New resource for faith communities
Local
A new resource dealing with the place of First Nations people in Australia and growing concern over global warming and treatment of the Earth has been created by the Uniting Church – Roman Catholic Dialogue of South Australia.
The Dialogue was formally established by the leaders of the two churches in South Australia more than 30 years ago to engage in conversation about their respective traditions, theological convictions and faith practices.
Over the past 18 months it has been reflecting on the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart and care for the environment.
The result is the resource Crying Out, a 24-page document that can be used by local congregations, groups and individuals to discern these issues in the light of their faith.
Co-chairs of the Dialogue, Dr Marelle Harisum and Fr Michael Trainor, said they believed that Crying Out was “important and timely”.
Catholic Education SA assistant director Monica Conway, who reviewed the resource, said Crying Out was an excellent basis for groups within Roman Catholic and Uniting Church communities and broader Christian communities to prayerfully discern topics for ‘our time and people’.
The resource starts with naming the issues under the heading of ‘In the Wilderness’. Ms Conway said the issues were named “truthfully and powerfully, and in ways that call for a response”.
“We are encouraged to reflect, pray, own the issues and to hear the earth and her people crying out for healing and renewal for the whole of creation,” she said.
“The Uluru Statement from the Heart sets the scene for a connected vision of how we can work for, and with, First Peoples as we care for all creation on earth.
“The call to deep partnership echoes Pope Francis’ call to strengthen our sense of connectedness toward ecological conversion and action.
“Crying Out provokes our thinking through asking searching questions such as ‘how is the call to care for the earth related to care for one another?’ and provides a Roman Catholic response and a Uniting Church response for consideration.
“It concludes with a section called Faith in Action and so completes a cycle of knowing, understanding, reflecting, praying and acting which can be repeated over and over again in response to the critical issues of our times.”
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