FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH PALO ALTO, UCC
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  • Home
  • Worship
    • What to Expect
    • Choirs
  • Connect
    • Children's Ministries >
      • Vacation Bible School
    • Youth Ministries
    • Confirmation
    • Concert Series
    • Friends of Music
    • Women/Non-Binary Retreat 2025
    • Men's Retreat 2025
    • Tuesday Fellowship
    • Pick-a-Party
  • About
    • Courtyard Project
    • FCCPA Features
    • Denomination
    • History & Governance
    • Our Newsletter
    • Calendar of Events
    • Staff
  • Serve
    • Outreach Ministries
    • Community Grants Committee
    • Hotel de Zink
    • ​Ecumenical & Interfaith Partners
    • Shop Fair Trade
    • Bay Area Native Allies Project (BANAP) >
      • The History of Thanksgiving
      • Land Acknowledgements
      • Education Resources
      • Activities & Events
      • History Resources
      • Current News & Events
      • Allies Taking Action
      • Environment
    • Mental Health Allies (MHA) >
      • Education
      • Local Resources
      • Books
      • National Observances
  • Watch/Listen
    • Worship Services
    • Messages
    • Past Events
  • Give
    • Stewardship >
      • A message from our Moderator
      • 2025-26 Asking Budget
      • Income and Expense Trends
      • Progress Toward our Goals
      • Estimated Giving Form
      • Carrying Through
      • Committee Members
      • Update Contact Information
    • Ways to Give
    • Legacy Giving
    • Members
  • Rentals
    • Weddings >
      • Tours & Booking
      • Facility Info & Rental Fees
      • Planning Your Wedding
      • Wedding Photo Gallery
    • Concerts and Other Rentals >
      • Tours & Bookings
      • Event Gallery
    • Weddings, Concerts & Events FAQ's
    • Contact Us

Ohlone Justice Project

The Ramaytush Ohlone Peoples ​
The first to make the Peninsula their ancestral home 

What a Land Acknowledgement Is and Is Not

Indigenous peoples’ guidance is that a land acknowledgement is to be offered by non-Indigenous people for non-Indigenous people.

●It is a statement of recognized truth, of reality.

●It is to be placed at the top of a page or spoken at the start of a meeting. 

●It is to be offered without expectations of absolution or credit.

●Specifically, in the case of FCCPA, Indigenous guidance is to: 

    ○purposefully recognize the original inhabitants of—the generations of lives lived on—the land where our church now sits, and
    
    ○share relevant intentions of the non-Indigenous people of faith within our church community in support of the land and                 its Indigenous peoples going forward . 

●A land acknowledgement is not an apology or statement of guilt. 

●It is not a request for forgiveness.
  
​ The congregation will vote on whether to approve the Land Acknowledgement versions at our next Congregational Meeting, 05 June 2022.

Proposed 

​ Full Version FCCPA
Land Acknowledgement

​ “As a community dedicated in covenant to welcome and include all, we respectfully acknowledge the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples, original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula where we, in faith, now gratefully gather and worship.
We lament the centuries of injustices committed against and endured by Indigenous peoples and recognize that injustices continue in the present.

​We invite all peoples to come together in full relationship with one another as we learn and adapt in our efforts to care for this land. We seek a deeper understanding of our relationship to the land and with the Ohlone peoples, one that promotes healing and justice within our faith community and the world beyond.”
​ “We respectfully acknowledge the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples, original inhabitants of the land where we, in faith, now gratefully gather and worship. <Learn More >”

Proposed 

Very Brief FCCPA
Land Acknowledgement

​ Two Versions’ Proposed Uses “...With Gladsome Minds”

Version
Version Type 
Suggestions for Use 
1
Brief Version
​ “This week at FCCPA” eNews weekly email
2
Brief Version
Electronic version of the Worship Bulletin (OOW) with a link to TBD OJP page with Full Version
Providing pastoral flexibility in using Brief or Full Version for printed (paper) Bulletin (OOW)
3
Brief Version
​ On Home Page www.fccpa.org with a link to TBD OJP page with Full Version
4
Brief Version
​ At top of Committee/Board Meeting Agendas with a link to TBD OJP page
Full Version may be read aloud by host or in unison at beginning of meeting
5
Full Version
​ For occasional use in Worship Services, determined by Dave and Eileen, to be read in unison
6
Full Version
​ In opening Forum meetings after worship, and board and council meetings, to be read aloud by host
7
Full Version
On OJP Webpage of www.fccpa.org (content underway with intent to refresh content frequently)
8
​Full Version
​Electronic Bulletin Board as part of content rotation
9
​Full Version
​ Pollinator Garden, a separate sign for Land Acknowledgement


​FCCPA.ORG
​

1985 Louis Road Palo Alto, CA 94303
​650-856-6662
We gather as a church, welcoming people of all abilities, backgrounds, ethnicities, and those who are LGBTQ+, to become more aware of the love of God in our lives and to make real that love in the world through worshiping, serving humanity, and seeking to follow in the ways of Jesus.  

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