September - October 2006

year XXXI
Protection of the Mother of God
October 1 2006
Hebrews 9: 1-7; Luke 10: 38-42; 11:27-28
[This is a sermon for the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God written by
Fr Deacon Michael (Dr Michael Brett-Crowther) who is a clergyman of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate serving with the blessing of the Roma-

The Nativity of the Mother of God

nian Metropolitan Joseph in the Romanian parish of the
Protection of the Mother of God, in Toulouse, France.]

The epistle describes the known residents of Bethany. Here

sanctuary of the Temple in
Jerusalem. The details are intended
to show that, under the Law of
Moses, the Temple sacrifices were
to make a big apology for sin, to
procure the forgiveness of God. The
idea of the Church, however, is that
in Christ the sacrifice of his life was
made for all believers and the
sacrifice of blood (by the
consecration of animals) is no
longer needed. For Orthodox
Christians, Our Lady, the All Holy
Mother of God, is the Temple in
which Jesus begins his life on earth
as a baby; and it is by his Mother’s
protection that he is brought into
mature adult life. She is ‘more
honourable than the cherubim and
more glorious than the seraphim’,
and so she is herself the Holy of
Holies in which the sacrifice is
prepared for the life of the world.
The gospel is one common for
feasts of Our Lady. The reason is
that there are few passages directly
about Our Lady in the gospels. Her
life is concealed by her Son’s
greater activity and
Glory. So, what we hear is the
story of Martha and Mary. In John
11, we discover them as well-
the story is more essential, the
sisters have a kind of symbolic
character. Martha wants to give
Jesus a special meal, but her sister
takes the opportunity of direct
learning from Jesus. ‘Mary... sat
down at the Lord’s feet and listened
to him speaking.’ Our Lady would
have been just like Martha – busy in
the house, careful for the needs of
Jesus, attentive to the needs of
visitors – but also actively like
Mary. For there is activity in being
a hearer of the gospel, an attendant
in church. No student really learns
anything without effort. The prayer
of the believer is not a passive
event, but a gift of time and
intelligence and love. This is what
the Mary of the gospel passage
represents; just as the Martha figure
represents the real mothering
activity of Our Lady for Jesus.
The gospel says that Jesus
admonished Martha. ‘[Y]ou worry
and fret about so many things, and
yet few are needed, indeed only
one. It is Mary who has chosen the
better part; it is not to be taken from
her.’ This comes just after the story
of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:
25-37). Acting in faith is necessary.
Our reading then goes to a very
simple couple of verses. ‘Now as he
was speaking, a woman in the
crowd raised her voice and said,
“Happy is the womb that bore you
and the breasts you sucked!” But he
replied, “Still happier those who
hear the word of God and keep it!”’
A living faith is a faith learned.
The gospel reading shows a
picture of Our Lady who is quiet
and attentive to the life of Our Lord,
wanting to follow his teaching. And
truly we must see in Martha also
something of Our Lady’s care for
Jesus, her protection of him. And
the other passage gives us praise of
the Mother of God. But the words
of the woman in the crowd, are
really a way of praising Jesus, and
they appear just after he has told his
audience that an unclean spirit can
invade again the life of someone
from whom that spirit is expelled;
and can invade it with force and
with more forms of evil besides.
(Luke 11: 24-26). That is a powerful
warning. Faith in God is faith which

