Invitation to the Nation

Eight Assembly, Uniting Church in Australia, July 1997

 

We, the members of the 1997 National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia, are deeply concerned for our nation at this time. Therefore, in response to our understanding of our calling as Christian people and as citizens, we commit ourselves to participate in the building of our nation as one which:

  seeks the truth about its present and its past, knowing that this is essential for our health as a nation;  
  refuses to give power to those who call us away from the generosity, hospitality, fair-play and sense of community which we have honoured in ourselves over the years;  
  recognising the long-standing relationship of Aboriginal people with the land, unswervingly sustains a commitment to being a nation which moves towards justice and reconciliation with them, with special concern about our responses to the Wik decision and the damage done to the "stolen generations";  
  affirms Australia as a multicultural society in which all its people, whatever their ethnic origin, are cherished and respected;  
  with due alarm about the ever widening gap between rich and poor, upholds values, both economic and social, which move us towards a society of equity and compassion and a sharing of resources for the common good;
  listens and responds to the needs of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in remote, rural and urban areas, both here and overseas;  
  stands firmly for human rights, even at cost to itself, as a responsible member of the international community;  
  takes its place as a country which makes its rightful contribution to the well-being of the environment, for the sake of the whole creation and for future generations.

WE MAKE THIS COMMITMENT
AND WE INVITE THE MEMBERS OF OUR CHURCH,
THE LEADERS OF OUR NATION
AND OTHER CITIZENS TO DO THE SAME.

May God be with us all at this time.