During my holidays I travelled on the Ghan to Darwin. It was lovely to see all the colours of the country and meet people from all over Australia. The Northern Territory is experiencing one of its driest summers for a long time. It was interesting during the various tours hearing how the Aboriginal people maintained the natural bush through regular burn offs. They have a lot of knowledge about fire. Do you believe climate change is having an impact? Whatever our thoughts – I believe it is important to reduce waste and the impact of our carbon imprint on the planet. We can all play our part- – like remembering to take your shopping bag with you.
When we went on the Yellow River boat cruise we saw many crocodiles. The aboriginal tour guides know those crocodiles by name. They know that they are strongly territorial and have established an understanding with them. I was amazed by the beautiful Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery , which held an exhibition about the solar system incorporating science and art , complemented by Aboriginal dreamtime stories.
As we travelled home by car, we stopped at the Malla Service station . There was an art gallery there with some beautiful art pieces by people living on the APY lands. They were reasonably priced, carefully catalogued and all the money went back to the artist . I purchased a painting as painting and art is a good spiritual practice and I felt it was a way to show appreciation and empower the artists to continue their work. Empowerment of the dispossessed and vulnerable ones, is a powerful theme in the gospel of Luke.
How can we as a church make connections with our Aboriginal people in the Taperoo area? The Uniting Church through its covenantal relationship with Aboriginal people encourages all of us to pray and work towards healing and justice for the first peoples of this nation. Please take the time to read the Covenant and to pray for ways for us to connect and support Aboriginal people. We will be helping the Lord’s Prayer and the Beatitudes to be actualised in an important way.
God bless us as we serve this community in Christ’s humility, hospitality, love and care.
Rev. Frances