Lament and Thanksgiving before Australia Day
Minister’s Letter from Cathedral Newsletter, 20/1/2022
Friends in Christ, this Sunday (23 Jan ’22) is the one before Australia Day. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples share a variety of attitudes towards celebration of Australia Day on 26th January. Although some are accepting, especially if past pain and continuing concern are acknowledged, few are unreservedly positive about the day.
I have been attracted to the suggestion made from a civic point of view, by Noel Pearson (a Lutheran), that the 25th might be a day of lament (being the day before the anniversary of British annexation) followed by giving thanks for Australia on the 26th itself. He thinks this could celebrate the land and nation and the achievements of the original indigenous inhabitants, the British colonial settlers, and the wide variety of immigrants since, along with the descendants of all these people.
As Archbishop Kanishka reminded me, the outstanding Aboriginal Australian leader, Williams Cooper called for the Sunday before Australia Day to be a Day of Mourning and of prayer for Aboriginal ‘upliftment’ and the spread of the gospel among his people.
So again, this Sunday at St Andrew's, services will be marked by both lament and thanksgiving, by prayer for greater reconciliation, with God in Jesus’ name, and also between Australians; also for the welfare of contemporary indigenous peoples.
From this Sunday, you will see an "acknowledgement of country” on a slide before services, and in the bulletin hereafter, and on the history page of our website, along these lines…
As we gather in the presence of God, we acknowledge with respect the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet. In his wisdom and love, our Heavenly Father gave this land to the Gadigal people of the Eora nation (see Acts 17:26). On this land, they met for generations before the coming of British settlers. As we now live together on these lands, we pray that God would unite us all in a knowledge of his Son, Jesus Christ, in whom and for whom all things were created.
The reference to Scripture reminds us God is sovereign over which peoples lived in what places! We also expect to make this acknowledgement verbally at the start of key formal occasions, such as our AGM, and during NAIDOC week.
As with repeating Christian ‘liturgy’ (such as reciting the Lord’s Prayer or Apostles’ Creed), there is a danger of meaningless repetition. So a key responsibility, in making this acknowledgement, or in our liturgy, or even in singing a favourite Christian hymn, is to make sure you, as an individual follower of Jesus, approach the words with meaning, and engage with sincerity. That will often mean action is needed as well.
I expect we will hear more from our Synod on this later this year. For now, I commend support of our Sydney Anglican Indigenous Peoples’ Ministry Committee and its congregations in Glebe, Redfern, Mt Druitt, the Macarthur, and the Shoalhaven. I hope we’ll soon hear from Pastor Michael Duckett, chair of this work.
Warmly in Christ,
Sandy Grant