Heritage Prayer

We were at Cumberland Historic Village this week near Ottawa - in this Knox United Church (formerly located in Vars, Ontario) we saw this prayer in the vestibule - it was adapted from a prayer in the old Covenanters' Church - 1804, Grand Pre, Nova Scotia.

"Heritage Prayer"

Father God;

We keep forgetting all of those who lived before us.
We keep forgetting those who lived and worked in our communities.
We keep forgetting those who prayed and sang hymns in our churches before we were born.
We keep forgetting what our fathers have done for us.
We commit the sin, Lord, of assuming that everything begins with us.

We drink from wells we did not find.
We eat food from farmland we did not develop.
We enjoy freedoms which we have not earned.
We worship in churches which we did not build.
We live in communities we did not establish.
This day, make us grateful for our heritage.

Amen