Members of Religions for Peace NSW Branch met at Parliament House. Discussion included the Sydney siege and the interfaith response to it, inter-religious events that had taken place or were coming up, as well as the various issues being tackled by the different faith communities such as domestic violence and the plight of refugees.
“This group, this meeting, what we are doing today, this is interfaith in action“.
These were the sentiments of Religions for Peace NSW Chairperson Josie Lacey on the group’s first meeting of the year at Parliament House Sydney on Monday, 9 February.
Built over time, the strong relationships between members of the group was evident in the way they greeted each other. The friendship in the room was tangible.
Grounded in these solid relationships, is a genuine spirit of cooperation and collaboration in working towards creating peace and harmony.
RfP members shared reflections of their Faith Group highlights
Topics discussed included the Sydney siege and the interfaith response to it, inter-religious events that had taken place or were coming up, as well as the various issues being tackled by the different faith communities such as domestic violence and the plight of refugees.
In reflecting on how the interfaith community came into action after the Sydney Siege, the group affirmed that it was the strength of the relationships they had forged that enabled people to come together and support each other at such a critical time.
It was a strong testament that interfaith relationships are important and that by coming together we can create a more peaceful community.
Indeed, interfaith is something we must do, and not just talk about.
Josie congratulated Prof Nihal Agar, AM – Chairman, Hindu Council of Australia for the national Order of Australia Award he received on this Australia Day for his lifelong services to the Community.
Prof Agar told us that he had attended the World Alliance of Religions for Peace Summit, organized by the ICD in September 2014 in Seoul, Korea. This international conference was organised by ICD – Institute for Cultural Diplomacy . There were more than 10,000 attendees consisting of some 2000+ international delegates, all paid for by the Organisers for their travel, stay in 5 Star Hotel and transportation etc. The World Alliance of Religions for Peace has a similar sounding name to our “Religions for Peace” organization. Be advised.
Thanks to the Hon. Walt Secord, Shadow Minister for Health for hosting the meeting in the NSW Parliament House.
Front L to R Monica Smith (Quaker), Wilma Viswanathan (Uniting Church) Sr. Dr Marianne Dacy , Josie Lacey (Chair , Jewish) Professor Nihil Agar (President Hindu Council of Australia), Back. Professor Abd Malak (President APRO , Coptic Christian) Mohini Gunesekera (PP Buddhist Council of Australia), Fr ,Dr Patrick McInerney, Glen Falkenstein, Vijay Singal (Hon Sec Hindu) Robert Grant ( Rama Krishna Vedanta , Treasurer), Ajmer Gill (Pres Sikh Assoc of Australia), Jeremy Jones (Jewish),Sr Dr Giovanni Farquar, Revd DR David Gill (Uniting Church) Caroline Haski (Jewish)’ Apologies from Imam Amin Hady (Muslim) Stafford Watts, Rev Pravarajika Gayatriprana
Photo Thanks to (Rebecca Beisler UCA)
