A Labyrinth Meditation for Orange Shirt Day
Background
In 1998, the United Church of Canada apologized specifically for its role in Indian Residential Schools, and since 2008 has been actively engaged in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), which was created to address the history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools. The United Church is responsible for 15 residential schools operated between 1849 and 1969. About 6.7 percent of the approximately 80,000 residential school students still alive today attended United Church schools.
The Apologies | The United Church of Canada (united-church.ca)
Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in May 2013. It grew out of Phyllis Webstad’s story of having her shiny new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the Mission. It has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually. Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.
Adapted from Resources – Orange Shirt Society (orangeshirtday.org)
The spirituality of labyrinth walking
“The labyrinth is a tool to guide healing, deepen self-knowledge, and empower creativity. Walking the labyrinth clears the mind and gives insight into the spiritual journey. It urges action.” Lauren Artess, Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice (2006).
Walking a labyrinth to mark Orange Shirt Day allows us “to reflect on the pain and suffering that our church’s involvement in the Indian Residential School system has caused” and to commit to “repentance, reconciliation and healing.” (1998 Apology)
Ways to prepare for your labyrinth walk.
Read the words of the 1998 Apology Apologies (1986, 1998), Response (1988), Crest Update (2012) (united-church.ca)
Paint or decorate an apology stone. Hold the stone in your hands as you reflect on the words of this Apology. Paint or decorate the stone with messages and symbols of reconciliation and hope. For example: “I remember”, “I care”, “Every child matters”.
If you are able to physically walk a labyrinth, you may want to hold the stone as you walk, perhaps placing it in the center of the labyrinth as a symbol of a move from repentance to a commitment to right relations.
If you are using a finger labyrinth, perhaps place the stone next to your labyrinth, then place it in a garden, on a trail, or in some location that is meaningful for you.
Walking the labyrinth
At the entrance to the labyrinth take a moment to center yourself, calm your mind.
Enter the labyrinth when you feel ready and travel slowly and deliberately along the path.
As you travel to the center, reflect on the pain and suffering inflected by the residential school system; acknowledge that colonial and racist attitudes are still present in our society, that injustices continue and that we are complicit in them.
At the center, pause to reflect. Consider offering this prayer:
Today we wear orange
to remember and honour all the Indigenous children who went to residential schools.
Today we wear orange and we pray
for the residential school and intergenerational survivors who are still struggling.
Today we wear orange and we are thankful
for those who speak the truth, and who work to shine a light on injustice.
Today we wear orange in the name of compassion and the spirit of truth and reconciliation.
Help us, God, to remember and act on this this every day.
Amen.
Inspired by Honarine Scott’s Orange Shirt Day blog September 30 is Orange Shirt Day | The United Church of Canada (united-church.ca)
As you continue your path back to the entrance, express gratitude for the ways in which Indigenous peoples enrich our communities, and commit to “living out our apology in our actions in the future.”
After the walk
Reflect on your experience. Journal or share your experience with members of your faith community.
Commit to at least one action that you will take to further the work of right relations building.
Additional Resources
Listen to Moderator Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne’s message Moderator Carmen’s 2024 Orange Shirt Day (National TRC Day) Message (English) – YouTube
Minute for Right Relations M4RR_Orange_Shirt_Day_2024.pdf (mcusercontent.com)
Resources – Orange Shirt Society (orangeshirtday.org)
Right Relations | Canadian Shield (canadianshieldrc.ca)
Indigenous Right Relations | Manitou Intentional Learning Community (manitoulearningcommunity.com)
For more information, please contact Gillian Schell [email protected]