Religions for Peace Australia resolved at the recent Annual General Meeting to write to the Prime Minister – and relevant minister for Aboriginal Affairs – with regard to the First Nations Peoples of Australia. These include the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a Makarrata Treaty and a Voice in Parliament for the First Nations.
Churches are coming together to toll their bells and hold prayer services to mark Earth Overshoot Day. The tolling bells will warn demise for God’s Creation as we know it on Earth – if we do not repent but instead continue down the destructive path that we have been following.
This year Earth Overshoot Day will fall on 22 August. To maximise publicity about this solemn milestone day, church bells will toll shortly before midday on Friday 21 August to alert people to Earth Overshoot Day the next day.
Earth Overshoot Day is the day when humanity’s demands for ecological resources (fresh water, fish, forests, etc), exceeds what the Earth can renew in a year.
You cannot attend a religious service – the Victorian Government encourages you to use online services instead to engage people in worship.
Weddings can have a maximum of five people (the couple, two witnesses and the celebrant).
Funerals will be restricted to 10 mourners plus people required to conduct the funeral. You can travel to attend a funeral.
The World Council of Churches will join many in honouring indigenous communities across the world on 9 August. Designated by the United Nations as “International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples,” this year the day is particularly honouring indigenous people for seeking unique solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for leading the way in sustainable living in a post-COVID-19 era.
On 6 August, a “Joint Interfaith Statement on the 75th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” was released, reaffirming the existential threat to humanity that nuclear weapons pose.
The interfaith group normally delivers a statement during review conferences of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. However, the postponement of the 2020 conference due to COVID-19 inspired the group to instead develop a common response to the 75th anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The statement is signed by 189 organizations, including the World Council of Churches.
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The United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively, with the consent of the United Kingdom, as required by the Quebec Agreement. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only uses of nuclear weapons in armed conflict.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, with the goal of leading towards their total elimination. It was passed on 7 July 2017. In order to come into effect, signature and ratification by at least 50 countries is required. As of July 2020, 40 states have ratified the treaty.
Religions for Peace Australia seeks peace in Australia, and peace on Earth. To this end we strive to build strong interfaith relations, promote cooperation, harmony and understanding among the faiths in Australia and seek to build same in all states and in Parliament House, Canberra, by observance of World Interfaith Harmony Week. Here, the Chair of Religions for Peace Australia gives reflections on 75 Years since the Hiroshima bombing.
The Interfaith Open Letter in support of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is sent this day to the Prime Minister of Australia and all Members of Parliament. This letter has been signed by 58 faith organisations in Australia and represents an important initiative towards gaining Peace on Earth.
Religions for Peace International have teamed up with UNICEF to provide guidance documents for religious leaders in this time of worldwide pandemic. At this moment of crisis, these thematic guidance documents have been prepared to guide religious leaders and faith communities on the key issues and actions that they can take in preventing and addressing the diseases and its secondary effects. The documents have been prepared based on official technical materials from UNICEF, WHO and IFRC and informed by the existing Faith-Based resources.
Join us at the Jewish Christian Muslim Association of Australia in a free on line event on the theme, ‘ Kindness & Love in a Time of Separation – Perspectives From The Three Abrahamic Faiths’ on the afternoon of Sunday 9 August 2020. This is an online event, free.
Greetings of peace! We hope you, your families and communities are safe and well! Many blessings for the festival of Eid al Adha, celebrated yesterday.
There has been an invitation from the President of the National Council of Churches Australia to dedicate tomorrow, Sunday 2 August, as a national day of prayer for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The World Council of Churches releases a collection of curated resources to support churches, church-run schools, Sunday schools and summer camps in their ongoing efforts to promote care for children and youth through intergenerational climate- and environmental justice. The toolkit supports the Churches’ Commitments to Children, in which climate initiatives for and with children is an important pillar.
