Before the earth beneath our feet was called Rolling Ridge,
before there was the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
before there was a North Andover, Andover, and Lake Cochichewick,
generations of Pennacook people,
an Algonquian-speaking tribe of the Wabanaki Confederacy
belonged to this land and considered it their home.

Today, we give thanks for their care and stewardship of this land.
We acknowledge that our forebears prospered due to the appropriation of land inhabited by people who were indigenous to this area.
We honor and respect the diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to this land, represented today by the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook Abenaki People.
For us and for them, we promise to retell our history honestly
and to work toward a community made whole.

And so, to all who gather here today - WELCOME
May the beauty of the land, the legacy of the Pennacook Abenaki People
and the Trinitarian love of God
encircle and enfold everyone
no matter your gender, your race, your background, your faith
for we are a community
that embraces everyone on the journey
as we enter through divine grace
into the fullness of who we are
created in the image of God
connected through the cosmic Christ
commissioned by the Spirit to love
To all who gather here – WELCOME

The Rolling Ridge Land Acknowledgement was first publicly proclaimed on Saturday, September 24, 2022.