Our Progress – Relationships - Reconciliation Action Plan

At the heart of reconciliation is relationships. The primary purpose and scope of the LCA RAP is to develop church wide opportunities to ensure that the LCA continues to build upon our solid foundation of respectful and dignified relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the broader community in our church. When we get to know each other in mutual partnership, attitudes and behaviours toward each other improve and, better outcomes are achieved.

Follow our progress on other sections of our RAP

Respect

Opportunities

Governance

	Action	Deliverable	Timeline	Responsibility	Progress
1.	Establish and strengthen mutually beneficial relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and organisations	(a) Identify First Nations stakeholders nationally, within each district and spheres of influence	June 2021	Executive Officer Local Mission	Finke River Mission (Northern Territory/Central Australia) Finke River Mission Aboriginal Ministry of South Australia (AbMinSA) AbMinSA Visits and consultations with First Nations communities West Coast SA Yalata Community Ntaria [Hermannsburg] Alice Springs Hope Vale Identification and promotion of national Aboriginal organisation contacts relevant to Ministry Services (eg Aged Care, Children and Youth Services, Disability, Community Services) National and Jurisdictional Peak Community Organisations Identification and promotion of contacts Reconciliation agencies, National and within each State Encouragement to explore Traditional Custodians of Country linked to various ministry spaces
		(b) Research best practice and principles that support partnerships with First Nations stakeholders and organisations	August 2020	RAP Project Chair RAP Project Officer	Churchwide office staff engagement in the 'Share Our Pride' online tool - Chapter 5 Respectful Relationships Share Our Pride
2.	Build relationships through celebrating National Reconciliation Week (NRW)	(a) Circulate Reconciliation Australia's NRW resources and reconciliation materials across the organisation in each district, including (but not limited to) worship centres/congregations, agencies and affiliated bodies of the LCA, volunteers, employees, leaders and decision makers	May 2021	Executive Officer of the Church	LCA - E-news \| May edition E-news RAP website \| Resources Page RA NRW Fact Sheets and other Reconciliation Resources Resources LCA Commission of Worship webpage \| Reconciliation Service Order Worship Service Resource
		(b) RAP Working Group and Project Team members to participate in an external NRW event in their respective states across Australia, and share this experience through national communique	27 May - June 2021	RAP Project Chair	Provision of NRW COVID-safe Activities accessible across Australia National Reconciliation Week National launch of the LCA RAP website Communication to ministry community via LCA e-news, face book, 'Spread the word' Heartland News May 2020 Spread the Word
		(c) Encourage support staff and senior leaders to participate in at least one external event to recognise and celebrate NRW	27 May - June 2021	Manager Church Worker Support Department	Attendance NRW Virtual Breakfast 27 May, 2020 - guest speaker Pat Turner Chair Coalition of Peaks In This Together
3.	Promote reconciliation through our sphere of influence	(a) Communicate our commitment to reconciliation to members, volunteers, employees, leaders and decision makers within LCA districts, worship centres/congregations, agencies and affiliated bodies	July 2020	Manager Communications Department	Video - Bishop Endorsement of RAP - hosted on LCA RAP website Bishop Henderson Video Bishop Statement within the RAP document Bishop Henderson's RAP Statement 2000+ distribution of RAP (Sept 2020) across Australia and New Zealand accompanied by cover letter from Bishop RAP on its way Further visits and consultations with First Nations Communities September and October The Lutheran - May edition Reconciliation is Everyone's Business
		(b) Identify external stakeholders that our organisation can engage with on our reconciliation journey	August 2020	RAP Project Officer	Reconciliation Australia Reconciliation Australia State Reconciliation Councils QLD NSW Vic Tas SA WA Other Faith-based organisations NATSICC Common Grace Peak First Nations groups, bodies and organisations
		(c) Continue to engage with and actively seek advice from the LCA First Nations Advisory Group	June 2021	Office of the Bishop	Ongoing communication Online meetings
		(d) Identify RAP and other like-minded organisations that we could approach to collaborate with on our reconciliation journey, including agencies and affiliated bodies of the LCA that have existing RAPs or are developing RAPs	March 2021	RAP Project Officer	Finke River Mission (Communities Northern Territory) FRM Aboriginal Ministry, South Australia AbMinSA Hope Vale Mission (Cape York, Far North Queensland) Hope Vale Lutheran Community Care Central Australia Foster Care Lutheran Services Australian Lutheran College Lutheran Laypersons League LLL Schools and early childhood learning centres across Australia - particularly those engaged with the Narragunnawali Education Program National Council of Churches Australia (NCCA) - Reconciliation as Ministry Other Faith-based organisations eg Uniting Church, Congress, Salvation Army, Seventh Day Adventist, Anglican, Catholic. Online: Common Grace, TEAR Australia, Australians Together Common Grace TearAustralia-Working with First Nations peoples Australians Together
		(e) Develop and implement a communication strategy that aims to raise awareness among LCA worship centres/congregations, districts, agencies, affiliated group.s ministry areas, and community groups that the Lutheran Church works alongside about our RAP commitments	June 2020	Manager Communications Department RAP Project Officer	Created - to identify the various groups, the format of communication and its frequency. RAP Communication Strategy Utilize exisiting groups/departments within the LCA to host stories/articles rather than creating own e-news Development of LCA RAP website Engaged in specific activity promotional package (NRW / Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chidlren's Day / Launch of website / distribution of RAP documents /NAIDOC week / The Apology)
		(f) Share the long history of engagement with First Nations people, highlighting the current ministries/relationships shared with congregations and communities across the LCA	April 2021	Manager Communications Department Director Lutheran Media	Lutheran Mission History - West Coast SA, Yalata, Koonibba, Ceduna, Pt Lincoln \| Central Australia \| Far North Queensland
		(g) Develop a database of key stakeholders who can support the reconciliation journey within the LCA eg Lutheran Education, youth mission groups, community services, disability services, Aboriginal focused agencies and groups	September 2020	RAP Project Officer	LCA Departments District Bishops / Administrators / Communications Lutheran Education
4.	Promote positive race relations through anti-discrimination strategies	(a) Research best practice and policies in areas of race relations and anti-discrimination	January 2021	Manager Professional Standards Department Cross-Cultural Ministry	LCA Departments District Bishops / Administrators / Communications
		(b) Conduct a review of LCA HR policies and procedures to identify existing anti-discrimination provisions, and future needs	June 2021	Manager Church Worker Support Department Secretary of the Church

Our Progress – Relationships

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