Thursday April 16, 2015 Mollie Brant, 1796

"The Three Faces of Molly Brant" (Iroquois, European, Loyalist):
1986 design used by Canada Post in a commemorative postage stamp.  

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.  Psalm 34:14

Molly Brant was a remarkable woman living in remarkable times.  She was a Mohawk leader born, in 1736, in what is now central New York State.  Her Mohawk name was Konwatsijayenni, “Someone Lends Her a Flower”.  (The Mohawks are one of the nations that make up the Iroquois).

Molly's outstanding leadership skills and gifts were evident early in her life and throughout her life she served as a bridge builder between the Mohawk nation and the British Crown and between Mohawk culture and spirituality and the Anglican Church.  During the American Revolution, Molly was a skilled negotiator and peacemaker who built consensus and contributed to a peaceful relationship between the Iroquois and the British as she sought to preserve what remained of Mohawk land.

She married, according to Mohawk rites so the marriage was not recognized in British law, Sir William Johnson, the British agent for Indian affairs and together they had nine children.  After Sir William's death in 1774 the white community continued to treat her with great respect and value her "wisdom in the ways of two cultures" (1)

During the American Revolution, Molly Brant remained loyal to the British Crown and convinced her people to do the same.  Like other Loyalists, she and her people paid a great price for their choice, and were exiled.  This could have embittered Molly but she settled in Ontario where she was a founding member of the town of Kingston and St. George's which was its first Anglican parish.

As we consider Molly's story, let us pray for the many women and men and children who seek peace and pursue it especially as they act as bridge-builders between cultures, nations, religions and a host of other attributes that can divide us.

Let us also pray for all those who been exiled or become refugees because of being on the losing side of wars.

And finally, let us pray for ourselves that we may "depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it".

Lord our God, you endued your servant Mollie Brant with the gifts of justice and loyalty, and made her a wise and prudent mother in the household of the Mohawk nation. May we ever give thanks to you, our Maker, and nurture one another in the knowledge of your power; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. (2)

(1) and (2) For All the Saints:  Prayers and Readings for Saints' Days, Anglican Church of Canada, 2007

Marilyn Malton