RfPA

Tasmania – September 2023

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Tasmania Logo

Greetings of peace and joy, as we are celebrating the arrival of spring! This is also the month of peace, as UN International Day of Peace falls on 21 September and some faiths pay special attention in their prayers and meditations in the lead-up to that date. This weekend has been declared a national weekend of prayer, reflection and meditation in support of our First Nations Peoples. As the national referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament now approaches, representatives from Australia’s major religions have formed a powerful multi-faith alliance to celebrate the wonderful opportunity for recognition and reconciliation offered by the impending landmark vote.

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Quakers Australia – Integrity in Public Office – Canberra, 2023

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Australian QuakersOn the 7th September 2023, Quakers Australia held an action “Show integrity in Public Office” at Parliament House in Canberra. This was the third undertaking by Quakers Australia on this important matter.

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Nothing here is what it once was

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Statements from the Soul

This year, Australians will be asked to vote in a referendum to give our first nations people a Voice to Parliament. This will create constitutional change to give aboriginal people an advisory role in matters which affect them.

The Buddhist Council of NSW is playing a leading role in the Buddhist community to help inform our diverse member organisations about the referendum process and why it matters.

The Voice to Parliament came out of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which set out the reasons for enshrining a first nations voice in our constitution. Following this statement, in 2023, a series of essays from religious leaders was collected in a book, Statements from the Soul: The Moral Case for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, to lay out the moral case for constitutional change. The Buddhist perspective was provided by Sydney based monk, Bhante Sujato, reproduced below.

Read all the essays in the book Statements from the Soul: The Moral Case for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, edited by Shireen Morris and Damien Freeman, La Trobe University Press, 2023.

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Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Voice to Parliament

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Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Voice to Parliament


The Executive Council of Australian Jewry – ECAJ, the peak national representative body of the Australian Jewish community, is delighted to invite you to an enlightening presentation and Q&A virtual session with Noel Pearson, as we delve into the significant topic of The Voice referendum in Australia on the evening of Wednesday 6 September 2023.

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Anglican Bishop of Bunbury apologises to Noongar people for ‘past pain and suffering’

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Bishop Coutts with Pastor Jetta

The Anglican Bishop of Bunbury said the church failed to challenge unjust government policies towards Aboriginal people.

Bishop Ian Coutts acknowledged Anglicans likely took part in massacres at Pinjarra in 1834 and Pinjarra in 1841.

Indigenous elder and pastor Dennis Jetta has thanked the Bishop for his apology.

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Queensland: St Francis College Public Lecture: The Idea of the Magdalene

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St Francis College Public Lecture: The Idea of the Magdalene


All are welcome to the St Francis College Public Lecture: The Idea of the Magdalene given by Emeritus Professor Philip C. Almond on September 8, 2023. Mary Magdalene is a key figure in the history of Christianity. After Mary, the mother of Jesus, she remains the most important female saint in her guise both as primary witness to the resurrection and ‘apostle of the apostles’.

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Nostra Aetate: Interfaith Conversations for Today

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Nostra Aetate: Interfaith Conversations for Today

In the spirit of Nostra Aetate, Garratt Publishing – in conjunction with Yarra Theological Union – invites you to a new four-session webinar series exploring other religious traditions from a Catholic perspective.

This new series features Catholic scholars in conversation with a leader from the Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and Islamic traditions.

The webinar sessions will occur on Monday Evenings – 4, 11, 18 September, and 9 October, 2023.

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Buddhist Council of NSW: Voice to Parliament Workshop

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Buddhist Council of NSWThe Buddhist Council of NSW will conduct a workshop to learn more about the referendum that is being held later this year and to help develop a Buddhist response to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The workshop will be on Saturday 2 September 2023 at the Wentworth Point Community Centre and Library.

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Victoria: Sharing Voices

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City of Port Philip LogoSharing Voices is presented by the Port Phillip Multifaith Network. This free event marks the celebration of Welcoming Week, the International Day of Peace and the Season of Creation. Sharing Voices is bursting with insightful guest speakers and engaging activities, related to the themes of power of place and spirituality. Sharing Voices will take place from 3pm to 5.30 pm, Sunday 10 September 2023 at the St Kilda Town Hall.

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Why a Queensland court overturned a ban on religious knives in schools

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Why a Queensland court overturned a ban on religious knives in schoolsThe kirpan is a curved, single-edged dagger or knife carried by Sikhs. Traditionally, it was a full-sized sword but modern Sikhs have reduced the length to that of a dagger or knife due to modern considerations based on societal and legal changes since then. The State of Queensland banned Sikh children from wearing the kipan to school. Recently, a Queensland court overturned a ban on religious knives in schools.

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NSW: International Day of Peace Interfaith Prayer Service

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NSW: International Day of Peace Interfaith Prayer Service

 

To celebrate this day, you are cordially invited to join an Interfaith Prayer Service on Wednesday, 21 September 2023, at 11 am at Knox Cultural Centre, Knox Grammar School, 2 Borambil Street, Wahroonga 2076 (a stone’s throw distance from Warrawee Train Station).

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