Sunday, April 7, 2019, we officially broke ground for The Gathering Place. Friends and neighbors circled round the site to celebrate!  The Community Reading captured the essence of this project, a building designed to meet the needs of the community both now and for many years to come.  May it be so.

Leader: We have gathered from the East and from the West, from the North and from the South. We are a diverse people, yet one island community. We gather this day to break ground and to give our blessings for a building that will serve the island for years to come.

North: We honor the ancestors of this place.
We give thanks to the island settlers who came before us and formed a community here. Those hard-working ones who farmed and fished, who built a church, a school, a store and a community.
We give thanks to the Lummi people who for generations walked this land and fished these waters. We honor the ones who cared for and protected this land since early times. They continue to teach us of the importance of place and of nature.
We honor the ancestors of this place.

East: We give thanks for the natural gifts of this place.
For the earth and soil that will bear the foundation of The Gathering Place;
for the sweet air that breathes life to all that grows here;
for the fire that warms our bodies and our spirits;
for the water, the great water that gifts us with beauty and life.
We give thanks for the natural gifts of this place.

South: We welcome the people of the future.
For those who will walk through the doors of The Gathering Place long after we are gone, we offer you a warm welcome. Young and old, rich and poor, just a visitor or lifelong islander, you will be welcome here. We entrust you to care for this place in your time as we will in ours, it is our legacy to you. We will never know you, but we hope you will grow to know one another better in this very space.
We welcome the people of the future.

West: We celebrate those who are here now.
Hundreds of us have donated to build The Gathering Place.
Dozens of us have worked hard to dream, design, and plan this space.
Church members, community members, and even some who do not live here, have joined in this effort. We celebrate all who support The Gathering Place. We are excited to soon gather here for a wide variety of purposes, including celebrations!
We celebrate those who are here now.

Leader: We honor the ancestors of this place. We give thanks for the natural gifts of this place. We welcome the people of the future. We celebrate those who are here now. Let us break ground for The Gathering Place, a space for all people.