Reflections at an Intersection
by Rev. Curtis Korver
The members of the Committee for Contact with the Government recently found themselves at the intersection of Aboriginal justice, worship and theological reflection. Turns out, that’s not an easy place to stand.
We had gathered for our semi-annual meeting in Ottawa and Irvin Sarazin, an Algonquin man from the community of Golden Lake, joined us to lead a pipe ceremony. Irvin carefully explained what he would do and invited us to participate. He began with a smudge, a kind of smoke bath. For centuries, smoke has been used to remove impurities that would cause spoilage, to cure and preserve meat, to cure animal hides for a wide range of uses. Smoke preserves and makes things useful. Smoke is also a symbol of prayers rising up. From a shell containing small amounts of sweet grass and other herbs, we washed and prepared.
We were each given a small amount of tobacco which would become our offering to the Creator. In Algonquin culture, tobacco serves as an offering before anything is taken from the earth; it’s a way of acknowledging that all we have is a gift. We were asked to pray as we held the tobacco and imagine that the prayers are, in a way, absorbed by the tobacco. Later, in a bonfire back at his home, Irvin would place our tobacco in the fire, its smoke symbolizing our prayers rising to the Creator – much like others would use incense.
The pipe was prepared. With great respect and purpose the two parts of the pipe were removed from their carriers. We learned how within the ceremony, the stone bowl is a female part and the stem is a male part; together, the spirit of the pipe lives and smoke is its breath. The pipe is filled in a sacred way, with smoke offered to all directions. All involved in the ceremony are seated in a circle and given the opportunity to smoke the pipe – smoke is not to be fully inhaled but rather taken in and exhaled as an offering, as a prayer that drifts up to the Creator. Those in the group who preferred not to breathe the smoke at all were still graciously included. The ceremony concluded with the same respect and purpose.
This pipe ceremony is an act of Creator worship—of personal devotion, fellowship, prayer, and humbling oneself before the Creator. It involves both words and silence, both things tangible and things mysterious, both instruction and experience. It is both deeply personal and communal. If that sounds like a sacrament, you may not be far off. But it certainly did not fit any liturgical forms I have ever encountered. Maybe that is okay.
Maybe it’s okay that I was uncomfortable with this act of worship because unlike the rituals that are familiar to me, I needed to pay careful attention to understand and participate.
Maybe it’s okay that it took a little too long for my time-conscious sensibilities; worship shouldn’t be rushed.
Maybe it’s okay to see Christian and Aboriginal traditions working together. It made me wonder how different worship might be in the western tradition if we had inherited our faith from Aboriginal people instead of northern Europeans.
Maybe it’s okay that a group of people encounter God from the perspective of the Algonquin people whose culture, traditions, wisdom and experience we profess to value; maybe we can learn something about our Creator God.
We stood at the intersection of Aboriginal justice, worship and theological reflection. Turns out it’s not an easy place to stand. Maybe that’s okay.
Rev. Curtis Korver is pastor at Covenant Millrise Christian Reformed Church in Calgary, AB, and is a member of the Committee for Contact with the Government, which oversees and advises the Centre for Public Dialogue’s work.
