Becoming an Anti-racist Church: Building Thriving Communities Through Truth Telling

The Assembly Standing Committee meeting in Sydney held in Sydney last weekend placed the Uniting Church’s commitment to becoming an anti racist church at the centre of its agenda.

Opening Sunday's proceedings, the ASC discussed taking forward the Church’s commitment to becoming an anti-racist church. Key speakers were Rev Michael Blair, General Secretary of the United Church of Canada, UAICC Co-Chairpersons, Rev Ken Sumner and Rev Will Pickett, Rev Cyrus Kung, and Tina Rendell-Thornton.

The reflections strengthened the gathering’s focus on truth telling, structural change and intercultural belonging.

Speakers challenged the Church to move beyond celebrating diversity and embrace the harder work of sharing power, listening deeply and reshaping culture.

Rev Blair offered a candid reflection on the United Church of Canada’s long journey. He said the Church began naming racism as sin in the 1960s and invested heavily in theological work, yet “it didn’t make any substantive difference to the life of the church.” He described how decades of statements, apologies and commitments that raised awareness but did not transform systems.

Effective change began when the Church shifted from theory to structure, Rev Blair said. In 2006 it committed to becoming an intercultural church, prompting an honest examination of how racialised communities experienced exclusion.

Uncle Ken and Uncle Will grounded the conversation in discipleship, justice and covenant. Uncle Ken reminded participants that anti racism is not simply a social issue but a matter of discipleship, relationship and covenant.

“It is also embedded in policies, decision making assumptions, and how churches can, unintentionally, reproduce these systems, while believing they are acting with goodwill,” he said.

“I think one of the greatest gifts Aboriginal people offer is deep listening.”

“Before the church develops anti-racism strategies, it must first learn to listen deeply. To the lived experience of the aboriginal incorporated on the people.”

He said truth telling leads to healing and transformation, not guilt, and challenged the Church to practise deep listening because “listening means being prepared to be changed.”

Uncle Will reinforced those themes through stories from his ministry. He described racism as having both visible and hidden facets and urged the Church to examine assumptions, policies and practices that exclude First Nations people. He reminded participants that loving one’s neighbour is a commandment.

Tina Rendell-Thornton, Intercultural Resources Consultant for the NSW/ACT Synod, reinforced the need for intentionality. She said churches often celebrate multiculturalism through festivals while avoiding deeper questions of belonging and leadership. She argued that becoming an anti racist church requires prioritising intercultural engagement, facing uncomfortable realities and committing to ongoing cultural change rather than treating anti racism as a short term project.

Rev Cyrus Kung, Church Engagement Manager with UnitingWorld, encouraged the Church to develop a stronger racial vocabulary. He said Australian society prefers the “nice parts” of multiculturalism and often avoids naming privilege, exclusion and systemic barriers.

He urged leaders to examine how power is held and who receives permission to speak, noting that representation must extend beyond symbolic roles into structural influence.

Rev Blair concluded with describing how the Uniting Church of Canadian translated words into action, describing how the church conducted audits of its General Council, media presence and leadership pathways.

He said these audits revealed patterns of racial imbalance and helped the Church recognise racism embedded in policies, practices and decision making. Rev Blair emphasised naming racism in specific forms, including anti Indigenous, anti Black, and anti Asian actions, rather than relying on general language that obscures lived realities.

Rev Blair also described the impact of mandatory anti racism training for ministry personnel and urged the Uniting Church to “name the monster and name how the monster shows up.”

The session delivered a clear challenge; thriving communities require more than celebrating diversity. They demand truth telling, intentional leadership, structural change and a willingness to be transformed.