The trees remember
and tell the story
of cries and terror,
of brokenness and blood.
Of children murdered
and mothers weeping.
Of grandmothers and babies
lying dead on the sandy ground.
The trees,
watered by blood and tears,
stand witness
to evil, unleashed,
hatred, unchecked.
The wind carries the cries
to those who will hear.
Stand by us.
Weep with us.
We are your brothers and sisters,
your grandmothers and grandfathers,
your sons and daughters.
Listen,
and do not turn away.
Take courage from the trees.
Stand witness
and tell the story.
Yesterday I took a pilgrimage with our Rocky Mountain Annual Conference to the site of the Sand Creek Massacre. On November 29, 1864, 675 United States calvarymen attacked a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapahoe village who were camped under the protection of the United States government. Over the next 8 hours, the mostly women, children, and elderly men were run down and slaughtered. The troops were led by a Methodist presiding elder.
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