Macarthur Indigenous Reconciliation Ministry

The Macarthur region, comprising Campbelltown, Camden and Wollondilly, is home to the second largest Indigenous population in NSW. Michael Duckett, the pastor of Macarthur Indigenous Church, is seeking to promote a ministry of reconciliation through restoring broken relationships between Indigenous groups (both family and organisational) and the broader Australian community.

Macarthur Indigenous Church (MIC) began in 2000. After struggling to find a place in which to regularly meet and worship, MIC joined with Campbelltown Anglican Churches in 2011.

Micheal Duckett and members of MIC run the following activities:

• Weekly chaplaincy to Dharawal men’s group
• Crisis support (including food hampers, fuel vouchers, grief counselling and support, family disputes, assisting with referrals, support for people arrested by police)
• Youth Group meetings and meals
• Indigenous community gatherings (i.e. Kooris by Candlelight, Annual Men’s
• Fishing trip, Indigenous Youth Network and Sport Camp)
• Reconciliation and cultural education (speaking to community groups, schools, churches and participation in NAIDOC Activities)

Michael Duckett, the Indigneous pastor of MIC, has a deep passion to reconcile and restore the broken relationships between Indigneous and non-Indigenous people due to the devasting impacts of over 200 years of European colonisation. Reports such as “Bringing them Home” and the “Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody” reveal that Indigenous Australians experience disadvantage due to transgenerational trauma stemming from separation from land, communities and families. Indigenous people have higher unemployment rates, lower educational outcomes, significantly more health problems, greater levels of youth incarceration and increased levels of homelessness.