Tag Archives: Indigenous community

Rev Richard Cassady reflects on the importance of storytelling within Indigenous culture and his own faith journey working as a prison chaplain and an educator. Most recently, Richard led a Walk on Country with members of the Synod Executive Leadership Team, facilitated by Australians Together. Communicating through story and narrative is part and parcel of my people’s DNA. Tell me ...

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks in far North Queensland at the opening of the re-built Gully Peters Uniting Church on Mornington Island, and then “Walking on Country” with Rev Richard Cassady, some Synod leaders, and the team from “Australians Together”. Mornington Island is the home of Lardil peoples. It is also now home to the Kaiadilt peoples from ...

Billy Griffiths’ latest book Deep Time Dreaming uncovers the role archaeology has played in shaping our understanding of Australia’s vast history, particularly in relation to Indigenous culture, and what this means for contemporary relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Nick Mattiske reviews. In the 1960s the archaeologist John Mulvaney was told by the ABC that there would be “no interest” ...

Last Friday I had the opportunity to spend a day at the Grasstree Gathering. About 150 Indigenous Christian leaders gathered over the weekend to encourage and support one another in the work they are doing with and for their people. It was an inspiring event. Artists like Safina Stewart spoke of their journey and what they are seeking to say ...

On 27 May 1967, Australia approved two amendments to the Constitution relating to the ability of the Federal Parliament to legislate specifically for Indigenous Australians and for their inclusion in determinations of population. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Referendum, Brooke Prentis reflects on the historic occasion and what it means for First Peoples today. The 50th anniversary of ...

Wesley Mission Queensland (WMQ) recently took the next step in the organisation’s reconciliation journey with the formal launch of their Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Journey reports. In early March the Wesley Mission Queensland RAP was officially launched at the Art from the Margins Fortitude Valley studio with guests from across the organisation, politicians and members of the local community in ...

An app challenging age discrimination and a series of video stories to celebrate the lives of Indigenous men have taken out the 2017 Wesley Mission Queensland Campaign for Change initiative. In a tightly contested field of five finalists, Kate Perry from Ipswich, and Dean Gibson from Brisbane’s north have each been awarded a $25 000 grant to kick-start their own ...

Churches must tackle their own demons if the scourge of domestic violence is to be overcome, writes Dianne Jensen. The chilling stories take time to trickle down through the years, but the tragedy of abuse at the hands of family lingers across the generations. We all know this to be true. Domestic violence is not a fancy term for marital ...

The 14th Uniting Church Assembly will be talking about marriage when it meets in Perth in July this year. Bruce Mullan explores some of the issues. Marriage has been a constant theme in the political conversation in Australia for several years as part of broader discussion about the legal recognition of same-gender relationships. The increasing public debate was acknowledged by ...

I had a delightful conversation with a senior student from one of our Uniting Church schools. He is considering spending a gap year to support a community in a developing country. He thinks he would like the challenge of a cross-cultural experience. Together we chatted about options for volunteering with an Indigenous community, UnitingWorld or another community organisation. He explained ...