page 4
page 2
Day of Creation
Revd Doru Costache
It is the 1st of September, the be-
ginning of the ecclesiastical year,
according to the Orthodox tradition.
The day of creation. The customary
symbolism of the moment is less
relevant for those living on Southern
hemisphere, were the spring starts.
For those of the Northern hemi-
sphere, it is the dawn of the autumn.
Why celebrating creation at the
beginning of the autumn? To the
ecclesial mind, the creation is an all-
encompassing act, comprehending
everything that existed, exists and
will exist. The autumn is the time of
abundance, of the fulfilled expecta-
tions of the year. The crops are
ready...
The beginning of the year coin-
cides – always to the ecclesial mind
– with the blessing from above, and
the blessing announces and already
is the fulfilment of the whole proc-
ess. Of course we experience the
growth, the development of creation
in time. But we are confident and we
trust all divine promises for the end,
book review
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
by Andreea Hrincu
Want to be swept up in a novel
which contains flowering
declarations of love, immaculately
clever speeches and hilarious hints at
family and society structure? Then
Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”
is a must read!
“It is a truth universally
acknowledged” that this is one of the
best books ever written which has
transcended two centuries! There are
not many other books which can
brag about withstanding two hundred
years of hard criticisms and
becoming classics.
Set in 17th Century England, this
A Youthful Parish
since the blessing was already there.
The beginning is the promise and the
revelation of the age to come, as de-
ciphered by St Symeon the New
Theologian in his first ethical dis-
course.
The beginning of the year is cele-
brated in many traditions like a reit-
eration of the illo tempore (that time
of the past) of the foundational crea-
tive acts. In a totally different
way, to our tradition inaugurating
the new year is to celebrate both the
beginning and the consummation of
God’s creation, Alpha and Omega,
the fullness of day 1 (unique) and
the 8th endless day. Celebrating the
fullness of God’s mercy and bless-
ing. A day of hope and joy.
Unfortunately we Orthodox, as the
noblest side of humanity (according
to Christos Yannaras), are no more
paying attention to the moment. If
no fireworks, there is no sufficient
reason to celebrate... Just a few years
ago a monk of Mt Athos composed
the service for this day http://
novel deals with universal themes
which are still evident in today’s
society. Writing a compelling love
story, full of the tragedies which love
brings and many other interesting
twists, Jane Austen engages readers
of all ages.
In true Austen style the book is
mainly concerned with love and all
the hardships it can bring. Albeit the
plot winds around relationships, it
still manages to be entertaining,
mainly due to the way in which Jane book contains memorably funny
Austen writes.
The characters in the novel are
likeable and possess great wit. The
www.goarch.org/
en/chapel/liturgical_texts/
vespers_creation.asp
but the service is far from being gen-
eralised...
More unfortunately, we Orthodox
do not pay any longer personal atten-
tion to the moment. We think it is
not something worthy to cele-
brate, something irrelevant to our
daily expectations... And yet, the
meaning of our entire life is there...
Well, I am celebrating, not in the
church, but looking to the deep blue
Australian sky, feeling the soft
breeze, admiring the flowers, the
eyes and everything. I am liturgising
by the way I am, the way I walk and
touch things, giving thanks to God
for everything. It is the day of the
blessing. I shall read with all my
respect the first chapter of Genesis
(although it is difficult to understand
why the above mentioned service
does not contain it), trying to learn a
way of rebuilding my life, again and
again, everyday.
It is the day of renewal. A day of
hope. Nothing is lost. Everything
can be fulfilled, for the blessing
comes from above...
Jane Austen, in a portrait based on one
drawn by her sister Cassandra
moments which make the reader
smile with pleasure. Although
Austen does not take on the persona

