The Voice Referendum

With just less than a month until Australians head to the polls to vote in the Referendum, I thought it important to provide us with some material to assist us in our thinking on the Voice.  There are links to three articles written by Sydney Anglicans which I hope will be useful to you as we seek to fulfil the request of last year’s Synod to ‘educate all Anglicans about the Voice ‘From the Heart’.
On Monday night of Synod earlier this week, we committed an hour of our time to listen to first nations voices regarding the proposed voice to parliament. Here is a link to an article from Sydney Anglicans summarising that presentation by three of our indigenous brothers and sisters

Rev Dr Andrew Errington’s essay was written on behalf of the Social Issues Committee. It specifically seeks to address the Synod motion by reflecting on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Dean Sandy Grant’s paper seeks to offer a Christian case for opposing the proposal for the Voice.  Dr Michael Jensen’s op-ed, first published on The Gospel Coalition Australia website, offers a Christian case for supporting the Voice proposal.

Please continue to pray about the referendum as a matter of national significance. Let us pray that all Australians will seek God’s wisdom in coming to their decision, that God would direct our path as a nation, and that respect would be preserved throughout the ‘campaign’ period and following the vote, whatever the outcome. We also ought to pray especially for Indigenous Australians who may feel vulnerable throughout this process, and for whom this matter may be deeply personal.

In Christian fellowship, 
Rich 

The image is an artwork by Rev. Michael Duckett, Pastor of Macarthur Indigenous Church, which portrays the Diocese from the point of view of its Indigenous ministries.