Reconciliation
The Voice Referendum
This is a resource page where ABM features links to resources, articles, websites etc which particularly express Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices on the proposed National Referendum to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Australian Constitution.
It also features material relating to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Prayer for the Voice
God who listens,
open our hearts to hear the gentle invitation of those without a voice;
placeless and dispossessed of all that was theirs,
instead of anger, revenge or blame,
they offer in their open hand absurd generosity,
an act of transformational forgiveness
from the centre of their being to ours:
May we sense the integrity of country speaking to country, body to body;
and find within ourselves the humility to accept and journey together,
to become our nation’s better future,
resolving our colonial memory, Australia’s original sin.
As Jesus gave his body for ours,
help us to receive and pass on this gift of new life,
for his name’s sake.
Amen.
This prayer was written by Wiradjuri Anglican Priest and NATSIAC Chair, the Rev’d Canon A/Prof Glenn Loughrey.
To see what Anglican bishops and dioceses are doing in response to the Voice Referendum, please click here.
Road to Somewhere. © Art work by Glenn Loughrey. Used with permission.
Voice-less. © Art work by Glenn Loughrey. Used with permission.
Resources on
the Voice Referendum
Official NATSIAC Statement on the Voice Referendum
Ahead of National Reconciliation Week 2023, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anglican Council (NATSIAC) has published its statement in support of a YES vote in the upcoming referendum.
From National Aboriginal Bishop, the Rt Rev’d Chris McLeod
“It is very easy for those in the majority to ignore the voices of those in the minority…The ability to hear the small voice is something that was at the heart of ministry of Jesus. The ignored and marginalised found someone who listened to them…” Read more here.
Anglican National Aboriginal Bishop joins Australian faith leaders in call for Voice to Parliament
Australia’s faith leaders, including our National Aboriginal Bishop, the Rt Rev’d Chris McLeod, have written a letter calling on Australia’s political leaders and all federal parliamentarians to support an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to the Australian Parliament., following on from the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
You can read the letter here
From Aunty Dr Rose Elu, Torres Strait Islander leader and member of NATSIAC.
Find out here why well-known Anglican Torres Strait Islander leader, Aunty Dr Rose Elu, supports an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to the Australian Parliament. Read here.
From the Rev’d Robyn Davis.
The Reverend Robyn Davis is a Wadi Wadi woman from the Balranald and Swan Hill area. She is an Indigenous artist and life member of NATSIAC.
This is about people not politics’: A personal reflection on the Voice (melbourneanglican.org.au)
From the Rev’d Canon Glenn Loughrey
To hear and see Uncle Glenn Loughrey reading the Statement from the Heart, click on this link: https://youtu.be/MIBb7XbaNrM
Noel Pearson and constitutional law expert Shireen Morris, participated in a webinar on the Voice Referendum organised by NATSIAC Chairperson, Uncle Glenn Loughrey.
Watch the recording here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fk1vx1edj5x80tn4vxwfp/TheVoice_LoughreyMorrisPearson.mp4?rlkey=kvnm5inj3x7fbxj3rhdqmjtqg&dl=0
An interview with the Rev’d Canon Glenn Loughrey for ABC Radio’s Soul Search can be found here:
Canon Glenn has a blog, Red Shoes Walking, in which he has posted several articles about the Voice, including these below:
www.redshoeswalking.net/natsiac-the-voice-in-action
www.redshoeswalking.net/voice-no-obstacles
www.redshoeswalking.net/the-voice
Public Affairs Commission of the Anglican Church of Australia
A Song for the Voice – Beneath the Southern Cross
“Click on this link to hear a song, “Beneath the Southern Cross”, composed for the Voice Referendum by Peter Branjerdporn from the Church of Southern Queensland: https://youtu.be/sxIV_tM3T18. Peter says “I’ve written a song (with the help of Michelle McDonald) to soften people’s hearts towards the First Nations Voice to parliament. I offer this song in love and humility to every Australian.” Peter says he is happy for it to be used with or without modifications as part of sermons, presentations, workshops etc.
Preaching from the Heart
Read this wonderful collection of sermons written as reflections on the Statement from the Heart and the Voice to Parliament by a range of writers, including many Anglicans. The work of Uncle Glenn Loughrey and Aunty Dr Rose Elu are among them. This is an excellent resource for contemplation leading up to the referendum.
FROM THE HEART CAMPAIGN WEBSITE
The Website
“From the Heart” is a campaign for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament that is enshrined in the Constitution. [From the Heart believes] It is now time for The Australian people to come together through a referendum and make this fair and practical change.” You can access the website here.
The Flyer
Download this simple flyer for your church or community which could be used to help create discussion about the “Voice” referendum in your parish or community.
From the School of Indigenous Studies (University of Divinity)
Professor Anne Pattel-Gray calls on churches to support a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.
Watch the Youtube video below:
The Reverend Canon Dr Garry Worete Deverell presents a lecture on the Uluru Statement and the design of the Voice.
Watch the Youtube video below:
Resources on
the Statement from the Heart
ABM’s A Voice in the Wilderness study
This 8-part study was designed to help the church listen to the Statement from the Heart and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christians. It was written by Celia Kemp and beautifully illustrated by the artwork of Glenn Loughrey. It has recently been updated and can be accessed here, either online, by downloading a free PDF, or by ordering a printed copy. A separate electronic leader’s guide is also available for use by groups.
From the Rev’d Canon Glenn Loughrey
“The Statement invites everyone living on this land to join with us to create a just country on a political, corporate, and personal level…” Read more here.
“The Practical Consequences of a Voice to Parliament”
In this five-minute video, Rev’d Canon Glenn, speaking from Melbourne’s St Paul’s Cathedral, uses a practical example of consultations on the Murray-Darling river system to imagine what would be possible with a Voice to Parliament. “Indigenous people should be sitting at the table with ministers making the right decisions. Hear our voice…”
View video here