wfn.org | Drums mark first global Pow Wow in Midwest American city

["Daphne Martin_Gnanadason" <Daphne.Martin_Gnanadason@warc.ch>]

Uniting General Council 2010                                    

>News Release 
>22 June 2010

Drums mark first global Pow Wow in Midwest American city
Chris Meehan, News Editor

The sky, which had been dark and ominous only hours before, was
filled with sunshine and white clouds as a group of Native
Americans crossed a pedestrian bridge over the Grand River and
approached leaders of the newly formed World Communion of
Reformed Churches (WCRC) who waited at the other end.

Dressed in tribal regalia, including a fur hat, Mike Peters told
the ecumenical leaders and George Heartwell, mayor of Grand
Rapids: "On behalf of the Three Fires Alliance and Native
Americans from the four directions we want to welcome you
officially and to celebrate with us in the spirit of unity."
Peters is a pastor and member of the Odawa tribe, which is
included the Three Fires Alliance.

The officials from the WCRC offered greetings in return and
followed Peters in a procession to Ah-Nab-Awen Park on the banks
of the Grand River.

In a show of solidarity, the Native Americans escorted the
ecumenical leaders back across the bridge to the nearby park to a
celebration getting underway to the pounding of a sacred drum.
The outdoor event was a featured element of the programme of the
Uniting General Council (UGC), a meeting of church
representatives from 108 countries in the Midwestern American
city of Grand Rapids. 363 delegates have gathered for the
founding meeting of the WCRC, formed from the merger of the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical
Council.

The welcoming ceremony was followed by a Reformed Worship
service led by Native Americans and Canadian First Nations
peoples from WCRC member churches. 

The first world Pow Wow ever held in Grand Rapids followed the
worship service. The Grand Entry of dancers in ceremonial regalia
to begin the Pow Wow was accompanied by the award-winning
drumming group, Chippewa Travellers. The music group from Canada
is fresh from winning the Pow Wow Idol competition as best Native
drum group in North America.

Hundreds of UGC delegates, many in traditional dress from their
home countries, joined Native Americans in a dance that began in
the four corners of the park, representing the four directions of
the earth. 

Earlier in the day at Calvin College where the UGC is meeting,
Richard Twiss, a member of the Lakota Sioux tribe, was the
keynote speaker.

A tall man with long black hair and dressed in soft leather
tribal clothing, Twiss spoke passionately about his love for
Jesus Christ and his distrust of the Christian Church that was
brought to the United States by northern Europeans. He said that
the church joined with the United States government to dominate
and to wipe out millions of native peoples after they arrived in
North America 400 years ago.

"The direction that the new World Communion of Reformed Churches
(of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples) is taking is the
direction we need to go," he said. "I'm so grateful we have been
given a role in its initial stage… A lot of hard work, pain,
grieving, and compromise is in front of us. But today is a
wedding feast. "

Asked later if the event in the downtown park reflected what he
was talking about in his keynote address, he said simply,
"Absolutely … We are taking small steps today."

The Uniting General Council 2010 in Grand Rapids, United States
(June 18-28) marks the merger of the World Alliance of Reformed
Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council to form the World
Communion of Reformed Churches. 

>Contact: Kristine Greenaway
>Executive Secretary, Communications
>World Communion of Reformed Churches

UGC News Room – Calvin College - Hoogenboom Center Room HC 204
Cell phone: 1-616-826-5540 or 1-616-826-8636
News Room: 1-616-526-7885
email: kgr@warc.ch
web: www.reformedchurches.org (
http://www.reformedchurches.org/#_blank )