October 2025 News Update

Prophetic Imagination: Seeing Beyond What Is

Our movement is gathering for the Let Justice Flow Conference tomorrow on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country in Canberra. I am feeling excited and hopeful. With any luck, I'll see many of you there!

In the lead up to the conference, I have been reflecting on the importance of what the late great theologian Walter Brueggemann described as prophetic imagination, "to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us." It is the gift of seeing beyond what is, into what God intends.

Because if we look at what is right now, things seem so broken. On the two issues we'll be picking up at the Let Justice Flow conference, Climate and Youth Justice, this feels so evident.

In the Climate space this week, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that humanity has already missed the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C, saying, "Let's recognise our failure... overshooting is now inevitable with devastating consequences." Those consequences include us moving past one of the first climate tipping points, with most coral reefs now likely to go extinct. The devastation of our ecosystems will be hard to comprehend, and it's heartbreaking to think that future generations may never know the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef. Yet even as we lament this loss, prophetic imagination invites us to hold grief and hope together, to envision restoration amid despair.

The news on Youth Justice in Australia is similarly heavy. Youth detention in the Northern Territory has reached record highs since "tough on crime" laws were introduced making bail harder for young people. This pattern of more punitive approaches is being mirrored across our states. This is despite the overwhelming evidence that this punitive approach fails to make communities safer, and indeed traumatises young children further - children as young as ten.

As followers of Jesus we know this is not how God wants the world to be. Our vision at Common Grace is rooted in God’s renewing work, a world where all people and creation flourish in right relationship. The prophets remind us that God’s justice is not abstract, it is rivers of mercy that reshape dry ground, the transformation of hearts and systems alike.

This vision allows us to imagine differently, to think through what a world shaped by love, grace, and justice looks like.

At Let Justice Flow Conference, we will be imagining and acting toward that vision, confronting the climate crisis with truth and courage, and reimagining youth justice through care and restoration, not punishment.

So, I have two invitations for you this month:

• Pray with us and for us. Please pray for our team, speakers, and delegates as we gather. See the prayer from my friend and colleague Adam Gowen below. 
• Partner with us. If your church is not yet part of our Common Grace network, please consider helping them join the journey as we pursue justice together.

Because we believe that imagining a better world is not wishful thinking, it is prophetic. It allows us to live now in light of God’s promised future, until justice flows like a mighty river.

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October 2025 Updates

Please join us in prayer for our Common Grace team, speakers, and delegates gathering tomorrow for the 2025 Let Justice Flow Conference. Together, we seek God’s guidance as we learn, advocate, and unite to see justice flow across these lands. We invite you to be led by the benediction “Hands & Hearts,” written by Adam Gowen for our 2024 Let Justice Flow Conference service: Great ancient spirit, our source One who has heard cries for justice from eternity past Instill us with strength to pursue the world you imagine. May our hands find tasks that bring hope to those around us May our hearts find joy in joining with those who seek your kingdom order. Ngawa (yes, amen)

Safina Stewart, Common Grace’s Storyteller and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lead, recently shared with South Croydon Anglican Church’s Indigenous Reconciliation Group -  a gathering alive with hope and deep listening. Together they explored the Church’s role in reconciliation through action, not just words. Safina’s story sparked rich conversation on cultural safety, truth, and the sacred journey toward justice, honouring ongoing work through Treaty and Yoorrook. There’s something deeply sacred about walking this road together, celebrating connection and pressing on in faith toward justice.

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Earlier this month, a Gaza ceasefire deal was agreed upon. We give thanks for every family who has been able to sleep without the sound of bombs, every child who wakes to birds instead of drones, and every loved one who has been reunited. Yet even amid this fragile calm, violence has not ceased. More than one hundred Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began - lives cut short in defiance of peace.

We grieve with Israeli and Palestinian families alike who continue to bury their dead, for the childhoods lost, homes destroyed, and generations marked by trauma. This ceasefire offers only momentary relief, reminding us that true peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice, dignity, and restoration for all.

May hearts be transformed. Blessed are the peacemakers.

Common Grace is excited to partner with the Make Big Polluters Pay Campaign. This campaign is a powerful new alliance of climate-impacted communities, faith groups, First Nations groups, youth, and environmental organisations calling on the government to compel coal, oil, and gas companies to cover the real costs of their pollution. The Campaign calls for the introduction of a Climate Pollution Levy and a Climate Compensation Fund to help households and communities on the frontlines of climate change. Find out more here.

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From November 25 to December 10, join Common Grace for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Journey with us through daily reflections exploring healthy relationships, from friendship and dating to marriage, leadership, conflict, and forgiveness. Together, we will listen to survivors, advocates and theologians, as we cast a new vision for relationships that reflects the heart of God. Sign up here.

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Thank you for joining us as we walk together pursuing truth, justice, and grace.

With deep gratitude,
Gershon Nimbalker

Common Grace National Director