Aboriginal Sunday was the brainchild of Aboriginal Christian leader William Cooper and the Australian Aborigines League, and is held each year, the Sunday before January 26. The annual commemoration’s origins lie in the Day of Protest on January 26, 1938, held in Sydney.
On that day the Aboriginal people gathered there moved “WE, representing THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA, assembled in conference at the Australian Hall, Sydney, on the 26th day of January, 1938, this being the 150th Anniversary of the Whiteman’s seizure of our country, HEREBY MAKE PROTEST against the callous treatment of our people by the whitemen during the past 150 years, AND WE APPEAL to the Australian nation of today to make new laws for the education and care of Aborigines, we ask for a new policy which will raise our people TO FULL CITIZEN STATUS and EQUALITY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.’”
Cooper inaugurated Aboriginal Sunday with the help of churches to carry the message forward. “We request that sermons be preached on this day dealing with the Aboriginal people and their need of the gospel and response to it, and we ask that special prayer be invoked for all missionary and other effort for the uplift of the dark people,” Cooper wrote, reflecting the language of the time.
“Aboriginal Sunday is an important opportunity for your church community to go deeper in listening, learning, and being led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders,” according to the social justice movement Common Grace.
In 2026, Common Grace will again be providing Aboriginal Sunday Church Resources developed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders, with a focus on the theme of ‘Be Strong and Courageous’.
This year’s theme is “Be strong and courageous,” echoing the words of God to Joshua as he prepared to lead his people into their future.
Common Grace comments: “The journey of justice and healing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in these lands is not easy. We continue to see and bear the pain of ongoing injustices – children still being taken from families, young ones imprisoned, truth and treaty still denied, lives cut short in custody. These realities can feel overwhelming.
Yet we are not alone: we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) – faithful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Elders who have gone before us, like William Cooper and Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls, and those who continue to lead and inspire us today, like Aunty Dr Jean Phillips and Uncle Pastor Dr Ray Minniecon. Their lives of courageous faith call the Australian church to stand up, speak out, and walk boldly in the way of justice. Their witness reminds us that courage is possible because Christ goes before us and God’s Spirit strengthens us.“
A prayer for Aboriginal Sunday
Here is a prayer written by a North Queensland group of indigenous peoples and used widely.
Holy Father, God of Love,
You are the Creator of this land and of all good things.
We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history
and the suffering of our peoples,
and we ask your forgiveness.
We thank you for the survival of indigenous cultures.
Our hope is in you because you gave your Son, Jesus
to reconcile the world to you.
We pray for your strength and grace to forgive,
accept and love one another,
as you love us and forgive and accept us
in the sacrifice of your Son.
Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history
so that we may build a better future for our nation.
Teach us to respect all cultures.
Teach us to care for our land and waters.
Help us to share justly the resources of this land.
Help us to bring about spiritual and social change
to improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities,
especially the disadvantaged.
Help young people to find true dignity and self-esteem by your Spirit.
May your power and love be the foundations
on which we build our families, our communities and our nation,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Wontulp-Bi-Buya Indigenous Theology Working Group, 1997)
An Acknowledgment of Country
Churches may choose to make an Acknowledgment of Country on Aboriginal Sunday.
This is an Acknowledgement of Country used at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney
“As we gather in the presence of God, we acknowledge with respect the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet. In his wisdom and love, our Heavenly Father gave this land to the Gadigal people of the Eora nation (see Acts 17:26). On this land, they met for generations before the coming of British settlers. As we now live together on these lands, we pray that God would unite us all in a knowledge of his Son, Jesus Christ, in whom and for whom all things were created.