Being Present As Medicine: Share the Plate

Nov 1, 2024 | Beacon, Justice, News, Racial

On November 17, our Lummi partner, Phreddie Xwenang Lane (Sul ka dub), will share his experiences bringing people together for healing, hope, honor, joy, and hospitality. Our Share the Plate for the month of November will be offered to Friends of the San Juans, fiscal sponsors in support of Phreddie’s efforts.

In the spirit of Indigenous traditions, we invite you to a potluck after the service, where we will share food and conversation. The Indigenous Connections Team will provide a vegan stew and a veggie chili. Please feel free to bring whatever side dish you would like to share. Contact Lynn Roesch with questions [email protected]

Phreddie has been to East Shore many times on totem pole journeys and as a speaker. East Shore members have supported his and other Lummi efforts at Lummi Nation, helping in the kitchen at Wex’liem House, witnessing ceremonies, and providing canoe journeys with transportation support, equipment, lodging, and ground support. Phreddie is currently organizing the fifth annual Gathering of the Eagles (GOTE), a weeklong tribal canoe journey through the San Juan Islands. Everyone is welcome during all or part of this journey, following the ancestral waterways of the Lummi people. GOTE includes potlatch-style gatherings where people share food, songs, and stories at each island landing.

“Bringing our communities together and sharing cultural heritage strengthens relationships with Indigenous communities and is an intentional commitment to foster respect between communities that call the Salish Sea home. We recognized the shared responsibility to protect the natural world and that we can achieve great things together.” – Friends of the San Juans

We look forward to seeing you at the November 17 service and the potluck immediately after. Please consider a donation in support of GOTE 2025.

by Carrie Bowman, Indigenous Connections