Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday is on 3 July 2016!

There are lots of ways you or your parish can celebrate the day.   From an acknowledgement of country, to the inclusion of aboriginal art in your parish or church, to a reflection about aboriginal people’s connection to the land.  You might also consider starting a conversation in your parish about how you can reach out and connect with local aboriginal people in your area.   To help you get started, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, in liaison with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council has prepared some great resources, including: Resources Booklet   |   Bishops Statement   |   Poster   | Multimedia slide show   |      Acknowledgment and Welcome to Country Guide   |   Clip Art Gallery

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has released a Statement, “We need Mercy.  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday 2016“, part of which states:

The peoples of Australia’s First Nations are famously resilient and in their own words they are survivors. Notwithstanding the vagaries of government policy or the faulty efforts at work to close the gap, or the dreadful prejudices evident in racist attitudes so notoriously on display even in the public forum in recent times, Aboriginal and Islander peoples so often live the name of mercy in their lives. Ever might it be so and ever might they seek solace is the compassionate warmth of God’s embrace. In their prayers and in their loving communion may they continue to enrich the Church in Australia so that it will be “fully the Church that Jesus Christ wants her to be”. As we celebrate this Aboriginal and Islander Sunday in 2016 so we might echo with one voice the thoughts in psalm 66: “Let The Earth Cry Out To God With Joy And Compassion For All”.

For Further information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday, see the Bishops Commission for Relations with Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander Peoples or the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council.

Prayer from the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry

Loving and merciful God,

You gave us Mary, mother of Jesus, full of grace.

We ask for your wisdom and guidance to come upon us

to teach us compassion, humility and love,

to strengthen our faith,

to help us to love one another,

to unite us in friendship and sisterhood and

to touch our hearts with hope for the future.

Lord hear our prayer.  Amen

 

For further information about the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry in the Archdiocese of Sydney, visit the Ministry’s website at http://www.aboriginal.sydneycatholic.org/.