page 3
Parochial Life | september - october 2006 |

A Youthful Parish
THE NICENE CREED
by Simona Strungaru
I believe in one God, Father Al-
mighty, maker of heaven and
earth, and of all things visible and
invisible.
This teaching from the Nicene
Creed has the greatest meaning and
value to people and is the most im-
portant. What is meant of it is that
we believe in the creator of the
world and all of His creations that
are and aren’t visible to the eye. It
teaches us that even though our vi-
sion is only limited to the physical
surroundings Earth offers, we still
know that God the Almighty lives
in heaven and we should believe in
His teachings and follow His guid-
ance.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the
only-begotten Son of God, begot-
ten of the Father before all ages,
light from light, true God from
true God, begotten not made, of
one essence with the Father;
through him all things were
made.
Jesus Christ is born from the es-
sence of the Father and is truly God.
The teaching of this belief shows us
that Jesus Christ is the Lord, our
God, being one with the Father. We
should praise Jesus and worship
him, for he created all things.
Who for us and for our salvation
came down from heaven, and was
incarnate of the Holy Spirit and
the Virgin Mary, and became hu-
man, and was crucified for us un-
der Pontius Pilate, and suffered
and was buried, and rose on the
third day according to the Scrip-
tures, and ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of
the Father, and will come again in
glory to judge the living and dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
This part of the Nicene Creed is
very significant as it talks about Je-
sus our Saviour. It says that Jesus
came down from heaven and was
born through the Holy Spirit and the
Parochial Life | september - october 2006 |
Blessed Virgin Mary. He was then
crucified and rose from the dead.
When Jesus was crucified all our
sins were forgiven and he gave us a
life of eternal happiness. Jesus ris-
ing from the cross shows that our
Lord is not dead, but he reigns in
heaven judging us and listening to
our prayers. It teaches us that we
should follow Jesus and if we do we
shall live in the Kingdom of God,
which will have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
the giver of life, who proceeds
from the Father, who together
with the Father and the Son is
worshiped and glorified, and who
spoke through the prophets.
The teaching of the Holy Spirit
shows us that he is the third person
of the Holy Trinity. Though he is
really distinct, as a person, from the
Father and the Son, he is consub-
stantial with them and truly God. He
proceeds by way of spiration, from
the Father, who is the only origin of
the other two persons (the Son and
the Holy Spirit).
In one, holy, catholic and apos-
tolic Church. I acknowledge one
baptism for the forgiveness of
sins. I expect the resurrection of
the dead, and the life of the ages
to come. Amen.
The teaching of the Holy Catholic
and Apostolic church is found in the
last verse of the Nicene Creed. It
indicates the four marks of the
Christian church that we should fol-
low, which are: unity
(togetherness), holiness, universal-
ity and apostolicity. It also shows
true Christians forming a single
united group to worship the Lord.
Also the Creed teaches that in order
to have the Holy Spirit around you
and to protect you from all evil, you
must become baptised in one Chris-
tian Church in order to live a life on
earth with Jesus and a life in
heaven.
page 3
Pride… 
page 2
of one single character but chooses
an omniscient style, the main
character of the novel is Elizabeth
Bennet.
Elizabeth is one of five sisters who
live in general comfort. Their main
source of entertainment comes
from dances and balls. They are
brought up able to choose their
own opportunities but respecting
their family, no matter how it may
impact on them.
Simply put Elizabeth needs to
examine her relationship to men,
which she does throughout the
novel. She gains a distinct sense of
self-awareness and discovers that
first impressions are not always
what they seem. People act in
certain ways because of flaws in
their personality, and Elizabeth,
through loss and a hard- fight,
learns this.
New characters appear throughout
the novel. Some are likeable, other
not so, and others still add a touch
of humour, asperity and reality.
Readers are generally able to relate
to the characters they are reading
about, although this is not always
the case.
Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and
Prejudice” has few if any faults.
One is able to fault her for not
adding more exciting events in her
novel, but when considering her
