New Year's Eve Annual Pipe Ceremony
Dear Community,
We invite you to bring in the new year, as well as honor the one that has passed by joining us for a ceremony with the Sacred Pipe. Please arrive at 6:00pm, as our opening circle will begin at 7:00pm.
Although there are hundreds of indigenous nations with their own culture and traditions, prayer with tobacco is shared by many. The indigenous pipe ceremony and Sacred Pipe are at the heart of many indigenous cultures, as they travel the road of balance.
About The Pipe Ceremony
The Indigenous Pipe Ceremony is a sacred ritual for connecting physical and spiritual worlds. The sacred prayer ceremony with the Sacred Pipe invokes a relationship with the energies of the universe, and ultimately the Creator. The bond made between earthly and spiritual realms is not to be broken.
Tobacco is used to connect the worlds, as that the plant’s roots go deep into the earth, and its smoke rises high into the heavens. The type of tobacco used depends on the culture and people. The tobacco could also be mixed with sweet smelling herbs, barks and roots such as bayberry, bearberry, mugwort, lovage, red willow inner bark, wild cherry bark and many others indigenous to a local area.
The Sacred Pipe represents our prayers in physical form. Smoke becomes our words; it goes out, touches everything, and becomes a part of all there is. The fire in the pipe is the same fire in the sun, which is the source of life.
The smoke coming from the mouth symbolizes the truth being spoken, and the plumes of smoke provide a path for prayers to reach the Creator.
There will be a Sacred Fire at the ceremony, and working with it, we will release those things we need to let go of.
Contribution, Potluck, and Registration
Contribution
There is no charge for the ceremony, but donations of any amount are welcomed. Church of Our Ancestors continues to exist and grow only through the support of our community and the blessings of the Creator. Thank you for your support and for joining us in our prayers!
Potluck Dinner
We will eat and celebrate together after the ceremony, so please bring a healthy dish to share with everyone. It is not a requirement, but if possible, please bring a dish that is vegan or gluten-free so that there's something for everyone to enjoy.
Registration
Space for this event is limited. We thank you for registering in advance, as it allows us to prepare for the correct amappropriately for the amount of people attending. To register for our New Year’s Eve Annual Pipe Ceremony, please fill out the form below:
Work Weekend
Dear Community,
We invite you to join us for a sweat lodge and community work weekend! Come pray with us in a good way. All are welcome. This is a sacred time for our community to come together and take care of all that has been given to us. You're welcome to join us for the whole weekend or just a small part of it. Thank you so much for your contributions.
Note: In case of inclement weather, we will hold our work weekend on April 13-14.
Saturday, April 6, 10:00am
We will be gathering at 10:00 am on Saturday for the community work day. Please be prepared to help with gardening, splitting and stacking wood, and general spring cleanup. We will provide lunch.
*** If you are traveling and need to stay overnight in order to join us for the weekend, we have an area of the property available for camping.
Sunday, April 7 9:00am (Contribution $20/person, potluck dish)
We will start preparing the sacred fire at 9:00 am. We ask that all who want to participate in the ceremony please join us at this time, since this is part of making the prayer. We’ll be lighting the fire and gathering for the opening prayer at 10:00 am, then dressing the lodge together after the fire is lit, and we will enter the lodge around 11:00 am.
We ask for you to bring a healthy dish to share for our potluck meal after the sweat lodge. If your dish can be either vegan or gluten-free (it's not a requirement), it will help ensure there is something for everyone.