An Aboriginal Voice
In 2019 , at the NSW & ACT UC Synod , a resolution ( jointly presented by our Presbytery minister John Squires ) passed by consensus , urging all levels of Australian Government to further the cause for an Aboriginal voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the constitution ( as requested in the Uluru Statement from the Heart ) and the setting up of a Makarrata or Truth-telling commission as a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations people .
In May 2020 , Nathan Tyson , an indigenous man was seconded to Synod to help develop covenant relationships between First Nations and UC congregations ; an activity he has found productive and rewarding . Now Nathan wants to further this advocacy and has launched a campaign for an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament and a Makarrata as a means of furthering the UC ’ s support for reconciliation . It involves individuals and congregations writing to their MPs at all levels of government and is made easy for us by providing a sample letter and also the names and addresses of our representatives wherever we live . We are invited to personalise our letters if we wish with our own thoughts . I responded to this and received supportive letters back from all my MPs ! Below is all the information in Weekly Insights if you wanted to support the initiative .
There is also an Indigenous Christian group called Common Grace headed by an Aboriginal leader , Brooke Prentiss , who has been striving to influence Second Nations Australians with a process called Change the Heart involving a widely publicised Service followed by lists of things those sympathetic to the cause could make a priority .
With these things in mind I thought a financial contribution would be appropriate ( I had already made a personal one to Common Grace ) but where to send it ? Inspiration struck when I remembered that John Squires was a Canberra Presbytery Minister so I sent him an e-mail asking for suggestions for somewhere appropriate . ($ 300 was raised which I think showed our congregation ’ s interest in Aboriginal Reconciliation ) He actually contacted Nathan Tyson who came back with a suggestion which he obviously believes meaningfully supports these aims . If people want to check it out
https :// alumni . unsw . edu . au / giving / LAW / UluruDialogues . I ’ m inclined to think if Nathan recommends it that ’ s the one we should go for !
If anybody wants to discuss any of these things further with me I ’ d be happy to do so . I initially became involved by following up items from the Presbytery newsletter which Lynda had put on our pew sheet .
- Margaret Hunt
St Margaret ’ s News 8 February 2021