Tag Archives: Indigenous Australians

Uniting Church congregations are being asked to hold worship services in January reflecting on Australia’s First Peoples. Past President of the Uniting Church in Australia and Assembly Consultant for Covenanting Stuart McMillan explains why. The observance of a Day of Mourning was endorsed by the 15th Assembly in 2018 at the request of members of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander ...

The 14th President of the Uniting Church in Australia Stuart McMillan has urged church members to address the “unfinished business” of sovereignty and treaty for First Peoples in his final national message. Matt Pulford reports. “I started my presidency with the Yolŋu words Bala limurr roŋyirr ŋorraŋgitjlil—‘Let us return to the white ashes of the fire’,” said Stuart. “It was ...

I had my third visit to Cape York in April for the funeral of Rev Silas Wombly of Aurukun. Silas was a clan leader and a Uniting Church minister. Being raised at the mission, he worked as a stockman in the Gulf country before heading back to work for Comalco. He left for Nungalinya College in Darwin, and returned as ...

The 2018 Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) National Conference saw participants from across Australia gather to reflect on the theme of healing and celebrate the Congress’ vision for the future. Journey reports. Aboriginal and Islander members in the Uniting Church boosted resources for youth work, mission and evangelism at their triennial national conference held in Geelong over six ...

I’ve just finished reading Nyunggai Warren Mundine’s autobiography In Black and White. It’s a very interesting and challenging read, telling the story of a family in the era of the “Protection” Acts for Aboriginal people, and Mundine’s journey into leadership in the ALP, and for his people. Mundine is a compelling advocate for the First Peoples of this land, and ...

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 ...

The alarming incarceration rate of First Peoples highlights the long and painful path towards reconciliation and justice for many Australians. Journey explores the issue and speaks to the prison chaplains on the frontline. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull may have recently declared the incarceration rates of young Indigenous people a “top priority” in light of alarming revelations of prisoner abuse in ...

Ten years after the Close the Gap campaign began, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians still die younger and are less educated than non-Indigenous Australians. Mardi Lumsden reports. The eighth annual Close the Gap report (released 9 February) shows only two out of seven health, education and employment targets are on track. While halving child mortality by 2018 and better ...

If a referendum vote were held today, 75 per cent of all Australians (including two in three Coalition voters) would vote yes to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the nation’s Constitution. Undertaken by Polity Research for the Recognise movement in March, the research demonstrates strong backing for this change—both in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and ...

About FACE has been forging relationships between First and Second Peoples for over 30 years. The latest program has continued to build that trust and understanding. Nigel Trapp reports. Brisbane university student Haileigh Childs admits she had little understanding of Aboriginal culture prior to immersing herself in the About FACE program. “My relationship and understanding was virtually non-existent before. I ...