The Two-Spirit Journal is excited to share an Easter Sunday installment in this series where Two-Spirit people across Turtle Island share their personal observations and reflections of the current Covid-19 pandemic we are all experiencing.
In this installment, we hear from Murray Pruden, who works for the United Church of Canada with 14 Indigenous communities providing spiritual and administrational support.
The Two-Spirit Journal welcomes any and all submissions from anyone who wants share your personal observations and reflections of how you are dealing in these uncertain times of COVID-19; if you are self-isolating, what are you doing to keep yourself busy and what do you miss the most. Send your responses (in any format) or any questions to [email protected].
Two-Spirit Journal thanks everyone who has already answered this call and has sent in their responses. Keep the responses coming in, and they will be posted!
Remember keep safe! As Gayle Pruden stated so beautifully in the second installment of this series, “Praying, singing, dancing and laughing are my medicine and washing my hands, not touching my face, practicing physical distancing and finally staying home if I’m sick or if I possibly came in contact with Covid-19!”
Murray Pruden is the Regional Indigenous Minister for the Pacific Mountain Regional Council in the United Church of Canada, and lives and work in Burnaby in the greater Vancouver area. He has recently completed studies at the Vancouver School of Theology in Vancouver, BC and the Sandy Saulteaux Spiritual Centre in Beausejour, Manitoba. Murray Is Cree originally from Treaty Six in central Alberta. He believes in connection and respecting all paths of spirituality and honouring each other with our gifts.
The pandemic of COVID-19 has been a time of change for us all. A virus does not discriminate, decide to hate or choose who to affect. This is a spirit, like any spirit, is here to teach humankind something important about who we are as a species, as Creator’s creation. I feel we all have an opportunity to see the world in new vision and care, a time to unplug from the mainstream mentality of society we created and re-establish a change for the new generation.
I started to isolate mid-March, when the Federal government asked us to isolate. And with work, it was an automatic call of action to do so. My job is a resource and representative as ministry support staff for the province of British Colombia, Yukon and a portion of Alberta. I oversee and give spiritual and administrational support to 14 Indigenous communities, including the Vancouver Downtown Eastside, within our region for the United Church of Canada. I work from home anyway, so it was not much of any adjustment for me; however, for the visiting and traveling to the coastal communities, it would be all business travel cancelled till we receive authorization from public health officials. As a spiritual leader, it is my job to support, as best I can to the communities, I represent within the Indigenous ministries stream within the United Church of Canada, in British Columbia. I currently live in Burnaby and enjoy what the greater Vancouver area has to offer.
It being April now, and no travel to my family, friends and loved ones back in my original home territory in Alberta, I keep in touch by phone and sometimes video chat. My mom is who I miss the most because she’s in a care facility due to her dementia and a few days ago celebrated her 75th birthday. I called her today and talked about her day and how she is doing and that one day soon, when I am able to fly down to visit her, and I will to celebrate her birthday in person, with some roses. She loves roses. But for now, she was just happy to hear my voice. And I am happy she still remembers who I am.
This is the season of celebration for many different Faiths. Passover has started a few days ago for the Jewish people, Easter Sunday is almost here for many Christians and Ramadan is a few weeks away for the those of the Islamic faith. A time that many are used to gathering. And as Indigenous people, we know all about gathering as well. But currently it’s a restriction because of need to decrease the curve in the outbreak of the COVID-19. So, for the communities and greater Indigenous ministries stream within our United Church of Canada, I created a printable Easter Sunday worship. I would like to share the Reflection. It is a short message that can give insight to what we can be if we have a little faith in ourselves, in others, in spiritual ways and in Creator, or to a higher belief of what the universe gives us.
The Sun Rises by Murray Pruden
Jesus has taught us to try to achieve a loving life. I believe that is who he is. He was always serving, teaching, healing, blessing and challenging the world around him. Always placing his Faith ahead of him for God to lead him to where he is needed. And even more so after his crucifixion and now to his enlightened and resurrected state, his message of new possibilities of challenging the world is more profound. That sometimes when we look at things in our life, we can look at them not just for their physical qualities and endurance but with our spiritual eyes and receive a new vision of what the world was, is and can become. The challenge then becomes for us is taking that spiritual vision and making it the betterment for the all of us to live in, together. The challenge becomes uniting the spiritual vision with the physical sight to become the goodness we want the world to live in.
“Do not be afraid”, as Jesus tells the mourning followers. And this is what Jesus tells us today, do not be afraid. I like to add what I think Jesus would add to us today as we isolate in this time of COVID-19 pandemic: Do not be afraid… creation is with you because creation is made in each one of you. As the air lifts the eagle soaring in the sky, God our Creator will lift you in ways that you never knew possible. Look for that miracle and be thankful. But don’t just look for it with your eyes, look for it also with your heart, that beats the drum of our Mother Earth. The answer is there and share it with all the people, with of all of creation, because we are all made of God. Do not be afraid.
My relations, as the sun rises this day let it touch you, give you warmth on your back, comfort in the days ahead. This is the embrace from our Creator and from Creation to continue our journey of life, on that path that sometimes can be rough, dark, cold and a challenge. But as a community of spiritual faith we are not alone because we live in God’s world. The sun will always rise to bring us back to life each day. That is the blessing we receive from the Land, from the Spirit and from the Creator. Do not be afraid, our new day has just begun. Thanks be to God. Amen.