This Sunday, June 21st, the Parish of the Valley marks National Indigenous Day of Prayer.
In 1971 the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada declared June 21 as a “National Indian Day of Prayer” and requested all dioceses to commend this day to parishes and congregations throughout Canada. In 1995, participants of the Sacred Assembly in Hull, Quebec – a national meeting of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people – revived an earlier campaign to observe June 21 as a national day to recognize the contributions of Indigenous Peoples to Canada. On June 13, 1996, Governor General Romeo Leblanc declared June 21 National Aboriginal Day.
Since the mid-1990s, the Faith, Worship and Ministry department of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples have worked together to develop worship resources for the National Aboriginal Day of Prayer, now the National Indigenous Day of Prayer. In 2010, the General Synod added the date to the Anglican Church's calendar, under the heading of “Other Major Feasts That Take Precedence of a Sunday”, reflecting its significance across the Anglican Church of Canada and the Church’s commitment to its ongoing celebration.
As we mark this celebration this Sunday, we commend two documents to you: First, our Primate, Archbishop Shane Parker's letter to the church in 2025, asking that churches and ministries display the Survivors Flag as "a sign of awareness, acknowledgement and respect for residential school survivors, their families and communities." You can read Archbishop Shane's letter here.
Second, a letter from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation that accompanies each Survivors Flag with some words of explaination about its history and meaning. You can read that letter here.
The Survivors Flag will be in place in the sanctuary at Holy Trinity Pembroke for the first time this Sunday.
For more information about National Indigenous Day of Prayer, please see the Anglican Church of Canada's website.