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26th of January

This 26th January, we at Common Grace are particularly conscious of the heritage and contribution of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

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who stewarded and cared for this beautiful land for thousands of years prior to Captain Arthur Philip and the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.

Our Common Grace spokesperson Brooke Prentis has written a beautiful pray that for compassion and healing in our nation of Australia. As we thank God and celebrate all the great things that we love so much, we must also together pause, recognize God's sovereignty over our nation, and pray for truth, justice, love and hope.

God of Holy Dreaming, Great Creator Spirit, Papa Jesus,

We come before you today as a Christian community to pause and reflect with our Aboriginal brothers and sisters. We pause to take a moment to show compassion to Aboriginal people at this time of grief and grievance. Whilst not all of us will understand this Lord, we ask that you help us to see, hear and feel the struggles of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters.

We pray for strength and healing at this time that brings forth feelings of loss. We recognise the loss of family, loss of land, and loss of freedom. We say sorry for the times we have wronged Aboriginal people, the times we have not treated them with dignity, the times we have not stood up to racism, and the times we have not listened to their stories, their fight for justice, and their cry for compassion.

Dear Lord, we pray for a way that we can celebrate together, not as one unified group, but for a way that celebrates our diversity. A way that encompasses all cultures, and celebrates and commemorates our past, both the good and the bad.

Dear Lord, we know that you are all seeing and all knowing. We know that you have seen all that has gone on in this land since time began. We pray that you help all Australians to see
as you have seen through all the pages of our history and our present and our future yet to come.

Dear Lord, we thank you for placing Aboriginal people here in this land, we thank you for their care and stewardship of your great creation for thousands of years. We thank you for their survival against many odds.

Dear Lord, may we learn to respect, appreciate, and acknowledge, the oldest living culture in the world.

Lord we ask all these things in your Almighty name,
Amen.

PS. We are so grateful for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice team as they work to reflect the beauty, generosity and justice of Jesus. Here's a wonderful piece by team member Tanya Riches from today’s ABC Religion & Ethics.