Exploring Indigenous Christianity

Lorraine Erlandson and Joy Sandefur

A paper for presentation at the Australian Missiology Conference,
Melbourne, 26 to 30 September 2005

Introduction

This paper explores Indigenous Christianity as expressed and practiced by indigenous peoples of the Top End of the Northern Territory who come from remote and urban communities. It discusses how they are contextualizing the gospel, re-imagining mission and developing appropriate ministries. Lorraine will focus on her experience with St. Martin de Porres, Aboriginal Catholic Church in Darwin. Joy will draw on her experience with Anglican Aboriginal Churches in Arnhem Land. Both work at Nungalinya College which is an ecumenical college that teaches theology courses as well as courses in community services and cross cultural awareness. It is a college specifically for adult Indigenous students who come from traditional, rural and urban backgrounds throughout Australia. Indigenous people come from varied experiences and cultural backgrounds and results in great differences in the ways they share and live their Christian faith and spirituality.

Lorraine has had the opportunity to share her faith with Traditional Aboriginal Christians, non-indigenous Christian people of Aboriginal descent from different Christian denominations both at Nungalinya and St Martin’s .Her colleague, Joy Sandefur worked for 17 years on Bible Translation projects in North Australia. 13 of those years were with the Kriol Bible Translation project. After returning to Melbourne, Joy completed her PhD which examined contextual theology and Aboriginal agency in the church at Ngukurr which is located in south east Arnhem Land. Joy is now the Language and Literacy Coordinator at Nungalinya College in Darwin.

1. Closure of the missions

Many Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory were former missions. The residents experienced confusion when the missions were handed over to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs from the late 1960’s to the early 1980’s. This confusion was caused by not understanding fully that it was becoming too costly for mission agencies to manage the growing missions and that the Federal Government wanted the mission era to end. At the same time there was an influx of money and white people into the communities that changed the whole living and work environment. People who had been carpenters, mechanics etc., were disempowered as they were then regarded as not having the right qualifications and replaced by white people. Many of the new staff did not stay long and so did not learn the language or understand the Aboriginal culture. Around the same time consumption of alcohol became legal for Aboriginal people and brought many social problems with it.

At the same time the ideas of contextualization and inculturation of the gospel in the life of the community, church and daily life were introduced to Aboriginal churches. This resulted initially in confusion as it was perceived as the church contradicting what it had previously taught in the past about such things as ceremonies and worship. Church services in the past had conformed to the style of each particular denomination. Now the churches left in the communities were asked to plan worship that recognized their Aboriginality, used Aboriginal symbols and music which they had been previously taught were unfit to be in a church or a part of their daily lives. This resulted in confusions and conflict between members of a church and different churches as to what this meant. It took some years for Aboriginal Christians to understand what contextualization meant and the freedom it would give them to worship and minister to others in a manner that suited them.

Church leadership was an area where there needed to be growth in Aboriginal and ordained leadership. It has taken time for a confident lay leadership to emerge and it has been a slow process for some churches. A small number of Aboriginal men have been ordained. In the Northern Territory the Catholic Church has ordained four Aboriginal men as Deacons. Boniface Perdjert from Port Keats was ordained in 1974. Peter Brogan in 1990 and Alfred Liddle 1994 (now deceased). Theodore Tipiloura from Bathurst Island was ordained a Deacon in December 2003. John Bosco from the Tiwi Islands is currently studying at Nungalinya College to complete his Diploma in Theology and is a candidate for the Diaconate. These men have accepted ordination with the support and encouragement of their communities. There are currently no Aboriginal priests in any of our churches.

2 Catholic Aboriginal Urban Ministry.

A new model of church has been developed at St Martin de Porres. It is one that provides a safe, accepting place of relating to one another for Indigenous people who see it as a welcoming, nurturing and healing place. The worship allows people to express themselves in an Aboriginal way. It includes freedom to use the body in actions and dancing, emotions can be expressed, services are not time bound and music, art and drama are used.

Indigenous Catholics of Darwin approached the Bishop of Darwin for a place of their own where they could come to celebrate Mass together in their own way. In 1988 the Bishop of the Darwin Diocese appointed a chaplain to work with the Darwin urban Indigenous people, known as St. Martin de Porres Community. This community consists of Traditional Aboriginal Catholics and some non-Catholics from various remote communities who live in Darwin, people of Aboriginal descent from different places and non-Aboriginal people, both Catholics and non-Catholics.

