Uniting Aboriginal and

Islander Christian Congress

The logo of the Congress was designed by Djiniyini Gondarra. The logo is in
the Aboriginal colours. The red is on top because the blood of Christ covers
all. The black part below forms a U for Uniting. (From the UAICC website)
For detailed information of the symbols used in the logo please see
http://www.uaicc.org.au/about_us/the_congress_logo.php

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Outline
Brief overview of Congress
Covenanting relationship between Congress and UCA
Charles Harriss vision for Congress
Various expressions of the Covenant since its signing in 1994
Preamble to the Constitution

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Brief Overview 1985-2007

Congress established in 1985 in response to the urging of indigenous
members
1988 Congress sought to encourage the intentional development of
relationships between the original people of the continent and those who
have migrated here in the last two hundred years.
1994 The Covenant relationship between Congress and the Uniting
Church Assembly was signed 10th July 1994. Many projects of
partnership between the Congress and the UCA have begun since 1994.
2003 Renewing the Covenant Task Group proposed the idea for a new
Preamble to the Constitution.
2009 The Preamble to the Constitution was approved by the 12th
Assembly.

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Covenant
The late Rev Charles Harris, the founding Congress President, had the
vision that the relationship between Congress and the UCA could take
the shape of a covenant.
Charles Harris had three interrelated visions
3Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress: black Christians
united, in control of their organisation, setting their own agenda. (Selfdetermination)
4The end to two hundred years of discrimination and oppression, and
the establishment of justice
5A vision of a Uniting Church committed to the Uniting Aboriginal and
Islander people by means of a Covenant.
It is Harriss vision that forms the basis of the Covenanting statement.
(From Committed to Change, edited by Delphine-Standford and Brown)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Covenanting
Covenanting is establishing a relationship based on respect, friendship and love
with the hope of ending racism against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people.
It is about learning from indigenous people concerning their culture and
understanding of the inter-connectedness of all forms of life and the earth.
It is a call to the whole church to be outraged by the violence, death and
dispossession inflicted on Aboriginal people, much of it continuing until now.
It is a call to reflect on our theology and spirituality so that our spirituality values
all of life, refusing to segment it into spiritual and secular realms. At the same time
it is a call to respect the spirituality of different cultures to experience God in their
own context.
Covenanting is about tackling those issues of dispossession, injustice and
disrespect that make reconciliation in Australia impossible.
Congress initiated the steps that led to the formation of the covenant within the
Uniting Church. (From Committed to Change)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Why covenanting instead

of reconciliation?
Reconciliation deals with estrangement. It deals with the past and present realities
of alienation and distancing in our experience.
Covenanting can only proceed on the basis of reconciliation. It takes reconciliation
further as it requires the commitment between two parties entered into in the
presence of God and before witnesses.
In covenanting, two parties undertake mutual responsibilities. It is about making
commitments for a more just and caring future. It is based in grace and trust. It is
oriented towards living together in justice in the future.
(From Building Partnerships edited by Mark Hillis & Committed to Change edited by Delphine-Stanford & Brown)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Theological basis of the

Covenant
The incarnation God sharing embodied life with human beings, in the life of
Jesus Christ. Incarnation challenges the way we see God and the way we
understand and exercise power in all relationships.
God is the foundation of all our relationships. In the Bible we read that God has
agreed to be bound in relationship with people, a covenant relationship, renewed
from time to time as the people responded to Gods commitment to them.
In a similar way, the indigenous and non-indigenous people of the Uniting Church
seek to be bound in covenant with each and with God so that we may contribute to
a more just church and nation.
(From Building Partnerships edited by Mark Hillis)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

The Covenant
Paragraph of the Covenant (UCA)
In 1988 you invited us non-Aboriginal members of this church to enter a
covenant with the members of the Congress. We seek to journey together
in the true Spirit of Christ as we discover what it means to be bound to
one another in a covenant. Christ has bound us to himself, giving himself
to us, and he has bound us to each other with his commandment: Love
one another as I have loved you.
(Spoken by Jill Tabart, President of the Uniting Church Assembly, 10th
July 1994).

