Urban Aboriginal Ministry is a ministry of St. Mary Magdelene Anglican Church and supports Prayer Circles, Four Annual Feasts: Easter, Thanksgiving, Winterfest, and Christmas, Traditional as well as Ceremonies and Pastoral Care.
An online event supporting Indigenous Artists was held Thursday January 21, 2021, 6:30pm What began as one friend helping another friend with a rehearsal space and a venue from which to stream a LIVE concert has grown into a monthly event, “Songs and Stories from St. John’s”. Our last installment took place Thursday January 21, 2021, it featured a “Traditional Indigenous Worship” and a blend of inspirational stories and drumming. The Reverend Vivian Seegers, gathering priest for Urban Aboriginal Ministries in Vancouver, lead us through the four spiritual components of an Indigenous worship. The first half of the live streamed event focused on “A call to Gather” where all ancestors and spirits were invited to join, followed by “Speaking the words of our Elders”.
This sacred portion of the event lays down and honours the traditions that have guided Indigenous life since pictographs were etched into walls. After a brief interview was conducted by last month’s Songs and Stories performer Shawn Bullshields, Rev. Seegers returned and completed the final two components to “Honor the words and Traditions” and “Give Thanks”. Vivian was joined on stage by Diane Champagne whose rich voice and traditional drumming touched our hearts and souls. “We honour the culture, and our spiritual songs, our drumming and singing are traditional ways of praying. We are respecting First Nations spirituality.”
Since COVID-19, opportunities for artists to present their craft have become limited to non-existent. While we continue to hope that life will eventually return to normal, it is clear this is going to take some time. While we await a return to onsite worship and events, St. John’s Anglican Church in Shaughnessy has opened its doors to Indigenous artists as a practice space as well as a venue from which to stream a live event. This was a FREE event, however, donations will be gratefully accepted. All proceeds will be directed to care+share – an initiative of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster that directly funds new ministries.
The concert was live streamed from St. Johns Shaughnessy **** Youtube Channel You may also contact rev. Vivian Seegers directly @ [email protected]
