Holiday time brings spare time and time to read. Due lockdown, books are back in favour; creative fiction, children’s books and the exploration of living with the dhamma features in these books. Plenty of holiday karma with books!
News
Paramahansa Yogananda: A Cradle for the Christ of Everywhere
Religions for Peace Australia sends greetings of this Christmas Day to all peoples of all faiths – in Australia and all over our home, Planet Earth.
Religions for Peace Australia works to build peace and understanding among men, women and youth of all races and all beliefs. Our service is the same as the message of the Christmas Angels – Peace on Earth to all of Good Will.
Covid 19 aside we offer the message of the angels: Glory to God in the Highest – may all who live be the Glory of God – and may the Angels of the Christ Morn bring peace and good will to all Men, Women and Child. And those who suffer the Covid 19. Be blessed, this Christ Morn. Here, we bring you the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda on A Cradle for the Christ of Everywhere.
Prime Minister’s Message: Christmas 2020
Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP gives one message to Australia reflecting on the year past as the nation moves towards a Christmas like no other due the impact of Coronavirus and other events during the year.
Peace in an Uncertain World
Rev Thresi Mauboy is an Indonesian woman who grew up in West Timor. She has served congregations in both Indonesia and Australia. She was the first female Chairperson for the Indonesian National Conference of Uniting Church in Australia. Here, Rev. Thresi shares reflections on Peace in an Uncertain world.
The Psalms: A Doorway to Jewish-Catholic Dialogue
“The Psalms: A Doorway to Jewish-Catholic Dialogue” is the work of the Canadian Rabinnical Caucus and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops over a period of five years. In the last five years, while delving into historic issues and current questions, the members of the Dialogue have also been deeply enriched by the time devoted in each gathering to the study of a psalm from both traditions. This presentation of a selection of these reflections is an effort to share with the wider community the fruits of this study.
‘This Christmas, May Jesus Be Born Anew in Each of Us, So Our Lives Bring Joy & Hope to All’
Pope Francis expressed this cheerful wish during his Dec. 23 General Audience today, privately streamed from his Apostolic Library, again without public due to the resurgence of COVID19 in the country. As we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth, the Pope’s catechesis this week looked at Christmas.
Invest in Multi-faith Action for Peace
Supporting and cultivating humanitarian interfaith action lies at the core of the Multi-religious Humanitarian Fund – an initiative forged during the COVID-19 pandemic — but built to outlast it. The Fund supports and encourages diverse religious communities to work together in their frontline efforts to respond to humanitarian crises.
The new EU peace mediation strategy: A step in the right direction on climate issues
With two new documents, the European Union (EU) has officially recognized the relevance of climate change to peace mediation. This is a welcome and timely development, but the language used still does not put enough emphasis on the human dimension of climate-related security risks.
The new Council Conclusions on EU Peace Mediation, published on 7 December, calls for EU peace mediation efforts to ‘take into account the effect of climate change on peace and security’, and for climate-related risks to be ‘consistently considered in conflict-prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding strategies.’
Celebrating Hanukkah in a Time of Pandemic
Approaching the ninth month of the pandemic, we are faced with the challenge, yet again, of how to celebrate a holiday during a time of isolation and separation. As many families cancelled their annual Thanksgiving dinners with relatives in order to remain safe, we continue to experience the ongoing sense of loss and grief. I am not sure we will ever get to a stage of acceptance.
What do people really think about immigration to Australia?
One of the side-effects of the Coronavirus pandemic has been a halt to people arriving from overseas – as the Ruby Princess debacle showed us, infection and illness can come from peoples landing into Australia. This resulted in a halt to all immigration, and a very slow restart to “Talent Ready” migration in certain classes of skilled workers. The Conversation, through a guest writer, provides an analysis of what people think and feel about immigration to Australia.
Pope Francis joins 25 countries to fight against poverty and hunger in first round of pledges to IFAD
Rome, 11 December 2020 – Despite the economic consequences of COVID-19, a growing number of countries around the world today stepped up their investments in long-term development, signalling a greater awareness of the links between hunger, inequality and instability which often spark humanitarian crises. By pledging new funds to the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), they committed to ensure hundreds of millions of rural people in some of the poorest countries can sustainably access nutritious food and earn decent incomes.
16 Days: global voices ring strongly against gender-based violence
The 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day.
