- A Prayer of Commitment

Creator God,

Before our institutions were built, before our churches were planted, before the events recorded here, you were present in this land and with its peoples.

We give you thanks for Mi’kma’ki; for its air and sea and sky. We thank you for the creatures and plants who teach us, and for its people whom we honour. We thank you for those who have dwelt here across generations, and for the knowledge, traditions, and wisdom they have carried. We give thanks for Indigenous neighbours, elders, leaders, theologians and friends who have shared their lives, faith, and wisdom with us.

God of truth, give us courage to remember truthfully. We give thanks for friendship, courage and genuine fellowship, but we also confess the ways Christians have confused the gospel with our own culture, assumed our ways were superior, failed to listen, and participated in or remained silent before systems that caused harm.

Teach us to lament lives taken, families separated, promises broken, cultures diminished, and relationships distorted. Remind us that this timeline is not the whole story. Give us humility to hear what we have not heard, see what we have not seen, and receive correction that we may walk in a better way.

Turn our right remembering toward responsibility. Give us courage to hear difficult truths, patience for relationships that cannot be hurried, and wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen. As a community engaged in theological education, help us form leaders who seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. Help us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, in whom you reconcile all things.

By your Spirit, guide the story we now help to write. Teach us to walk together as good neighbours and treaty people, for the sake of generations to come.

Msit No’kmaq. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Anna M. Robbins, President