National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week 2018

In Australia this Saturday is National Sorry Day, followed by Reconciliation Week.

We observe National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week because, as a nation, we realise that Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians both share this land and have, therefore, a common future. To be a truly ‘successful’ society we need the courage to confront aspects of our national character and our shared history, which challenge our assumptions and unsettle our self-image as a freedom loving, compassionate people.

Genuine reconciliation requires truth telling and for both parties to not only feel they have been heard, but for there to be a mutual understanding and agreement between them. We are not seeking a hollow victory over each other, but the recognition of our common humanity and equal opportunity to flourish and grow as human beings. For Christians, true reconciliation, which is only available through Christ, is the same love of our neighbour that God already has for us in Jesus. Reconciliation, then, is not a human achievement but a gift from God in which he invites us to participate. So as Christ has reconciled all of us to God, let us then be reconciled to one another through him.

Reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in our church and in the wider community is an ongoing project. Let’s be part of it.

Some recommended resources for congregations and individuals:

1. 1. Click on the following links to read and watch more about these days of significance for Indigenous recognition and reconciliation in Australia:
      • 26 May, National Sorry Day, the anniversary of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report on the Stolen Generations. On Sorry Day we reflect on the trauma associated with involuntary separation from family, land, language and cultural inheritance.
      • 27 May, the anniversary of the 1967 referendum, which was a major milestone in the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
      • 3 June, the anniversary of the High Court’s 1992 Mabo land rights decision. The Mabo decision exposed the lie of the British assertion that the Australian continent was terra nullius (empty land, belonging to nobody). It recognised Indigenous Australians’ prior occupation of Australia and their claims and connections to land.
   2. Australians Together is a not-for-profit organisation committed to a brighter future between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It has produced an excellent (and free-to-view) four-part documentary series titled Sharing Our Story that is very suitable for church small groups. Its Discover section teaches the truth of Australians’ shared history and how that history is still having an impact today.
   3. The Reconciliation Australia website also features resources for Reconciliation Week 2018, the theme of which is ‘Don’t keep history a mystery’.
   4. ABC Radio National’s Speaking Out: Living with the locals: Six extraordinary first contact stories of friendship and survival.

Prayer points

For Indigenous and non-Indigenous Lutherans and the work of reconciliation in our church and in the wider community

• God our Father, we thank you for reconciling us to yourself through the death of Jesus. Help us to see clearly that it is your will that Australia’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples be reconciled to each other, and help us to live out your will in our lives.
• In this year in which we are encouraged to learn more about Australia’s Indigenous people’s experience of colonisation, we give thanks for the work of people who help us to better understand the nature and extent of harms done, and the ongoing consequences today. Open our ears to hear and our hearts to acknowledge this dark side of our history.
• Help us to recognise and accept each other’s struggles with painful emotions like grief, loss, anger and guilt. Help us to be more empathetic and better able to provide constructive help to friends in need.
• Help Indigenous and non-Indigenous Christians alike to define themselves first and foremost as children of God, one people united in Christ. Help all of us to avoid letting tribal attitudes like pride in our ancestry and pride in our cultural heritage stand in the way of right relationship.
• Help us to appreciate the good things we each have to offer and to be open to being changed by each other for the better.
• We give thanks for historical work in our church to establish and strengthen relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Lutherans. As we move forward, help us to listen well as we talk with each other and be humble and gracious in the way we act.
• We pray for the committee working on our church’s Reconciliation Action Plan, that they can formulate a plan that is in line with your will, and that the church will embrace it and implement it joyfully.

For efforts at local, state and federal level to ‘close the gap’, to enable Indigenous children to have the same life chances as other Australians

• We pray for the success of efforts to address intergenerational Indigenous disadvantage and dysfunction, that the wisest and most effective actions will be taken, and that these actions will involve listening to the voices of Indigenous people, and that Indigenous people will be instrumental in overcoming their problems.
• We pray for efforts to strengthen families and communities, rebuild respect for self and others and a sense of responsibility to others where it is needed. We pray especially that Christians can help those who have ‘lost their way’ find meaning and direction through faith in Jesus.

For a positive way forward in the wake of the government’s refusal to accept the Uluru Statement from the Heart

• Lord, we understand that many Indigenous Australians and their supporters feel hurt and disappointed by the government’s refusal to accept the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We don’t know what will happen next but pray for positive and meaningful action that will have majority support of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Pastor John Henderson,

Bishop, Lutheran Church of Australia.