The following is the Joint Message of Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for World Day of Prayer for Creation:
Australia: Global Week of Living the Change
Living the Change is a multi-faith sustainable living initiative designed to support and celebrate people of faith making personal behaviour changes in three areas — transportation, home energy use, and diet — which all have a high impact on climate change. The initiative is led by a diverse religious and spiritual leaders working together with scientific experts in sustainable consumption practices. In Australia, the Global Week of Living the Change will be celebrated in Brisbane, Sydney, NSW South Coast, Melbourne, Hobart and Adelaide.
A Shared Quaker Statement: Facing the Challenge of Climate Change
Quaker Earthcare Witness, the Quaker United Nations Office, and Friends Committee on National Legislation prepared A Shared Quaker Statement: Facing the Challenge of Climate Change during the UN Climate Summit in September 2014. The Statement was originally written as a ‘witness’ of our role in anthropogenic climate change. Its aim was to inspire personal and community action. The Statement was revised in January 2015 to reflect the following concerns: that it have longer life by being non-date specific to continue its relevance, and that the language be less anthropocentric and more strongly acknowledge the grave dangers we face from climate change. It was revised in August 2015, to add the word ‘anthropogenic’ in clarifying the statement relating greenhouse gas emissions to the combustion of fossil fuels.
Tasmania: Living the Change in Hobart
Join us to celebrate LIVING THE CHANGE together at the UTAS Multifaith Centre, Sandy Bay on the afternoon of Sunday 14th October 2018 working together towards creating a flourishing world for all. We gather as members of diverse faith communities and those who care for our planet to share our stories of change, transformation, and regeneration. Living the Change is brought to you by Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, Religions for Peace Australia and United Religions Initiative.
The Jewish Environmental and Energy Imperative
The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) believes that effective environmental action comes from building support across a wide array of Jewish viewpoints. Therefore, it is necessary to have informed discussions about the risks and advantages of different energy sources and environmental actions. We invite you to join the The Jewish Environmental and Energy Imperative Covenant.
Queensland: Living the Change in Brisbane
Join us to celebrate LIVING THE CHANGE in Brisbane where Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black will give an address “Our responsibility to our World“, folowed by discussion at the South Brisbane Jewish Congregation Synagogue, Greenslopes on Sunday, October 14th. Living the Change is brought to you by Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, Religions for Peace Australia and United Religions Initiative.
Islamic Declaration on Climate Change
It is estimated that there are about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world today and that is approximating to over 20% of the World’s population. No one is exempt from the vagaries of climate change and Muslims have to accept their share of the responsibility for bringing this on to ourselves. In reminding the richer nations to shoulder their proportion of accountability for creating the greater volume of this problem it behooves each single one of us to play our part in returning the Earth to some semblance of balance. Islamic environmentalism is embedded in the matrix of Islamic teachings. The Qur’an is inherently conservationist and much of it has to do with how human beings relate to the natural world and the benefits that accrue from protecting it. The core of this declaration consists of the essence of the body of ethics based in the Qur’an which we would define as Knowledge of Creation (Ilm ul khalq).
NSW: Living the Change in Sydney
Join us to celebrate LIVING THE CHANGE together at the Pitt Street Uniting Church, Sydney, on Saturday 13th October at 12:30pm, to celebrate people’s efforts to walk more gently on earth. Believers around the world are participating in a faith-led initiative to promote reasonably ambitious lifestyle changes in the areas of transport, diet and/or energy use. Living the Change is brought to you by Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, Religions for Peace Australia and United Religions Initiative.
A Hindu Declaration on Climate Change
Nine years have passed since the first Hindu Declaration on Climate Change was adopted by spiritual leaders at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, in Melbourne, Australia. “Rapacious exploitation of the planet [has] caught up with us,” it warns. “A radical change in our relationship with nature is no longer an option. It is a matter of survival. We cannot destroy nature without destroying ourselves.”
Victoria: Living the Change, Melbourne
Join us to celebrate LIVING THE CHANGE together at the Multicultural Hub, Melbourne, on Sunday 14th October 2018 where we will be working together towards creating a flourishing world for all. We gather as members of diverse faith communities and those who care for our planet to share our stories of change, transformation, and regeneration. Living the Change is brought to you by Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, Religions for Peace Australia and United Religions Initiative.
Victoria: Faith, spirituality & values: fresh perspectives in the climate discussion
Climates presents and evening of discussion on Faith, Spirituality and Values at the Copeland Theatre, Carlton on evening of Tuesday, 23 October. This event will explore the ways our beliefs and values influence our concern and drive to act on climate change. The panel will reflect a range of religious denominations as well as Indigenous Australians’ spiritual perspectives.
Victoria: Luther and the Jews
The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions and the University of Melbourne’s Early Modern Circle present Professor Lyndal Roper is Regius Professor of History, Oriel College, University of Oxford in lecture on Monday, 15 October 2018.
Martin Luther’s attitude to Jews forms one of the most disturbing aspects of his legacy as a Protestant reformer. This lecture by one of the world’s leading historians of Martin Luther will consider how and why Luther’s attitudes to Jews changed across his lifetime, and assess the impact of his views.
