Kungan Kaldowinyeri: Listening to Creation
This last semester Uniting College for Leadership and Theology in South Australia has run a second immersive unit taking students on Country, this time led by Uncle Ken Sumner and Rosemary Dewerse
November 4, 2025
“If you want to be reconciled to me, you have to be reconciled to Country first [for] I am Ruwangk-il, of the soil.” - Uncle Ken Sumner
“Stitch by stitch, circle by circle. Weaving is like the creation of life, all things are connected." - Aunty Ellen Trevorrow
This last semester Uniting College for Leadership and Theology (UCLT), a member college of the University of Divinity, has run a unit titled Kungan Kaldowinyeri. 'Kungan' in the language of Kukabrak Ngarrindjeri from the south-east coast of South Australia means “to listen,” while 'Kaldowinyeri' is their entire worldview catching up the whole of creation.
The goal of the unit is to inspire expansions, particularly in Second/settler/migrant Peoples’ understanding of who God is and what it means to be human.
Uncle Ken Sumner, State Development Officer for the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress in South Australia led this unit with Dr Rosemary Dewerse. It has included time spent in guided resource interaction, asynchronous discussions, live online sessions, and a four-day immersion on the Kurangk (Coorong).
"We learned to weave Kaldowinyeri with our hands, heard the Ngarrindjeri history of fringe camps, Raukkan and the Point McLeay mission, breathed with the mighty southern ocean, paused on the shores of Mungkuli (Lake Alexandrina) and the Kurangk, smelt the wind, watched pelicans soar, yarned under the night sky..."
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you want to get the latest news from the Uniting Church in Australia then subscribe to our weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox.
We were asking ‘Who is Creator God?’ and ‘What therefore does it mean to be human?”, exploring the invitations to expansions in our understanding and practice by attending to ancient wisdom, stories of colonial impact and of regenerative work in human and ecological communities, and the perspectives, poetry, music, art and personal experiences of Aboriginal leaders.
Mikenzie Ling, a Wiradjuri woman and First Peoples Strategy and Engagement Consultant in the Synod of NSW/ACT, presented one evening on her excellent Masters’ thesis, “Is Land My Mother?”
Our immersion was hosted by Uncle Ken and Ngarrindjeri leaders Uncle Clyde Rigney and Tim Hartman, as well as Kenny Jnr, Craig, Natasha, and Carina Sumner.
We tasted welcome to Yarluwe-Ruwe (Sea-Country) in a smoking ceremony, learned to weave Kaldowinyeri with our hands, heard the Ngarrindjeri history of fringe camps, Raukkan and the Point McLeay mission, visited significant environmental restoration projects, breathed with the mighty southern ocean, paused on the shores of Mungkuli (Lake Alexandrina) and the Kurangk, smelt the wind, watched pelicans soar, yarned under the night sky, and were gifted with art.
Throughout we have been growing skill in six-sense listening to our human and more than human kin.
Participants have found the experience “life-changing.”
In 2026 UCLT will offer its two Indigenous units again. “Yarta Wandatha: The Land is Speaking the People are Speaking” led by Rev Dr Aunty Denise Champion in Semester 1 focuses on the impact of Christian mission in these lands now called Australia, and wrestles with redefining “ethical ministry” for today, taught by Yarta (Country) and Adnyamathanha leaders. Kungan Kaldowinyeri is taught in Semester 2. You are most welcome to join us!
For information, including dates and costs, contact info@unitingcollege.edu.au. Places are limited.
By Dr Rosemary Dewerse, Academic Dean and Research Coordinator at Uniting College for Leadership and Theology (UCLT) in South Australia
Read our story on the Semester 1 unit, Yarta Wandatha, from May 2025.
More news from the Assembly
September Governance, Resourcing, and Administration Commission update
September Governance, Resourcing, and Administration Commission update Rev David Fotheringham shares the latest update from the Commission on Governance, Resourcing, and Administration. Subscribe to our newsletter If you want to get the latest news from the Uniting Church in Australia then subscribe to our weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox. Rev David Fotheringham…
President's Pastoral Prayer for Pope Leo XIV
President’s Pastoral Prayer for Pope Leo XIV By President Rev Charissa SuliAs we hold Pope Leo XIV in our prayers during this time of illness and recovery, we join with our Catholic siblings in Christ or Catholic Community around the world expressing our ecumenical solidarity and care. As part of the wider Christian Church, we share…
'We are all clay jars' - a reflection on National Mental Health Week
13 October 2026 A reflection on National Mental Health Week from the General Secretary, Andrew Johnson. Read more about the initiatives around Mental Health at the National Mental Health Commission and about global efforts at the UN World Mental Health Day page. Eight days without sleep. A head filled with ideas. Not feeling tired.…
A Covenant that changes us
By Michael ZewdieInaugural Rev Dr Michelle Cook Lecture connects deep listening with the call to share power, enact justice and learn together.“Covenant is not a statement the church makes about relationship. Covenant is a relationship that changes the church.” — Rev Ken SumnerSubscribe to our newsletterIf you want to get the latest news from the…
Hannah Jackson Commissioned to Lead National Advocacy and Justice Ministry
The National Assembly’s Director of Advocacy and Justice, Hannah Jackson, was commissioned during worship at her home congregation, Ipswich Uniting Church in Queensland on Sunday. Led by Assembly General Secretary Andrew Johnson, the service featured a sermon from Uniting Church in Australia President Rev Charissa Suli, drawing on the theme “Built Together” as part of…
A confident nation does not fear diversity - President's statement on immigration policy
7 October, 2026 Immigration policy sits at the core of who we are as a country, and the kind of Australia we want to be. This week’s Coalition policy announcement advocating significantly reduced net overseas migration is deeply concerning because of its implications for our cultural diversity and our identity as a nation. As Australians…
Three years on: A message and prayer for peace
Three years on: A message and prayer for peace Image: Church of the Ascension, seen from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Photo by Albin Hillert/WCC A pastoral message from Rev Charissa Suli, President of the Uniting Church in Australia, on the third anniversary of the 7 October attacks in Israel…
Uniting Church urges Australia to stand with Pacific on fossil fuels
Uniting Church President Rev Charissa Suli has urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to turn Australia’s commitment to its Pacific neighbours into action by backing a global treaty to phase out fossil fuels. Rev Suli is among 80 senior Australian faith leaders who have signed an open letter calling on the Prime Minister to support a…