us reach it.  Amen.