A Call to do better

Members of the 17th Assembly were challenged to recommit to the work of reconciliation and justice on Friday night in a celebration of 30 years of covenant relationship as First and Second Peoples. 

In a program curated by the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC), the celebration featured cultural dance, song, story, prayer and a powerful challenge to do better in our commitments to be in true relationship with the First Peoples of this land. 

Ngarrindjeri man Sean Weetra from UAICC Congress offered a stirring call and challenge to the Assembly and the wider Church to ensure the covenant is more than just words, but a living breathing, commitment to equity and partnership.

“The Covenant relationship is more than a piece of silverware that is polished and displayed on special occasions to make the Church look good, only to be put back in the cabinet until the next event. This is not the foundation of a strong, sincere relationship. The silverware metaphor underscores how our covenant is often treated, admired for appearance but lacking everyday utility and presence.”

“Today I stand here to assert that the Uniting Church can and must do better. Our people deserve more than ceremony or gestures. We deserve reparations, recognition and real support. This means being open, honest and transparent about the church’s role and responsibilities in supporting Aboriginal ministries.”

“We need to move beyond symbolic acts to substantive change. The resources to support our ministries exist within the church yet our people continue to be on the margins. This is not acceptable and is not reflective of the values we profess as a church community.”

“The Church has built and maintained its wealth on stolen lands at the expense of our people and we have been displaced off our traditional lands. Our people have suffered due to colonisation and its impact on our country has been devastating.”

“The Covenant relationship, if truly honoured, can be a beacon of hope and a model of reconciliation for the wider Australian community but it requires more than words, it demands actions that reflects the spirit of a covenant every day, not just on special occasions.”

UAICC National Chair Rev Mark Kickett introduced the program, holding up the original Covenant Statement signed in 1994 at the 7th Assembly meeting as well as the renewed Covenant Statement signed by members at the last Assembly meeting in 2022. He called the Assembly members to a moment of silence, reflecting on the history of Congress and deep and enduing call of the Covenant. 

Wiradjuri man and artist Uncle Tom Sloane from Wellington in the Synod of NSW/ACT offered a gift to President Rev Charissa Suli as a symbol of Covenant made from the boori (wattle) tree.

Uncle Tom said gift represented the importance of truth and honesty when we sit around the table together. 

“We talk straight, not crooked or around the bend, we’ll be honest at that table. We’ll always get somewhere if we’re fair dinkum, if we are honest.”

The President responded, thanking Congress for the sacred gift as reminder for the whole Church of the importance of the Covenant. 

“Members of Assembly, we have heard the stories and the call and invitation. Do we not feel that even though we hear them talk about being marginalised, even though we hear about how the equity is not there and limited resources. Our congress is still here. And that is what you call grace. The grace they have discovered in Jesus Christ and that came way before colonisers arrived in this country. I am moved and I am challenged, that you are also speaking truth to me as I represent that national Assembly, that we must do better”

“I receive this with a humble heart.”

A Call to Action Statement was read out by several UAICC members present, outlining the steps and commitments needed to move the covenant forward. 

The Statement calls for acknowledgment of shortcomings, confronting justice, concrete actions for reconciliation, sharing stories and perspectives, sacred trust and future accountability. 

“Reconciliation requires more than symbolic gestures; it needs concrete steps, accountability, and genuine partnership,” the statement reads. 

It names the Covenant as a “Beacon of Hope”.

“Our journey aims to guide the Uniting Church towards a future where the covenant is a lived-in reality, fostering justice, equality, and unity for all.”

Assembly members were led into the meeting space by the Buuja Buuja-butterfly dance group who shared their traditional cultural dance, leaving the space to standing applause.  

Marking the Covenant Anniversary in middle of NAIDOC Week, members were urged to take up the 2024 NAIDOC Week theme, “Keep the fire burning, Blak, Loud and Proud.”

Palawa woman Alison Overeem from UAICC Tasmania read a reflection inspired by the Anniversary and the NAIDOC theme. In part it read,  

“waranta (we) see the flicker in every flame from our warriors, past, present and future.
Our ancestors’ stories sit with each flame,
waranta (we) are a UAICC takarilya (family)
tapalti (go) to the patrula (fire) and reignite the Covenant,

in every day, in every way as we work, live and pray.”

UAICC SA Vice-Chairperson Jordan Sumner, also a Ngarrindjeri man, sang Amazing Grace, paying tribute to the leaders and trailblazers from Congress that have come before. 

Video messages were played from Congress and UCA leaders about what Covenant means. 

Melissa Yimayima from Milingimbi and the Northern Regional Council of Congress shared her  story through song and dance. 

A final prayer was shared by Rev Djawanydjawany Gondarra. The evening finished with joyful song and praise shared by Congress members.