Saturday, October 10, 2026: Join us tomorrow and Celebrate Indigenous People with Enid, Mary Ellen and Jane.

Meet with us starting at 3:45 in Person or on Zoom:

In Person: We meet in Classroom 8 of Christ Church United Methodist Church

1717 Yulupa Avenue, Santa Rosa, California 95405

You are invited to our Emmaus Celebration using Zoom

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5193158573?omn=81756952234

Passcode: 1234

If you start Zoom from yoou browser : 

Meeting ID: 519 315 8573

Passcode: 1234

Using you phone? One tap mobile

+16699006833,,5193158573# US (San Jose)

Ring the Singing Bowl (Mary Ellen) – Let us take a moment of silence to prepare ourselves for today’s liturgy.

Introduction (Enid) -  Tomorrow is Indigenous Peoples Day. Our liturgy today will celebrate the indigenous people who lived on our land for thousands of years before settlers arrived on our shores. We meet today on land that was home to the Southern Pomos. They along with the Coast Miwok lived in Sonoma, Marin, and Lake Counties. Greg Sarris, Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, says there were more indigenous people in these counties than anywhere else in the New World except for the area that now comprises Mexico City. 

The tribes had virtually no physical warfare. They respected all life and felt connected to it. This created a “we” mentality that they lived by. Today we will continue this “we” mentality as we connect with the spirit of indigenous people and reflect on the gifts they have given us. 

Opening Prayer (Enid) - The Words That Come Before all Else – A Thanksgiving Prayer of the Iroquois Confederacy

Today we have gathered and when we look upon the faces around us we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living beings. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give our greetings and our thanks to each other as People.

All - Now our minds are one.

We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of Time. To our Mother, we send thanksgiving, love, and respect.

All - Now our minds are one.

Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, the Great Spirit,* and send our greetings and our thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on Mother Earth. Let us pile up our thanks like a heap of flowers on a blanket. We will each take a corner and toss it high into the sky. So our thanks should be as rich as the gifts of the world that shower down upon us. For all the love that is around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.

All - Now our minds are one.

Song: Navajo Healing Chant – As we listen to this Navajo Healing Chant, we can focus on the images of Navajo people and become one with them. 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=x1uJidwo77s&is=okt9mau4G68latHD

(Mary Ellen) – Today we are sitting in a circle which connects us with indigenous cultures to whom the circle often plays an important role.

A reading from  John Lame Deer, Lakota Sioux Spiritual Leader

(Mary Ellen) – Today we are sitting in a circle which connects us with indigenous cultures to whom the circle often plays an important role.

A reading from  John Lame Deer, Lakota Sioux Spiritual Leader

The Indian’s symbol is the circle, the hoop. Nature wants things to be round—the bodies of human beings and animals have no corners. With us the circle stands for the togetherness of people who sit with one another around the campfire, relatives and friends united in peace. 

Reading - Miwok Quotes – 

Go around the circle with one person reading each quote. Provide a short pause between each quote.

The sun rises not to wake us, but to remind us that every day is a fresh opportunity to live in harmony with the new world. 

A single thread is easily broken, but when woven into the blanket of our community, it becomes a shield against the cold of the world.

Take only what you need, leave the rest for the earth and the creatures who have no voice to speak for themselves.

To share what you have is to double the joy and halve the sorrow; this is the way we ensure no one walks alone.

Look at the mountain and see not a static object, but a living ancestor that watches over the valley with patience and ancient, silent wisdom.

Just as the acorn must fall to grow into the great oak, we must release our old ways to make room for new growth.

The spirits of our ancestors dwell in the rustle of the leaves and the song of the birds; they are never truly far away.

When the world is loud, retreat to the quiet places of the forest, where the only voice is the truth of your own soul. 

Reading (Jane) – (Show Jane’s drawing)

From Lawrence Hunter of the Native American Church

The Morning Water Woman

The Morning Water Woman is like Mother Earth. She is mother of all. From her bosom came the water. She gave all her children the plants and the various species of animals. 

The woman who nurses a baby is just like Mother Earth, giving to it so that it will go out into the world strong and steady. 

When the woman brings in the morning water, she asks God’s blessing on all, that everyone drinks it, the good and the bad, that they drink it because they are her children. 

She prays for everyone who is going to drink the water. God gave her the privilege to pray for everyone, no matter where they are at, in conflict or in peace. 

Anyone who drinks the water will remember where it comes from. The woman is the symbol of Mother Earth. They call her the Morning Water Woman and she is the mother of all.  

Shared Homily (Enid) - We have listened to some words of indigenous people in our readings and prayers today.  How have your personal experiences influenced a deepening awareness in you of indigenous people? They may be direct experiences (travel, friends) or indirect ones (books, videos, lectures).

Offertory Prayer (Mary Ellen) - What do you bring to the table?

Pass the collection basket.

Eucharistic Prayer (Enid) – Today we gather in harmony with all those who once lived on this land. We pray the lives of their descendants will be blessed in many ways.

On the night before he died, Jesus was at table with his friends. He took bread, gave thanks to you, broke it, and gave it to his friends saying, 

All  - This is my body, broken for you.  

(Mary Ellen) - As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine. Again, he gave thanks to you, gave it to his friends and said,

 All - This is the new covenant of my lifeblood shed for you and for all. As often as you do this, do this in memory of me.

 (Enid) - Now gathered at your table, we offer to you our gifts of bread and wine, and ourselves, a living sacrifice. Pour out your Spirit upon all these gifts that they, and we, may be the Body and Blood of Christ. Breathe your Spirit over the whole earth and make us your new creation. 

(Mary Ellen) - In the fullness of time bring us with all your saints from every tribe and  language, from every people and nation to feast at the banquet prepared from the foundation of the world.

All -  (Holding up the bread and wine) For it is through Him, with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, O God, now and forever. Amen.

Acclamation (sung a capella)

All: We remember how you loved us all your life. And we still celebrate for you are with us here. And we believe we will see you, when you come. When you come again. We remember! We celebrate! We believe!

 (Jane) - Now let us recite this Native American version of the Lord’s Prayer.

All - O Great Spirit, our Mother, our Father from above, we honor your name as sacred and holy. Bring your good road to us, where the beauty of your ways in the spirit world above is reflected in the earth below. Provide for us day by day – the elk, the buffalo, and the salmon. The corn, the squash, and the wild rice. All the things we need each day. Release us from the things we have done wrong, in the same way we release others for the things they have done wrong to us. Guide us away from the things that tempt us to stray from your good road and set us free from being led astray. Aho. Amen

Sign of Peace (Enid) – Let us offer each other a sign of peace.

Invitation to Communion (Mary Ellen) - Everyone is welcome at this table. So come, beloved friends, and take this bread, drink this wine. In them, God comes to us, so that we may come to God.

Communion Song: Holy Ground – Monica Brown

https://youtube.com/watch?v=G2zS3Sehgzw&is=L8dgwOunRhjtIdOQ

(Enid) - October Birthdays 

Closing Prayer (Jane)– Cherokee Blessing 

May the Warm Winds of Heaven

Blow softly upon your house.

May the Great Spirit

Bless all who enter there.

May your Moccasins

Make happy tracks

in many snows,

and may the Rainbow

Always touch your shoulder.

And the people of this beloved Emmaus Community say Aho! Amen!

Announcements