# Leichhardt Uniting Church to Pay the Rent

> Leichhardt Uniting Church recently decided at a church council meeting to ‘ pay the rent ‘. The congregation will give 10 percent of offerings to two First Nations-led initiatives.

By Jonathan Foye · 28 June 2024 · News

Canonical: https://insights1.uca.org.au/articles/leichhardt-uniting-church-to-pay-the-rent/

Leichhardt Uniting Church recently decided at a church council meeting to ‘[pay the rent](https://paytherent.net.au/)‘. The congregation will give 10 percent of offerings to two First Nations-led initiatives.

Rev. Radhika Sukukumar-White is one of Leichhardt ministers at Leidchardt Uniting Church.

“Reparation is a stronger and more just paradigm for relationship with First Peoples than reconciliation,” she said. 

“This is particularly important because churches like LUC continue to operate on sovereign, unceded land.”

“Reparation is rightly demanding, sacrificial, practical. It is biblical and it must be ongoing. Reconciliation is God’s work; reparation is ours.”

The congregation previously sought advice from Nathan Tyson, Synod’s Head of First Peoples Strategy and Engagement.

Followings his recommendations, Leidchardt Uniting Church has committed to support the First Peoples Theological Scholarship, which supports First peoples to undertake theological study. The church will also support Deadly Connections, a Sydney-based, Aboriginal-led not-for-profit providing support to break cycles of systemic racism, disadvantage and trauma.

“At LUC, we choose to pay the rent to acknowledge that we are on stolen land,” said, Alex Long, chairperson of Leichhardt Uniting Church Council. 

“The land we are on was forcibly taken from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the colonial systems continue to exclude and oppress our First Nations siblings.”

- *Read more about the Synod’s First Peoples Strategy [**here**](https://www.nswact.uca.org.au/mission/first-peoples-strategy-engagement/).*
- *Read more about Pay the Rent [here](https://paytherent.net.au/).*

Filed under: first-peoples