A Joyous and Colourful Celebration
The Uniting Church is a Multicultural Church – a community where people of every culture, language and story are not merely welcomed but truly belong as family. Rev Judy Sanderson reflects on what it means to be an Intercultural church, as the Uniting Church in Australia this year recognises and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the statement ‘The Uniting Church is a multicultural church”.
Article first published in the August 2025 edition of Revive magazine.
Celebrations hold considerable importance as they commemorate significant moments in our lives and history, akin to birthdays, anniversaries, certain holidays, and even Holy Communion. These events serve as reminders of pivotal occurrences. For instance, the annual Passover celebration recounts the story of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Such occasions unify individuals, families, communities, and nations, fostering a collective expression of gratitude and joy for impactful events that have influenced and sometimes defined various aspects of our lives.
The 40th anniversary of the statement: ‘The Uniting Church is a multicultural Church’ was certainly a declaration—an event that impacted the life of our church. Our President, Rev Charissa Suli, speaks of the declaration in the introduction to the UCA’s Multicultural Anniversary Worship Resources as a bold prophetic vision that was cast forty years ago—a vision to become a community where people of every culture, language and story are not merely welcomed but truly belong as family. Her words resonated with me when she said, “This declaration was not simply a statement of who we were, but a calling into who God is shaping us to become; a living witness to the diverse and reconciled body of Christ, woven together in love.” It was the ‘welcome’ expressed in the statements of the Uniting Church that drew me to this church.
I found the Uniting Church in 2007 while searching for a Methodist Church in Perth. I had previously attended a Methodist Church in the United States and was looking for something similar where I could find a sense of belonging.
During my initial period with the Uniting Church, discussions were ongoing regarding the proposed Preamble to the Constitution. Some of the comments made at these discussions raised concerns for me as they felt disrespectful, unloving, and even racist in nature. The heated discussions, along with personal experiences of not feeling welcomed, led me to question whether the Uniting Church could provide a sense of belonging for me.
Reading the Preamble led me to read other documents from the Uniting Church such as the Basis of Union, Statement to the Nation, and the Assembly statement adopted in 1985, “We Are a Multicultural Church.” It was these statements that revealed to me the vision of the Uniting Church. It was this vision that I felt God had called me to be a part of—the vision of a multicultural church. Of course, since the initial statement was declared, we have had subsequent statements about being cross-cultural and intercultural.
I am originally from Atlanta, Georgia, the home of Martin Luther King Jr.—a city with a history of involvement in the African- American civil rights movement. I understand the importance of everyone having a seat at the table where decisions are made and know that people can gain insight and become empowered when working together. I believe in the vision and call of the Intercultural Network.
Also, being a part of a cultural group with a heritage of slavery, I know that statements and declarations matter. Statements can declare freedom to slaves, grant civil rights to those in a society who had no rights. Speeches that declare “I have a dream” can highlight injustice and cast a vision for a just future and provide hope. I am, however, aware that we must keep important statements and declarations from being forgotten.
This reminds me of the Book of Habakkuk and Habakkuk’s personal experience of the injustice that was evident around him. As he went back and forth with his complaints to God, God tells Habakkuk to get some tablets and write down what he sees and hears, sending him a vision about an appointed time in the future that may seem slow in coming but will certainly come. Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.”
The Uniting Church is a Multicultural Church – a community where people of every culture, language and story are not merely welcomed but truly belong as family. That vision which was declared in 1985 was pivotal in the life of the church. It is important for us to celebrate and remember this important moment in the life of our church.
And this is what we did. The Presbytery of WA’s Intercultural Network hosted a joyful and colourful celebration for the 40th anniversary of the Assembly’s declaration that “we are a Multicultural Church.”
We continue the journey of living cross-cultural and intercultural as a multicultural church.
Yes, there are challenges we face, and we will continue to face challenges; but we will face and overcome them together. For we know that in the Uniting Church, we are not merely welcomed but truly belong as family—sisters and brothers in Christ. The vision that was cast 40 years ago was made plain. The Intercultural Network has caught hold of this vision and will run with it, fully believing the vision will come to pass.
Rev Judy Sanderson is the Convenor of the Presbytery of WA’s Intercultural Network
