Tasmania: May 2023 – Religions for Peace Australia

Tasmania Logo

Greetings of peace! We hope you, your families and communities are safe, well and warm heading into the cooler months. We are now approaching Reconciliation Week and I’d like to draw special attention to the program on 3 June, Understanding the Uluru Statement from the Heart and The Voice to Parliament. You can find the details for this at 4) below. It will be an opportunity to ask questions and understand some of the issues surrounding the coming Referendum. The event will be held both in person and online and we hope to see you there.

Greetings of peace!

We hope you, your families and communities are safe, well and warm heading into the cooler months.

We are now approaching Reconciliation Week and I’d like to draw special attention to the program on 3 June, Understanding the Uluru Statement from the Heart and The Voice to Parliament. You can find the details for this below. It will be an opportunity to ask questions and understand some of the issues surrounding the coming Referendum. The event will be held both in person and online and we hope to see you there.

Holy Days in May 2023

Date	Observance	Faith/religion
24 May	Declaration of the Bab	Baha’i
26 May	Shavout	Judaism
28 May	Pentecost	Christianity
29 May	Ascension of Baha’ullah	Baha’i

Uluru Shift Meditation

The Uluru Shift Meditation will be held this weekend, 19-21 May 2023 with the main meditation on Sunday 21 May.

There is a group of people spending this coming weekend in meditation at Kata Tjuta near Uluru for world peace. For those of us unable to attend in person, we are invited to be part of the Thoughtwave, supporting the meditation from wherever we are in Australia or the world. People around the world are invited to join the mediation from 10.00-11.00am on Sunday 21 May in their local time.

https://www.thinkshift.org/

Brahma Kumaris Spiritual Exhibition on Raja Yoga Meditation 21 May 2023

Brahma Kumaris Hobart cordially invites you and your family to an enlightening spiritual exhibition.

When: Sunday 21 May 2.30-5.30pm (You are welcome to visit at any time within these hours)

Where: Multicultural Council of Tasmania Community Hub, 65 Hopkins Street, Moonah.

Enquires: hobart@au.brahmakumaris.org or 6278 3788

Sacred Conversations

here are the details for the next Sacred Conversations meeting:

When: Saturday 25th March, from 2pm to 4pm

Where: In person at the Baha’i Centre of Learning, 1 Tasman Hwy, Hobart
To all of you dear friends in Zoomland, here is the link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6401673016
The topic is ‘Dying before we die: the spiritual quest to break the domination of the ego.’

As always, feel free to invite a friend.

Understanding the Uluru Statement from the Heart

The Tasmanian Council of Churches in collaboration with the Uniting Church in Australia, Reconciliation Tasmania and Religions for Peace Tasmania will conduct a workshop in person and online to help interested people to understand the First Nations’ Uluru Statement from the Heart together with the issues surrounding the referendum on The Voice to Parliament.

The workshop will be led by Aunty Kris Schaffer.

This program will be held on the final day of Reconciliation Week, 29 May-3 June 2023.

When: Saturday 3 June 2023 10.00am-2.30pm
Where: Friends Meeting House, Boa Vista Rd North Hobart and online.
The Zoom link to join the meeting is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84879992296

A light lunch will be provided.

Enquiries: David O’Halloran, President TCC, 0408211944

Common Grace: Christians for Voice and Justice

Thank you for your compassionate heart for justice and for the healing and flourishing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In 2023, as all Australians will face the decision as to whether they will vote Yes on protecting a First Nations Voice in our Constitution, we invite you to join with us to Listen to the Heart and engage your heart with the calls from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leaders for Voice, Treaty and Truth-Telling.

If you were unable to attend one of our recent in-person trainings, you are welcome to sign the Voice and Justice Pledge to receive a recorded version of this training once it is available in the coming weeks. This will help equip you to learn more about this significant moment we face as a country in 2023 and take the next steps to Listen to the Heart. We encourage you to explore our FAQ’s and resources to learn more and be informed about the referendum.

Notes from Terry:

Professor Tom Calma AO and Professor Dr Marcia Langton AO spoke recently at the University South Australia about the importance of voting Yes at the referendum for The Voice to Parliament. You can find the recording at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQTpWweaCNA

Reconciliation Week: Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann at the Vatican

Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, an Australian aboriginal elder, teacher and artist, will be in the Vatican from the 29th May to the 3rd June. During her stay in the Vatican, Dr Ungunmerr Baumann will meet with senior officials, discussing faith, ecology, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. There will be a meeting with Pope Francis.

Soul Food

The next Soul Food program will be held at the Baha’i Centre of Learning, 1 Tasman Highway Hobart

Sunday the 5 June at 3pm. The theme is: ‘Nature – A Reflection of the Sacred’ and will commemmorate World Environment Day. It will explore our physical and spiritual relationship with our environment, and how these elements work hand in hand.

Refreshments will be provided. www.soulfood.com.au or 6234 7654. Ample free car parking. This is a Free Community Event and all are welcome.

Invitation to join Religions for Peace Australia AGM, 18 June 2023

The national body, Religions for Peace Australia, will hold its AGM on Sunday 18 June 2023 7.00-9.00pm and its annual discussion day on Monday 19 June 10.00am-4.00pm.

Both will be held in Canberra at the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre North Building 180 London Circuit, Canberra and online. You can register for both on Zoom

The Guest Speaker at the AGM on Sunday 18 June will be Prof Nicole Asquith of UTAS, Professor of Policing and Emergency Management, who is the Convenor of the Australian Hate Crime Network. She will be speaking about her extensive work supporting vulnerable people who face hate speech and targeted violence in our society.

