Greensburg nuns invoke Native American prayer to renew peace garden

A peaceful spot at Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill’s Greensburg property was taken back to its Indigenous roots Saturday.

The steady drumbeats and vocal calls transported dozens of sisters to the country’s Native American heritage.

It was a way to recognize the land’s first inhabitants and, for Sister Edie Strong, to encourage her peers to “rededicate our hearts to peace.”

Sisters were joined by three descendants of Native Americans in a drum circle to rededicate a peace garden that was established near the Caritas Christi motherhouse in 2013. Landscaping in the circular spot was renewed over the past week, Sister Mary Norbert Long said.

Since 2013, “it has grown and provided a much-needed peace reminder for all of us,” she said.

Brick pavers are surrounded by shrubs and flowers amid the campus next to a weeping cypress tree that was planted in 1991. Peace has been on the mind of all of the sisters as the war in Ukraine rages on, Long said. Strong added the world beyond Ukraine needs peace from famine, food shortages, political polarization and the climate crisis.

The sisters joined in with vocalizations while Kathy “Walks Not Alone” Johnston of Ligo­nier Township and Barbara “Lady Hawk” Krunszyinsky of Greensburg led the drumming. The pair are part of Drums of Native Sisters, a group of women with blood lines from the Crow, Seneca and Cherokee nations.

A Mt. Pleasant Township man with ties to the Lakota Nation who identified himself as “Running Bear” performed a ceremonial sage burning and, with the help of Krunszyinsky, walked around the weeping cypress tree, smudging the air with smoke.

Some sisters jumped at the chance to try out the drum after the ceremony, which was filled with song and readings.