Baskets of Clay | by Ray Buckley*
Leader: We remember the places where we stand
and danced and prayed
and left our lives
hanging in empty lodges
where we could not return.
We lift up our sufferings in baskets of clay. Heal them.
Leader: We remember the cries of our grandmothers
and the sorrow of our grandfathers.
We remember the names of the two-leggeds and the four-leggeds
and places of prayer, which are no more.
We lift up our memories in baskets of clay. Pour over them.
Leader: We remember those who have destroyed.
We remember that all people, everywhere,
have known enslavement and death,
from those who have no spiritual identity.
We lift up those who destroy, in baskets of clay. Restore them.
Leader: We remember the sacred hoop of which all of Your creation is a part;
all people, from all nations.
Help us to touch that we may know.
Help us to give-away that we may grow.
Help us to see each other as family.
We lift up our lives in baskets of clay. Connect them.
Leader: We remember your Spirit that makes us sing.
We remember your Spirit that causes us to dance.
With our hands we make beautiful things
to celebrate you.
Make us to sing.
Cause us to dance.
Inspire us to create,
for love of you.
We lift up our spirits in baskets of clay. Unite them with yours. AMEN.
*Ray Buckley, Lakota and Tlingit descent, is the interim Director of the Center for First Nations Spirituality, and faculty member of The Academy of Spiritual Formation. Buckley has served The United Methodist Church as a staff member of The United Methodist Publishing House, Director of the Native People Communication Office (UMCom) for nine years, and Director of Connectional Ministries and Native Discipleship for the Alaska Missionary Conference.
