Professor Anne Pattel-Gray delivers inaugural Professorial Lecture

On Wednesday 2 November 2022, Professor Anne Pattel-Gray delivered her inaugural Professorial Lecture entitled, “Colonial Bondage: Liberating Theological Education”. The event was held at St Paschal Chapel in Box Hill, the land of the Wurundjeri nation.

The lecture was live-streamed, and can be watched in full here:

The lecture was entitled, “Colonial Bondage: Liberating Theological Education”. Anne shared her insights into Australia’s First Nations religious and spiritual beliefs and practices that form the core of her theology. She explained how we are all held captive by our colonial heritage and that our theological education and institutions require liberation in order to be set free. She further explained the process to decolonise biblical and theological narratives and challenge Christians to become the radical change that is so desperately needed to transform a Nation.

A text version of the lecture can be downloaded here: Professorial Address Colonial Bondage Liberating Theological Education 2022.

Professor Anne Pattel-Gray was appointed Professor of Indigenous Studies and inaugural Head of the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Divinity and commenced the role in August 2022. She is a descendant of the Bidjara / Kari Kari people of Queensland and a celebrated Aboriginal leader. Through her research, education and leadership Professor Pattel-Gray has been a critical and influential activist in seeking justice and equity for Indigenous peoples and in developing cultural frameworks and practices built on respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Anne said of her new role: “As the newly appointed head of the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Divinity, I take up this leadership opportunity with great humility and grace. It has been what I have yearned for for such a long time, and I am deeply moved to have been appointed to this really important role at this critical time in Australia”.