The Brisbane church I usually worship in is Holy Trinity, Fortitude Valley. The three persons of the Christian Godhead – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – reflect the paramount importance that God places on relationships. The three persons of the Godhead respect, honour and point to each other in an ever-lifegiving relationship. Because human beings are made in God’s image, we are, therefore, also made for relationships – ones of mutual love. My Malu (saltwater) Koedal (crocodile) and Thabu (carpet snake) totems help orientate my mind, heart and spirit when I think about the Creator God’s sacred calling to be in right relationship. Because human lives are interwoven with all other parts of God’s good Creation and with the work of our Kulba Mabaygal (ancestors), we need to be in right relationship with nature and with those who went before us. This, in part, means that we need to take much better care of the climate. There are seventeen inhabited islands in the Torres Strait and seven of these are inundated with water due to rising sea levels. My island of Saibai is one of these. Because of damage to the climate, we are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain clean, fresh water for drinking and gardening, natural materials for shelter, and liveable land. The habitats of other land-dwelling creatures are also being impacted by rising sea levels. When I fly over Saibai I see a “river” of sea water from one side of the island to the next that did not exist when I was young. Severe coastline erosion is destroying gardens of traditional cultural foods that we need for physical nourishment, celebrations and ceremonies, such as bisi (casava) and urugubaw (sweet potato). Our 73
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