Tasmania, September 2017

Tasmania Logo

Greetings of peace! Many good wishes for this special month of September in which there are many significant Religious festivals. It is also the month of UN International Day of Peace on 21 September, the same day as Rosh HasHannah, the Jewish New Year and Navaratri, the Hindu festival to honour the feminine Divine.  


Greetings of peace!

A month of celebrations for peace can hardly be more timely!

Religions for Peace Tasmania has organised two events to honour the UN International Day of Peace. Flyers are attached hereand hereand also below.

The first event is the Women’s Committee (through Chairperson Hina Durrani) of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia. It is a roundtable discussion on how we can most effectively share the resource entitled Promoting Equality and Respect: an interfaith collaboration on preventing family violence in our faith communities and will be held on the International Day of Peace, Thursday 21 September from 12.30-1.30pm in the meeting room at the back of Scots Memorial Church 29 Bathurst St Hobart.

In March of this year, the Governor of Tasmania helped us to launch the resource which can be found here.  

We think that the best place peace in the world can start is in the home and we know that it will take more than just the launch to ensure that the resource can be readily accessed by those it was meant for. 

Consequently, through the roundtable discussion we will be brainstorming ideas to ensure that we find ways of getting the resource to the people who need to know about it most. Everyone is welcome to join us. Light lunch will be served. 

The second event will be a presentation by Kris Shaffer, Making Peace with the Great South Land: healing land and people with fire on Sunday 24 September at the UTAS Multifaith Centre, TUU Building, Churchill Avenue Sandy Bay from 2.00-3.30pm. Kris is an Aboriginal artist, horticulturalist and educator well known in our community, who has recently been to the Top End and learned the Aboriginal tradition of fire husbandry. She has seen the effect of this ancient practice both on the land and on the people who practise it and will share her insights with us. Light refreshments will be served. 

If you have any queries, the best way to contact me is to ring me on 6272 6521

 

Festivals this Month

The special days in September are

     

  • Eid al Adha Islam 1 September Festival concluding the holy month of Ramadan
  • Rosh HasHannah Judaism 21 September Jewish New Year beginning the High Holy Days, ten days of repentance
  • Navaratri Hinduism 21 September Nine day festival honouring the Divine Mother, or feminine aspect of God
  • Hijra Islam 22 September Commemorating the migration of the Prophet Mohammad from Mecca to Medina
  • Yom Kippur Judaism 30 September The Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year for Jewish people and which marks the end of the Jewish High Holy Days
  • Dusshera Hinduism 30 September celebrating the victory of Good over Evil.

Hospital with a Big Heart

Tuesday 12th September 2017 6.00pm – 7.30pm at the Royal Hobart Hospital, Liverpool Street, Cancer Support Centre, Ground Floor – A Block. Bookings Required: gtwiz@netspace.net.au

Speakers: Dr Partap Midha, Medical Director Global Hospital and Research Centre (GHRC), Rajasthan India, and Stephen Berkeley, Manager Organisation Development, GHRC.

Dr Partap has been the Medical Superintendent for GHRC since 1991. Under his leadership it has grown from one Hospital and 40 staff to 4 Hospitals, 3 Out post Clinics, extensive Community Health programme, 10 Research Projects and around 500 staff. Dr Partap is a living example of what can be achieved with determination and passion to do good for humanity. In the district that he now serves, 50% of population lives below the poverty line. Consequently his interventions are now balanced between prevention, treatment and Community Development which includes vocational training, education and public health interventions. Holistic treatment at the hospital includes western allopathic medicine, homeopathy, Ayurveda and Raja Yoga meditation.

Hobart Meditation Centre

During September Madhu Lilley will be leading on the topic of the four noble truths. We will explore modern Buddhist teachers’ interpretations on the topic, and there will be plenty of opportunities for discussion. Beginners are very welcome.

Meditation and Discussion 7.30-9 pm, every Tuesday. Entry by $5 suggested donation.

73 Liverpool St [Goulds building, down the laneway to the right of the building, in the door between the bamboo pots and up the stairs to the 2nd floor]

St David’s Cathedral:

Service: Battle of Britain Service

Saturday, September 16th, 2017 from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm on the 77th anniversary of the conflict of The Battle of Britain, a service of National Commemoration for all who have fought and served in the Royal Australian Air Force and Allied Air Forces.

