On Tuesday 19th November representatives from 4 Faith traditions, 3 Christian denominations which included a number of communities from Perth to Margaret River, gathered at Koombana Beach in Bunbury on the land of the Wardandi Noongar people to begin their walk to draw attention to the importance of action for climate justice and to pray at a number of faith community sites.
We were firstly led in prayer from the Hindu tradition by Santhi and then by Marie from the Ba’hai tradition.
A group of about 16 people walked most, or all, of the way, others drove from one prayer space to the next, and others gathered at one of the venues to participate in the prayers. Overall, over 40 people participated in the morning.
Leaving Koombana Beach, the group was led by the two Buddhist nuns to the Tara Meditation Centre where we were welcomed into the meditation room and led in prayer by Venerable Chokyi.
From Tara, we were led by Desrae and Fr Victor to St Patrick’s Cathedral via the main street of Bunbury, Victoria Street. On arrival we were welcomed with glasses of cold water then, we gathered in St Patrick’s Hall and were led in prayer by Fr Victor.
Leaving St Patrick’s, the intrepid walkers headed to St Boniface’s Anglican Cathedral led by John and Margaret where once again we were offered a refreshing drink of cold water in the Hall. Then Dean Darryl led us to the Lady Chapel inside the Cathedral where he led us in prayer.
By now the temperature was rising but our walkers continued the pilgrimage trek, from St Boniface to St Augustine Uniting Church, over two and a half kilometres away. We joined in an acknowledgement of country and our final prayers together led by Rev Greg. We all joined in morning tea, Deborah thanked everyone involved with the event and was in turn thanked for her involvement. Spirits were high with the sense of achievement and community.
Feedback from the morning was very positive and the ARRCC Southwest committee led by Alison Dyall felt that we achieved our hope of contributing to the building of a multi-faith community in Bunbury committed to raising awareness in the wider community of climate change issues, and also to praying together for our common desires for the world and its people.
Two of the BANNERS CARRIED BY WALKERS PREPARED BY CHARO OF THE ARRCC SW GROUP.
Source: Supplied
