Uniting Church Members Join the Moderator in Call for a Rising Tide of Climate Action
Last weekend (29 November) dozens of Uniting Church members joined hundreds of others at the Rising Tide climate protest at Newcastle Harbour.
Last weekend (29 November) dozens of Uniting Church members joined hundreds of others at the Rising Tide climate protest at Newcastle Harbour.
What is Rising Tide and why were they there?
They were there to participate in what has become one of the largest climate action events in Australia. They were also present to support the Moderator, Rev Mata Havea Hiliau, who had been invited by organisers to speak at the main stage kick-off on Saturday Morning.
Rising Tide is a multi-day event that blends family-friendly beach festivities, and music with training in public protest and colourful flotilla of vessels, that draws attention to Newcastle being the largest coal export port in the world. It calls for the end of new fossil fuel projects and a 75% export profits tax on fossil fuels to fund community adaptation and compensation for harmful climate change, as well as a fair transition for fossil fuel workers. The event is heavily policed, and those on the water risk arrest for any breach, for example going beyond the limited section of water allocated for the protest and marked by yellow buoys (this area seems to grow smaller each year). The vast majority of participants express their support for climate action by being present, and remain on the beach, but some (around 140 on the weekend) do take their convictions to the point of arrest.
What were they thinking?
There are some in the local community and local churches who don’t support Rising Tide and see it as either an illegitimate disruption of the harbour or a possible risk to the safety of participants and police. Rising Tide organiser Zack Schofield points out that any disruption lasts for two days, while the coal exports that are contributing to unquestionable climate risk and harm go on unimpeded for the remaining 363 days of the year. And other voices point to the tradition of non-violent protest that reaches back to Jesus and the prophets before him. More recently there is the example of retired Uniting Church Minister, Alan Stuart, arrested at age 97 in the 2023 Rising Tide event and who died last year.
It was into this somewhat fraught and charged space that the Moderator and dozens of other Uniting church members (lay and ordained) stepped on Saturday morning. They were motivated by their own faith convictions about caring for creation and supported by the explicit commitment of the Synod to advocacy on climate change.
What happened?
Before the main stage event a number of Uniting Church members met at the prayer tent at 9.00am for an informal gathering. This was led by Rev. Alexandra Sangster from the Vic.Tas Synod and Advocate for the Assembly Working for Justice Circle. The Moderator and her husband joined this gathering where there was opportunity for any to share what had led them to be at this event and why it mattered to them. After this gathering we walked behind one of our Uniting Church climate banners to the main stage area for the Rising Tide launch and speeches. Other Uniting Church folk joined us there to support the Moderator.
The Moderator was one of the first speakers. By that time around 1500 people had assembled, seated on the grass before the stage. Rising Tide organiser, Zack Scofield introduced Rev. Mata by saying, “The Uniting Church are amazing allies who carry conviction with their faith, and are here today to support us”.
The Moderator began by saying she was conscious, standing before this assembly, that she represented different stories of human treatment of the earth and response to climate change. She stood as a representative of the church, whose beliefs regretfully had sometimes been used to justify exploitation of the earth, its creatures and resources. She stood there as a mother, anxious for her children and future grandchildren. She stood there as a daughter of the Pacific, fearful and angry at the threats to her home islands and peoples and their way of life. And she also stood there as a follower of Jesus, who have gave her hope, and who called the church to act on behalf of the most vulnerable and to love our neighbours as ourselves:
“..because we know the rising sea levels are real, homes are being washed away, the climate is getting warmer, and we are here to do something about it”….. (loud cheers) “…to continue to lobby our government to stop opening up new fossil fuel mines” (more loud cheers)
The Moderator concluded her speech saying that the organisers had asked her not just to speak but to offer a prayer. She acknowledged that people came from different backgrounds, different faiths or no faith at all, but, she said: “As a woman of faith I am unapologetic about calling us to prayer, and perhaps that’s part of the hope.”
There was warm applause and a shout of ‘Amen’ as the Moderator finished her prayer and sat down. After the speeches the crowd, including our Uniting Church contingent, dispersed to the beach to watch and applaud the launch of the Rising Tide flotilla of hundreds of canoes and other vessels. Several people came up to the Moderator, to thank her for her words and for being there on behalf of the Uniting Church.
After the event
In the week after the event there have been emails back and forth from some of the Uniting Church group who were at Rising Tide. They expressed appreciation at being able to support a cause they believed in - one that their faith asked them to take seriously, and thankfulness at being able to share this experience in solidarity with other like-minded members of the Uniting Church community.
Rev Alexandra Sangster summed it up: “We did it. We got everyone together. We supported the Moderator. We wept and laughed and prayed and we protested alongside our fellow human beings who are crying for justice, for the future.”
Note: Australia was one of nations at the recent COP 30 meeting in Brazil who signed the Belém Declaration on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuel, but the federal government has yet to announce any concrete plans for such a phase out, and in the meantime continues to support new fossil fuel projects.
Jon O’Brien, Social Justice Advocate, Uniting Climate
