First Peoples
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) acknowledges we live and work on Aboriginal land. In 2010, we became the first church in Australia to constitutionally acknowledge Aboriginal and Islander people as the First Peoples of Australia.
The Covenant
The preamble to the Church's constitution outlines our committment to reconcilliate the relationship between First and Second People's.
In 1985, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of the Uniting Church in Australia formed the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC).
Then in 1988, the UAICC invited the other members of the Church to join in a solemn act of covenanting before God.
The following is taken from the preamble:
"After much struggle and debate, in 1994 the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia discovered God’s call, accepted this invitation and entered into an ever deepening covenantal relationship with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress. This was so that all may see a destiny together, praying and working together for a fuller expression of our reconciliation in Jesus Christ."
The Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Congress (UAICC)
The UAICC is made up of Aboriginal and Islander Christians from all over Australia who have come together to form a National Congress. At The Synod of South Australia, the Mission Resourcing Team supports the UAICC in the formation of genuine relationships between First and Second peoples through justice work.
South Australian Congress Congregations
Adelaide Congress
Oonadatta Faith Community
Port Augusta Faith Community
Raukkan Faith Community
UCA's Constitution