Where Do We Go From Here

82 Think “I actually believe that we Christians can lead the way in our nation’s healing, if we face our own truth. We, as Christians, are by nature, people of reconciliation. In Christ, God was reconciling the world to God’s self, not counting our trespasses against us, entrusting the message of reconciliation to us (2 Corinthians). As Christians we have no fear of truth. We know the power of forgiveness. We know the power of reconciliation. And we know the power of healing. We are people of Good News and hope, yet this all springs from an honest facing of our personal and collective histories. Jesus says, in his Sermon from the Mount, “When you’re offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift”. If you remember that your brother or sister has something against you. The uncomfortable truth, the starting place for reconciliation, begins with acknowledging Australia’s first peoples, our brothers and sisters, have something, indeed, against this nation….and our church. If we remember...? Leave your gift before the altar and go. Be reconciled with your brother and sister. Where do we begin? Firstly, listen to the stories of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The first peoples. Become acquainted with the full history of our nation. Not the edited version, or the version we like the best, or the version that makes us feel good – but the whole story.” Bishop Chris McLeod, National Aboriginal Bishop in the Anglican Church of Australi a 7