Tanya Riches, Cadbury Centre Honorary Fellow, has been working with Aboriginal Christian leaders to celebrate NAIDOC week at Hillsong Conference 2017. Australia’s national week of celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture often collides with this gathering that draws over 25,000 Christians. This year, the conference had its first ever Acknowledgement of Country led by Jatham Staudinger. It also hosted a Masterclass entitled “Serving our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community,” with four Aboriginal leaders: Pastors Will and Sandra Dumas, Brooke Prentis, and Shane Phillips. The session addressed the religio-cultural worldview of The Dreaming, and promoted language, the theme of the 2017 national NAIDOC week.
Resources:
Acknowledgement of Country led by Jatham Staudinger, as reported by the Christian radio station Hope 103.2, 5 July 2017.
Tanya Riches explains what Acknowledgemt of Country is, 5 July 2017.
Tanya Riches interviews an elder, Aunty Gail, on 5 July 2017.
