Walking the Path of Courage

One Church’s Journey with Aboriginal Sunday

Each year, the Sunday before 26 January invites churches across Australia to observe Aboriginal Sunday - a call to reclaim William Cooper’s prophetic invitation to the Church in 1938: to stand in solidarity, pray for justice, and seek the flourishing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is a time to listen deeply, learn humbly, and be shaped by the wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders.

For South Croydon Anglican Church, this has become more than a date on the calendar. Aboriginal Sunday has grown into a quiet posture and steady heartbeat within their community - a way of listening, learning, and walking with courage. Warren and Jessie, members of the church’s reconciliation group and supporters of the Common Grace movement, share their reflections on this journey.

A Challenge That Began a Journey

The journey began five years ago when the Minister at South Croydon posed a simple but weighty question: Are we ready to walk the path of reconciliation?

In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul reminds us that, made new in Christ, we are given the work of reconciliation in the world.

The Minister's question sparked the formation of a reconciliation group of around 8–10 people (a significant number in a congregation of only 50!) 

In an urban context, distance from local Indigenous communities felt real. “Many people in our church haven’t met a local Indigenous person,” Warren says. Yet through the Church Missionary Society and relationships with mission partners in Groote Eylandt and Darwin, they found guidance and support from communities already walking this road of justice and reconciliation. These relationships became stepping stones.

Four Years of Marking Aboriginal Sunday

Each year on Aboriginal Sunday, the church leans into practices that are simple yet profoundly formational. They have often drawn on the artwork and reflections of Safina Stewart - proud Wuthathi and Mabuiag Island woman and Common Grace’s Storyteller and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice Lead, whose pieces have created space for prayer, lament, and hope.

Some moments have become landmarks in their communal memory. One year, everyone received a leaf-shaped print of Safina’s artwork. “Everyone wrote their own prayers responding to the presentation,” Warren shares. “Those leaves were attached to the big picture, and that display with the prayers of the people is still up in our church.”

Warren and Jessie have been most heartened by the congregation’s willingness to participate. “Every single person wrote something,” Warren reflects. “Physical activity is significant - it means people are willing to take the next step, beyond just listening.” Jessie adds, “The congregation’s written reflections are the most encouraging part.”

These embodied practices of writing, planting, and attaching prayers to art, have helped move learning from the head into the heart, becoming an expression of shared discipleship. 

Why Aboriginal Sunday Matters

For Warren and Jessie, Aboriginal Sunday matters because it draws the Church into a way of learning that is spiritual, honest, and impactful. What began as a challenge from their minister has become, for Jessie, a gentle and spiritually rich rhythm. “It started as a challenge from our minister,” she says, “but I see it as a way of helping to educate our congregation in a way that is tender, kind, and spiritually deep. It is not dogmatic. It is an invitation to enter into the reality of our current situation.” Warren emphasises that truth matters - both stories and statistics. “Without the data that Common Grace provides for us to use on Aboriginal Sunday,” he says, “people wouldn’t know about some of the issues.”

Aboriginal Sunday has also taught them about the importance of deep listening. 

Warren admits, “We have failed in that,” acknowledging the humility required in the work of reconciliation. Yet grace continues to lead them forward. Jessie reflects on how this journey has opened her eyes to more than historical harm: “Not only the pain, but the ongoing effects of colonisation and generational damage. Most people just see brokenness but don’t see the original image of beauty. I’m learning to appreciate the language and culture that God has given First Nations Peoples.” 

This growing awareness has shaped the church’s broader identity, seen each week in a simple vision printed in their bulletin: a Christian community that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will recognise as a place where they are respected and welcome and will experience God’s love.

For Warren and Jessie, truth-telling is an act of faithfulness. “The pain of our history - that’s what I’ve learned,” Warren says, lamenting how fear following the Voice referendum has slowed momentum but remaining convinced that truth-telling is necessary for healing. Jessie adds, “Learning the ongoing impacts of colonisation has helped me appreciate the cultural treasures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.” For them, Aboriginal Sunday invites the Church to hold beauty and brokenness together and to keep walking with courage.

An Invitation to Other Churches

Their encouragement to other churches is simple:

“Go for it.”

“It is a reminder of our history,” Warren says. “An opportunity for the Church to keep learning. We need the tools that Common Grace provides. Without those resources, most churches would struggle to know how to move ahead.”

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Looking Toward 2026: Be Strong and Courageous

As Aboriginal Sunday approaches in 2026, the theme Be Strong and Courageous (Joshua 1:9) carries particular resonance. The journey toward justice and healing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is long and often heavy. Yet Scripture reminds us that courage is possible because God goes before us.

For South Croydon Anglican, this journey has been steady and hopeful - shaped by listening, prayer, and the persistent courage of walking together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

As your church looks toward the year ahead, may you hear this invitation too: to listen deeply, learn with humility, and be shaped by the courageous witness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders.

Sign up to receive Aboriginal Sunday 2026 Resources here

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Photo credits: Warren Glover working on South Croydon Anglican's mural for Aboriginal Sunday 2023. Safina Stewart visiting and sharing with South Croydon Anglican Church’s Indigenous Reconciliation Group in 2025.