We are grateful to Indigenous Ministries Australia (IMA) Coordinator East, Nick Wight and two Indigenous guests, Lonny and Brian, who took several Ringwood Church of Christ people on a tour of some of Melbourne’s significant Indigenous history and cultural landmarks.

The tour helped us grow our understanding of First Nations peoples and culture. It helped to broaden and deepen our compassion and response to God’s call to love our neighbour. The names and places of Christian Indigenous cultural leaders and activists that we learnt about on Aboriginal Sunday (the Sunday before January 26) came alive as Nick, Brian and Lonny shared stories of Pastor Sir Douglas, Lady Gladys Nicholls and William Cooper, among many.

We were blessed by the presence and contributions of Lonny, who is studying pastoral ministry, and Brian, who is a soon-to-be-published poet. Nick is a gifted storyteller and enthusiastically shared the breadth, depth, beauty and challenges faced by our First Nations peoples. We were introduced to and reflected on five key aspects of Aboriginal culture: land, family, law, language and ceremony.

Tiffany Gilmour,
Community Engagement Coordinator, Ringwood Church of Christ.

You can participate in a Songlines Tour with IMA in Victoria or South Australia. Contact Nick Wight for more information. To book a tour please email nick@gmp.org.au