Please note: As a Yolŋu person, all posthumous depictions of Rev Garrawurra are governed by customary law.
The obituary and the image that accompanies it are not to be shared on social media at the request of Rev Garrawurra’s Djungaya. Nor is the first name he was formerly known by to be used.
Stuart McMillan, Assembly Consultant for Covenanting, shares his thoughts on remembering a Day of Mourning, annually on the Sunday before Australia Day.
This January, Uniting Church congregations across the country are being asked to hold worship services that reflect on the effect of invasion and colonisation on Australia’s First Peoples. The observance of a ‘Day of Mourning’ was endorsed by the 15th Assembly at the request of members of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC).
Rather than seeking a change to the date for Australia Day as some propose, the UAICC asked the church, in the spirit of the Covenant between us, to declare the Sunday before Australia Day as a Day of Mourning. Assembly members enthusiastically agreed.
“We used to climb that tree. There were other bigger ones we use to climb too.”
“We used to come in that door there and that’s where we would stand and sing in the choir.”
There were lots of little stories circulating in quiet conversations among the hundreds of people who gathered together on Saturday 27 October at the historical site of the Moore River Native Settlement, later named Mogumber Mission.
Dr Richard Smith, from the Uniting Church WA Covenanting Commission, offers us this reflection on a workshop on Sovereignty and Treaty, which was led by Stuart McMillan at the recent Presbytery of WA Meeting.
It looked more like a concentration camp than a residential school for Aboriginal children.
Back at their dormitory the girls were trying to snuggle down in their cold, uninviting beds. Molly, Daisy and Gracie began to talk normally amongst themselves, not whispering, but speaking in their own relaxed manner.
“You girls can’t talk blackfulla language here, you know,” came the warning from the other side of the dorm. “You gotta forget it and talk English all the time.”
Text taken from Follow The Rabbit Proof Fence, by Nugi Garimara, 1996.
Follow The Rabbit Proof Fence tells the true story of three girls who escaped the Moore River Native Settlement in 1931.
Ex-President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Stuart McMillan, will begin a new role with the National Assembly as Assembly Consultant Covenanting on 1 September.
Stuart will provide advice, support and leadership about honouring the church’s Covenant with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) to the Assembly and across the councils of the Uniting Church.
“Living out our Covenant between First and Second Peoples is a central part of our expression of our Christian faith in the Uniting Church in Australia, and at the Assembly we are committed to taking that seriously,” said Assembly General Secretary Colleen Geyer in announcing the appointment.
The Presidents of the Uniting Church in Australia and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress have urged congregations to find out more about the history of Indigenous people in their area during Reconciliation Week.
“Reaching out to local First Peoples and listening to their stories is the first step towards reconciliation,” said Uniting Church President, Stuart McMillan.
“Acknowledgement of country is a widely accepted practice in Australian public life, so I’m shocked at the number of people who are unaware or sometimes even deny basic facts about First Peoples.”
The President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Stuart McMillan, has welcomed a number of important initiatives for First Australians in the 2018 Federal Budget.
Stuart said he was cheered by confirmation of a $550 million Federal commitment to a new five-year agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing with the Northern Territory Government.
“The housing needs of First Peoples have been scandalously neglected for so long,” he said.
“The Government has promised to ensure Aboriginal community control will be at the heart of this investment, from decision-making to employment and business procurement. If it does this, it will be an excellent outcome.”
Stuart was delighted at the extension of Medicare funding for dialysis services in rural and remote regions and confirmation that Purple House – Western Desert Dialysis in Alice Springs will receive $23 million in funding over the next few years.
Colleen Geyer, General Secretary of the Uniting Church in Australia travelled across Canada last year with a group of seven Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (Congress) leaders, as part of the Moderator of the United Church of Canada (UCC), Rev Jordan Cantwell’s, Reconciliation Dialogue.
The purpose of the trip was to take a look at the way another church had worked through sovereignty and treaty discussions with its First Peoples, to better inform the conversation the Uniting Church is currently engaged in. She shared her experience with Revive.
Our journey began in Vancouver where we met students at the UCC’s Native Ministries Consortium Summer School and visited the Vancouver School of Theology.
On Tuesday 13 February UnitingCare West teams came together at their respective sites to acknowledge the 10th Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations.
Apology Day was marked by UnitingCare West service centres in Victoria Park, Perth inner city, Fremantle, Inglewood, Merriwa and Subiaco, with teams coming together over morning tea to share their reflections and feelings about the Apology. It was also an opportunity to hear stories from those affected by the Stolen Generations policies, including Ann and Kevin from Kinship Connections Aboriginal Corporation.
It was an emotional day of sharing, leaving UnitingCare West staff with hope for moving towards a more just, equitable and reconciled WA.