09/30/2026
A Prayer of Commitment
Creator God
Before our institutions were built, before our churches were planted, before the events recorded here, you were present in this land and with its peoples.
We give you thanks for Mi’kma’ki; for its air and sea and sky. We thank you for the creatures and plants who teach us, and for its people whom we honour. We thank you for those who have dwelt here across generations, and for the knowledge, traditions, and wisdom they have carried. We give thanks for Indigenous neighbours, elders, theologians, and friends who have shared their lives, faith, and wisdom with us.
God of truth, give us courage to remember truthfully. We give thanks for friendship, courage, and genuine fellowship, but we also confess the ways Christians have confused the gospel with our own culture, assumed our ways were superior, failed to listen, and participated in or remained silent before systems that caused harm.
Teach us to lament lives taken, families separated, promises broken, cultures diminished, and relationships distorted. Remind us that this timeline is not the whole story. Give us humility to hear what we have not heard, see what we have not seen, and receive correction that we may walk in a better way.
Turn our right remembering toward responsibility. Give us courage to hear difficult truths, patience for relationships that cannot be hurried, and wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen. As a community engaged in theological education, help us form leaders who seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. Help us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, in whom you reconcile all things.
By your Spirit, guide the story we now help to write. Teach us to walk together as good neighbours and treaty people, for the sake of generations to come.
Msit No’kmaq. Amen.
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This prayer of commitment, offered by ADC President Dr. Anna Robbins, can be found as part of an interactive, narrative timeline that sketches a partial outline of the history of this land, intertwining the stories of the Mi’kmaq and other Indigenous peoples, European colonization, and the Baptists of Atlantic Canada.
This is designed to be a living timeline. As we continue to walk forward together, learning more from our history and from experience in the present, we will continue to add to the stories gathered there. How have you or your congregation been engaging with the Indigenous communities around you? How have you been learning and working toward truth and reconciliation? At the end of the timeline, you will find an invitation to share your experiences with us too, so we can add them to our collective story and together continue learning what it means to walk in a good and faithful way, reflecting our Creator’s heart for transformative love and justice.
This timeline traces the history of Mi’kmaq and other Indigenous peoples, European colonization, and Baptist presence in Atlantic Canada.
