The Uniting Church has affirmed that the First Peoples of Australia, the Aboriginal and Islander Peoples, are sovereign peoples in Australia. On 13 July, 2018, the 15th Assembly meeting in Melbourne adopted a statement affirming sovereignty of First Peoples, as noted in the minutes below: 18.09 Recognition of First Peoples as Sovereign In the light […]
Alison Overeem reflects on the courage needed to walk together. What does it truly mean to walk together? What does “together” truly mean? How do we create spaces and places for this to happen? How do we immerse ourselves in each other’s stories? In a meaningful, reflective and sustainable way that allows us to do […]
Rev. Jennie Gordon is a Panel Member for the Walking Together as First and Second Peoples Circle. We asked Jennie to share some of her story. Together with my husband Rev. Arnie Wierenga, we’ve just moved ministry placements and are now working as Pastoral Resourcing Ministers across the glorious Gippsland Presbytery in the Synod of […]
Walk in the light together, First and Second Peoples By Stuart McMillan, Advocate, National Consultant Covenanting “Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground”. God addresses Cain about the death of his brother (Genesis 4:10b). Listen! The blood of the First Nations Peoples of this land cries out from the ground to […]
We are going on a malaga – buna limurr dharrwuṯthun rrambaŋi At the 15th Assembly in 2018 the UCA affirmed the sovereignty of First Peoples as described in our Preamble to the UCA Constitution and in the Statement from the Heart. The Assembly Standing Committee (ASC) has established a Task Group to look at the […]
This year, Uniting Church members were encouraged to hold a Day of Mourning on 20 January to reflect on the impact of invasion on First Peoples. Here are two stories of how people participated in this event. Tewantin Uniting Church in Queensland took a great deal of time in getting to know the stories of […]
Joy Han has written a reflection on her experience of Walking on Ngarrindjeri Country in the lead up to the National Young Adult Leaders Conference. She has written it in the form of a letter to a friend, Sarah, who she addresses as Ŏnni, a Korean kinship term for another woman in the same peer group […]
This tribute to our late brother Rev Jeffrey R Garrawurra firstly honours his contribution to God’s mission through the UAICC and UCA. Secondly, it speaks to the significant leadership and importance for our Church’s global partnerships through First Nations leaders. In this instance, Rev Garrawurra’s participation in the Pacific Council of Churches gathering strengthened and […]
By Stuart McMillan, Circle Advocate While this greeting is commonly used as hello or greetings, it really is like saying: “How is it with you? With your spirit?” I wonder if in a future issue of the newsletter, or as a regular newsletter feature, we could explore stories from our walking together and discovering something […]
By Stuart McMillan, Walking Together as First and Second Peoples Advocate and Assembly Consultant Covenanting. What did the First Nation leaders really include in their submission about a First Nations Voice to the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Constitutional Recognition Relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples? How could any Commonwealth Parliamentarian misconstrue the submission […]
