When Antony McMullen, Church Engagement Manager for Vic/Tas, visited Bacchus Marsh Uniting Church, the congregation experienced a shared act of learning, listening and reflection, exploring climate justice from the perspective of communities across the Pacific.
Antony facilitated a simulation game that invited people to think about unequal power relationships and the very different impacts of climate change.
The room was divided into two teams: one representing Pacific Island communities and one representing Australia. A children’s colouring activity brought brightness and creativity into the room. The simulation helped show, in a clear and practical way, that those who have contributed least to climate change are often among those who face its sharpest effects.
This is not an abstract issue. For UnitingWorld’s partner churches across Asia, Africa and the Pacific, climate change affects homes, livelihoods, food security, safety and the future of whole communities.
Our partner churches are at the heart of local responses, walking alongside people through change, loss and hope. The activity did not try to offer easy answers. Instead, it opened space for deeper awareness and care, using gentle humour to help the congregation engage with a serious topic.
The visit reflected something central to UnitingWorld’s work: partnership begins with listening. It grows through mutual respect, prayer, learning and shared responsibility.
Australian congregations have a role to play by standing with our partner churches, supporting locally-led work, and keeping climate justice before our communities.
It reminded us that our relationships across the Pacific are not distant or symbolic. They are part of who we are as a church.
UnitingWorld gives thanks for congregations who continue to learn, pray, give and act in support of partner churches across Asia, Africa and the Pacific.