Written by Pastor Laura Hannah
This past weekend the confirmands from this church, Good Samaritan UMC, and Lake Harriet UMC joined adults from this church and Hamline UMC for a learning experience called the Sacred Sites Tour. The tour was led by Jim Bear Jacobs (Mohican), and the tour offered an opportunity to learn about Minnesota’s history from a Native Perspective through story-telling and meditation.
This was a holy experience. It was an uncomfortable experience. It was a transforming experience. Some of the stories I had heard before. As other stories unfolded I was transfixed. Halfway through the tour, the group was encouraged to spend twenty minutes in silence and walk around the ground where almost two thousand Dakota people were held in a concentration camp during the winter of 1862. We heard the story of four oak trees (the four grandmothers) that were taken down to make room for the light rail system, and going to the site of four trees planted from cuttings from the original trees that now stand as a testament to hope and resilience.

In confirmation, our students are encouraged to wrestle with their faith, learn about other faiths, and ultimately claim their faith as their own. During the Sacred Sites Tour, there were some hard truths shared about how white Christians treated indigenous folks in Minnesota. As our confirmands learn about their own faith, I want them to learn about the good and the bad. When each of them decides if they wish to be confirmed in this church, I want them to have as full of a picture of Christianity as possible so they can make an honest decision.

I am so proud of the students who gathered on their day off to wrestle with questions and hear stories that challenged their view of the world. We work out of faith day by day and I hope that the Sacred Sites Tour will stay with them as they grow and their faith evolves and changes into something that is theirs alone.