Uniting AgeWell has committed this year to developing a Reconciliation Action Plan and forming stronger relationships and partnerships with First Nations people.

This was recently outlined at a poignant Day of Mourning reflection held at Wesley Place, which is set to become an annual event.

A number of staff attended the reflection in the lead-up to Australia Day.  It was led by Director of Mission Rev. Clare Brockett, who lit a special candle to acknowledge our lament at the hurt caused to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Clare is both uplifted and proud that Uniting AgeWell is committed to developing a Reconciliation Action Plan.  

“It is time for us to play our part in the reconciliation story, intentionally opening the conversation about wrongs that have been done, engaging in deep listening, collaborating in healing and committing ourselves to the work of truth-telling and reconciliation,” she says.  “We are doing this not because we have to but because it is the right thing to do.  We need to do this.  We want to do this.”

In 2018 the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC), part of the Uniting Church, made a request to the National Assembly to express its commitment to justice and truth telling about the history, experiences and needs of First Nations people.

This is now a commitment grounded and reaffirmed in the covenant made between the two parties in 1994.  The UAICC chose to mark a time before Australia Day – the Day of Mourning – to acknowledge the dispossession of First Nations people, the taking of land and people from their homes and the ongoing injustices faced by First Nations people.

Clare brought along the framed print of the Covenant Painting, which will be displayed at Wesley Place to acknowledge the land of the Wurundjeri People.  

Prints of the Covenant Painting are displayed across our sites, with acknowledgement of the country upon which the site is located, for each of them.

Clare concluded the event by saying, “We pray that, in the year ahead, we at UA will have the courage to formally and informally participate in an organisational conversation about reconciliation.  May we acknowledge our part in staying quiet when injustice is rife and work towards being part of healing relationships in a way that is just, empowering and celebrates the strength, wisdom and spirit of First Nations people.”

You can read more about the Covenanting painting.

Return to Inside Story