Greetings …

Sunday 13 February marks the anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations.  In 2008 the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly to the Stolen Generations whose lives had been blighted by past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation. The journey to this national apology began with the Bringing Them Home report – the finds of an inquiry instigated by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in 1995.

I remember watching this apology and thinking that something incredible had happened, that Australia had really turned a corner and things would somehow be better from now on, but all this time later I wonder what has really changed.  While this was certainly a significant, even critical, milestone for healing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, there is still a significant way to go as we journey with our First Nations people.

Saying ‘sorry’ is one thing, but it remains just a word if we do nothing to ensure that our behaviour changes so similar things do not happen again.  As a nation we need to commemorate and acknowledge the wrongs of the past, as well as take responsibility and ask forgiveness.  We also need to acknowledge that there is still much that needs to change to address the impacts of unresolved trauma and walk into a just future for all people.

Micah 6:8 calls us to “do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God”.  This is a verse we can easily rattle off but are we serious about what it says.  It seems to me that it is hard to see how we can walk humbly with God if we are not prepared to do justice and love kindness.  This might mean we need to take a good look at ourselves and step out of our comfort zones as we acknowledge the injustice that still persists and our part in it.  May each one of us be prepared to take these steps as we walk together with our First Peoples.

Blessings – Heather.