Celebrating Vesak in 2017: Shepparton

Vesak is when Buddhists in Shepparton and across Australia come together and recollect the Lord Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing. Vesak is an international celebration and listed among UN Observances. Buddhism is one of the world’s oldest philosophies of non-violence and has practiced peaceful relations for over 2600 years. In this day and age, Buddhism continues fostering of world peace. There will be a celebration of Vesak in Queens Gardens, Shepparton, on Saturday, 13 May 2016.
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Free Movie Night: Refugee Week 2017 – Shepparton

Refugee Week is Australia’s peak annual activity to raise awareness about the issues affecting refugees and celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. Originally celebrated in 1986, Refugee Week coincides with World Refugee Day (20 June). In 2017, Refugee Week will be held from Sunday 18 June to Saturday 24 June. In observance of Refugee Week, City of Greater Shepparton Women’s Alliance will conduct a Movie Night featuring Queen of Katwe.
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Ecumenical Patriarch: Islam is not terrorism

Ahead of Pope Francis’s visit to Egypt, the spiritual head of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, offered a blueprint for the future of interreligious dialogue based upon recognizing the central role religion plays in human life. He was speaking Thursday at the same event Pope Francis was scheduled to address on Friday.

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Book Review: Dark Emu

The myth of the indigenous Australian as a hunter-gatherer living off the gleanings of boomerang and spear is alive and well in the 21st Century in Australia. The book Dark Emu presents compelling evidence that Aboriginal people did build houses, did build dams, did sow, irrigate and till the land. The British perceptions of an untamed, un-tilled land with no husbandry is plainly untrue. So also is the perception that Aboriginals were not farmers.

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Robbing the jihadists of their advantage



In contrast to other cities in Belgium, violent Islamists have found next to no adherents in Mechelen. This is primarily due to the efforts of Mayor Bart Somers: he demands that everyone integrate – into a multicultural reality. There is one single youth club – for everybody … Shepparton Interfaith Network considers this a viable operation for Shepparton and District.

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ANZAC: Multicultural, Multifaith


ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day is the  anniversary of the landing of troops from Australia and New Zealand on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey, in World War I on April 25, 1915. It is also a day of remembrance for those who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peace-keeping operations. In this article, we glimpse multicultural and multifaith aspects of ANZAC Day.

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Holy Week Shepparton and District, 2017


Holy Week is the commemoration of the last week of Jesus Christ on Earth in his mortal coil. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and leads up to Easter Sunday. On Thursday evening of Holy Week, there is a celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and the action of the passion of Jesus Christ is observed on Good Friday – with Stations of the Cross and a reading of the Passion of Christ from one of the gospels. Easter Day – the day of resurrection of Jesus, is observed sometimes at Midnight, often with a dawn service commemorating the Resurrection, and services on Easter Day itself. We bring a listing of services during Holy Week.

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A Sacred Season



In this time of the public observances of the Passion of Jesus and the Resurrection, is the major festival of the Christian religion. It is also the time of Passover of the Jews, the great event of the freedom of the Jewish nation from tyranny and the passing of the Red Sea. There are also observances in other religions which we mark at this time.

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Bendigo: Great Stupa gets $2.5 million funding boost

Bendigo’s majestic Great Stupa of Universal Compassion will progress towards an important landmark in construction thanks to a $2.5 million grant. Minister for Regional Development, Jaala Pulford joined Member for Bendigo, West Maree Edwards and Member for Bendigo East, Jacinta Allan in announcing the funding today while visiting the Great Stupa, cementing Bendigo’s position as an international travel destination and a place of multi-faith expression.

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Compassion and Conscience: Julian Burnside speaks in Shepparton

A packed room awaited Julian Burnside’s address on “Yes to Multiculturalism” at The Carrington in Shepparton on Harmony Day, 22 March 2017. Former Police Prosecutor Gordon Porter addressed the group, as did Mayor Dinny Adem and Monsignor Peter Jeffrey, who spoke on the history of multiculturalism in Shepparton.

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Warrior to Goddess – Stories and Poems from Family Violence Survivors

Warrior to Goddess contains stories from women who were controlled through fear. These stories from survivors illustrate violent behaviour is part of a range of tactics used by a perpetrator to exercise power and control … and can be both criminal and non-criminal in nature. This is courageous writing by women who have been maltreated by their partners.


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Buddhism: How Your Mind Works

Buddhist psychology begins by examining our everyday experience of clarity and confusion about our minds and self. The earliest Buddhist maps of our sense of self show five key steps in the process of ego development. The Sanskrit word for these five, the skandhas, literally means “aggregates” or “heaps.”

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