Today’s service has been drawn together from resources provided by the Uniting Church and Common Grace for Aboriginal Sunday – the Sunday before January 26. We take up the call of Aboriginal Christian Leader William Cooper for churches to stand in solidarity and pray for justice and the flourishing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme is “Be Strong and Courageous.”
As God reminds us in Joshua 1:9, we do not walk this path alone – God is with us. For generations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders have shown this strength and courage, calling the Church to justice, healing, and
reconciliation.
Today we listen, we pray, and we commit ourselves again to walking together in friendship and faith – seeking justice, healing, and flourishing for all peoples and all creation.
Common Grace began in 2014 as a story of prayer and conversation from around Australia and the world, woven together by the power of God’s spirit. Throughout Australia, a number of Christian changemakers were questioning why they were looking outside the church in order to take action on issues of justice. They believed that pursuing justice is a core part of the Christian faith and tradition but were not seeing it lived out in their communities. As conversations evolved, they began asking broader questions about the type of change that God desires – for individuals, for societies, and for the world.
The beautiful artwork you have been enjoying was created by Zoe Belle, Guwa Koa and Kuku Yalanji woman. Zoe tells us that her artwork depicts the story of Christ’s presence being amongst First Peoples of these lands of his creation for generation. His teachings have been long been displayed within the stories, songs, dances and ceremony First Peoples have used them to connect with God as great Creator and teacher for our communities.
Acknowledgement of Country
We begin our Aboriginal Sunday service with an Acknowledgement of Country from Safina Stewart, Common Grace’s Storyteller and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lead, along with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders.
As they give their Acknowledgement of Country, we acknowledge that today we are meeting on the lands of the Dharawal people. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, remembering that Sovereignty has never been ceded, and commit to walking softly and gently on this land.
Day of Mourning for First Peoples
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) observes an annual Day of Mourning for First Peoples on the Sunday before January 26th. This significant observance, requested by the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC), is an expression of the UCA’s Covenant relationship and commitment to truth-telling and justice. It calls on congregations to:
1. Lament the devastating effects of invasion and colonisation, including dispossession, violence, and ongoing injustices against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
2. Acknowledge the Church’s own complicity in this history.
3. Affirm the sovereignty and resilience of First Peoples and honour their continued cultural and spiritual life to Country.
4. Commit anew to the journey of reconciliation, healing, and standing in solidarity with First Peoples in their struggle for justice.
There is a continued call for Justice, not Charity – a demand for true self determination, equality and equity in an honoured shared future together with integrity. The Day of Mourning provides a crucial moment for deep reflection, confession, listening, and prayer, shaping a shared future for First and Second Peoples in Australia.
Lighting the Christ Candle
Christ said: ‘I am the light of the world’. The light shines in the darkness; and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Call to Worship
Our Lord is alive amongst all things of creation. (Lift your hand to your ears)
The sounds of the rivers in motion, the waves of the seas. (Make a motion of the waves with your hands)
The scents of the gum trees and native flowers on the winds. (Stand still with your legs firmly planted, take some deep breathes, stretch up both arms and sway like a tree in the breezes.)
You made the earth to give us life and daily sustenance and it is on Country that we find a place to retreat and walk alongside you in whispering conversation. (Rub hands together to make the sound of a whispering conversation)
Today we come together, and we bring our full voices, to lift them in praise of our God. (Lift arms wide to praise God together)
We ask for forgiveness for not always being the givers of love and hospitality. (Bring hands together in prayerful pose)
And, we look to have our hearts made clean. (Use your right hand to catch the love of Christ and rub it onto your chest over your heart)
Hymn: Where the Wide Sky Rolls Down
Blessing for a Sacred Place
Call: Baiame, giver of life Our Creator God, our guide, our protector and giver of wisdom.
Response: You have come before us, and made it possible for us to be together in this special place at this time.
You created us in your image to be in a reconciling relationship with each other through you. Our pain is known to you and you have shared with us the way through darkness and into light. Help us not to stumble like children, but to stand proudly as followers of your teachings and lessons of healing
Call: Jesus, the name of salvation
Response: And our home of assurance
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we, the Second Peoples of this land, acknowledge with sorrow the injustice and abuse that has so often marked the treatment of the First Peoples of this land.
We acknowledge with sorrow the way in which their land was taken from them and their language, culture and spirituality despised and suppressed.
We acknowledge with sorrow the way in which the Christian church was so often not only complicit in this process but actively involved in it.
We acknowledge with sorrow that in our own time the injustice and abuse has continued. we have been indifferent when we should have been outraged, we have been apathetic when we should have been active, we have been silent when we should have spoken out.
Gracious God, forgive us for our failures, past and present. By your Spirit transform our minds and hearts so that we may boldly speak your truth and courageously do your will.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Declaration of Forgiveness
Water for First Peoples is always a sign of God’s peace and fulfillment in everything that is good. The promise of food, of harmony with ourselves, and the creation around us.
