wanted sent away (Matthew 15:21–28). After noticing these people, Jesus healed them, physically and emotionally, and brought them into the circle of acceptance and love. So, if we want to be like Jesus, we also need to notice the most hurting in our communities and bring them into our circle of love. The question Jesus asks of us is “Are you the neighbour?” (Luke 10:37). So, what can we do practically as local church members? Here are three suggestions specific to Australia. The same principles could be followed in other countries. • Educate. In order to empathise, we first need to understand. As with many other colonised countries, Australian historians were reluctant to include “unsavoury” elements in the national story. Anthropologist William Stanner referred to this as “the great Australian silence” and “a cult of forgetfulness practised on a national scale”.16 As such, it’s likely that we didn’t learn a full account of history in our schooling. The Reconciliation Australia and Australians Together websites are two good places to begin. • Connect. Get in touch with local elders via your local Aboriginal Land Council. Build a relationship and find out the community’s needs and how you can support them. Should you wish to learn in a group setting, your church can organise cultural awareness training through your local Aboriginal Land Council. • Respect. Recognise important dates on the First Nations calendar—for example, National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC week. Acknowledge the land that you are on as part of your church events. While our brains can “tune out” information, the opposite can also occur. We can begin to notice things we didn’t see before. For example, when you buy a new car, you suddenly notice the same model everywhere. Whatever the track record of your church to date, start engaging with the First Nations community around you—and watch the opportunities grow! Last year during National Reconciliation Week, Aboriginal Bible worker Doreen Waites shared this: “Doors are opening for people to be educated on how hard our lives are. And God is touching hearts to be a part of our healing. We have longed so much for this. We need loving hearts to help First Nations people see that the only solution to our pain is Jesus Christ.” Her words deeply affected me and reminded me of Paul’s vision of the Macedonian man saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” (Acts 16:9). Can you hear? Can you see? Can you be part of the healing? May God bless you and your church as you reach out to “be the neighbour”. NAIDOC Week runs from July 2 to 9. 18 Adventist Record | July 1, 2023 1. Amnesty International. (September 8, 2022). “The overrepresentation problem: first nations kids are 26 times more likely to be incarcerated than their classmates”. Retrieved from . 2. Amnesty International. (January 25, 2022). “Why we need to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility”. Retrieved from . 3. Higgins, I. (February 17, 2019). “Suicide at ‘crisis’ levels among Aboriginal children as leaders fear it will become ‘normal’”. Retrieved from . 4. Talaga, T. (2020). “All our relations: Indigenous trauma in the shadow of colonialism”. Toronto, Canada: Scribe. 5. Pacific Islands—Colonial Rule. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from . 6. Kocher, E. (May 14, 2017). “A Legacy of Imperialism: Health Disparities in the Pacific”. Retrieved from . 7. Foliaki, S & Pearce, N. (2003). “Prevention and control of diabetes in Pacific people”. British Medical Journal, 327(7412), 437-439. doi: 10.1136/bmj.327.7412.437. Retrieved . 8. National Centre for Indigenous Genomics. (n.d.). Mona Mona. Retrieved from . 9. Brown, N. (September 27, 2021). “Indigenous mission’s history adds to church’s truth-telling”. Retrieved from . 10. NITV News. (September 23, 2013). “Stolen Generations seek compensation for suffering”. Retrieved from . 11. Ibid. 12. Australian Human Rights Commission. (1998). Social Justice Report 1998: Chapter 3: Church Responses. Retrieved from . 13. To learn more, read the book, “Remembering Mona Mona” available from the Adventist Book Centre, and watch the “Living Black” episode on Mona Mona Mission (S21, Ep12): . 14. Oxford University Press. (n.d.). Elie Wiesel 1928-2016. Retrieved from . 15. Quote Investigator. (n.d.). “Apalling silence of the good people”. Retrieved from . 16. Clark, A. (2018, July 3). “Friday essay: the ‘great Australian silence’ 50 years on”. Retrieved from . Sharon Curson chartered accountant, most recently worked as departmental assistant, South Pacific Division, Wahroonga, NSW.