7 sacred teachings & cafe with elder Dr Lorraine whitman

On Friday, February 2,  a number of St. John’s parishioners attended a Pop-Up Coffee Cafe held by Elder Dr. Lorraine Whitman and Just Us Coffee. Elder Lorraine spoke about the seven sacred teaching that guide her life and that were taught to her by family and other Elders.

These teachings are: Respect, Courage, Honesty, Humility, Truth, Wisdom and Love. Using events from her personal experiences as well as stories that spoke about the history and legends from the Mi’kmaq people, she explained these teachings and how they inform her actions.

We began our time together with "dry" smudging. Dried Sage was rubbed between our fingers and Elder Lorraine directed us in the actions of smudging, encouraging us to see, hear, speak, and walk with respect and awareness of others.

During the teaching, Elder Lorraine told us about the animal spirits connected with the teachings. Themes of Respect and Positivity ran throughout the session. Elder Lorraine talked about her belief in prayer. She said she prays all the time and the simplest prayer is one of ‘Thank You.’

This was a gift generously given by Elder Lorraine for us to learn the ancient wisdom of Mi’kmaq nation.

The Calls to Action for Reconciliation includes supporting reclamation of identity, building relationships, respect for beliefs, respect for culture and learning. Today’s event allowed us to engage.
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We thank Elder Lorraine for her lessons, her stories and her sense of humour.

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