Your local church or faith community can reclaim William Cooper’s Aboriginal Sunday and act in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples on the Sunday directly before January 26.
Sign up now for an Aboriginal Sunday Church Resource Toolkit that will enable your church or faith community to hold and lead a service prepared by Aboriginal Christian Leaders for Sunday, 23 January 2022.
This is a powerful moment for your church to go deeper in listening to the call of Aboriginal injustice and for you to learn, engage, pray, and take action as a community.
The Church Resource Toolkit will include Bible readings, prayer, sermon and worship resources, and an activity to help your congregation explore the injustices facing Aboriginal peoples.
The Aboriginal Sunday Church Resource Toolkit will be emailed to you by 10th December.
What is Aboriginal Sunday?
On January 26 1938, Aboriginal leaders including William Cooper, met for a Day of Mourning, seeking equality and full citizenship (though it would take another 30 years).
The Australian Churches were then asked to set aside the Sunday before January 26 as Aboriginal Sunday (previously called Aborigines' Day), a day for Christians to act in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples and the injustices being experienced.
The first Aboriginal Sunday is suggested as occurring in 1941, although was referenced in a letter from William Cooper to the John McEwen, Minister for the Interior written on 19 January 1938 and also referenced in the Herald (Melbourne) newspaper on 18 January 1939.
Today, the Common Grace movement encourages individual congregations to reclaim William Cooper’s Aboriginal Sunday and each year provides a free Church Resource Toolkit developed by Aboriginal Christian Leaders to equip churches and faith communities to act in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples on the Sunday directly before January 26.
If you would like to get your church or faith community equipped for Aboriginal Sunday, please sign up on this page so we can send you the resources.
As we are led by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders into this season, would you consider donating to support the work of Common Grace as we pursue friendship and Reconciliation in our lifetime?