Giving thanks to God for the presence of the Wurundjeri people

On Monday August 4, an open air Liturgy was celebrated at the Columban Mission Centre in Essendon, Melbourne, to give thanks to God for the presence of Aboriginal people in the Melbourne area and right across Australia for tens of thousands of years up to the present time.

Acknowledgement plaque recognising the Wurundjeri people as the Traditional Owners of the land of the greater Melbourne area. The plaque is placed at Columban Mission Centre in Essendon, Melbourne.
The Wurundjeri people were acknowledged as the Traditional Owners of the land of the greater Melbourne area. During the Liturgy, an acknowledgement plaque was unveiled by the Columban Fathers' Regional Director in Australia and New Zealand, Fr Gary Walker and the Columban Superior General, Fr Kevin O'Neill.

Sherry Balcombe, the Secretary of the Victorian Aboriginal Catholic Council represented Aboriginal people at the Liturgy. She opened the ceremony with an Acknowledgement of Country. This was followed by special prayers from the participants giving thanks to God for the many millenniums of living presence of Wurundjeri and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia, for their gifts, knowledge and friendship. Prayers were offered asking forgiveness for injustices, the discrimination and dispossession they have suffered and continue to suffer.

From left to right: Fr Ray Scanlon (Columban Vice Director), Sherry Balcombe (Secretary of the Victorian Aboriginal Catholic Council), Fr Gary Walker (Columban Regional Director) and Fr Kevin O'Neill (Columban Superior General).
Accompanied by the School Principal, Mr John Grant and Religious Education Coordinator, Mrs Anne-Maree Milne members of the Social Justice Group from St Vincent de Paul Primary School, Strathmore, and Grade 4 students, studying Aboriginal culture, also attended the Liturgy and participated in the prayers.

Columban staff and guests during prayer.
Columban missionary priests and staff members joined the Liturgical celebration and participated in prayer.

Opening Prayer: God of the Holy Dreaming

Prayer courtesy of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC).

God of holy Dreaming
Great Creator Spirit
From the dawn of creation you have given your children
The good things of Mother Earth
You spoke and the gum tree grew
Image courtesy of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council.In the vast deserts and dense forests, in the cities,
At the water’s edge, creation sings your praise.
Your presence endures as the rock at the heart of our land.
When Jesus hung on the tree
You heard the cries of all Your people
And became one with Your wounded ones
The convicts, the hunted and the dispossessed.
The sunrise of Your Son
Coloured the earth anew
And bathed it in glorious hope.
In Jesus we have been reconciled to You,
To each other and to Your whole creation.
Lead us on Great Spirit
As we gather at this special place
Located on land where ancestors of long ago
Gathered for work, play and praise.
Enable us to walk together in trust from the hurt of the past
Into the full day which has dawned in Jesus Christ.    
Amen.

Fr Dan Harding SSC is the Editor of The Far East Magazine. He has worked in Chile since 1991 as a Columban missionary priest and is now based in Melbourne, Australia.

Read more articles from the current E-News