Greetings of peace!
Our gathering for April will be to honour Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust, by a visit to the Hobart Synagogue, 59 Argyle St, Hobart. Although Yom HaShoah is commemorated on Thursday 12 April, our visit will be held on Sunday 15 April at 3.00pm. We are meeting outside the Synagogue at 2.55pm and Daniel Albert, whom many of us know, will be our guide.
Greetings of peace!
Holy Days of April
31st March Pesach/Passover (Judaism)
1st April Easter (Christianity)
8th April Pascha/Easter (Orthodox Christianity)
12th April Yom HaShoah (Memorial of the Holocaust Judaism)
13th April Lailat al Miraj (Islam)
14th April Baisakhi (Vaisakhi) also Bakrami Samvat (Sikhism)
21st April Ridvan (Baha’i)
29 April Vesak /Buddha’s Birthday (Buddhism)
30 April Theravadin New Year (Buddhism)
1 May Lailat al Bara’ah (Islam)
Commonwealth Conference
Griffith University’s Centre of Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue will host a Conference during the Commonwealth Games exploring the normative and practical leadership roles of faith communities, universities, and the Commonwealth of Nations itself under the theme: “Sustainable Peace and Development in a Polarising World: Perspectives and Contributions from the Commonwealth of Nations. The conference will take place at the Griffith University Nathan Campus, Queensland, 9 April 2018 – 11 April 2018.
We are witnessing a period of tumultuous change across the globe. Driven by factors such as the far-reaching impacts of climate change, political and economic upheavals of Brexit, US withdrawal from international leadership coupled with the rise of Chinese transnational organisations, persistent international terrorism, and widening political and social polarisation, this wave of change is restructuring how the world works.
What is the role of the Commonwealth of Nations in these changing times?
This conference will explore the normative and practical leadership roles of faith communities, universities, and the Commonwealth of Nations itself under the theme: “Sustainable Peace and Development in a Polarising World: Perspectives and Contributions from the Commonwealth of Nations.”
Based on the successful precedents of events organised in conjunction with the G20 and G8 Summits, it is clear that input from a broad range of voices strengthen international decision making. This conference will assemble experts from around the Commonwealth as part of the activities surrounding the Commonwealth Games on the Australian Gold Coast in April 2018.
For more information, click here
Sikh Community:
Vaisakhi celebrations will be held at the Sikh Gurudwara, 126 Roches Beach Rd., Roches Beach. Prayers and kirtan will be from 6.30-8.00pm and langar (dinner) from 8.00pm onwards.
Vaisakhi is a major Sikh festival marking the birth of the Sikh order known as the Khalsa tradition which was initiated in 1699 by the last living Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh, after his father had been beheaded for resisting the religious persecution during the rule of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. All welcome.
Brahma Kumaris Meditation Centre
Sunday 15 April, 6.30-7.30pm, doors open from 6pm.
Please feel welcome to join us and millions around the globe for an hour of powerful meditation sending the light of peace to the world. In allowing ourselves to be the instruments for sharing peaceful good wishes with everyone, we experience the company and subtle strength of the Supreme Soul. Location: 51 Risdon Rd, New Town. Enquiries: 03 6278 3788.
Parliament of the World’s Religions
Did you know Early Bird registration for the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions to be held in Toronto, Canada from 1-7 November 2018, continues until April 15, 2018! Register here:
Sacred Conversations:
We had our very first meeting on Saturday 24 March and I’m happy to report that it was very successful. I want to thank all those beautiful people who made the effort to attend. I am thrilled to announce that the University of Tasmania has given us permission to use the Multifaith Centre on the last Saturday of every month. This means that our next meeting will take place on Saturday 28 April at 2.00pm.
If you would like to participate in interfaith outreach and dialogue, please come along and join us. This is a precious opportunity to share your personal faith while being receptive to other people’s stories and experiences. Interfaith dialogue doesn’t require anyone to relinquish their faith tradition. It is simply a recognition that we all share a common humanity and ka desire to connect and commune with Ultimate Reality.
I look forward to meeting you.
Julian 0401 673 016
Religious Society of Friends
Day of Retreat: Wednesday 25 April 2018
We are hosting a Retreat Day on Wednesday 25 April 2018 (a public holiday) at the Quaker Meeting House in North Hobart (enter either by Argyle Street through the carpark or from Boa Vista Road).
The date offers a rather poignant dimension of meaning to our gathering together for spiritual retreat: an invitation to embrace peace in all spheres of our lives. We look forward to the gift of time with God, our deep selves and each other. We hope you can join us.
