The Backhouse Lectures are public lectures on contemporary issues delivered annually at the national gathering of Quakers in Australia. They were initiated by Australia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) on its establishment in 1964. Friends from both Australia and overseas have presented lectures. The 2022 Backhouse Lecture, Working for Justice in a Warming World, will be presented by Yarrow Goodley on Monday 5 July at 7.15pm via Zoom.
Victoria
Faith leaders join forces to condemn alleged mosque attack in Victoria
Politicians, community and faith leaders from across Victoria have come together at a mosque east of Melbourne to show their support after the prayer hall was allegedly vandalised. Charges have been laid against eight suspects after the property was damaged last weekend.
Victoria parliament passes bill banning Nazi swastika
Victoria has become the first Australian jurisdiction to ban the swastika, with those who defy the ban to face jail terms and hefty fines.
It is now a crime to intentionally display the Nazi swastika in Victoria. Anyone who displays the symbol could face a year in jail.
An exemption is in place for religious groups who used the symbol before the Nazis.
Victoria: Equal Opportunity (Religious Exceptions) Amendment Act (2021)
From 14 June 2022, (in Victoria) religious organisations and schools will no longer be able to sack or refuse to hire people based on protected attributes such as sexuality, gender identity or marital status. Religious organisations and schools will only be able to make employment decisions based on an employee’s religious beliefs where these are inherent to the job such as a religious studies teacher, and the discrimination is reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances.
Victoria: 2022 Yom HaShoah Commemoration
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria will be hosting an inclusive virtual community commemoration for Yom Hashoah on Wednesday, April 27 at 7.30 pm. The event will be an online commemoration with poignant testimonies, the participation of a range of Jewish students, and messages of support from communal members, leaders, and affiliates.
Climate Change Workshops
Gembrook Retreat will conduct an ‘Active Hope in a time of climate crisis’ workshop in Gembrook on 9 April from 9AM to 6:30pm. For those who are overwhelmed or exhausted by the climate crisis, trying to take action and feeling the urgent need for our generation to change how we live! This workshop provides spiritual practices to help us support each other in maintaining an active hope. There will be a follow-up workshop on 14 May.
Victorian Council of Churches Emergencies Ministry deployed to NSW
On Wednesday 16th March, the Victorian Council of Churches Emergencies Ministry deployed its first interstate team to Northern NSW to support the recovery efforts after the recent flood events. This deployment came about as the result of a request from the NSW Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network (DRCN) as a partner in the Australia Volunteer Emergency Chaplaincy Alliance (AVECA) and was a historical occasion.
MCG opens a new Multi-Faith Prayer Room
The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), managers of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) are delighted to today unveil the brand-new MCG Multi-Faith Prayer Room, open to the public ahead of all four matches of Round 1 of the 2022 AFL Premiership Season.
2022 World Interfaith Harmony Week Lecture
Professor Douglas Ezzy of University of Tasmania will deliver the 2022 World Interfaith Harmony Week lecture on Tuesday 1 February 2022, on the topic of Religious freedom, discrimination, and living well together. This will an online event, hosted by Religions for Peace Australia Victoria Branch, Tasmania Branch and the Multifaith Association of South Australia.
The Diversity of Jewish Religious Groups and their Settlement in Australia
The Annual General Meeting of the Victoria Branch of Religions for Peace was conducted at Temple Beth Israel, Alma Rd, St Kilda, on Sunday, 1 June 2014. Prof. Andrew Markus – Pratt Foundation Research Chair of Jewish Civilisation at Monash University – delivered a talk on The Diversity of Jewish Religious Groups and their Settlement in Australia. A video of this talk is available.
Victoria: Behaviour of a minority does not represent values of Jewish tradition
I am one of the many Jewish Melburnians who has had a very hard week, celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, in lockdown for a second year. I tried to maintain the traditional sense of an oasis in time for the holy day, so I didn’t look at the news. I didn’t hear until Wednesday morning that a small group of ultra-Orthodox Jews had breached lockdown and barricaded themselves in a synagogue.
People to be fined over gathering at Melbourne synagogue
Victoria police say up to 100 worshippers who gathered near a synagogue in Melbourne’s south-east in breach of Covid-19 lockdown rules will be fined. People were allegedly spotted entering a building, believed to be a prayer room, near a Ripponlea synagogue early on Tuesday morning to mark the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.