Canada Day 2020-A Day of Gratitude

Welcome sign was purchased from

 local Farmers Market Canada Day, 2019

It is Day 102 since the house of prayer closed and much of our daily way of life changed considerably.  Eleven persons (nearly the maximum number possible at this time) gathered in our chapel this morning for a Canada Day Eucharist.  Pat upon arriving exclaimed for each of us:  “Aren’t we so blessed to be living in Canada!!”  That awareness has become more and more apparent as the COVID-19 days go by.  Where else would each of us want to be during these pandemic times?  Where else?  Perhaps we have never appreciated our homeland as much as we now do, and will for the rest of our lives.

We are ever so slowly welcoming a few more to come to the house of prayer, whether it be for Eucharist 4 times a week, and also for a few more overnight guests.  During the past few weeks we have safely hosted 5 persons for lengths of time from 2 nights to 6 nights, 1 person twice for 2-week periods, and 1 QHP Associate for a week – 7 persons in over 14 weeks, during what normally would be a slow week!

There are also traces of what used to be normal life and work – including a 5-person wedding, 3 graveside services and a few calls for anointing before death, along with appointments with several people.  We almost daily wonder when this time will end, and what from the past nearly 25 years might even end forever. 

Canada Day worship today included a very favorite passage from Isaiah 56:7:  “For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”  This challenging invitation has been the foundational vision for QHP for 25 years, calling all who come here to creatively live this vision wherever they live.

The central part of our prayer today is the following, which we invite others to pray on this national day of festival.

Marking 153 Years of Confederation —  Prayer of Gratitude, Lament, and Hope

Gracious and Loving God,  in whom all of creation and all peoples live and move and have our being, we gather to celebrate the 153rd year since the Confederation of Canada.

We gather in gratitude for the richness of this land that goes from sea to sea to sea:
For the First Peoples, who discovered this land millennia ago, and who teach us that we are all one with creation and with each other,
we offer our gratitude to you, Creator of Life.

For the rich natural resources, the wonder of the variety of landscapes and ecosystems in our country, urban and rural, prairie and maritime, tundra and mountains, Canadian Shield and foothills,
We offer our gratitude to you, Creator of Life.

For the wonderful tapestry of Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures that make up our nation, making us all richer for the diversity,
we offer our gratitude to you, Creator of Life.


For a country in which we are free and safe to cast our vote, where our vote and our voice count, and where we can give voice to what we believe,
we offer our gratitude to you, Creator of Life.

For Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, musicians, and actors who contribute to the richness of Canada and also on the world stage
we offer our gratitude to you, Creator of Life.

For Indigenous and non-Indigenous athletes who give heart, soul, and energy in striving to be the top of their sport, representing Canada in competition around the world

We pray in awe and wonder, seeking to live daily lives that reflect gratitude.


We gather in lament for the painful parts of our 153-year history:

For the devastation caused to the Indigenous Peoples through colonization of this land, the overuse of natural resources, and the loss of their cultures, spirituality, and traditions,
this we lament, God-who-enters-into-suffering.

For the pain and suffering experienced in the Indian residential schools by too many Indigenous children;
this we lament, God-who-enters-into-suffering.

For seizing people’s property and money and confining them in internment camps;
this we lament, God-who-enters-into-suffering.

For all others in our country who have been discriminated against, abused, and devalued because of their ethnicity, beliefs, or country of origin,
this we lament, God-who-enters-into-suffering.

For those who gave their lives and those who continue to experience the traumatic effects of their service in the Armed Forces, during both world wars, as peacekeepers, and in other conflicts,
this we lament, God-who-enters-into-suffering.

For the continuing violent and derogatory attitudes and actions that prevent those of the LGBTQ2 community from living freely who they are,
this we lament, God-who-enters-into-suffering.

For those who have suffered devastation in both natural and human-made disasters in Canada.

We join our voices to cry out for justice for the continuing wrongs in our country.
We dream of the future for our beloved land of Canada:

For a country where the best of Canadian values of peacemaking, compassion, hospitality, generosity, fairness, and kindness are lived day by day and extended to everyone in this land,
to this we commit ourselves as your faithful people, Loving God.

For a country where everyone shares in the abundance, where everyone has food, shelter, safety, and employment, where everyone is valued as they are for who they truly are,
to this we commit ourselves as your faithful people, Loving God.

For a country where we care for the land, the environment, and the creatures, and live with respect in creation, making wise use of our natural resources and understanding that we are one with all of creation,
to this we commit ourselves as your faithful people, Loving God.

For the possibilities and promise we have as a nation in which every one of us can contribute our ideas, our imagination, and our creativity for the good of all,
to this we commit ourselves as your faithful people, Loving God.

For the leadership and example we can offer as a nation to the world, in building right relationships between all people and in treating all citizens, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, with dignity and respect, and in radical caring for the environment,

We give thanks, we lament, we dream, we recommit, gathering all of our prayers together as we pray the words of Jesus, “Our Father…”

(We are thankful to United-Church.ca Worship Services , especially Susan Lukey, for the inspiration of these prayers.)