Land Acknowledgement

Welcome! At First Parish Church of Stow & Acton, we are beginning the process of working to build right relationship with Native Americans. This process is beginning with education, and working on our Land Acknowledgement, which we plan to vote on as a congregation in 2022. This is only a first step in our path of justice and building relationship.

Land Acknowledgement (shorter/worship version)

Our shorter Land Acknowledgement is designed for use in weekly worship services. We also encourage FPC task forces, committees, and other programs to begin with this Land Acknowledgement.

(As we begin,) We would like to acknowledge that this service (or meeting) is being held by a community that gathers on the stolen traditional lands of the Massachusett, Nipmuc, Pawtucket, and Wampanoag People. We pay respect to those Indigenous Peoples who lost their lives in the colonization of this land, and recognize that these Indigenous tribes are still today facing violations of sovereignty, territory, and water. We also give thanks for the Earth we walk upon, the waters, the lifegiving plants, and all the Earth’s creatures, as well as the winds, sun, moon and stars. We recognize this is just a first step in moving toward right relationship with Native peoples and healing of the Earth.

Land Acknowledgement (full version)

Our longer Land Acknowledgement is for us at programs and services that are focused on building relationship, history, justice for Native Peoples, and addressing the climate crisis.

(As we gather...) We acknowledge that this service (or meeting) is being held by a community that gathers on the stolen traditional lands of the Massachusett, Nipmuc, Pawtucket, and Wampanoag People. We pay respect to elders both past and present, and recognize that these Indigenous tribes are still today facing violations of sovereignty, territory, and water. We grieve for the many ancestors who lost their lives to colonization of this land, and stand with those Indigenous people who are suffering the effects of that genocide today. We also give thanks for all the gifts this land brings us: The Earth which we walk upon and from which grow the lifegiving plants and the creatures who live here. The waters, winds, sun, moon, and stars around us. We are grateful for the generations of ancestors who have paved the way before us, for the people of the present who are here of one mind, and for those of the future who are affected by the decisions we make here today and every day. We recognize this is just a first step in moving toward right relationship with Native peoples and healing of the Earth.