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Fall Gathering of Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting Saturday, Sept. 16 

The Fall Gathering of Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting will take place on Saturday, September 16, at Michigan Friends Center (7748 Clarks Lake Rd, Chelsea).  Worship and business meeting in the morning will be followed by lunch (provided) and an afternoon session consisting of a land and water blessing for the Friends Lake Community’s property, with ritual drumming at lakeside.  We hope to respond with a land acknowledgement that recognizes it historically as Indigenous homeland and says that we intend to do what we can to be in right relation to all living beings in this place and beyond.  All are invited to participate. 

During GPQM’s Meeting for Business, a draft statement of land acknowledgement and future intentions will be considered for adoption.  Please see below for this statement, a Zoom link, the schedule, and a description of the afternoon activities. 

ZOOM CONNECTION INFORMATION 
Topic: Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting 
https://umich.zoom.us/j/92011704098
Meeting ID: 920 1170 4098 

GPQM SCHEDULE, Saturday, 9/16, Michigan Friends Center (Chelsea, MI) 

• 9:30 am  gather to greet each other, light refreshments 
• 10:00-10:30 am  Meeting for Worship 
• 10:30 – Noon  GPQM Business Meeting 
• 12:15-1:45  Lunch (provided), relaxation/walking and free time 
• 2:00 pm  Program: Land and Water Blessing Ceremony  

(DRAFT statement for consideration, September 16, 2023) 

Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting  
Land Acknowledgment and Stewardship Intentions  

Land Acknowledgement 

The Quaker community of Michigan resides on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabe Nation, known as The Three Fires Confederacy, comprised of the Odawa (Ottawa), Ojibway (Chippewa) and Bodewadmi (Potawatomi).  We recognize that Indigenous Peoples viewed the land and waters where they lived as their spiritual home and the source of life for them and all beings. 

These lands were taken in the 1807 Treaty of Detroit by the United States government, under that Euro-American system which understood land to be legal property and an asset of economic value.  In the years that followed, white farmers and traders settled here, and took over and shaped the land in ways that did not respect the rights and traditions of the Indigenous nations. 

Stewardship Intentions 

Today we recognize and strive to honor the Indigenous heart of this land and water.  We renew our commitment to stewardship of this environment through our words, policies, and actions. We will seek to work with the descendants of the original inhabitants of this land to learn how best to repair the damage that has been done and to safeguard it in the future. 

Adopted by Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting, comprising the following monthly meetings:  Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Holland, Kalamazoo, and Red Cedar, and worship groups: Manitou, Pine River, and Tustin, September 16, 2023 

Description of Afternoon Program 

Land and Water Blessing Ceremony at Friends Lake Cooperative Community 
Offered by Anishinaabe Nation Elders 
Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 2 pm 

Toward Right Relationship to the Community of All Beings 

On Saturday afternoon, September 16, we will welcome representatives of the Indigenous People of this area, to acknowledge that the land that the community and the Center occupy is ancient homeland of the Anishinaabe Nation and pledge a renewal of our commitment to stewardship of this place.  An Indigenous elder will lead a blessing of the land and water, reaffirming the spiritual foundation of this work. 

We invite everyone to join in the ceremony and discussion.  We meet at Michigan Friends Center at 2:00 pm for Land Acknowledgements and Pledges of Stewardship with discussion of the land’s history, damage, and healing, and then proceed to the lakeside for the Blessing and Renewal. 

Hosted by Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting (Michigan Quakers), Friends Lake Cooperative Community, Michigan Friends Center