Jun 18, 2021 TheWee Voice Newsletter Home by Warsan Shire (British-Somali poet) no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. you only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well. your neighbours running faster than you, the boy you went to school with who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory is holding a gun bigger than his body, you only leave home when home won't let you stay. no one would leave home unless home chased you, fire under feet, hot blood in your belly. it's not something you ever thought about doing, and so when you did - you carried the anthem under your breath, waiting until the airport toilet to tear up the passport and swallow, each mouthful of paper making it clear that you would not be going back. you have to understand, no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land. who would choose to spend days and nights in the stomach of a truck unless the miles travelled meant something more COVER PAINTING than journey “Climate Change Refugee” Alex Nabaum 4th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST HAPPY FATHER’S DAY ?! Deuteronomy 30:11-14 My (adult, now) children often remind me, lovingly, that becoming a father takes but a few, pleasurable, “Braiding Strands of Life Together” moments - the heavy lifting is done by the moms! Sunday, June 20, is the beginning of the The stereotypical attributes - provider, protector, Summer Solstice, which is the most sacred time disciplinarian - long associated with “fatherhood” are in the indigenous calendar. June 21 is the day of now out of favour. Although, there are many very Indigenous Prayer, celebrated across Canada. interesting scientific studies into whether the traits of We're fortunate that we can share in this males and females that we call stereotypes aren’t in prayerful solstice celebration, at least in part, by fact embedded in our DNA! worshipping together on Sunday, June 20 on We all know that physical attributes come from Zoom and hearing Audrey King tell us about our parents - height, colour of eyes, etc - but did you what she has learned about the spirituality of know that we are more likely to get dad’s genes than First Nations’ people by reading the scholarly, mom’s - 60% to 40%! Think about that when you and highly popular book “Braiding Sweetgrass”. complain about thinning hair! The DCUC Book Group has been My dad had a habit, upon completing a task, of enthusiastically reading this amazing book for the standing back and reviewing his work. Most of these last few months. I hope Audrey's talk might times, when he shared with us, he was pleased, and encourage more people in our congregation to we would kid him about it, but I am sure there were read it over the summer. The author, an times he wasn’t. indigenous woman, and a professor who teaches Is Father’s Day not the perfect time to do this as biology, is a deeply spiritual person, who well? Not a day to say “Look at me!”, but a day to combines her scientific and spiritual learnings in reflect on how we did, or how we are doing. Did we wonderful and hopeful ways. encourage without overbearing? Did we allow our Rev Jennifer Palin kids to make mistakes, and thereby learn? Did we contribute to a happy, loving home, and can we see they are following in the same path? It’s not easy watching our kids grow up, and there are no guarantees on how it turns out. My youngest son (24) is contemplating following his dream career by moving to England. He is afraid to mention this to his mom, but has reached out to me for advice. Helping him think the decision through, without advocating the answers is tough to do! Being a dad can be hard, but, oh the joys make it so worthwhile! Happy Father’s Day. Tom Joyce Our Church Office Our church of fice is now open: Monday to Friday, Please help keep 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. everyone safe No one but Emily is allowed access into the office. by doing your Offering cheques can be dropped in the mailbox (call Emily and let her know). Please help support Emily as part !! we live the new life of self-distancing. WANT TO STAY Follow us and Like us on Facebook UP TO DATE? Donway Covenant United Church ACKNOWLEDGING FIRST NATION’S TERRITORIES for TRUTH and RECONCILIATION Join us for Worship We acknowledge this sacred land on which we on ZOOM. Call the are today. This land, which we call Mother Earth, church office to be put on our Earth Mother, is the traditional territory of the our email list, Huron-Wendat First Nations, the Seneca, the or use the link below. Mississaugas of the Credit River, the 4th Sunday after Pentecost Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. The Jun 20 10:30 am “Braiding Strands of Life territory was the subject of the Dish with One Together” Spoon Wampum Belt covenant, an agreement Guest speaker: Audrey King between the Iroquois Confederacy and Confederacy of the Ojibwe and allied nations to Jun 27 5th Sunday after Pentecost peaceably share and care for the resources 10:30 am “Struggling with Angels” around the Great Lakes. During the month of July, and the We recognize Indigenous land title as set out first Sunday of August, Rev. Vivian Yarwood in the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which will be leading us in Worship (Zoom services) envisioned self-determination and self- government. The Truth and Reconciliation Report Rev. Vivian will be available for emergency and Calls to Action recommend that all levels of pastoral care (through physical distancing) government implement Indigenous rights in the It doesn’t matter where you are - original spirit of the treaties. Indigenous peoples in Don Mills, or across the country, and allies for reconciliation view the treaties as a or around the world, sacred obligation that commits both parties to you can join us on ZOOM! maintain respectful relationship; and share the lands and resources equitably. The Worship Committee Today, Toronto is still home to many Indigenous Sweetgrass is often burned at the beginning of people from across Turtle Island. We are grateful, a prayer or ceremony to attract positive energies.... honoured, and humbled to have the opportunity Sweetgrass is used to "smudge"; the smoke from to live and work in this city; on this territory we burning sweetgrass is fanned on people, objects or call Turtle Island. Chi Miigwetch. Thank you. areas. Individuals smudge themselves with the submitted by Rev Jennifer Palin smoke, washing the eyes, ears, heart and body. June 20, 2021 10:30 am PLEASE JOIN US Eastern Daylight Time To join the service with audio only using your phone please dial: ZOOM WILL OPEN AT 10:00 am (647) 374 - 4685 or (647) 558 - 0588 To join the service with online video please You will be prompted to enter the following CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW information: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85066299490?pwd=RUR3dFkrSFZ6RDM1RXcwc21hZGRmZz09 Meeting ID you enter 850 6629 9490# This link should take you directly to the meeting, Participant ID you enter # however if asked for the Meeting ID and (there is no participant ID for us) Password, they are as follows: Password you enter 405590# Meeting ID: 850 6629 9490 If you need help to get connected Password: 405590 please call Ruth Kenny at (416) 832-9709 Piita Irniq, formerly known as WHAT’S IN A NAME? Peter, is a former commissioner of How a government Nunavut and a well-known project forced surnames guardian of Inuit culture and language. Like many Inuit, Irniq's on Inuit name has evolved and changed over the last century, as a result of With Project Surname, Inuit had to choose and colonization, residential schools register family names, which were not common in and Project Surname. their culture After a lifetime of spelling his name the way white Johnny became Joanasie, David became Davidee - priests and teachers told him to, in 1999 Peter Irniq these names are still common among Inuit today. finally decided to change his last name to the Family names had not been used among Inuit for traditional Inuit pronunciation. time immemorial, Irniq said, until Project Surname. His mother named him Irniq, which means son For example, Irniq did not share names with his in Inuktitut, when he was born in an igloo in 1947 on family members: his father was Athanasi Angutitaq, the land hundreds of kilometres from Naujaat, his mother Irene Katak, and his sister Bernadette Nunavut. His name had come to her in a dream. Iguttaq. He said there were positives and negatives to the project. Project Surname was proposed by the Northwest Territories Council (now known as the “Project Surname was the end of Inuit culture in Legislative Assembly) in the late 1960s as a way to terms of naming our children,” Irniq said. move past the federal government's "E-number" According to a 1970 Annual Report of the system. Between the 1940s and 1970s, E-numbers Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, were assigned to "Eskimos" and provided in part to CBC by a spokesperson for the stamped on discs, which Inuit in territorial government, the project's director, the Canadian Arctic were forced Abraham Okpik, visited every settlement where Inuit to wear to keep track of census lived and interviewed each head of family about their data, medical records, etc.