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Congress response to the

Covenant
Last paragraph from Congress Response
We pray that God will guide you, together with us, in developing a
covenant to walk together practically so that the words of your statement
may become a tangible expression of His justice and love for all creation.
We ask you to remember this covenant by remembering that our land is
now sustaining your people by Gods grace.
(Spoken by Pastor Bill Hollingsworth, National Chairperson of Congress,
10th July, 1994)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Expressions of the
Covenant
A covenant between the (NAME) Congregation and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress
The (NAME) Congregation is a congregation in covenant with the Uniting Aboriginal Islander Christian Congress.
We acknowledge and grieve with indigenous people that the coming of people from overseas to live her over the past last two
centuries has resulted in great losses for indigenous people-losses of land, life, children, language and culture.
We acknowledge that in their zeal to preach the Gospel, the churches have not always treated indigenous culture with respect,
and have contributed to this loss.
We commit ourselves to listen to Indigenous people in order to understand and respect their spirituality and culture, and to
understand the history and political, social and economic relationships in Australia from their perspective.
We seek to understand our own identity as Australian Christians in terms of our relationship with Australias indigenous people,
the land and the rest of Creation.
We seek to reflect our congregations covenant with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress in our local mission
and witness by sponsoring positive relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in our local community.
We are committed to pray and w0rk for a united Australia which respects this land; values the prior and continuing
custodianship, culture and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and provides justice and equity for all.
Written by Peter Lewis published in the Congress Message Stick, October 2002.

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Expressions of the
Covenant
Acknowledgement of land and signs of respect examples
Example 1: To open a gathered time together (Meeting, conference or worship)
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, of Elders past and present, on which
we gather today. We recognise their special relationship with the land and all creation.
Example 2: A plaque from the permanent sign in the lobby of the South Australian Synod
building)
The Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of SA, acknowledge that we stand on the land for
which the Kaurna were the original custodians. We remember the ancestors with respect, and
commit ourselves to work for reconciliation with Indigenous people.
(From Building Partnerships edited by Mark Hillis)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Expressions of the
Covenant
Partnership is paramount. We share a distorted relationship which has been
shaped by history and its ongoing impact on Australian society and the church.
The Myall Creek experience
Recognising the unique experience Indigenous people have of God.
(From Building Partnerships edited by Mark Hillis)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Expressions of the
Covenant cont.
1 Christian Living
The people of the Uniting Church share a common struggle:
To discover how we might embrace the difference we find in each other as
people of shared faith
To discover form each other what it means that the central part of our identity is
that we are Christian
Doing it together: In the covenant we name each other as brothers and sisters in
Christ. We acknowledge that because of this relationship we cannot exist
without each other.
(From Building Partnerships edited by Mark Hillis)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Preamble to the
Constitution
Preamble is an introductory section to the Constitution. Speaks of group identity
and how the group reached this point.
The previous Preamble describes the way the three churches came into union.
Why the need to change? A significant question what does it mean to be the
Uniting Church in Australia.
The Preamble takes the position the most defining mark of what it means to be
Australian is that we live on land that was and is Aboriginal land, and that a
critical relationship in this land is the relationship between First and Second
peoples.
(From the Proposed Changes to the Preamble document)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Reasons for the Preamble

Needed something that stays before the mind of the church. Congress
has had many sad experiences of to many statements and resolutions not
becoming more than just words. The need to walk the talk.
Preamble was better thought to express the significance of Law since
time immemorial. To have such truth telling within the framework of
the law of the church is extraordinary important. It is seen as an
acknowledgment of respect for both the people and the relationship
(Proposed changes to the Preamble document)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Four key aspects of

Preamble
Theology:
Paragraphs 1-3 This section is about our understanding of the way God
related to this land and its peoples prior to European occupation. It
affirms that the First Peoples had encountered God, that the Spirit was
already in the land revealing God through law, custom and ceremony,
and that the same love and grace was revealed in Jesus Christ sustained
the people and gave them insight into Gods ways.

(Proposed changes to the Preamble document)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Truth-Telling

Paragraphs 4-6
These paragraphs acknowledge that the church had a very ambiguous history
with First Peoples and, to their shame, were largely silent in the face of what
was done to First Peoples.

(Proposed changes to the Preamble document)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Resistance

Paragraph 7
Acknowledges that the will to resist the denial of their prior
occupancy has always existed in the First Peoples, which has
increasingly influenced mainstream society including the church.

(Proposed changes to the Preamble document)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

The journey together

Paragraphs 8-10
Describe the journey of relationship building within the church and
celebrates the foretaste of that coming reconciliation and renewal
which is the end in view for the whole creation. It celebrates what
should be but is not yet.

(Proposed changes to the Preamble document)

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll

Resources

UAICC Website: http://www.uaicc.org.au/index.php

UCA Website: http://assembly.uca.org.au/resources/covenanting.html
Delphin-Stanford, D & Brown, J. (eds.), Committed to change: covenanting in the Uniting Church
in Australia. Melbourne: Uniting Church Press, 1994.
Hillis, M, Building partnerships: a guide to covenant renewal with Indigineous people throughout the
Uniting Church in Australia. Sydney, UCA Assembly, 2007. PDF download available
UCA Assembly, Proposed changes to the Preamble to the Constitution of the Uniting Church in
Australia: frequently asked questions. Sydney, UCA Assembly, 2009. PDF download available

Prepared by Rev Seforosa Carroll