serving the faith communities of the Goulburn Valley
Much to the disappointment of thousands of devotees, the latest COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne has caused delays in the consecration ceremony (Maha Kumbabhishegam) of the largest Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere made with handmade granite stones.
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Tishah B’Av, observed on the 9th (tishah) of the Hebrew month of Av, is a day of mourning the destruction of both ancient Temples in Jerusalem. Liberal Judaism never has assigned a central religious role to the ancient Temple, so mourning the destruction of the Temple may not be particularly meaningful to liberal Jews. In modern times, many Jews understand Tishah B’Av as a day to remember many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history, and to reflect on the suffering that still occurs in our world.
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Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Brett Sutton, gives Eid-al-Adha greetings and advice on celebrations, with Arabic subtitles.
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Out of concern for the pandemic, the National Council of Churches in Australia calls for a National Day of Prayer for the Pandemic and asks that all pray on Sunday 2nd August 2020. A prayer is given for use.
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Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP gives one message to Australia’s Muslims on occasion of this time of social distancing and Islamic religious celebration, a festival by name Eid-al-Adha.
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The unprecedented bushfires experienced around Australia, and particularly in NSW & the ACT, over spring and summer 2019/2020 further emphasized the need for climate pastoral care, and the idea of climate anxiety became newly concrete for many people as they faced the smoke and other impacts of the fires for themselves.
In June 2020, Common Grace and the Five Leaf Eco-Awards joined Uniting Earth as co-sponsors, and the conference was renamed the ‘Climate Pastoral Care Conference: Christian training in Care, Communication & Action’, to welcome greater ecumenical participation.
We are excited to gather online this year, and for the opportunities this offers for church leaders and interested parties from all around Australia and New Zealand to attend.
Australian Intercultural Society will host a live webinar on Youtube with the topic, Prayer, Patience and Pandemic. Panellists include Dr Mashrreed Ansari of the Islamic Sciences and Research Academy, Rev. De Colleen O’Reilly – Chaplain to Trinity College, and Moderator Dr Duleyha Keskin of Islamic Sciences and Research Academy, Charles Sturt University. The webinar takes place on the evening of Monday, 27 July, 2020.
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Recovering from Covid-19 has felt like a losing game of Chutes and Ladders, says hospital chaplain Kristina Pearson. She shares the lessons of impermenance, acceptance, and wise hope she’s learned along the way.
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Inspired by the spiritual thought of Jainism, thousands of Japanese have turned towards the Indian origin religion and are living like astute Jains, apart from marking their calendars for an annual pilgrimage to India where they spend weeks studying Jain script under learned monks, reports Times of India.
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Japa in Hinduism is the meditative repetition of a mantra or a divine name. There are three different ways in which japa is performed. This is often done with (rosary beads)(called Japamala Beads in Hinduism) or prayer wheels, or specific prayer beads – sometimes in a small handheld loop.
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The Muslim Professionals Association is hosting a series of webinars to support the community through the global pandemic. The series aims to provide a platform where professionals are able to share reliable information from their respective fields.
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Moses and King Solomon are two of the most popular figures in the Hebrew Bible, but what do we really know about their lives, and how did they reach such legendary status?
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The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission launched a new website, accompanied by a refreshed organisational brand.
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Shepparton Region Reconciliation Group members together with members and supporters of Shepparton’s indigenous community have organised a silent vigil in which 437 stakes bearing messages will be placed around Victoria Park Lake marking the number of indigenous people who have died in police custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody ended in 1991. The “Line of Remembrance” will commence at 09:30 am Saturday, 18 July 2020. The earlier event was a washout, due rain and vandalism.
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The Victorian Multicultural Commission unequivocally condemns racism and commits to taking a leadership role in addressing racism in Victoria. We unequivocally condemn all forms of racism, vilification or discrimination directed at someone because of their colour, ethnicity, faith or national origin.
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Victoria’s Chief Health Officer has updated his advice to recommend anyone living in metro Melbourne or Mitchell Shire to wear a face covering or cloth mask when leaving home for one of the four permitted reasons – where it is not possible to maintain a distance of at least 1.5 metres from other people.
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An Indian-American woman has become the first observant Sikh to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Anmol Narang, who was newly made second lieutenant, is a second-generation immigrant who was born and raised in Roswell, Georgia.
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ABC Radio program “God Forbid” examines Interfaith Dialogue. Peaceful solutions to the world’s problems are hard to find — and religious tensions are part of the problem. What needs to happen so we can all share in the bounty of peace? James Carleton joins a panel of three people who have made interfaith dialogue their life’s work.
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The first stage of the Bendigo Islamic Community Centre is taking shape, with the walls of the structure now up. The first sod was turned at the Bendigo East site a little under a year ago, and last month the first concrete slab was poured. This week, the walls of the first building were erected.
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What is it like to grow up Aboriginal in Australia?
This anthology, compiled by award-winning author Anita Heiss, attempts to showcase as many diverse voices, experiences and stories as possible in order to answer that question. Each account reveals, to some degree, the impacts of invasion and colonisation – on language, on country, on ways of life, and on how people are treated daily in the community, the education system, the workplace and friendship groups.
Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile identities sit alongside newly discovered voices of all ages, with experiences spanning coastal and desert regions, cities and remote communities. All of them speak to the heart – sometimes calling for empathy, oftentimes challenging stereotypes, always demanding respect.