Australia is in the midst of a profundly important debate. We are considering whether or not we will support The Voice to Parliament.
The Uniting Church, through the Creative Ministries Network congregation, have coordinated a collection of sermons reflecting upon this issue.
To quote John Bottomley, the editor of the collection:
‘Preaching from the Heart’ is a project of the Creative Ministries Network congregation in response to the invitation from the Statement from the Heart to join Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on a movement of the Australian people to a better future. You will hear God’s unequivocal ‘yes’ to the Statement from the Heart in the twenty sermons from Indigenous and settler preachers as they reflect on what this journey means for churches and the nation.”
John and the Creative Ministries congregation have granted permission for this collection to be shared far and wide, so I have uploaded it to this site; you’ll find a sermon of mine, preached in the Anglican Parish of Kalamunda-Lesmurdie, within. Please take a look, and please share.
I firmly believe that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a text in which we see the witness of God’s grace, and I pray that during this time we will listen to the diverse voices of the First Nations of this place.
Here’s the link to download the book. Please do share it on.
During this time, perhaps from the Anglican tradition we might pray this thanksgiving for this place:
God of holy dreaming, Great Creator Spirit, from the dawn of creation you have given your children the good things of Mother Earth. You spoke and the gum tree grew. In the vast desert and dense forest, and in cities at the water’s edge, creation sings your praise. Your presence endures as the rock at the heart of our Land. When Jesus hung on the tree you heard the cries of all your people and became one with your wounded ones: the convicts, the hunted, and the dispossessed. The sunrise of your Son coloured the earth anew, and bathed it in glorious hope. In Jesus we have been reconciled to you, to each other and to your whole creation. Lead us on, Great Spirit, as we gather from the four corners of the earth; enable us to walk together in trust from the hurt and shame of the past into the full day which has dawned in Jesus Christ. Amen.
(A Prayer Book for Australia, p218-219)
Artwork: The Reverend Cannon Glenn Loughrey, Anglican priest and Wiradjuri man – ‘Crying Country’