Although we will begin and end the day communally, the hours in silence are for you to take time and space aside from the demands of daily life for your own reflection, growing awareness, prayerful presence and deepening in the Spirit. Guidance in the form of an individual, confidential conversation can be available, if this is something you would find helpful.
Please come from 10.00am. We will start with an optional introduction / refresher at 10.15am which allows for orientation before our opening communal Worship at 10.30am. You may also join us at any time during the day for as long as you are able. Refreshments will be available throughout the day, but bring your own lunch to have at a time that suits you. You may like to bring a journal, drawing materials or a symbol of personal inspiration. The Quaker library will also be open. We will close the day with Worship Sharing from around 2.50pm and aim to end the retreat at 3.30pm.
Please contact Kerstin Reimers, on (03) 6228 4890 or Maggi Storr on (03) 6278 9838 if you have any queries.
Australian Religious Response to Climate Change:
Annual General Meeting Friday 4 May 6.30-8.30pm
The Brahma Kumaris Meditation Centre will host the Tasmanian Hub of the Annual General Meeting for ARRCC again this year. The guest speaker (via a Zoom connection) will be Sukhi Kaur, a Sikh Community Organiser with the Sydney Alliance project, ‘Voices For Power’, which is about building interest in renewable energy among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities. Sukhi is working with South Asian communities. She will reflect on what she has learned about working in faith-based CALD communities on issues which tend to be regarded as “political”. Thea Ormerod, Chair of ARRCC, will be assisting with Q & A.
A light vegetarian meal will be available from 6.30-7.30 p.m. The meeting is from 7.30-8.30pm. RSVP to Terry 03 6272 6521.
Soul Food
Date: Sunday 6th May, 3 pm to 4pm
Venue: Baha’i Centre of Learning, 1 Tasman Highway, Hobart.
The theme for this program will be “A Home of Peace” and will explore the importance of families, and how unity and peace in the home can profoundly impact unity and peace outside the home. The musical interludes will be Rebecca and friends on the violin.
As always we do our best to provide a thought provoking relaxing pleasant program for all, so please join us at the Baha’i Centre of Learning, 1 Brooker Ave, Hobart. Refreshments served. For more information call Val 0404 080 768.
Toronto 2018
The Seventh International Convening of the Parliament will be held in Toronto, Canada, 1-7 November, 2018.
It is an honour to welcome His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Spiritual Head of Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, as a keynote speaker at the Parliament.
His Holiness, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, heads the 900-year-old Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. He guides millions of Buddhists around the world.
At the age of 14, he made a dramatic escape from Tibet to India to be near His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and his own lineage teachers.
Currently 32 years old, the Karmapa created an eco-monastic movement with over 55 monasteries across the Himalayan region acting as centres of green activism. He spearheaded plans to enable full ordination for women, a step that has changed the future of Tibetan Buddhism. His latest book Interconnected: embracing life in our global society, is based on his interactions with American bio-university students.
Preserving and renewing Tibetan artistic forms, the Karmapa paints, draws calligraphy, writes poetry and plays and composes music.
Travelling the world, the Karmapa skilfully teaches traditional Tibetan Buddhist Dharma while also advocating topics such as environmental conservation, feminism, digitization of the Dharma and much more, bringing the Karmapa lineage activities fully into the 21st century.
For more information about the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto, Canada, see https://parliamentofreligions.org/
From Zenit:
Pope Francis washes the feet of prisoners of all faiths on Holy Thursday:
http://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-03/pope-francis-holy-thursday-washing-feet-regina-coeli-prison.html
Pope Francis leads the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum:
https://zenit.org/articles/the-way-of-the-cross/
From Faith Communities Council of Victoria
PhD opportunity for interfaith study at UTAS:
www.faithvictoria.org.au/news-a-articles/614-phd-opportunity-interfaith-movement-in-australia?acm=235_776
Rev Helen Summers, Director of the Interfaith Centre of Melbourne, wins for the UN Interfaith Harmony Week First Prize for 2018:
https://interfaithcentre.org.au/who-and-where-are-we-in-a-changing-world/
Geelong Mosque Re-opens:
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/geelong-s-historic-mosque-reopens-two-years-after-deliberately-lit-fire
For those interested in the Mahabharata, directed by Peter Brooks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhqkRGISQr8
In peace,
Terry
Convenor RfP Tasmania Branch
Vice Chair, Religions for Peace Australia
Phone 6272 6521
Religions for Peace Tasmania