books are of a romantic genre, this
does not stand. Her characters are
mostly quite realistic and
interesting to read about. If the
audience delves deeper into the
book, the techniques Austen
employs become visible and
enchant the audience with their
simplicity yet style.
“Pride and Prejudice” is not an
easy book to understand,
especially due to the style it is
written in, but once this is
surpassed, it challenges and
entertains the willing mind.
page 4
REPORT ON GLOBAL WARMING
by Mary Jo Costache
Global warming is the warming up
of the planet above the temperature
it should be. It is such a concern at
the moment as it seems that the tem-
perature is rising at a rate far faster
than ever before and it is thought
that it may be the activities of the
human population over the last 150
years or so that is doing it. Tempera-
tures over the whole planet have
risen by about 0.6C in the last 100
years. More than half of this increase
has happened in the last 25 years.
The temperature records used to cal-
culate this are exten-
sive, they have been
assembled from thou-
sands of observation
sites on land and sea
covering a large, represen-
tative portion of the
Earth's surface. This is a
worry because while the planet can
cope with changes in temperature
which are known to have happened
over periods of tens and hundreds of
thousands of years in the past and
certainly over millions of years. The
current rate of change is much, much
faster than any changes have ever
been before as far as we are cur-
rently aware. Climate changes in the
past over Geological time periods
(millions and tens of millions of
years) have been very drastic. Dur-
ing cold periods, much of the planet,
even thousands of miles from both
poles have been ice-covered by huge
glaciers and during warm periods,
the same regions may have been
sub-tropical or even tropical. Ac-
A Youthful Parish
companying this have been large
changes in sea-level so that some
areas of land have either become
flooded completely or left high and
dry. It is potentially a big problem as
if the global temperature rises to a
level where it is affecting the Ant-
arctic ice-caps, they may begin to
melt and cause sea-level rises glob-
ally measured in meters. There are
many cities around the world, in-
cluding Sydney, that are on the coast
and they would be flooded and
probably have to be abandoned.
There are also many countries, espe-
cially poorer countries – like many
of the Pacific islands – where a large
part of the population live in coastal
regions. In this case the farm-land
would be flooded and the people left
home less and without the ability to
feed themselves. In some cases en-
tire island nations in the Pacific
Ocean could simply disappear. The
world will end.
AAAAAAAAHHH.
And this is because
of pollution. More
and more peo-
ple everyday
visit Antarc-
tica. More peo-
ple means more litter.
Humans will just never
stop littering. Litter causes pollution.
Pollution causes holes in the ozone
layer. Holes in the ozone layer cause
GLOBAL WARMING. Global
Warming causes floods which means
death. Death means aaaaaaah. There
are a couple of things we can do to
stop this. First of all we can limit the
amount of people going to Antarc-
tica. If we don’t there will be litter.
Don’t get me started on litter. By
doing that, we also stop exposing the
continent to the fuels and gases of
our transport devices…well not as
much anyway. I think it should stop,
because it will affect the whole
world and I don’t want to die.
And before we go there, we should
definitely learn more about the con-
tinent. And for God’s sake…don’t
let everyone go there. If you think
they will all treat the environment
properly, you are sorely mistaken.
THAT… was my opinion.
Penguins are secretly planning to
take over the world.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Protection…  page 1
confronts evil.
So the picture which the readings
give us of Our Lady is this. She is
the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and
the security of Jesus. In her life he
begins his life on earth; and from
her care he becomes a secure child
and an active young man of faith,
who is the Teacher of his people
and the Saviour of Mankind. As he
can expel from us the evil which
surrounds us and grows within our
hearts, so her life can be the
standard for us to see what is
suitable for our womenfolk and for
our menfolk. In our world today,
the body is ruined by many forces.
But for the Body of Christ to live
in the world, for us to be the
Church, Our Lady is the
protection. May the Protection of
the Mother of God be the strength
of the Body of Christ, our strength
and His praise.
Parochial Life | september - october 2006 |