The Indigenous members established an organization known as Top End Catholic Aboriginal Corporation which is incorporated under the Commonwealth Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act. The central objects of the organization are to promote the Catholic faith within the Aboriginal community and to assist in relieving poverty, distress, sickness, destitution, suffering, misfortune and helplessness of the Aboriginal people in the area known as the Top End of the Northern Territory.[1] Some of the ways the Corporation advances the central objects are as follows.

2.1 By promoting the Catholic faith in the Aboriginal community through spiritual awareness and practical religious activities which include:

  • Preparation of adult and children candidates for the sacraments.
  • Celebration of the Eucharist with the aged at the aged care centre as well as taking communion to the sick and elderly in their homes.
  • Visitation to prison, hospital and homes.
  • Conducting short seminars in Darwin and as outreach ministry to remote communities. This provide opportunity for groups from St. Martin de Porres to work with other indigenous Catholic communities in sharing their faith and ministering through the Word of God, teaching, sharing of personal testimonies, prayer and music..
  • Being involved with Ecumenical gatherings for NAIDOC week.
  • Sharing our faith with Indigenous Catholics from other states at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council Assemblies held at different locations around Australia every three years.
  • Assisting families with funeral preparations.
  • Prayer and Bible study groups.
  • Youth Ministry
  • Children’ faith activities.
  • Community representation on the Diocesan Aboriginal Pastoral Council and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council.
  • Retreats for community members.
  • Support of adult Catholic students who come to Darwin from remote communities and interstate to study Theology at Nungalinya College by providing opportunities for students to participate in St. Martin de Porres ministries as part of the students’ practical ministry modules.
  • Regular monthly Healing Masses.
  • Sharing our faith in combined Masses with other Catholic Parishes, in particular Holy Spirit Parish
  • .

In October 2004 St. Martin de Porres Community entered into a covenant agreement with Holy Spirit Parish. This Parish generously supports the Aboriginal Community with use of buildings for the Chaplain’s residence, office and Church. These buildings were previously occupied by Holy Spirit Parish when it was originally established. This covenant gives each community an understanding of our relationship as two communities with our own identities, each being responsible for their life and mission and for all decisions regarding their futures, but who share common beliefs and values and seek to keep faith with each other. We respect each other and value the different ways in which our faith and cultures are expressed.

2.2 By serving in whatever ways are possible, the wider community and in particular the Aboriginal community.

  • Some of the ways we achieve this are: The Chaplain, community members and other Religious who assist us help Indigenous people in the wider community with dealing with education, health, housing, welfare and legal issues. This can involve listening, being a voice for them in obtaining help or directing them to appropriate government and community services.
  • Members of the community support and encourage others in the wider community to seek help and counseling with groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
  • Supporting NAIDOC activities.
  • Involvement with other indigenous organizations such as the Garden Point Association (a stolen generation group).
  • The community owns a 14 seat bus which is used to transport members to Church for Sunday Mass, meetings, outreach trips throughout the Northern Territory, and for use by indigenous families for funerals.

2.3 Ministries that have developed at St Martin de Porres to meet their needs.

2.3.1 The creation of a comfortable environment

The members of St Martin’s could be described as being and having been the wounded and vulnerable. Many Indigenous and non-indigenous people have found healing, strength and a sense of belonging which they had not experienced prior to coming to St. Martin de Porres Community. As an Aboriginal church they provide a comfortable environment and worship in a way that participants relate to. Some of the members are Catholics, who as adults are returning to the Church from situations of brokenness and sufferings. There have also been people who have been without faith and have been baptized as adults or converted to Catholicism from other faiths.

God’s Spirit has moved and continues to move and work in the people of this community. In the midst of their great struggles, trials and sufferings many serve and participate in reaching out to their Indigenous brothers and sisters convinced of the power of God to transform and heal others for this has been their own personal experiences.

2.3.2 Ministry to people who have been cursed.

It was and can still be for many Indigenous people a challenge to let go of the practice of pay-back and revenge for offences. Cursing and sorcery are still common practices in the wider Aboriginal communities. The practice of cursing has been evident in the life of St. Martin de Porres community. One member relates her story of being cursed by a fellow member of the community after Sunday Mass. This person returned later to say sorry and they were reconciled with one another. The power of the Gospel message has won out because people allow Jesus’ message of peace and reconciliation to influence their response to conflict and division.

