A range of resources for acknowledging the history of January 26th in church services are available for your use below -

 

Acknowledgement of Country

"We would like to acknowledge, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, acknowledge, lament and pray today.

They are stewards on behalf of the Almighty Creator. We would also like to pay our respects to the Elders past, present and future."

Read more about Acknowledgement of Country here

 

Psalm 23 – Aboriginal Style by Uncle Rev Ron Williams 

My big fella boss up in the sky is like the father Emu.

He will always look after me and take me to green grass,

and lead me to where the water holes are

full and fresh all the time.

He leads me away from the thick scrub and helps me keep safe from the hunters, dingoes and eagles.

At night time when I am very lonely and sad,

I will not be afraid,

for my Father covers me with his feathers

like a father emu.

His spear and shield will always protect me.

My big fella boss always give me a good feed

in the middle of my enemies.

In hot times he makes me sit down in a cool shade and rest.

He gives me plenty of love and care all of my life through.

Then I will live with my big fella boss like a father emu:

that cares for his chicks in good country,full of peace and safety

For evermore and evermore.

 

26 January prayer

Written by Brooke Prentis, Aboriginal Christian Leader and CEO of Common Grace

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. 

 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Injustices

Compiled by Brooke Prentis, Aboriginal Christian Leader and CEO of Common Grace

  • Invasion
  • Dispossession
  • Stolen Land
  • Stolen Wages
  • Stolen Generations
  • Lack of Treaty
  • Slavery
  • Lack of recognition of The Frontier Wars
  • Massacres
  • Genocide
  • Loss of Language
  • Lack of return of Ancestral Remains
  • Lack of protection of Sacred Sites
  • High rates of Prison incarceration
  • High rates of Juvenile Detention
  • Denied access to medical attention in custody
  • The NT Intervention
  • Paperless arrest laws
  • Forced removal from Homelands
  • Proposed nuclear waste dumps without consultation
  • Poverty
  • Racism
  • Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
  • The New Stolen Generation
  • Life expectancy gaps

 

Treaty

The Treaty video was released as part of Common Grace’s campaign, Treaty and Truth Telling for Healing Country, across National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week 2021.

 

Common Grace #ChangeTheHeart prayer

Written by Brooke Prentis, Aboriginal Christian Leader and CEO of Common Grace

Great Creator Spirit, Lord God, Papa, Jesus,
We pray together unto you.

From nation to nation
Right across these lands now called Australia
From north, to east, to south, to west.
From coast, to forest, to desert, to city.
We are tuning in together on country.

For land and waters and sky,
For trees and plants and flowers,
For animals and fish and birds,
For hills and rocks and mountains,
For all peoples...
For country...

Jesus, we lament the injustice of the past
Jesus, we lament the ongoing injustice in the present

Jesus, we confess we have contributed to injustice
Jesus, we confess to having not loved our Aboriginal neighbour as you have called

Jesus, we thank you for the resilience, survival, and leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Jesus, we thank you that we have the opportunity for relationship and friendship

Jesus, we know we must do better
Jesus, we know we must make things right

Jesus, we ask for your guidance as we seek justice in our lifetime
Jesus, we ask you
To open our eyes to see as you see
To open our ears to hear as you hear
To open our minds to truth as you know
To open our hearts to love as you love

As a movement of people pursuing Jesus and justice
We come together for the common good
We discover common ground
We share in common grace
We long to embrace unity with diversity

May the beats of many hearts create a beautiful symphony
In tune
In rhythm
With each other, with all of creation, and with Jesus.

As we pray for justice to roll like the waves of the oceans that surround these lands now called Australia
We pray to #ChangeTheHeart of Australia.
Amen.

 

Prayer for January 26th

Written by Rev Katherine Rainger

Before you our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer,
We remember that we stand on holy ground
We acknowledge the stories of this land
We acknowledge the peoples of this land
We acknowledge the lore of this land
We acknowledge the languages of this land
We acknowledge that this land and her peoples
are in need of healing
Give us compassion
to hear and to feel the pain of lives torn apart
to hear and feel the pain of land that is damaged
and mistreated - sold to the highest bidder
Give us conviction
to name where we benefit from the
dispossession of First Peoples
to see where injustice has taken hold
and to not look away
Give us the courage
to listen, to see, to feel, to name
the pain,
the loss,
the theft and
the resistance.
May we be inspired by truth-tellers,
Justice-seekers and peace-makers in every age.
Turn our inaction into action.
We pray this in the name of Jesus the Christ
Amen.