A Youthful Parish
SUNDAY SCHOOL EXCURSION
by Adrian Cruceanu
On the 5th October 2006 the stu-
dents of St Mary’s church, together
with their guests of Bunavestire
church, had attended an excursion to
the City and Luna Park. This was
going to be a great day for the chil-
dren and it was an excursion for the
children to bond and a treat for their
attendance of Sunday school.
Well first the day was started by
catching the river-cat from Par-
ramatta to Circular Quay. While we
were on the river-cat we saw some
wonderful sites of the city, the Opera
Parochial Life | september - october 2006 |
House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Finally we had reached our destina-
tion of Circular Quay and it was
time to see the Opera House. The
Opera House was a beautiful site and
had very special and intriguing de-
signs. The children liked the spot but
were eager to get to Luna Park.
We had caught another ferry to
Milsons Point get to Luna Park. We
paid our tickets and now it was time
to get on the rides. The group had
split up all over Luna Park while the
adults had just stayed at the bar and
page 5
talked and the children had gone to
line up for rides. The children loved
the rides from just looking at them
and had thought of Luna Park as the
funniest place in the world. The
rides were fun and were a rush – a
blood rushing experience.
Finally after five hours or so the
day came to an end and the children
were exhausted. We had caught train
back to Parramatta and had some
food to eat at Parramatta shops and
then the excursion was over. The
day was fabulous.
good news
During its meeting of 13th October
2006, the Parish Committee decided
that children and teenagers attending
Sunday school will be granted $10
each, for any (1-day) excursion organ-
ised by the parish to which they will
participate.
page 6
The Original Owners of Our Land
Lily Strungaru
At one point in history, indige-
nous populations around the globe
were evolving slowly and happily,
whether in North America, South
America, Africa or Australia.
Then, led by a wave of daring ex-
plorers, came the Europeans,
spreading out across the world like
a plague of locusts.
Prior to the Colonization of the
“New World”, the English re-
mained within their island fortress,
sheltered from other cultures and
were therefore predisposed toward
viewing interracial contact with
suspicion and alarm. Whether a
case of social Darwinism or un-
checked Imperialist aggression, it
did not take long before the White
Man had conquered those lands
where they had any interest in es-
tablishing a settlement.
While the backgrounds of those
going to Australia and America
were vastly different, the results
were similar; native population
diminished and oppressed, then
reduced to second-class citizens in
the re-shaped lands that were once
theirs.
It is a difficult task to even try to
understand the native people’s
plight or adequately represent their
point of view. This essay aims to
examine and analyse, through the
study of certain set texts and mov-
ies, the discrimination, disposses-
sion and sufferings endured by the
Australian Indigenous at the hands
of those who colonised their lands.
Even though it is extremely diffi-
cult to imagine the anguish and
hopelessness suffered by those
who were stripped of their last hu-
man dignity, it is nevertheless im-
portant to give them a voice by
revisiting their past.
It is well known that the first
Australians were the Aborigines,
and although they were nomadic or
seminomadic, their sense of place
was exceptionally strong and they
had an intimate knowledge of their
home landscapes. By the time of
the first notable European settle-
ment in 1788, Aboriginal people
had developed cultural traits and
ecological knowledge that showed
an impressive adaptation to Austra-
lia’s challenging environments.
British colonisation began in the
belief that the continent was
largely uninhabited and therefore
policy was framed in the belief that
the colony would be planted in a
‘pure soil’. It was also believed
that the British would be the first
legal occupants of the land and that
the Crown would be the first sover-
eign.
However the interior was not
empty. The advantages of assum-
ing the absence of people, were so
great, however, that legal doctrine
continued to depict Australia as a
colony by occupation of a terra
nullius. According to historian
Henry Reynolds, no treaties were
ever negotiated like the hundreds
signed with indigenous people in
North America.
During the first century of white
settlement, there were dramatic
declines in the Aboriginal popula-
tion in all parts of the continent, as
a result from the introduction of
diseases for which the Aborigines
had no acquired immunity; social
and cultural disruption; brutal mis-
treatment and reprisals for acts of
organised resistance.
Initially though, relations be-
tween the explorers and the Abo-
riginal inhabitants were generally
hospitable and based on under-
standing the terms of trading for
food, water, axes and cloth, a rela-
tionship encouraged by Governor
Phillip. However, these relations
became hostile as Aborigines real-
ised that the land and resources
upon which they depended and the
order of their life were seriously
disrupted by the on-going presence
of the colonisers. Between 1790
and 1810, clan’s people of the Eora
group in the Sydney area, led by
Pemulwuy of the Bidjigal clan,
undertook a campaign of resistance
against the English colonisers in a
series of attacks.
Over the years however, the
Aborigines have slowly adjusted to
changing times, but still hold their
traditional cultural beliefs and val-
ues, especially in remote and rural
communities. Cultural heritage,
spirituality, family lines, dances
and dreamtime stories are a vital
part of their life.
In terms of social and economic
disadvantage-unemployment, fam-
ily income levels, welfare depend-
ence, infant mortality rates and av-
erage life expectancy – the Abo-
riginal populations still fares badly
in comparison with the Australian
population as a whole.
There were many policies put in
place and often forcibly enforced,
which were meant to ‘civilise’ the
Aborigines. One such policy led to
‘the stolen generation’. It was the
official policy of the government
that all ‘half-caste’ Aborigine chil-
dren were to be taken from their
families and raised in orphanages
where they could be civilised with
the intention of better adjusting
within the white society. The idea
that such a plan would seem cruel
or inhuman or have an adverse ef-
fect, was never thought of.
Special detention centres were
set up across the continent to keep
the mixed race children from
‘contaminating’ the rest of Austra-
lian society and so orders were
given to forcibly remove ‘half-
caste’ children form their families.
It was a disastrous, racist policy
that brought about infinite misery
of the so called ‘stolen generation’.
Based on true events, Rabbit-
Proof Fence is a moving story of
racial prejudice and amazing en-
durance as three girls walk one