Cursing in Aboriginal society is when someone in anger desires to inflict harm on the person who has offended them. They will use various ways to harm the offending person. The method differs among Aboriginal people but can include obtaining something that belongs to the person they want to harm such as clothing or hair. This is given to a person who is believed to have special powers to access spiritual forces to harm the intended victim. Singing the person and calling on the spirits to harm the person are often used.

Pay-back is similar and can include the use of spiritual powers to cause suffering or physical harm. Then often the one, who has been offended, will then have to do something to harm the person or a member of their family, in some way to bring about their notion of justice for the offence committed. This in some cases can include death. This payback process can go back and forth for many years.

2.3.3 Reconciliation

An elderly man of Aboriginal descent who returned after a long absence, shared with a young member of the community about the shame he felt to return to the Sacrament of Reconciliation which he had not participated in for many years. The younger person shared with him about the peace and healing she experiences through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He was invited to receive prayer for the grace to seek God’s forgiveness, which he accepted. A couple of months later he shared about his return to the sacrament of reconciliation.

The gospel message about forgiveness is alive and influences the lives of indigenous Christians. It was not a common practice amongst traditional Aborigines to seek peaceful reconciliation with one another. As two traditional elders recount. George Dangumbu, tribal elder at Elcho Island commented‘Before I learned to throw a hunting spear, I learned to throw a fighting spear. We were always fighting. It is not true that we were a peaceful people.’[2] Deacon Perjert writes, ‘Before the Mission came the people lived in their own tribal areas. They were not the best of friends. Tribal fights were very common. When the Mission came they began to live together.’[3]

2.3.4 Appropriate liturgy

Whilst the wider church has encouraged inculturation of indigenous culture in the liturgy the difficulty in urban communities is the diversity of the culture of the peoples. What may assist some traditional peoples to connect to God through cultural aspects may be confusing for others not able to identify with traditional practices and beliefs.

St Martin de Porres has developed an appropriate liturgy that includes singing in language and dancing during entrance, offertory, and recessional processions as a part of the practice at St. Martin de Porres. Clap sticks, didgeridoo and guitar are instruments used. They have worked to avoid using liturgy from somewhere else just because it has been developed by Aboriginal Catholics. They have chosen to adopt only what people in our community find appropriate for our situation

Our church uses the smoking ceremony at Easter as a sign of cleansing. The smoking ceremony is widely used in other places as part of the liturgy for church gatherings, school and community events throughout Australia. Some Indigenous people have expressed their thoughts that this ceremony is used without regard for the significance of its use in Aboriginal culture. One non-indigenous person told of a traditional man from a community who was asked to do the smoking ceremony at a gathering he attended interstate and how he was uncomfortable because no-one had died. Others have shared stories from their areas where people are displeased at the overuse of the ceremony. People raise the following questions. Is this ceremony being used to demonstrate connection to Aboriginal culture? Does it leave those who process through the smoke with a sense of being cleansed, strengthened and protected from evil? Is this inculturation helping one to connect to God through things of their culture? Does it make our worship more cultural? People give different answers to these questions.

2.3.4 Healing ministry

There is a great need for healing among our people. We know Jesus is the healer and seek healing from him by offering prayer teams to bless people with blessed oil and to ask Jesus to heal the person.

3. Anglican Churches in Arnhem Land.

Over the last 30 years I have seen a number of changes and new approaches to ministry in the post mission era of the six Anglican churches in Arnhem Land. As they gained confidence and full control of their churches and clergy were ordained from their own community a number of changes have emerged. The ones discussed briefly here are language, healing, ordination, fellowship meetings, conventions and funerals. Imagining new ways of carrying out the ministry of the gospel is a risky business as people have to be convinced of the need to do things in a different way.

3.1 Language

Since the Aboriginal people have been responsible for their churches there has been a stronger focus on using the local language in their activities. The language a person speaks is part of their identity. It is not surprising that there has been a strong move to the use of vernacular language in church services and activities in the post mission era of the churches in Arnhem Land. The communion liturgy is in the 4 languages used by the Arnhem Land churches. Some have the baptism, confirmation and funeral services in their languages and the others are working on it. Church services and Fellowship meetings use the local language and many songs are in the local language of each area. This is supported by the diocese. Bishop Frier has ordained two Aboriginal clergy using the ordination liturgy in Wubuy and Kriol