LCA Bishop endorses Reconciliation Action Plan
View video below.
Beginning with a blessing and an Acknowledgement of Country, Bishop John Henderson emphasises the important work of the Lutheran Church of Australia in developing and implementing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). A RAP is a tool, designed to further support our reconciliation journey by strengthening respectful and meaningful relationships between First Nations peoples and other Australians across this land.
Quoting from Galatians 3:28, Bishop Henderson reminds viewers that Christ unites us as one people in him:
‘There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female;
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus’.
‘These words are written for all believers, of all cultures – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians alike’, he says. ‘Jesus is our Lord, and he made himself our servant, transcending all the boundaries we humans try to erect. He shows us how we are to treat each other, with the same submission and humility he showed us. Every life is precious, equal in worth and dignity’.
He continues: ‘Developing and implementing a Reconciliation Action Plan promises to help us in our part of that journey. It’s a chance for us to pause, listen, consider, grow in understanding, and change how we think about and relate to one another. The history of First Peoples and other Australians has often, but thankfully not always, been tragic and broken. Through God’s grace, we can continue to build a better way, a living way, to wholeness of life and community.’