The Discussion Day on 19 June will also be also very interesting and will feature reports from the work being done by Religions for Peace in all the states and territories of Australia, as well as reports from Religions for Peace Asia, where Prof Des Cahill, our current President, is a Moderator and Philippa Rowland, our current Chair, and Sue Ennis, our current Secretary, play official roles.

Everyone is welcome to attend. Contact Terry if you would like to attend.

How to Report Prejudice Related Violence: Save the date: 2 July 2023

In August 2022, Scott Davis, then of Equal Opportunity Tasmania, ran an excellent session on how to report incidents of hate speech and targeted violence.

He, together with Prof Nicole Asquith, has kindly offered to run another session. This is advance notice, so that you can save the date. This important workshop is not to be missed.

When: Sunday 2 July 23 2.00-5.00pm
Where: Multicultural Hub, 65 Hopkins St, Moonah and online

The workshop will support the work that Aimen Jafri, Chair of MCoT, is doing through the Migrant Resource Centre to educate newly arrived migrants.

Afternoon tea will be provided.

Although the workshop will be in person, there will be access through Zoom. Please RSVP to me or Aimen Jafri chair@mcot.org.au if you would like to attend either way.

Securing Faith-based Places Fund: a new grant from the Federal Government

Many faiths know too well the financial cost of maintaining security for community buildings. At the moment, targeted hate and violence need to be prevented from causing harm to people and property.

The Australian Government recognises this and has announced the establishment of a new, $40 million, Securing Faith-based Places Fund. This fund is expected to cover both fences and other security infrastructure, but also recurrent security spending, such as the cost of a guard.

The Albanese Government will help protect faith-based places with a new $40 million grants program to improve security and safety.

Grants will be available for places of worship, religious schools and associated organisations to support safety upgrades, such as fencing, lighting, security cameras, traffic barriers, alarm systems, access controls and security guards.

The Securing Faith-Based Places grants program will open for applications in July 2023.

Details will be published on the Australian Government’s GrantConnect website at https://help.grants.gov.auhttps://help.grants.gov.au

NAYBA Introduction

NAYBA (pronounced “neighbour”) exists to help faith communities love their neighbour and transform their neighbourhoods.

One of the ways we do this is through the NAYBA Impact Audit, which measures the collective social impact of the faith community in a geographic region and puts a monetary value on the time given to serve those in need.

In doing so, the audit helps to build unity across churches and faith groups, open doors to government and other sectors, and demonstrate that faith is a force for good.

Thanks to the support of a local family foundation, we’re preparing to bring the NAYBA Impact Audit to Tassie. Specifically, we’re looking to do three local audits – of Hobart, Launceston and the North-West – as well as what will be our first ever state-wide audit (of Tasmania as a whole).

But to make this audit a success, we need your help. We are currently compiling a list of all faith groups within the mentioned regions to ensure everyone’s voice can be heard and everyone’s contribution shared.

Also, please feel free to forward this message to other faith leaders you think may be interested in taking part: https://www.nayba.org/locations/australiahttps://www.nayba.org/locations/australia

If you are interested, please contact Terry. This is a very good opportunity to bring to the attention of our communities and governments the value of the work we are doing, but it is not mandatory.

Tamar Valley Peace Festival September 2023 Expressions of Interest due 1 August 2023

The Tamar Peace Festival, 2023 provides a platform around Tasmania for organisations to demonstrate how we can ‘strive for peace on a daily basis’.

That expression may be through the facilitation of high-level thought leadership forums, lectures, or debates – or through your regular church services, meetings, events or school assemblies.

Some will focus on building awareness of the way we interact daily in our homes, schools and work environments. They may pursue themes around bullying, creating safe schools, domestic violence, or celebrating diversity and inclusion.

You can express your interest in joining the festival at: http://www.tamarcommunitypeace.org.au/registerevent

The Facebook Community page has been set up to support the promotion of festival events and to generate ideas and #peacefest via instagram

Promise Wall Communications

The Tamar Peace Festival would like to encourage you to ask people in your community or organisation to take part in the ‘Peace Begins with Me’ promise. It asks everyone to consider if there is one thing they could promise to do to improve Peace.

Here are some ways you can utilise the theme and motivate others to make their Peace promise:

Create a mini promise wall poster in your office and stick up some examples for people to use as inspiration. Ask people to share their promises via social media – take a photo and post it on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Encourage use of the hash tag #peacefest Lead by example, be willing to share your own promise in as many ways possible. For instance, if your promise is to spend more time walking the dog on the beach take a photo of that and post it with your promise. The http://tamarcommunitypeace.org.au/ and the Tamar Peace festival Community page on FaceBook is also a great place for people to share their promises and raise awareness on how we can all improve and maintain Peace.

Domestic and Family Violence links

On 9 February 2023, Religions for Peace Tasmania and the FCNT conducted a workshop to look at Models of Educating Minority Communities about Family Violence that may work in Tasmania.

The recordings are available below:

Deacon Oliver Slewa (NSW Ecumenical Council)
https://youtu.be/NXUpALL_Cq8
Jasbir Singh Suropada (Faith Communities Council of Victoria)
https://youtu.be/yBIm2TLfi-k
Rev Simon Hansford (Uniting Church in Australia Moderator of NSW/ACT)
https://youtu.be/V7hwnuRDez0

Parliament of the World’s Religions

Parliament of the World’s Religions: A Call to Conscience: defending freedom and human rights

In August of 2023, the Parliament of the World’s Religions returns to the birthplace of the modern interfaith movement after 30 years away to celebrate 130 years of history in the city of Chicago. Parliament Convenings attract participants from more than 200 diverse religious, indigenous, and secular beliefs and more than 80 nations.

https://parliamentofreligions.org/parliament/2023-chicago/