Greetings of Peace! We hope that everyone is taking special care for their wellbeing as we move into wintry weather and we’d like to pass on an encouraging reminder to book your COVID vaccination (1800 671 738) to ensure that we all stay safe, as far as we can. Faith leaders have been encouraging their communities to do this.
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue has published a letter to all “Buddhist Friends”, expressing greetings and best wishes on the occasion of Vesakh. Signed by the Council President, Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, mccj , and its Secretary, Msgr Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage, the Letter expresses the Council’s wish to “strengthen our bonds of friendship and further unite us in service to the human family”, particularly amid the “dramatic situation of the Covid-19 pandemic”. The following is the English text of the letter.
The Institute for Economics & Peace, together with Religions for Peace, has produced a free, two-hour online course. The course includes five modules, including one that explores the relationships between religion and peace—and the value of inter-religious cooperation for peace.
Many Indigenous languages have a word that means something like “deep listening”. In Ngan’gikurunggurr, a Northern Territory language, that word is dadirri. We hear from renowned Aboriginal elder and Senior Australian of the Year, Dr Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann, who advocates for a kind of listening — a quiet awareness — that sums up a whole way of being.
Are you struggling with Victoria’s 4th lockdown or just want more emotional balance in your life? Join us to learn how Buddhist meditation might help.In response to Victoria’s 4th lockdown, The Contemplative Studies Centre welcomes the community and all interested parties to join Dr Nicholas Van Dam in conversation with Venerable Ajahn Brahmali.
Dozens of community and religious leaders have come together to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations in Sydney in a bid to show the jab is safe for people from all backgrounds. “The vaccine is safe for everybody no matter what background you’re from or what religion you’re from,” NSW Multicultural Minister Geoff Lee said.
It is the task of humans to respect and care for the Seven Bounteous Creations and to work against evil forces which oppose right order, and in so doing to bring the world back to its original state of harmony. Thus Zoroastrianism requires humans to protect the environment; to avoid harm, pollution, and waste; and to restore what has been damaged.
Pope Francis launched an initiative on Tuesday to make Catholic institutions ranging from families to universities to businesses environmentally sustainable in seven years, saying a “predatory attitude” toward the planet must end.
The Laudato Si Action Platform takes its name from the pope’s landmark 2015 encyclical on the need to protect the environment, reduce wasteful lifestyles, stem global warming and protect the poor from the effects of climate change.
The Hindu Council of Australia will conduct a one-day conference on July 3rd, to consider Hindu Religion in Australia — Its Roots and Growth. The Conference will be held from 9 am – 5pm at Sydney Olympic Park.
The Australian Religious Response to Climate Change Living the Change event is a sequential series of three small group monthly sessions in which participants share, learn and discuss within a multifaith group issues surrounding aligning your finances and faith to protect the planet by divesting from fossil fuels.
The Federal Court of Australia has found the environment minister, Sussan Ley, has a duty of care to protect young people from the climate crisis in a judgment hailed by lawyers and teenagers who brought the case as a world first.
Eight teenagers and an octogenarian nun had sought an injunction to prevent Ley approving a proposal by Whitehaven Coal to expand the Vickery coalmine in northern New South Wales, arguing the minister had a common law duty of care to protect younger people against future harm from climate change.
Justice Mordecai Bromberg found the minister had a duty of care to not act in a way that would cause future harm to younger people. But he did not grant the injunction as he was not satisfied the minister would breach her duty of care.
Lanterns at the Seoul Lantern Festival, which is held for Vesak. Photo by Tennesse Wanderer
Vesak, also known as “Buddha Day” falls on May 26 this year. It marks the birth, enlightenment, and death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, born 2,600 years ago. These three significant events in the Buddha’s life are all said to have happened on the same day many years apart.
The Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon. Scott Morrison, gives a message to all on occasion of Vesak, the Buddhist Festival that observes the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha.
On 10 May 2021, the Parliamentary Friends of Multiculturalism in partnership with Religions for Peace Australia and the Canberra Interfaith Forum hosted the annual UN World Interfaith Harmony Week Lecture at the Theo Notaras Centre. The lecture was given by the indigenous Senator, Sen. Patrick Dodson. The topic addressed by Senator Dodson was Reconciliation and Multifaith: Aboriginal Worldviews and the Christian Heritage.
National Palliative Care Week 2021 will be held from Sunday 23 May – Saturday 29 May, with the theme “Palliative Care It’s more than you think.”, which seeks to raise awareness about the many benefits of quality palliative care. One of the great myths about palliative care is that it is only a synonym for end-of-life care. It is so much more than that.
In the Wemba Wemba language Yoo-rrook means “truth”. The Wemba Wemba, also known as the Wamba Wamba, are a people from north-west Victoria and the NSW Riverina.
Religions for Peace Australia will conduct its Annual General Meeting reporting for the year 2020, online, on evening of Sunday 6 June 2021 at 7pm. The Guest Speaker is Dr Anne Pattel-Gray , of Australia First Nations Program – World Vision Australia, is the first indigenous person to be awarded a doctorate in theology in the 1990’s. The meeting will be online, all are invited. The title of Dr Anne Pattel-Gray’s talk will be Walk Alongside to Build Religious Inclusivity and Acceptance.
On the road to the next UN Climate Conference (the 26th Conference of Parties, or COP 26), churches and groups from a range of Christian traditions organised a webinar titled, “Raise Your Voice in Faith for Climate Justice,” on 13 May as part of the Global Action and Prayer for Climate Justice.