Townsville Greats - Shirli Congoo

Blazing a trail to reconciliation

Shirli Congoo's path to healing began a few years ago. Now, says ESTHER PINN, she's equipping The Salvation Army to embrace others on that journey 

Her heart is in Townsville but for Shirli Congoo, home is wherever her ministry takes her. And for Shirli, that’s right across The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory.
At the beginning of the year, Shirli took on a new role as Territorial Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ministry Coordinator. It requires her to travel throughout the territory, providing guidance and resources to Indigenous ministries at Salvation Army corps and social centres.
She is also a member of the Army’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group. For Shirli, it’s all about reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-indigenous Australian communities.
“Our vision is to see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being treated with respect, dignity, justice and equality,” she says. “We deeply desire for true reconciliation, to see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture valued, embraced and making its contribution to the life of The Salvation Army and our nation.”

Biblical basis 

Shirli's own journey of reconciliation started about three years ago when she returned to The Salvation Army. It had been a long absence, her last experience of the Army being in her childhood.
She says that it wasn’t until she reconnected with God that she began to understand the true faith-based meaning of reconciliation. And, she says, it's through the Bible that we come to understand how to achieve reconciliation.
“I was looking through Scripture, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19: ‘All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he had committed to us the message of reconciliation.’
“It’s a statement saying because we’ve been reconciled, we’ve got to become the reconcilers and I think sometimes we’re looking outside [the world] to the meaning of reconciliation where really, it’s in the Word [the Bible].”
For Shirli, reconciliation starts with an acknowledgement of Australia's chequered history, not only from non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander founders based on Terra Nullius but also the role churches played in missions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and showing respect for the pain caused to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Only then, says Shirli, can the healing process begin.

Strategic plan
Through her territorial role, Shirli has been part of formulating a strategic plan that focuses on educating non-Indigenous Australians and Salvation Army members about Indigenous communities.
Over the past few years, she has been educating people about the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders through cultural awareness days at the Army’s Booth College in Sydney. In Brisbane, the Army, through their Communities for Children prorgam, has been running guided bus tours for people to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander significant sites to educate them about the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history. This is led by Uncle Barry Watson.
Every year, a mission team also goes to Moree, in north-west NSW, during school holidays to run activities and engage with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community there. And in 2012, The Salvation Army held its first Aboriginal Ministry Conference, which is open to officers and those who work for the Army, and saw up to 60 people attend. The intention is to hold the conference every three years.
With education comes engagement and with Raelene Baker, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Coordinator based in Brisbane and Allen Minniecon, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Development Coordinator in Cairns, Shirli is building relationships in communities where The Salvation Army runs Indigenous ministries. Another Community Developement Worker will be based in Townsville in the future.
“Where we’ve got our two workers now [Raelene and Allen], they’re doing really positive stuff in their communities,” she says. “There’s really good feedback from the divisions where they work.”

Building bridges
There are numerous other Salvation Army initiatives which are helping to build bridges into and support Indigenous communities.
Since 2012, Adrian and Natalie Kistan have been running the Army’s Indigenous Community House in Sydney. This program supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from rural areas as they complete their high school studies in Sydney.
Flying padres, Lieutenants Natalie and Simon Steele, working out of their base in Mt Isa in north Queensland, regularly visit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to develop relationships. Each year they escort 12 Aboriginal children from these remote areas to the Collaroy Centre in Sydney for the Red Shield Camp.
This month, Salvation Army corps and social centres across the territory are joining with their local communities in events held to celebrate NAIDOC week, from 6-13 July. The dates mark two significant milestones in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, the anniversaries of the Australian referendum in 1967 and the High Court Mabo decision. NAIDOC is a national event held annually to raise awareness of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Recently, The Salvation Army also celebrated Reconciliation Week – 27 May to 3 June – which coincides with some significant dates in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history. It's an opportunity for all Australians to reflect on reconciliation and learn more about our shared history, cultures and achievements.

This article first appeared in The Salvation Army's Pipeline magazine in 2014. Photos: Shairon Paterson