NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 27th May to 3rd June 2021.

 

 

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 27th May to 3rd June 2021. 

A Message from Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane.

At the heart of the Gospel is reconciliation – between humanity and God and between human beings. 

 

As St Paul declares: “All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18).

 

The Church has a crucial role to play in promoting and supporting reconciliation with the First Peoples in Australia. In this National Reconciliation Week, I invite you to consider how your parish can contribute to the process of reconciliation in Australia. … 

 

National Reconciliation Week is an important opportunity to engage the parishes in the journey of reconciliation at a local level. … 

May the God of peace heal the running sores at the heart of our nation and bring reconciliation to the peoples of Australia.

As always in the Lord, Archbishop Mark Coleridge. 

 

Acknowledgement of Country:

 

We respectfully acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country, and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. (And here in this parish of Surfers Paradise, we particularly acknowledge and pay respects to the Kombumerri clan of the Yugambeh people of the Gold Coast). 

 

We also acknowledge Elders, past and present and pay tribute to those who have contributed to the social, economic, cultural, political and spiritual life of our community.

 

This acknowledgement affirms our commitment to social justice and the importance of healing and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

 

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION PRAYER 

 

Creator Spirit, 

All creation once declared your glory, Your laws were honoured and trusted, 

Forgive us our neglect as our country approaches the most critical moment in its history. 

Listen to our prayer as we turn to you, Hear the cry of our land and its people, Just as you heard the cry of Jesus, your Son, on the Cross. 

Help us to replace our national shame With true national pride by restoring the dignity of our First People whose antiquity is unsurpassed. 

May our faith and trust in you increase. 

Only then will our nation grow strong and be a worthy place for all who wish to make their home in our land. Amen. 

{© Elizabeth Pike, September 1997 Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Melbourne}.