Avondale joins other Christian entities to advocate for justice
Hundreds of Christians including those from Avondale have met in Canberra to pray for Australia’s leaders and their contribution to a world without extreme poverty.
Almost 200 participants of Micah Australia’s annual Voices for Justice (October 10-13) joined with federal politicians and with the city’s Christians in a candlelit prayer vigil on the lawns of Parliament House this past Tuesday.
“If we define advocacy as speaking to the powerful on behalf of the powerless, then prayer itself is a form of advocacy as we cry out from the depths of our hearts to the God of grace and justice,” said Ben Thurley, national coordinator of Micah Australia. “Having Christians around the country praying in this way sends a powerful message to politicians—we hold them to their highest calling, which is to work for the common good and to protect the rights of the poor and needy both within our borders and beyond them.”
Voices for Justice participants combined prayer with action by meeting more than 100 federal politicians to discuss ways Australia will support the new Sustainable Development Goals by restoring Australia’s aid program and increasing emission reduction targets to tackle climate change.
Harwood Lockton, a former senior lecturer in international development at Avondale, and students Jasmine Hunter and Ryan Smith met Pat Conroy, Member for Charlton, the electorate in which Avondale’s Lake Macquarie campus is located.
Dr Brad Watson, a senior lecturer in international poverty and development studies, and students Jordan Bolst and Ashley Steele met with the Erina-based former Member for Robertson, Senator Deborah O’Neill.
Meeting federal politicians in their Parliament House offices to talk about the Sustainable Development Goals is one of the most effective forms of advocacy, says Watson. It is also in keeping with Avondale’s motto, “For a Greater Vision of World Needs.” “Avondale values service learning as one of the most effective ways to develop graduate attributes including an orientation to service and the facility to lead and work collaboratively in professional and community contexts.” Watson speaks highly of Micah Australia’s organisation of the event, describing it as “an amazing learning experience that allowed us to talk openly with MPs and senators about our faith.”
Voices for Justice this year marked the launch of Micah Australia, the successor to Micah Challenge, which has equipped Christians over the past decade to help ensure Australia does its share to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Micah Australia is a coalition of churches and Christian organisations, including the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Australia, raising a voice for justice and a world free from poverty. It takes its name from the biblical mandate to “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8, NIV).
The need to fulfil this mandate, particularly in relation to poverty and sustainable human development, has never been greater, says Thurley. “Over the past year, we have seen the largest ever cuts to the federal aid budget, and yet a few weeks ago Australia joined the international community in unanimously adopting the new Sustainable Development Goals to fight poverty, address inequality and build a more secure, prosperous and sustainable world by 2030.”
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This little light
Vigil a reminder of how doing justice is a vital part of our faith
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