You can watch some of the service here.
Introduction by Tim and Narelle: Since 2019 the Uniting Church has marked a Day of Mourning to reflect on the dispossession of Australia’s First Peoples and the ongoing injustices faced by First Nations people in this land. This arose from a request from the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) which was endorsed by the 15th Assembly in 2018. It is an expression of the Uniting Church’s commitment to justice and truth-telling.
As Christians, we hear the promise of Jesus that the truth will set us free. The Day of Mourning invites us to listen to the truth of the effects of colonisation and racism on First Peoples and to hope that in confronting this truth we will discover ways to create communities of justice and healing.
In marking the Day of Mourning, we affirm the sovereignty of First Nations people. We confess and seek forgiveness for the dispossession and violence against First Nations people. We lament our part and we recommit to justice and truth-telling.
On 18 January in 1788 HMS Supply reached the place the Indigenous people called Kamay or Botany Bay, two days ahead of Capt Philip’s flagship the Sirius and the rest of the fleet. The fleet moved to Warrane or Sydney Harbour over the 25 to 27 January. There is no accurate recording of the words Capt Arthur Philip made on the raising of the Union Jack on that day.
The formal proclamation and claiming on the eastern half of the land wasn’t made until the 7 February.
Philip’s 1787 orders were to ‘live in amity and kindness with the Indigenous peoples and to punish anyone who should wantonly destroy them or give them unnecessary interruption in the exercise of their several occupations’. Clearly this didn’t happen nor were those responsible punished. Today we remember and honour the Gweagal and Gadigal peoples and their elders of the Eora nation who were part of that first contact.
We light a candle to remind us of Christ’s presence.
Tim: (Display of image of William Cooper). We are taking up the call of Aboriginal Christian Leader William Cooper from 86 years ago for churches of all denominations to mark this day as Aboriginal Sunday. Today, we become part of making his dream to see justice and the flourishing of First Nations people a reality.
We acknowledge the past year of the referendum, the hard work of incredibly resilient Indigenous leaders, and the grief and pain that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people faced throughout 2023.
The Voice referendum revealed that Australia has much work left to do on the journey of pursuing love, justice, and reconciliation with our First Nations peoples. However, the referendum year also saw millions of Australians answer the call to listen and engage in this journey of walking alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The resources for today’s service have been graciously provided for us through First Nations people in both Common Grace and the Uniting Church for us to carry on the legacy of William Cooper’s as we mark Aboriginal Sunday.
Today, may our Aboriginal Sunday service take us a step further along this path as we walk together and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders.
Call to Worship: Our land is alive with the glory of God; desert sands hum and gum trees dance. Brown grasses sing and mountains breathe their stillness. All created things add their rhythms of delight and even stones rap out their praise. Let our voices mingle with those of the earth; may our hearts join the beat of her joy, for our loving God is with us: the Source of all being surrounds and upholds us. Christ Jesus walks beside and before us. The Spirit moves within and between us. Blessed be God, our wonder and delight.
Narelle: We sang this song together in our 2023 Aboriginal Sunday service, and I just love the way that Royston and Bianca harmonise this so beautifully that I had to include it again this year! Please stand and join us in song now as we are led on screen by Bianca Manning and Royston Sagigi- Baira.
Prayer
Today friends, we are remembering the tragic history of our nation and the violent dispossession of her First Peoples.
Today is a Day of Mourning. Today we mark in lament the truth of our shared history and we lift up to God our prayers for First Peoples and our nation.
We say sorry and we pray for forgiveness, healing and hope.
We also come together and give thanks to God for the grace which enables us to face ourselves and the wrongs in our country and seek healing and be given the courage to repent and seek to mend our wrongs.
The God of all justice, the God of all peace, be with you all.
And also with you.
Today, as we gather to worship, we acknowledge the Dharawal peoples, the first inhabitants of this place from time beyond remembering We acknowledge that through this land, God nurtured and sustained the First Peoples of this country, the Aboriginal and Islander peoples.
Response: We honour them for their custodianship of the land on which we gather today.
We acknowledge that the First Peoples had already encountered the Creator God before the arrival of the colonisers;
Response: The Spirit was already in the land, revealing God to the people through law, custom and ceremony.
We acknowledge that the same love and grace that was finally and fully revealed in Jesus Christ sustained the First Peoples and gave them particular insights into God’s ways;
Response: and so we rejoice in the reconciling purposes of God found in the good news about Jesus Christ
Prayer: Abba, Father, Bäpa God, source of all life, answer our call, as a mother responds to the cry of a child in the night.
Jesus Christ, teacher and friend, Liberator, stand beside us as bearer of our humanity, and sharer of God’s grace.
Creator Spirit, giver of new life, purposeful guest, prod us to praise, calling us to be a people of hope and faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Short presentation by Loraine on the Common Grace organisation: who they are, what they do, and how you can find out more about them and take action in speaking up for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice in 2024.
