We have created a RAP that challenges us to continue to build meaningful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We are keen to strengthen our relationships and work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, listening and responding with compassion to the stories and truth telling. We seek to share and collaborate with direct actions through our programs across Australia and explore and act on new initiatives through employment opportunities and our supply networks.
“This Reflect RAP enables Mary MacKillop Today to deepen its understanding of its sphere of influence and the unique contribution it can make to lead progress across the five dimensions. Getting these first steps right will ensure the sustainability of future RAPs and reconciliation initiatives, and provide meaningful impact toward Australia’s reconciliation journey.”
Karen Mundine, Chief Executive Officer, Reconciliation Australia
“At Mary MacKillop Today, we are deeply committed to building a more just, inclusive, equitable and reconciled Australia. This is our first Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan, and we are proud to be taking such a significant step in our journey towards the advancement of reconciliation in Australia.“
Jane Woolford, Chief Executive Officer, Mary MacKillop Today
Prayer for the Launch of Mary MacKillop Today’s Reflect RAP from the Sisters of Saint Joseph
Eternal Creator,
Baayami who stretches the heavens above us,
Gunimaa who cradles the earth beneath us,
Spirit who moves through rivers, stars, and stories
We gather today in reverence, in hope, in courage.
We remember Saint Mary MacKillop,
who walked dusty roads with a heart wide enough
to embrace the poor, the forgotten, the unseen.
We remember Father Julian Tenison Woods,
who opened his eyes to the sacred text of the land
and knew creation itself as teacher.
We remember the Sisters of Saint Joseph,
who stood in humble strength alongside Aboriginal communities,
who listened deeply, who taught with love,
who dared to believe that faith must always
become action for justice.
Today, we step into that living legacy.
As Mary MacKillop Today launches your Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan –
a map for listening, a promise of respect,
a time of turning our gaze back,
to reflect on histories silenced,
to reflect on voices too long unheard,
to reflect on our responsibilities as people of faith and justice.
Reflect calls us to begin with humility,
to sit quietly at the campfire of truth,
to hear the stories of First Nations peoples,
to honour the custodians of Country
who have cared for this land since time immemorial.
Reflect calls us not to rush,
but to prepare the ground for deeper reconciliation,
to tend the soil with patience and courage,
to plant seeds of relationships that will grow strong and enduring.
Bless the staff of Mary MacKillop Today,
who now take up this journey for the next two years.
Strengthen their steps, steady their vision,
fill their hearts with the same bold spirit
that stirred in Mary’s own.
May you all find wisdom in dialogue,
grace in humility,
and joy in the relationships you will nurture.
Let this Reflect RAP be more than words on a page.
Let it be fire in your bones,
river in your veins,
song on your lips,
and justice in your hands.
And when the two years of reflection have passed,
may we all look back and see
that reconciliation was not only spoken here,
but it lived –
with truth, with compassion, with faith, with courage.
In the spirit of Saint Mary,
in the vision of Father Julian,
in the legacy of the Josephite Sisters,
and in solidarity with the First Nations peoples of this land,
we pray.
Amen.
