serving the faith communities of the Goulburn Valley
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In Pureland Buddhism, we’re taught that the world is both a land of suffering and a wish-fulfilling jewel. Through the grace of Amida Buddha, and teachings like those found in the Meditation Sutra, we’re able to see beauty in the midst of our pain. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we no longer experience suffering.
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It’s not sufficient, says the Dalai Lama, to simply think that compassion is important. We must transform our thoughts and behaviour on a daily basis to cultivate compassion without attachment. Before we can generate compassion and love, it is important to have a clear understanding of what we understand compassion and love to be.
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World Environment Day is celebrated on 5 June every year, and is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. This year the theme of World Environment Day 2020 is “Celebrate Biodiversity“. “With 1 million species facing extinction, there has never been a more important time to focus on biodiversity.”
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While it is a time of uncertainty and our lives have changed in a short period of time, it’s important to remember that we can do many things to feel better. Remember that these changes and your effort is helping to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
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Imagine Siddhartha is a person who has been protected by his loved ones from the reality of racism. He leaves his protected compound, perhaps a community gated specifically to separate itself from undesired people. He enters a place where he sees darker-skinned, unarmed people being shot dead by the police or perhaps by guards who serve to protect his enclosed community. Maybe he encounters darker-skinned people who are sicker and more malnourished than lighter-skinned people. What if Siddhartha saw that?
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ABC Radio National program Soul Search features Dr Anne Pattel Gray – a globally recognized expert on Black theology, and the first Indigenous Australian to be awarded a doctorate in theology in the 1990s. The program also speaks with Uncle Alf ‘Boydie’ Turner, the grandson of the legendary Yorta Yorta leader William Cooper whose lifelong pursuit of justice remains remarkably relevant today.
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Tamandeep Singh has not been able to attend Shepparton’s Sikh temple during the pandemic, but he has helped thousands bring the temple to their living rooms.
With his friend Avvi in Melbourne, he has organised religious services that broadcast each day on the Facebook page Virtual Kirtan Diwaans, hosted by Sikhs in their homes.
“It was started at the beginning of the pandemic, and we contacted people asking them to sing,” he said.
Pope Francis begged world leaders on Saturday to act wisely and generously to provide social and economic relief for the many workers who have lost jobs, and called for the enormous sums of money used to grow and perfect armaments be instead used to fund research to prevent similar catastrophes in the future.
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Ridden by financial hardship, Indian student Dhruv Dwivedi reached out to a gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Melbourne for help. Almost immediately, he says he received food, mentoring and immense love that has altered the course of his life.
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The University of Melbourne Department of Rural Health conducts the School of Rural Health in Shepparton. The Department of Rural Health is presenting a Public Webinar Series on the experience and response to Covid-19 in Regional and Rural Australia. There will be three online webinars, commencing Tuesday, June 2nd.
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The impacts of water constraints on the Murray-Darling Basin are still being felt across our communities. Farmers for Climate Action is running the Shepparton Community Resilience forum to support communities and people still grappling with reduced water allocations and drought.
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The holiday of Shavuot is a two-day holiday, beginning at sundown of the 5th of Sivan and lasting until nightfall of the 7th of Sivan (May 28–30, 2020). In Israel it is a one-day holiday, ending at nightfall of the 6th of Sivan.
The word Shavuot (or Shavuos) means “weeks.” It celebrates the completion of the seven-week Omer counting period between Passover and Shavuot.
Shavuot, the feast of weeks, is celebrated seven weeks after the second Passover seder. Although Shavuot began as an ancient grain harvest festival, the holiday has been identified since biblical times with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
National Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June 2020 National Reconciliation Week is an annual celebration and is a time for all Australians to reflect on our shared histories. National Sorry Day is a nation-wide observance held on May 26 each year. Shepparton’s Sorry Day event – usually held in Monash Park – will be held online this year.
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Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammad – Grand Mufti of Australia – delivers a message to all Muslims in Australia that they support the Oneness of our Australian Community as well as the Oneness of God. Eid Ul-Fitr is the Muslim festival which marks the end of the month of Ramadan, the end of fasting and a celebration to mark the completion of a month of self-reflection. It falls on this Sunday 24 May 2020.
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Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP gives one message to Australia’s Muslims on occasion of the end of Ramadan and fasting, a festival by name Eid-al-Fitr.
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Muslims worldwide will celebrate one of their biggest holidays under the long shadow of the coronavirus, with millions confined to their homes and others gripped by economic concerns during what is usually a festive time of shopping and celebration.
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The theme for NRW 2020 is In this together and Reconciliation Australia invites Australians to explore our past, learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, and develop a deeper understanding of our national story. The University of Melbourne, Department of Rural Health invite you to a webinar presentation by Mr Shane Charles at 10:30am on Wednesday 27th May 14, 2020. There will be an opportunity for Q & A at the end of the presentation.
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Millions of Buddhists seeking protection and healing from the novel coronavirus are turning to traditional religious rituals.
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As challenging as these days of quarantine have been, I take comfort in the many ways this strange time of separation have enabled us – however ironically – to come together. Here are a few of the “blessings of separation” I’ve experienced in the age of COVID-19.
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Bali has remained largely free of the coronavirus, much less than Indonesia as a whole, and only a small fraction of the cases in western countries. Its Hindu way of life and self-discipline have protected it. Bali’s spiritual power and tourist value will endure.
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