page 9
Parochial Life | september - october 2006 |

Social Justice Sunday or Loving
Your Neighbour the Way God Loves You
Revd Dr Doru Costache
Our parish welcomed the initiative
of the National Council of Churches
in Australia, celebrating in prayer
the Social Justice Sunday on 24th
September. This year, providentially,
the readings during the liturgy were
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 and Luke 5:1-
11. Below, a summary of my sermon
for the day.
The apostolic reading depicts God’s
generosity who abundantly blesses
our efforts with great results. God’s
behaviour represents the perfect
model for our own way of doing, the
Apostle drawing our attention to the
need of being sincerely and joyfully
generous. According to the image of
the sower who reaps the crop as re-
sult of a careful sowing, Christians
should not ‘sow’ sparingly their vir-
tues, especially compassion. Culti-
vating compassion and thanksgiving
brings more and more blessings
from above.
The evangelic reading brings two
examples of God’s mercy, as re-
vealed through his Son, our Lord
Christ. One day, Jesus preached to
the crowds being on Peter’s boat, not
far from the shore. After his sermon,
the Lord asked Peter and his mates
to go to deeper waters and to let
down the nets, to catch fish. Al-
though the fishermen attempted
vainly all night to catch any fish, at
Jesus command the nets went full of
great fish. The image of divine gen-
erosity is complex: Jesus feeds peo-
ple’s souls with his word and at the
same time he pays attention to their
material needs. To those who strove
for the Word of Life, he granted
more than they ever dreamt. But
there is also another meaning of the
story: after preaching the good news,
Christ instructs symbolically his dis-
ciples to do the same after the fulfil-
ment of the mandate of the Son of
Man. This interpretation is supported
by the traditional comprehension of
the text: the boat is an icon of the
Parochial Life | september - october 2006 |
page 7
Church, the sea an image of the of our fellow humans’ needs. Under-
world, and the fishes caught by the standing people with ‘the mind of
nets types of the faithful ‘caught’ by Christ’ (cf. Philippians 2:5), we are
the apostolic preaching. supposed to embrace each and every
human person with the heart of
Providentially again, the aspect
Christ – beyond any noble ideal of
shared in common by both readings
loving humanity. With the occasion
(God’s generosity) meets with the
of the Social Justice Sunday we are
message of a Dreamtime story,
invited by the Word of God to ac-
which also echoes the biblical narra-
knowledge the continuous sufferings
tive on Adam and Eve, together with
experienced by the first Australians,
that of Israel’s pilgrimage through
the Aboriginal people, and to purify
the desert. In short the story speaks
our minds of every prejudice con-
of the great god Baiame who, after
cerning them. A Christian heart is a
enduing some gum trees with the
compassionate one, but compassion
power to produce manna, warned
cannot result in concrete actions
people not to eat the sacred food.
without a previous radical conver-
However, tempted by their curiosity
sion of one’s mind. Making room in
and appetite, the women were ready
our hearts for the Australian Indige-
to transgress the prohibition, but the
nous people represents the first, and
men resited bravely and kept them
necessary, step. In time, cultivating
away from the trees. For men’s
this feeling, we will be able to initi-
faithfulness, Baiame granted people
ate concrete actions in order to im-
the permission to taste manna and to
prove our brothers and sisters condi-
make provisions of it, which eventu-
tions of living, the way our Lord
ally saved them from famine when a
works with us.
terrible drought came. Obviously,
this story, echoing
episodes from the
Bible, unveils how
closely related are
the Aboriginal per-
ception of life and
the ecclesial one.
The scriptural texts
read in the liturgy
are highly relevant
for the Social Justice
Sunday, drawing our
attention to the para-
digm of God’s gen-
erosity and inviting
us to follow his ex-
ample. Or, there is a
practical component
of Christ’s Gospel
we should strive to
activate: the compas-
sionate heart, mani-
fested by way of the
both spiritual and
material assistance
page 8
NCCA’s Media Release
SOCIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY:
MAKE INDIGENOUS
POVERTY HISTORY
“On Social Justice Sunday we call on
all Australians to reflect on the con-
tinuing plight of Indigenous Austra-
lians and then commit to action,” said
