Churches standing in solidarity for Manus Island

On Sunday 26 November a number of Uniting Churches joined faith communities across Australia to stand in solidarity with the men on Manus Island.

During church services, brothers and sisters of faith paused in prayer before uploading a photo of church attendees standing with their arms crossed above their heads. This is the same peaceful symbol of protest that the refugees on Manus used during their three week standoff that ended on Friday 24^th November.

Common Grace is a non-denominational Christian movement that organised the day of support.

On their website Common Grace stated: “When the Church speaks up for justice, when we stand with those marginalised, when we confront the powers that oppress, we are in sync with the heart of God and the call of Christ to liberate the captives, to set free those in bondage.”

Queanbeyan, Hoppers Crossing, Abbotsbury, Kingston, Quairading, Aitkenvale, Rosanna, Williamstown, Boronia and Pilgrim Uniting Church, are just a few of the UCA churches that participated in the event over the weekend. The national Assembly office staff including the President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Stuart McMillan, also showed their support.

Staff from @UnitingChurchAu @weareuniting @UnitingWorld stand in solidarity today for the refugees on Manus Island #BringThemHere pic.twitter.com/61MePXJ14R

— Uniting Church (@UnitingChurchAu) November 27, 2017

In an earlier statement, Mr McMillan, reinforced the importance for advocating for the humanitarian treatment of refugees and calling for the end of mandatory detention and off-shore processing.

“We stand together with our sisters and brothers of faith in other Australian churches calling for a long-term humanitarian solution that upholds the dignity of these vulnerable people,” said Mr McMillan.

You can view the photos of the churches that participated here.