At the very beginning Creator God blessed the waters, God’s great gift to us and renewed in this water here today. God who hovered over the waters, invites us to ‘come to the water’ to drop our heavy burdens of lament and confession.
Hear then the words of Christ’s forgiveness to us all: Your sins are forgiven, and you are cleansed and made new again. Go now and live as my reconciled people. In the name of Christ, Amen.
So then, let us bring the stones of lament and drop them into the water. Let this be our symbolic gesture of our lament and our recommitment to walk with our Indigenous brothers and sisters on a path of truth-telling, justice and meaningful reconciliation.
Please stay in your seat if walking out is too difficult and someone will bring the coolamon to collect your stone from you.
As you do that, you will hear the beautiful sound of a duet between David Gurrumul and Sarah Blasko singing Gurrumul’s song “Bayini” which tells a Yolngu story about a spirit woman from Makassar who travels to Arnhem Land, becomes a spiritual protector of the land (Bawaka), and signifies the ancient cultural exchange between Indonesian Makassan traders and Australia’s Indigenous Yolngu people. It’s a love song about connection to land, ancestry, and the enduring spirits of this history.
Introduction to the next song: playing the gumleaf
Indigenous Australians have deeply adopted the Christian hymn “The Old Rugged Cross,” with its themes of suffering, sacrifice, and ultimate redemption resonating with their own experiences of historical hardship, dispossession, and profound spiritual connection to land. The hymn, along with other gospel songs, became a staple in communities and missions, particularly during the 20th century, and continues to be sung at funerals and wakes.
The hymn is notably played on the gumleaf (a traditional instrument) and interpreted with a unique, haunting sound that merges Christian faith with a deep, ancestral connection to the Australian landscape.
So, before we sing this hymn, as part of our education today I thought that we would enjoy a brief lesson on playing a gumleaf!
Gunaikurnai gum leaf performer Uncle Herb Patten, originally from Newmerella in Victoria, had a remarkable musical career. So, let’s take a couple of minutes to listen to Uncle Herb teaching us about playing a gumleaf!
Hymn: The Old Rugged Cross
Bible Readings
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne.
Message: We will now hear from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders as they reflect on this year’s theme, Be Strong and Courageous. In this video we are led by Wuthathi and Mabuiag Island woman Safina Stewart, Wiradjuri man Adam Gowen, and other leaders who call us to walk with strength and courage, advocating that for truth, reconciliation, healing, and lasting justice for First Nations peoples.
Prayers of the People (Kathy) followed by the Lord’s Prayer:
Lord’s Prayer
Great Spirit, Creator of all.
From the stars to all the earth,
Loved and respected be your name,
May it happen all should live in your way,
Following your purpose for all creation.
Enable us to find what we need for today’s journey.
Forgive us when we go wrong.
As we forgive those who wrong us.
Have compassion on us when we are being tested.
Do not abandon us to fear and evil.
Our hope is in your new community.
You are the one who can transform all creation.
Making everything new, now and for eternity. Amen.
Hymn: God of Freedom, God of Justice
Offering: On Aboriginal Sunday we also invite you to consider a donation to our partner, Common Grace to support the ongoing work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders. If you would like to do that, there will be a QR code displayed on the screen at the conclusion of today’s service, to enable you to donate directly to Common Grace.
Creative Advocacy Action: Today, as we honour and participate in Aboriginal Sunday, we’re joining with churches across Australia to courageously call for change in our youth justice system. Right now in Australia, children as young as ten can be put in detention. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children make up around 60% of those in detention, even though they’re less than 7% of the population aged 10 to 17. These are children who’ve often been failed by systems that should have protected them.
As followers of Jesus, we believe that all children are loved by God and deserve the chance to heal, grow, and flourish. We believe in justice that restores, not justice that punishes, and that no child should ever be given up on.
So today during morning tea, there will be an option to take part in a very simple but powerful action to show that as the Church, we want to see children loved, not locked up. We have made a paper heart garland and we want to take a photo together as a church community.
We’ll hold up the garland and the words “Loved, Not Locked Up”
Our photo will be shared on social media and sent to The Hon Michelle Rowland MP, the Attorney-General, and Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians. Accompanying our photo will be a letter urging our federal leaders to boldly step up and step in to reform the youth justice system across our nation.
This is one way we can call on our leaders to create a youth justice system that is trauma-informed, healing, and grounded in dignity and hope. So let’s stand together and hold up this message of love and justice, believing in a future where every child is truly loved, not locked up.
There is no obligation to take part so please don’t avoid morning tea if you do not wish to be photographed!
Benediction – Written by Safina Stewart
God of Justice and Love,
Help us to be discerning and wise as we make decisions at the crossroads.
Help us to be humble as we seek the ancient paths and learn from the wisdom of First nations people of where the good way lies.
Help us be strong and courageous as we walk alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Give us open hearts to listen, the courage to speak truth, and the strength to work for healing and justice, that as First and second People’s we may all find rest and peace.
May Your Spirit guide us to be a Church of hope, reconciliation, and love.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Benediction Song: For you, deep stillness of the silent inland.
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