On May 4, members of Cropwell and Medford Meetings gathered with around 40 other participants to conduct a ground blessing ceremony with elders of the Lenni Lenape at nearby Black Run Preserve. Many of the Quakers there were extended members of the Evans and Wills families, among the earliest English settlers in Evesham Township (home of Cropwell Meeting).
Ty Gould-Jacinto of the Nanticoke Lenape Nation invited people into the circle, burning herbs and welcoming elders of each constituency. Quaker family elders included Larry Klotz, Connie Evans, Sue Evans Ashton, and Alice Andrews.
In addition to being a member of Cropwell, Connie Evans is also vice president of the Evesham Historical Society. Remarkably the original deed of purchase between Thomas Evans and Lenape leader King Himolin still survives. She told a more-modern story of Quakerly responsibility for the common good, the choice of her father to have the family land go to the township for public purposes (both the Marlton Middle and Cherokee High Schools are situated on this land).
A high point of the ceremony was the return of the trove of Lenape artifacts that have been found by members of the Evans and Wills families over the past 300 years. These included arrowheads and axe heads. These will become part of the collection of the Cohanzick Nature Reserve in Bridgeton, N.J., a center of Nanticoke Lenape culture in Cumberland County, N.J.
Black Run Preserve is a remarkable 1,300-acre wooded landscape saved by Evesham Township from developers in the early 2000s. The site of old Quaker-run cranberry bogs and an abandoned airfield, it is a maze of wooded trails and beaver ponds just minutes from busy shopping corridors and housing developments. The Friends of Black Run Preserve were hosts of the land blessing; their founder and chairperson John Volpa MC’ed the event.
There were a remarkable number of constituencies represented int the ceremony. In addition to the Lenni Lenape and Quakers, participants included former members of the Evesham Township Human Rights Advisory Council as well as the district superintendent and students of the local high school.
At the end, Ty Gould-Jacinto led participants in a social round dance (fortunately it was a two-step and even Friends managed it well). The event was truly a blessing for all of these people of different backgrounds to come together to dance for peace and reconciliation.