serving the faith communities of the Goulburn Valley
A small group came together in the comfort and warmth of the Third Age Club at Euroa on the evening of Tuesday June 6 for what turned into an engaging interfaith meet with many questions. Theologian and scholar Dr Frank Purcell gave one talk on Christianity and Australian Society.
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The Annual General Meeting of Shepparton Interfaith Network will take place at the Mgr Peter Jeffrey Centre, St Brendans Church, Shepparton on evening of 2 February 2017. The meeting will be addressed by Sam Birrell of the Committee for Greater Shepparton and Ms Liz Arcus of Picnic4Peace will also give an address to the meeting.
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The Jewish Christian Muslim Association of Australia has released a statement addressing the killing of Fr Hamel in France this week. Father Hamel was a member of the Normandy Interfaith Committee and was well respected.
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Public Health England last week launched a new resource for healthcare professionals and service providers giving guidance about spiritual needs at the end of life. Faith at the End of Life, which focuses on the UK’s six largest religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, promotes a public health approach to death, dying and bereavement, highlighting the importance of community in maintaining and promoting the wellbeing of people who are dying, caring or bereaved.
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On Wednesday 5th January 2016, Francis launched a monthly video prayer series with an emotional call for peace between people of different faiths.
"Many think differently, feel differently, seeking God or meeting God in different ways," the pontiff said. "We are all children of God."
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There are many images of Christmas, and it seems that Christmas means something different to everyone. Life is change, and so mundane perception of Christmas changes, also. Christmas is a a holy time for the devotees of Jesus Christ. At the time of the Christian festival of Christmas, Shepparton Interfaith Network notes festivals in other religions occurring at this time. There are Hindu, Muslim and Parsee observances at this time.
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In observance of Mental Health Week, Voices for Harmony in collaboration with Shepparton Interfaith Network conducted a forum, Religion and Mental Health at GOTAFE on Friday, 9th October. In this account, local identity, historian and well known book reviewer, Pat Crudden - who coordinates Socrates Cafe at the University of the Third Age - has kindly shared his thoughts about the speakers who presented at this forum.
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(CCCB – Ottawa)... The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), through its Episcopal Commission for Christian Unity, Religious Relations with the Jews, and Interfaith Dialogue, has published a new resource to coincide with the conclusion of the month of Ramadan (Id al-Fitr, July 18), entitled: A Church in Dialogue: Catholics and Muslims in Canada : Believers and Citizens in Society. In a letter introducing the document, the Most Reverend Paul-André Durocher, Archbishop of Gatineau and President of the CCCB, explains that "the pamphlet is meant to help Canadian Catholics better understand their Muslim neighbours."
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The 2015 Euroa Environmental Series conducted a meet on The Environment, Climate Change and the Paris Talks at the Old Flour Mill Gallery on Saturday 4th July 11am. For the Euroa Environment Series this was session number 5 - the road to Paris. There was much discussion of the local response to climate change and how this leads to influence the road to Paris.
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Following on with the success of "A Common Word between Us and You" is A Common Word Among Youth. This is a program fostered by the Right Start Foundation International which offers placements for youth between 18 - 35 to participate in training for initiating change and translating international issues into local community activities.
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The B’nai Brith Anti Defamation Commission aims to promote respect and justice and oppose racism and hatred. They run many programs one of which is a Multifaith Future Leaders Program. The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) is accepting nominations for its Multifaith Future Leaders Program for young and upcoming religious leaders for a one-day program in July 2015.
International speaker Judith Dupre will visit Melbourne for a series of events in March. Among these lectures is one that may be of interest to those involved in Interfaith dialogue – “Perceptions of Mary in Christianity, Judaism and Islam”.
Around 500 people attended the Candlelight Vigil at Victoria Park Lake, Shepparton on the evening of Friday 19 December, held in commemoration for all involved in the Sydney Siege.
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In the wake of the Sydney siege and its potential backlash against Muslims, Shepparton academic and retired priest Frank Purcell remained positive and pointed to the lessons of history.
‘‘Australia has a long tradition of tolerance — and Shepparton is 50 years ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to accepting people from different religions and cultures,’’ Mr Purcell said.
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In recent years, the Scarboro Missions Interfaith Department in Toronto, Canada has committed itself to building a website featuring curriculum and useful educational resources for interfaith work. These resources include online courses, toolkits, best practices, do-it-yourself workshops, activities, multifaith prayer services, guidelines, games, meditations, Powerpoint, etc.
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North East Health in conjunction with North East Multicultural Aged Care Connections will conduct a Multifaith Forum on Health and end-of-life-care in Wangaratta, on Wednesday, 12 November 2014.
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The Tibetan Buddhist Nun, Ven. Robina Courtis gave a talk on Courageous Compassion at Mooroopna Community Hub on Monday 23rd September 2014.
Approx. 260 persons attended the Bendgio EID Dinner which was a most wonderful opportunity with members of both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities along with locals from Bendigo and guests from Melbourne coming together. There were a total of 15 guest speakers representing different groups and communities demonstrating that Bendigo is a “prosperous multicultural community of people living together in peace and freedom”.
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The Shepparton Interfaith Network, along with Imam Yassim Alkarawi of Cobram, have responded to the actions of the self-proclaimed "restoration of the caliphate" and given reflections on what this issue raises for the communities of the Goulburn Valley and the need for dialogue and understanding. The Shepparton Interfaith Network joins in with the Roman Catholic Church's interfaith body - called the Pontificial Council for Interreligious Dialogue - in their condemnation of barbarity and atrocities committed. We seek harmony, cooperation and understanding to the effect that this does not represent the attitudes of the Islamic Communities of the Goulburn Valley.
The Vatican interfaith bureau (called the Pontificial Council for Interreligious Dialogue) has condemned the atrocities accompanying the restoration of the self-declared "caliphate". The Council calls on all people engaged in interreligous dialogue to denounce and condemn the practices of the so-called "caliphate".
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The Shepparton Interfaith Network was invited by the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to appear and make submissions to the Committee during its visit to Shepparton, which took place on Wednesday, 13 August 2014. Appearing for the Shepparton Interfaith Network were the President, Dr Frank Purcell, PhD, and the Secretary, Rev. Chris Parnell. A submission was made to the effect that the constitution, by way of preamble or insertion of a new section into the constitution, should recognise the spiritual dimensions of the cultures, languages and heritages which give purposeful meaning to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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