Mr Graeme Mundine, Executive Sec-
retary of the National Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Executive
Commission (NATSIEC) of the Na-
tional Council of Churches in Austra-
lia (NCCA).
“Social Justice Sunday, which this
year will be celebrated on September
24th, is a time for all Christians to
come together and focus their atten-
tion on a specific area where injustice
prevails. This year the member
Churches of the National Council of
Churches in Australia have chosen to
turn their attention to the continuing
NCCA’s Media Releases
CHURCHES CALL FOR URGENT
RE-COMMITMENT TO
INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA
“It is time for an urgent re-
commitment to address the pressing
problems faced by Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Peoples”, said
Rev. John Henderson, General
Secretary of the National Council of
Churches in Australia (NCCA),
launching the NCCA’s 2006
statement to mark Social Justice
Sunday on September 24th. The 2006
Social Justice Statement reflects the
deep concerns that the member
Churches of the NCCA have
regarding the continued disadvantage
suffered by Indigenous Australians,”
Rev. Henderson said.
“While communities and
governments have rightly responded
to the international ‘Make Poverty
History’ campaign based on the
Millennium Development Goals,
Australians need a similar
commitment to Make Indigenous
disadvantage experienced by Abo-
riginal and Torres Strait Islanders. In to understand the suffering of those
support of the campaign to Make In- in ‘developing’ countries, but the fact
digenous Poverty History the NCCA that there are people living in worse
calls on us all to ‘rectify the poverty conditions in a rich and wealthy na-
and neglect which stands as a con-
stant rebuke to our much vaunted
values of fairness’”, Mr Mundine
said.
“NATSIEC supports this call to ac-
tion and is, itself, calling on the Fed- Indigenous Australia at the centre of
eral Government to adapt the Millen- your concerns and take action to
nium Development Goals to apply
specifically to Australia so that like
the poverty stricken people on other
continents, Indigenous Australians
can also hope to be lifted out of pov-
erty by 2015. We cannot, in all good
conscience, continue to stand by and
Poverty History. To Make
Indigenous Poverty History, we
believe that whlat is needed is a fuller
and far more effective program of
spiritual and materia regeneration
than currently exists. Indigenous
Australia deserves the equivalent of
the Millennium Development Goals
to provide a real framework of
change. At the bedrock must be
genuine self-determination and
funding commensurate with the size
of the problem. The media and public
attention given to Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander issues
frequently expresses itself in terms of
a shocked moral distance, baffled
incomprehension, or fresh forms of
stereotyping. Instead, we believe that
all Australians need to remember, to
recognize, and to rectify the troubled
history of Indigenous Australia. In
particular we call on all Australians
to:
watch our Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples be denied ac-
cess to the same level of resources,
wealth and well being that all other
Australian citizens have. Too often
we think that injustice is something
that happens overseas, but we are
blind to the every day suffering in
our own backyard. Often it is easier
tion such as Australia is a situation
we should all be ashamed of and
must commit everything we have to
changing. I urge you to heed the call
this Social Justice Sunday and put
Make Indigenous Poverty History,”
Mr Mundine concluded.
Remember – so that no one can
any longer act with surprise at
revelations of Indigenous Poverty, or
pretend that we do not know why, or
how, such injustice persists.
Recognise and implement the truth
of the proposals for change made by
representative Indigenous leaders and
by national investigations such as the
Royal Commissions into Aboriginal
Deaths in Custody and the ‘Stolen
Generations’ report.
Rectify the poverty and neglect
which stand as a constant rebuke to
our much vaunted values of fairness.
The member Churches of the NCCA
continue to remember and to confess
our past and present failures to listen
to and love Indigenous Australians
properly. We make this pledge to our
Indigenous Christian networks
through the country: we commit
ourselves to rectify the hurts of the
past and present, and call on others to
join us in this task,” Rev Henderson
concluded.
Parochial Life | september - october 2006 |
 page 9

