Singing is one of the most essential elements of worship. Short songs, repeated again and again, give it a meditative character. Using just a few words they express a basic reality of faith, quickly grasped by the mind. The NSW Ecumenical Council invites you to join in an online session of Meditative Prayer using the songs of Taizé on evening of Friday, June 12, 2020 at 6 PM – 6:45 PM.
The Black Jews Are Tired
Black Jews are tired, and we have been tired for a long time. But most of us – more than most, I’d say – are nonetheless hopeful.
We’re hopeful that despite being ignored and failed in the past, our allies will do the work we are often too exhausted to (but do anyway). We’re hopeful that our leaders – who speak of tikkun olam (repair of our broken world) and b’tzelem Elohim (the idea that we’re all created in the image of God) – will act to repair the world by screaming in the face of racism, rather than sitting in silence; that they will act as though the Black faces they’re defending are the actual faces of God.
Pope begs world leaders to provide coronavirus relief
Pope Francis begged world leaders on Saturday to act wisely and generously to provide social and economic relief for the many workers who have lost jobs, and called for the enormous sums of money used to grow and perfect armaments be instead used to fund research to prevent similar catastrophes in the future.
NSW: Buddhist Studies June 2020 Seminar
The Australasian Association for Buddhist Studies notifies that its next seminar will take place online using Zoom on 4 June at 6:30pm (Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney time). The topic will be Buddhist Tantric Poetry: Frameworks and Practices.
National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June 2020 National Reconciliation Week is an annual celebration and is a time for all Australians to reflect on our shared histories. National Sorry Day is a nation-wide observance held on May 26 each year.
Resources on family violence – in language: audio-video
Victoria Police has today launched videos in multiple languages to encourage people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities to seek help if they are experiencing family violence.
The videos are available in English and 12 other languages: Arabic, Burmese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dari, Farsi, Greek, Italian, Punjabi, Macedonian, Turkish and Vietnamese.
These videos will soon also be available in an additional 13 languages: Hindi, Pashto, Khmer, Korean, Japanese, Serbian, Sinhalese, Spanish, Tamil, Thai, Malay, Somali, Russian and Polish.
Global coalition of 42 faith institutions divest from fossil fuels
This week, 42 faith institutions from 14 countries announced their divestment from fossil fuels. This is the largest divestment from fossil fuels from faith institutions around the world to date. Faith organisations in the UK, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Myanmar, Spain and the United States are taking part.
International Day for Biological Diversity
In these days of coronavirus, many are speaking about emergence from lockdown and care for our planet – and climate change in particular. The International Day for Biological Diversity (UN Observance) is a world-wide relevant reminder that we must take action to care for the only Earth we have. The theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May 2020 is “Our solutions are in nature“.
Bouncing Back or Bouncing Forward: Shaping a post-pandemic Society
The Australian Baha’i Community invites you to an online webinar where noted Australian author and sociologist Hugh Mackay AO will explore the lessons we have learnt from the pandemic, and the ways we might change as a result, on Friday May 29th from 12:30pm.
2020 World Interfaith Harmony Week Winners
Each year, the King of Jordan, King Abdullah II – who introduced the World Interfaith Harmony Week resolution to the United Nations General Assembly – awards prizes to the best World Interfaith Harmony Week celebrations worldwide. Last year, this prize was won by the Interfaith Centre of Melbourne.