Uniting Church in Australia

President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Rev. Alistair Macrae has condemned the recent comments by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and other Opposition members concerning the acknowledgement of traditional Indigenous ownership of land as ignorant and destructive.

Tony Abbott has criticised Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his Ministers as engaging in “tokenism” and unnecessary political correctness when they acknowledge traditional owners while speaking at functions.

Rev. Macrae said, “such comments reveal a concerning level of ignorance about the significance and function of the regular acknowledgment of the traditional owners of land. They are extremely unhelpful in building bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

To commemorate the one year anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires the Victoria/Tasmania Synod and SHARE have produced a report for donors to the Uniting Church Bushfire Appeal. The President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Rev. Alistair Macrae has commended the 'characteristic generosity' of Uniting Church people who have allowed the distribution of $2 million to assist with initial emergency relief and community programs for the longer term recovery.

Click here to download the report.

The inaugural Songs That Unite songwriting competition of the Uniting Church in Australia has closed for entries after an ethusiastic response. The judges will now review the entries and announce the winners Wednesday, March 31st 2010. The number and quality of entries was particuarly encouraging and the National Assembly thanks all who submitted entries for their time and talent.

President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Rev. Alistair Macrae and Anglican Archbishop of Perth, the Most Rev. Roger Herft have voiced concerns for the wellbeing of asylum seekers on Christmas Island following a recent visit.

A delegation of church leaders visited Christmas Island last week to see first-hand the conditions under which asylum seekers are detained, and to meet with key personnel and asylum seekers.

The February edition of Update is here, with all the latest news from the Assembly agencies and working groups.

Since issuing the conditions for entry in the “Songs that Unite” competition the Assembly has received feedback that suggests that the requirement that contest winners effectively sell their copyright to the Assembly has affected the willingness of some writers to enter the competition. This is not an outcome that the Assembly desires as the goal of the competition is to encourage awareness of the work of Christian musicians and to assist in making their work available.

In response to the feedback received the Assembly is removing the requirement that successful entrants must pass the copyright to the Assembly. All entries received prior to this change of condition will be subject to the revised terms of entry.

A reminder that entries close on Friday February 26 2010

Terence Corkin

Assembly General Secretary