Reconciliation demands advocacy

For broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 11 Aug 2013.

Superintendent of Sydney’s Wesley Mission, the Reverend Dr Keith Garner, says it is foolish for Christians to see either the “left” or “right” of politics as holding the answer to Australia’s biggest and most pressing questions.

Writing in the August 2013 issue of Eternity newspaper, Dr Garner said the early Methodists, who planted the seeds of a pioneering work that would become Wesley Mission, were advocates of social justice.

Throughout our history, Christians have given voice to issues as diverse as slum clearance, child labour, the harmful impact of gambling, the abuse of alcohol, a meaningful use of Sunday, the White Australia policy, and the Vietnam War…

Advocacy is also about generating a public conversation about social issues to bring about tangible reform.

For us, reconciliation to God makes possible a dynamic commitment to the work of advocacy.  We do that by being firmly fixed in the hope found in Jesus Christ.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.