This Sunday at Cedar Park United: Every Child Matters

Please wear an orange shirt to worship...

This Sunday, September 27 at 10 AM., Cedar Park United will observe Orange Shirt Sunday, a time to remember the Indigenous children who were taken from their families and communities through the residential school system, to honour Survivors, and to renew our commitment to truth and reconciliation. Our worship will remind us that remembering must also lead us to listen, learn, and act.

Our Gospel reading is Matthew 21:23–32, Jesus’ parable of two children—one who says yes but does not act, and another who initially says no but changes direction and goes. The story invites us to consider the distance that can sometimes exist between our words and our actions and asks what it means for our commitment to reconciliation to become visible in the way we live. Michael’s reflection, “When Yes Means Yes,” will include his personal experience of living in Kamloops, across the river from the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, and the impact of the 2021 announcement concerning 215 potential burial sites.

We are delighted to welcome Leo Purich as our musician for this service. Music will play an especially important role in our worship, including Hymn to Freedom by Oscar Peterson, choir music, and two piano meditations by Anishinaabe composer Beverley McKiver: Blue Flag Iris (Quebec) and Pacific Dogwood (British Columbia). These two beautiful pieces create a musical journey between Michael’s new home in Quebec and his former home in British Columbia, while inviting us to reflect on land, memory, relationship, and story.

Please join us Sunday at 10 AM as we remember, listen, worship, and affirm together: Every Child Matters.