A ‘Thanks-taking’ service and Native-led ministries remind Montana church of the ongoing ‘deep’ need for reparations

Thanksgiving week is here, a time when congregations count their many blessings, naming them one by one, as the old hymn goes.

For one United Church of Christ congregation, though, there is no counting blessings — at least not in the traditional sense. Rather, members at Billings First Congregational Church remember what was taken from its Indigenous siblings in a service called, “Thanks-taking.”

“It is a time where we denounce traditional Thanksgiving,” explained the Rev. Lisa Harmon.

The service, created before Harmon arrived as senior pastor in Billings, Montana, continues to be a powerful hour of worship for the community, centering “Native voices throughout,” she said.

From prelude to postlude, readings from the First Nations Version: An Indigenous Bible Translation of the New Testament, and hymns such as Wakantanka Taku Nitawa (Many and Great, O God, Are Your Works), are woven beautifully like a Native tapestry, highlighting patterns of past and current injustices while revealing hopeful strands of healing and wholeness. Indigenous community members also deliver the sermon.

“We have to remember the context we are in here in Billings, and we have to remember we need to repent,” said Harmon.

The ministries of repentance and reparations

The need to repent is not a one-and-done November reminder for Billings First Congregational. Throughout the year, the call to repent and for reparations are lifted weekly in ways such as a time for land acknowledgement in the Sunday order of worship. It is just one way, said Harmon, of continuing to ground the congregation of its mission of walking alongside its Indigenous neighbors — which are many.

The Crow Reservation, the largest in Montana, is located 10 miles southeast of the city of Billings. Also neighboring the city is the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, which is significant part of Montana’s tribal land ownings. With these communities comes generations of hurt and distrust, that is still real and raw, said Harmon.

 “There is still deep work to do around reparations,” she added.

Much of that deep work is being done on the Billings First Congregation campus, which has provided a home for various Native-led ministries.

“We are repurposing our building in many wonderful, missional ways,” said Harmon.

Among the Native-led ministries is White Eagle Talking Circle for those fighting the demons of addiction. It was founded by Josiah Hugs of the Crow Nation. Hugs is also the content creator and co-host of Unspoken Words, a Native Podcast which airs weekly from a studio housed within Billings First Congregational.

And then there is Stewart Strever who leads Billings Elite Amateur Boxing, also housed in the church. It is there Strever, and other coaches work with youth on formation and athleticism. The boxing program also brings stability and a sense of belonging to the area youth, said Harmon, adding that several silver glove national champs have emerged from the program.

A mural of resilience

A sense of belonging is important for today’s youth, many of whom are feeling like unmoored boats in a sea of questions and confusion. Belonging is also a critical factor in a youth’s mental well-being, a ministry Billings First Congregational embraces.

As a WISE (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, Engaged) congregation, mental health is a top priority and Harmon is aware of the sobering statistics when it comes to Indigenous teens and suicide. Studies show that Indigenous people in Montana have the highest suicide rate of any racial group, and the suicide rate among Montana’s Native American youth is more than five times the statewide rate for the same age group.

Three years ago, to raise awareness of the need to talk more openly about mental well-being and to promote the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, Billings First Congregational approached its neighbor, a local Midas shop, asking to use its outside wall that borders the church’s courtyard. The wall, said Harmon, would be a blank canvas for area youth to create a mural of hope and healing. Midas said “yes.”

The symbol of a buffalo was chosen to anchor the mural’s message of resilence. “The image itself is a sign of strength and unity in Indigenous culture,” said Harmon.

Members of Billings First Congregational prepped the wall by cleaning it. Then they projected the image onto it so that youth could paint the image to life.

“It was an incredible activity to engage the youth. The mural, still to this day is getting a lot of attention, as many cars drive by the courtyard wall,” said Harmon. The mural was made possible through a partnership with the Native American Development Corporation, a nonprofit helping Native American communities to thrive.

While the Native-led ministries supported by Billings First Congregational Church are helping many in the community, even the leaders of these programs themselves are finding healing and hope.

Finding a place of belonging

Lita Pepion, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, admits that she was “very anti-church” before being introduced to Billings First Congregational.

“You couldn’t get me in a church. I was also in recovery and a little ornery at times — but something about Billings First changed that anger in me to love. I credit the support I felt each time I walked in the door. I never experienced that before — anywhere,” she said, adding that even after setting off the church fire alarms a few times from the sage she was burning, everyone was supportive.

Pepion has led retreats and participated in many church programs before founding Warrior Women for Justice (WW4J), an organization housed in the church that educates and advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous people. In 2023, Indigenous people accounted for 30.6% if missing persons in the state. Other studies report that while Native Americans make up about 6.7% of Montana’s population, they account for 26% of missing person reports.

According to Harmon, in the recent past, bulletins and alerts of missing and murdered Indigenous people didn’t go out as often or as quickly as they should have, but they are now.

“The work Lita is doing is activating the public, getting the message out that if they see something, say something,” said Harmon.

Pepion is grateful for the support of the Billings congregation from stepping up to become a fiscal sponsor when she was seeking a grant for Warrior Woman to showing up to feed the hundreds of people attending a missing and murdered people vigil at the Yellowstone County Courthouse across the street from the church. The church also helps with back office needs.

“The church secretary has become our official poster maker, and her tech skills have helped us with event set up, recording and sound systems,” said Pepion. “They are the most loving solutions people I have ever met.”

“Love” is a word that Pepion rarely uttered before but now finds herself using a lot ever since Billings First Congregational came into her life.

“I live in a city that Indigenous people avoided because of how we were treated. I never wanted to live here but moved here for love (reunited with ex-husband). And, while that didn’t last, I found lasting love at Billings First Congregational — a place where I and so many others feel seen, heard, loved and supported,” she said.

There is a Lakota phrase the captures best what Pepion has found, one that has been used in previous Thankstaking services at Billings First Congregational. It’s “Mitakuye oyasin,” which is the powerful reminder that “we are all related.”

“Trauma is still fresh in this community. There is a lot of hardship and a lot of heartache to address, yet we are all in this together,” said Harmon.

Now that’s a blessing to not only count, but to count on.

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