Posted in Culture
The President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Stuart McMillan has appealed for a serious national conversation on Indigenous sovereignty in his 2016 Easter message. A video of the message can be viewed here.
“The Easter message is one of renewed hope for the world,” says Stuart.
“A conversation about sovereignty and how it can empower and bring hope to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples is a crucial conversation for our nation.
“Sovereignty and what that means for us as a Church is an issue we’re committed to exploring. I don’t believe that we can ever close the gap until we honour First Peoples as sovereign and negotiate treaties on just terms.”
The 2016 Uniting Church in Australia Easter message also features Adnyamathanha woman Rev Denise Champion, who last year became the first Aboriginal woman to be ordained as a minister in South Australia.
The message was recorded on Denise’s homeland of Ikara (Wilpena Pound) in the Flinders Rangers and uses an instrumental version of late Adnyamathanha man Buck McKenzie’s “Ikara (Wilpena Pound)” as background music.
In her contribution to the Easter message, Denise talks about her parents’ deep relationship with their homeland and the stories they shared.
“These stories gave us courage as we journey through this life and hope for the next,” says Denise. “This Easter I invite you with us on the journey.”
In 2010, the Uniting Church changed its Constitution to acknowledge Aboriginal and Islander Peoples as the First Peoples of Australia. This included recognition that the Holy Spirit was present in Australia, nurturing and sustaining First Peoples and revealing God to them through law, custom and ceremony, before the arrival of the missionaries.
At its 14th national Assembly meeting last year, the Church agreed to support the recognition of Aboriginal and Islander Peoples in the Australian Constitution as a “step towards and not a blockage to the larger issues of sovereignty and treaty.”
Watch the 2016 Easter message here.
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