serving the faith communities of the Goulburn Valley
The University of Melbourne, Department of Rural Health invite you to attend a Public Lecture by Ms Jenny Walsh at The University of Melbourne, Department of Rural Health, 49 Graham St (opposite GV Health) Shepparton at 5:30 – 7:00pm on Tuesday 11th February, 2020.
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On the weekend of February 1 and 2 the President of L’Arche Australia, Mr David Treanor, and Mrs Eileen Glass, an International advocate for L’Arche and the Director of Development and Fundraising across Australia will be in Shepparton to speak to interested persons. There will be a screening of the film, Summer in the Forest on February 2nd.
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Birth in India is calculated with a lunar calendar – hence, birthdays will be different in each year by Gregorian Calendar. This year, 17 January is the occasion of the birth (jayanti) of Swami Vivekananda. Here, we bring a collection of motivational thoughts, quotes and teachings from Swami Vivekananda.
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The Buddhist Association of the Goulburn Valley will conduct one Meditation Session on Saturday, 18 January 2020 at the Senior Citizens Centre, Welsford Street, at 10:00 am. All are welcome.
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Courtesy of our friends at Temple Beth Israel, in East St Kilda, we have A Bushfire Prayer to share. The prayer – a Universal Prayer, it is not sectarian – prays for those who fear for the safety others, for those who have been damaged, for those with trauma and nightmare memories.
The prayer goes on to include those with concerns for the stock under their care, those who are fatigued and exhausted, and for those who have generosity and have shared. There is prayer for our harsh climate, for excellence in stewardship and for faithfulness. A rare, universal prayer directly addressing our Bushfire necessities.
Australia – and many places around the world – are rapidly running out space in cemeteries and traditional burials in plots are costing more and more, if not becoming scarce. Here, we look at new forms of burial, as examined by The Conversation.
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The new year is a time associated with revitalization, a chance for new beginnings, the opportunity to create healthier habits and stronger relationships – and for Jews, the new year comes not once but twice a year.
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Holidays give us time to disconnect from the madding crowd, the repetitive commute, the distractions of our fast, challenging modern bop filled with so-called ‘fear of missing out’. The 2019 Holiday Buddhist Book List gives you the opportunity – in your relaxing and unwinding – to read something different and experience your life journey in a different vision, perhaps samyak drishti. With metta,
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The Christmas Night liturgy in St Peter’s Basilica began with the chanting of the Kalenda, the proclamation of historic events leading up to Jesus’ birth. Immediately afterwards, the Pope unveiled the image of the Christ Child at the foot of the altar.
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Many traditions come with advent season in Christianity; it is Margasheera month in Hinduism – a month that is kept aside for spiritual activities. It is also the time of Chanukkah of the Jewish Faith. The Persian religion – Zoroastrianism – has the Shab-e-Yalda night, the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. In this time of the coming of the Christ Child, we explore the many traditions of several religions.
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For some, the start of Christmas is when they first see the Coca Cola Christmas truck on the television. A real truck now visits towns around the UK over Christmas adorned with a huge image of Father Christmas on the side. It is often claimed that this isn’t anywhere close to the real St Nicholas, but a character largely created by Coca Cola to aid their commercial pursuits over the festive period. What is the truth in the story of a transformation from Turkish Bishop to a gift bearer from the North Pole?
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The title of Professor Don Waxman’s new book, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know, hides an important tension that gets explained in the course of reading this book, which addresses a most complex and confusing topic.
The conflict is not unitary. The make-up of the two sides has changed over time. From 1948-1972, it was known as the “Arab-Israeli” conflict. It involved the entire region and was not solely focused on the Palestinian question; the surrounding Arab states had territorial goals as well.
Hundreds will once again come together in friendship and fun for the annual Christmas For Those Alone Lunch in Shepparton this year. The McIntosh Centre is always packed with colour and fun for the annual Christmas For Those Alone Lunch on Christmas Day.
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On December 21st at 9.00pm GMT join in one minute of silence, the exact same minute everywhere around the globe and on both sides of the veil – to call for global cooperation, peace, and freedom.
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Emerging Minds has released a new suite of resources designed to help children and young people affected by trauma. Developed by Emerging Minds and the Australian National University as part of the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health project, the information and training materials include videos, podcasts, training workshops to run with your team and downloadable fact sheets.
The toolkit is tailored to six key audiences – educators, first responders, community leaders, families, general practitioners (GPs), and health and social service practitioners. It’s also arranged to match five timelines – preparedness, immediate, short-term recovery, long-term recovery and ongoing recovery.
Vatican City, Dec 11, 2019 / 04:08 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said Tuesday that he would be willing to hold the hand of someone dying from assisted suicide, and that he does not see that as lending implicit support for the practice.
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The most recent Climate Change Conference – called COP 25 – concluded yesterday in Madrid, Spain. Faith Communities, including the Brahma Kumaris and Religions for Peace International (both of whom have offices in the UN plaza in New York) (with a large delegation from the Lutheran World Federation) joined together with many faiths, many voices to produce a Faith-inspired declaration on Climate Change. This was delivered to the Deputy Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by the World Council of Churches – in service and on behalf of all faith communities. The document is called Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change for COP 25 Madrid, 2019 . You may read this document in full:
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Christmas for those alone provides a free lunch on Christmas Day to anybody in the Shepparton District who finds them self alone or unable to have a Christmas meal with family/friends. Transport is available.
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The Hon Peter McClellan AM QC delivered the 2019 Human Rights Day Oration. His co-orator was Ms Chrissie Foster, mother of two girls who experienced child sexual abuse. “I cannot comprehend how any person, much less one with qualifications in theology and very often further qualifications from recognised universities, could consider the rape of a child to be a moral failure but not a crime,” The Hon Peter McClellan said.
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