Bible Readings: Psalm 116, and Micah 6:6-8
Song: “O, Lord the clouds are gathering”
Reflection: Narelle
Prayers of the People: Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history so that we may build a better future for our nation. Teach us to respect all cultures. Teach us to care for our land and waters. Help us to share justly the resources of this land. Help us to bring about spiritual and social change to improve the quality of life for all peoples in our communities, especially the disadvantaged. Help all young people to find true dignity and self-esteem by your Spirit. May your power and love be the foundations on which we walk together as First and Second Peoples; and build our families, our communities and our nation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Leanne: Merciful God, we, the Second Peoples of this land, lament the injustice and abuse that has so often marked the treatment of the First Peoples of this land.
We lament the way in which their land was taken from them and their language, culture, law and spirituality despised and suppressed. We acknowledge and lament the way in which the Christian church was so often not only complicit in this process but actively involved in it. We lament that in our own time the injustice and abuse has continued. We have been indifferent. Gracious God, hear our confession — We have not loved you with our whole heart, nor have we loved First Peoples and other neighbours as ourselves. God of mercy, forgive us for our failures, past and present and give us the grace today to make a fresh start. By your Spirit transform our minds and hearts so that we may love as you have loved us, that we may boldly speak your truth and courageously do your will. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This is the best of all: When we are empty, God fills us; when we are disheartened, God is compassionate; when we are wounded, God brings healing; when we confess our sin, God forgives.
In Christ, through Christ and because of Christ, our sins are forgiven. Thanks be to God. You refill the cup of life, O God. In Christ, we find refuge, strength and hope. Amen.
May we share a minute’s silence to allow God’s heart to speak to our own.
Lord’s Prayer (Variation by Sarah Dylan Breuer)
Loving Creator: we honor you, and we honor all that you have made. Renew the whole world in the image of your love. Give us what we need for today, and a hunger to see the whole world fed.
Strengthen us for what lies ahead; heal us from the hurts of the past; give us courage to follow your call in this moment. For your love is the only power, the only home, the only honor we need, in this world and in the world to come. Amen.
Nature activity, by Sarina: When I feel the weight of grief, frustration, disappointment and hopelessness that keeps repeating in this world, I often look to nature. Isaiah 61:11[1] talks about the goodness of God being like a garden. It makes me think of small seeds of possibility, of hope, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice. The seed that blossoms into something vibrant and beautiful.
Our activity today is about the seed of hope and possibility where we will, together, be planting some native seedlings in the church garden, along with our messages, or prayers, of hope for Aboriginal justice.
Seeds can’t flourish without soil. The soil represents the enriching nutrients of community.
We all bring gifts and special qualities that give nutrients to community. Together we can take action for justice to help the seed grow into a flourishing garden full of life, healing, freedom and belonging.
The garden bed represents God’s hands holding all life and possibility together. God holds the soil of community and our seeds for Aboriginal justice and are cradled in God’s love.
Water is our tears – grieving and lamenting because of the injustices. Even as we cry, our seeds are watered and through our grief, we take action for justice.
The sun is the light that shines goodness lighting up our path and lighting up the truth, uncovering things in the darkness to help our seeds to grow. For Aboriginal justice, truth-telling brings to light stories, histories and experiences to pave the way for healing.
Even with the life-giving nutrients of soil, water and sunlight, there is the passing of time before we see our seeds sprout through the surface.
This period of waiting means we are putting our hope and faith into something we cannot yet see. We pursue justice even as we are not seeing the fruits of our work yet.
Together we plant our seeds and take action, working for justice until we see a beautiful garden, where all people and all creation flourish.
Just as we need wisdom to tenderly Care for Country, we also ask for God to breathe life into our seed. Our prayers for all areas of Aboriginal justice are empowered by our faith in the God of justice and love. Together we pray for the flourishing of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on what it is that we wish to see for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Take a minute now to think about what your hope or prayer is for First Nations peoples, and write that message on the stick you found on your chair.
On one side of my stick I have written understanding, for us to be able to stop and try to understand the experiences of First Nations people since colonisation and how that impacts their circumstances today. On the other side of my stick I have written hope, for my hope is to see true recognition and reconciliation for First Nations people.
When you are ready, have written your message for First Nations people on your stick, please join us at the front of the church to plant your stick alongside these native seedlings.
Prayer (Ross): People of God, go from here to live out the covenant into which we, the First and Second Peoples of this land, have entered with one another.
Confront and challenge injustice wherever you see it. Act justly yourselves and insist that others do the same.
Rejoice in the richness of our diverse cultures and learn from them. Celebrate and demonstrate the unity we share in Jesus our Lord.
Commit to worship, witness and serve as one people under God, until God’s promised reconciliation of all creation is complete.
Benediction (Ross): May the blessing of God, ancient of days Jesus, embodiment of God’s justice and the Spirit, animator of Creation Be on us and remain with us. Amen.
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