The Chaplain Peter Friend will be the speaker. Music by the Air Force Band.

World Meditation Hour

Sunday 17th September, from 6.30-7.30pm at the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Centre, 51 Risdon Rd, New Town (cnr Bell St). Join us and millions around the globe in sending the light of peace to the world especially for the 2017 International Day of Peace (September 21st).

Calm in the City:

Join online in the meditations on UNIDP on 21 September http://www.stopstillforpeace.org.au/

Archdiocese of Hobart:

Film about the Apparitions of Mary

A Film about the reported apparitions of Mary the mother of Jesus in the Spanish Village of San Sebastian de Garabandal 1961-1965 will be shown in the Community Room, St Therese of Lisieux Catholic church, Moonah-Lutana Parish, 24 Hopkins St, Moonah on Monday 18th Sept—7pm-9.00. Question time and information pack is available for $10. Enquiries to parish office : 6272 1442. Link to invitation

Uniting Church in Australia, Victoria and Tasmania:

Blessing of the Animals

Bring your furry, feathery and finny friends to Scots Memorial Church 29 Bathurst St, Hobart, Sunday 24 September, 10am, where ‘St Francis’ will give them a blessing. We will celebrate the joy of our animal companionships and remembering animals worldwide. Please ensure that animals are on a lead or feeling secure in a crate. Morning tea will follow.

TCC’s Emergencies Ministry

Full Training Day – Tuesday October 3 at Emmanuel Christian School, Rokeby.

Refresher Course – Saturday October 21 (morning only) at Emmanuel Christian School, Rokeby. Refresher courses are recommended every two years and required at least every three years.

Further details and the registration form are available at http://tccem.org.au/register_for_training. Current volunteers are welcome to participate in the Full Day Training instead of the Refresher if they want.

An EM Training Day in Launceston is proposed for Saturday November 25 but the details are not yet finalised. Registration for that course will open soon.

Dancers of Universal Peace:

We dance upstairs at Wesley Hall , 58 Melville St. There is parking in the car park. You will need to enter through the side entrance via the car park and head up the stairs.

First Tuesday of each month
7.30 – 9.30pm
Suggested donation $10

Religions for Peace International

Religions for Peace (RfP) and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) seek your leadership and skilful interventions in urging your governments to sign and ratify the historic Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons adopted by over 120 governments at the United Nations (UN) on 7 July 2017.

Prior to the Treaty’s adoption, nuclear weapons were the only weapons of mass destruction not subject to a comprehensive global prohibition, despite their catastrophic, widespread and persistent humanitarian and environmental consequences. The new Treaty thus fills a significant gap in international law.

It is to be noted that, following USA, Australia did not sign this treaty:

‘We Feed People’: Women Step Up to Serve During Harvey

If there’s one thing the world has been reminded of in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, it’s that when it comes to human lives and suffering, people respond.

When women in the Chabad community in Houston, Texas, saw what was going on around them, they took immediate action. Working existing networks and building on each other’s strengths, the women of the community reached out to each other and coalesced into a grass-roots humanitarian organization—one that has yet to slow down.

Eta Cotler, who lives near the main Chabad center on Fondren Road, where many of the relief efforts were centered, says “as soon as we could leave our houses, we did one of the things Jewish mothers do best: feed people.”

Read more here:

Youth Parliament of the World’s Religions focuses on Racism and Climate Change:

Now in its third year, Youth PoWR is a multi-faith initiative of the Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations. It brings together young people from diverse religions – Aboriginal, Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism – and secular society. The event is planned, organised and hosted by youth.

The venue was Santa Sabina College in Strathfield, where people aged 17-35 engaged with each other on the practical implications of this year’s theme, “Light in Dark Times”.

In a video message from Chicago, Rev Dr Larry Greenfield, Executive Director of PoWR, had a positive and encouraging message for the participants.

Dr Greenfield said he was keen to listen and learn from this gathering of Australian youth from different religions, and extended an invitation to join him and others from around the world at next year’s PoWR to be held in November in Toronto, Canada.

The program featured talks and performances expressing compassion and justice in artistic form, and great engagement of the young people with each other.

You can read more about the Youth Parliament of the World’s Religions here.

In peace,
Terry
Convenor RfP Tasmania Branch
Vice Chair, Religions for Peace Australia
Phone 6272 6521


Religions for Peace Tasmania

Religions for Peace Tasmania