It is almost Thanksgiving! So many people will be getting together with families, enjoying tasty food and reflecting on thankfulness. I will be traveling as well, visiting my in-laws in Aurora. Because I will be traveling, you will not be hearing from me next Friday in Pip's Perspective, or seeing me in worship on Sunday the 27th. I will still be holding a movie night on the 27th (more about that below).
I am thankful for so much this year. Thankful for a family that loves me, including a kiddo who is enjoying their first year of High School in an arts program. I am grateful for classes I enjoy and an apartment in a neighborhood that I am liking very much. Also, I am very grateful for all of you! This is a warm and beautiful community, and you have been so very welcoming! Thank you!
Even as we give thanks and celebrate, let us remember that the stories we were taught as kids about pilgrims and Native Americans were not very accurate. Thanksgiving has been dubbed a National "Day of Mourning" because of the fraught history of colonialism's harm against First Nations People. It is possible to celebrate all we are thankful for at the same time as we mourn all that has been lost. So much harm done, and that harm hasn't finished. Native Americans still experience disproportionate violence, discrimination and theft.
This Thanksgiving, I invite you to hold the complexity in your heart. It is good to be thankful for all you have, especially family and good food. It is also good to remember those who have experienced harm as a result of settler colonialism. Both can be true, at the same time.
Finally, please remember to join me on November 27th at 6pm on zoom for a Native American Movie Night. Before then, please send me clips of your favorite movie moments that feature First Nations people and stories!