THE TAIZÉ PILGRIMAGE GENERAL SECRETARY,

NSW ECUMENICAL
OF TRUST IN 2006 COUNCIL

The NSW Ecumenical Council

To the sources of faith seeks a new General Secretary
“Right at the depth of the human condition, lies the longing for a pres- effective from February 2007.
ence, the silent desire for a communion. Let us never forget that this As CEO of the Council, the
simple desire for God is already the beginning of faith”.
General Secretary will promote
Meditative Prayer the ecumenical enterprise at state,
using the songs of Taizé, Wednesday, 8th November, 2006, 6.00pm regional and local church level.
The Crypt, St Mary’s Cathedral,
The successful applicant will
Arranged by have a clear understanding of the
ecumenical movement and the
theological perspectives which
inform it, administrative and
financial management ability and
organisational skills, membership
NSW ECUMENICAL COUNCIL of and involvement in the life of
Tel.: 9299 2215 E-mail: nswec@ncca.org.au one of the member churches.
College Street, Sydney
Appropriate theological
education is highly desirable.

The Original... page 6
thousand five hundred miles to
find their mothers. Having been
forcibly separated from their natu-
ral mothers, three girls, escape
from the Moore River Native Set-
tlement, and head back home, fol-
lowing the rabbit-proof fence that
stretches across the Outback. By
highlighting the realities of this
hidden genocide Rabbit-Proof
Fence stands as a powerful worthy
testimony to the suffering of the
‘stolen generation’.
By comparing the history of In-
digenous people in both Australia
and the United States, it is easy to
notice strong similarities in re-
gards, to the treatment their people
had received at the hands of the
white man. For not only have they
been dispossessed of their lands
but they have also endured much
injustice and experienced the pain-
ful sting of racism and discrimina-
tion. Each confrontation was a
dramatic clash between the native
people who saw the land relig-
iously and as an intimate part of
themselves and all life, and the
Europeans who saw it economi-
cally, as a commodity to be taken,
exploited, bought and sold.
As an outsider, it is very diffi-
cult to adequately represent or
fully understand the experiences
and the ordeals of the indigenous
people from both Australia and
America. The critical issues asso-
ciated with their history needs to
be given priority and should ad-
dress such important subjects of
concern as: human rights, free-
dom, economic opportunity, cul-
tural identity and finally and per-
haps most importantly hope for
reconciliation. Whether Austra-
lians in particular, choose to move
along the path of confrontation or
arbitration, there must finally be
reconciliation between black and
white Australians, for the sake of a
better future together.
An information pack and General
Secretary Position Description
are available from Kathy
Moroney (02) 9299 2215 or
kmoroney@ncca.org.au
Applications close 9 November,
2006.
Please address applications to:
By post (marked
‘Confidential’)
Archbishop Aghan Baliozian,
President, NSW Ecumenical
Council, Locked Bag 199,
Sydney 1230. Or by Email:
armenian@idx.com.au
editor:
Rev. Doru Costache, PhD
layout design:
Ion Nedelcu
address:
64 Linthorn Ave,
Croydon Park,
NSW 2133.
phone: (02) 9642 02 60
www.sfmariasydney.com

Parochial Life | september - october 2006 |