A fire has been kindled

Fire has always been one of humankind's most powerful metaphors. Over thousands of years fire has provided people with the comforts of heat, cooking, and protection. It also has posed danger and harm in its ability to destroy what people have built, and even burn down the forests in which many people of the Pacific Northwest live. Third, it serves as a symbol of cleansing by fire--helping to clear away underbrush so that the great ponderosa pines and Douglas firs can thrive. Fourth, it is a spiritual symbol which incorporates all three of these other meanings. Let me illustrate.

I understand that our Creator made all people from one person, Adam. Every culture's "fire", or ways of living, grew from the Flame of their first Father... made in God's image, noble and blessed (Genesis 1:26-28). To be human is good. Every tribe, every ethnic "race" is distantly related and bound together, like the many feathers of a raven's wing. We have a common ancestry. We have much to be thankful for, and can learn to value each other's cultural differences as well as similarities.

Next time I will write about the second symbolism of Fire in native and non-native cultures, that of destruction. I will continue after that to describe the third Fire as it relates to forgiveness and cultural transformation and revival.

Brian

Spiritual Warfare on the Arrival of the Gospel

About a year ago, I discovered "new" information in Father Nicholas Point's illustrated journal, Wilderness Kingdom. He describes starting the first Jesuit mission among the Coeur D'Alene tribe in November 1842, exactly 170 years ago. He tells in the attached pages of how "about a dozen years" before the Jesuit mission a Spokane by the name of "Gueri" had come from the Red River mission and shared the Bible and Protestant teachings he had received while there. What is new is Father Point's careful record of an old CD'A elder's testimony about the coming of Garry, the resistance of Chief Stellam, the spiritual warfare that followed and plague, the vision of the elder from heaven to believe in Christ alone, and cast away all idols. Amazing. I am thankful for Father Point's work in noting the man's testimony, despite the Jesuit additions to the gospel that did not build on Garry's foundation. However, this does show us that at least for several years there was a profound effect on the Spokanes and even the Coeur D'Alenes as a fruit of Garry's preaching. This little-documented period of time from 1630-1642 has been at least filled in to some extent now. I will attach a link soon for the PDF file of these scanned pages. Brian

Putting the face with the name

While I do not plan to blog much about our recent exciting discovery of the original document with Spokane Garry's native name in it, I did want to post two links here for reference:

Barry's description of our research:
http://www.sulustu.blogspot.com/2013/06/slough-keetcha.html

Here's the newspaper article recently published about it:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/sep/01/in-the-name-of-history/

Personally, I have felt very happy to server as a link-maker between Doug's original discovery & Slough-keetcha's homecoming to the Spokane nation through Barry Moses' scholarship and articulate voice.

My ultimate desire is that I would be a living bridge of the love of God and the truth of the gospel to Native Americans, through assisting in credible research that points to the once and future awakening power of God's kingdom in the native community, and raises awareness of people like Slough-keetcha who believed in Christ within their native culture, letting the Spirit transform them into a follower of the Jesus Way, beyond nationalism or ethnocentricity.

Worshipping together

Today a friend and I visited a church service of the West End Assembly of God in the longhouse of the Spokane Indian Reservation. It was a joy to worship Jesus Christ together with native and non-native believers.
Below:
1. talking with Roy Graham (on the left), Franklin Graham's son (Samaritan's Purse was giving boxes as a giveaway to Rez families)

2. The praise team included Chief Reynard Faber of the Jicarilla Apache who gave a wonderful talk and testimony. Also Jan Brisbois, a descendant of Spokane Garry. A remnant of Garry's faith strongly remains in his family and tribe!

3. We sang songs on the overhead with Pastor Mike on his trusty laptop. To sing unashamedly to Jesus surrounded by native artwork was a real blessing.

A holy place

I went in search of a place, an image left behind.  A carving of a man who carved his name on my heart: Garry.  I found his unnamed statue in Shoreline, Washington, miles away from the ocean.  A cedar tree had stood there, and died.  Someone had carved, out of this trunk, a likeness to this man who opened my eyes to new dreams.  Now his wooden eyes stare across a clearing, waiting.  He holds a book in his left hand.  His right hand is held upward.

Across the clearing and beyond a line of trees I found a statue of a raven.  The rain was lightly falling.  The water collected like tears under the raven's eyes.  His mouth was open, calling.

I want to pray for God to do a miracle in this decade and this century.  Like the raven, I cry out... in prayer for friendship between Native Americans and non-Natives, and for Garry's vision of a book that tells how people are reconciled with their Maker, and He reconciles them to each other through the way of Jesus.

This is a good prayer.