Building religious goodwill

7 October 2015

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Building religious goodwill

With religion tensions again in the news at home and abroad, it is easy to overlook the vast amount of goodwill between religious groups and their role in building peace, according to Anglican Bishop Philip Huggins, president of the Jewish Christian Muslim Association.

“In many of our communities there are strong networks of interfaith friendship,” Bishop Huggins said.

The three faith communities will celebrate and cement their unity with a spring-time walk between their places of worship on Sunday, October 11, at 2pm.

The walk begins at an Anglican church, St Peter’s Eastern Hill, on the corner of Albert and Gisborne Streets. After a reflection and prayer of peace, those taking part will cross the road to the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Synagogue at 488 Albert Street, then walk to the Albanian Mosque at 765 Drummond Street in Carlton North, pausing for prayer and reflection in each. Walkers will have the chance to ask questions at each place.

The JCMA has been building common understanding about the Abrahamic faiths since 2003. Its schools program gives teachers and students an opportunity to challenge the stereotypes and misunderstandings they may have about people from different cultural and religious backgrounds.

For more information, please contact JCMA Executive Officer Ginette Everest on 0400 211 221 or (03) 9287 5590.

 

The October issue of TMA available

The October issue of TMA (The Melbourne Anglican) will be available at St. George’s from Sunday October 4th . This issue includes:

  •  The faith story of Malcolm Turnbull. Roy Williams, author of In God they trust? The religious beliefs of Australia’s Prime Ministers 1901-2013, considers the religious beliefs of our new Prime Minister;
  • Anglican responses to the Syrian refugee crisis and the Government’s decision to allow 12,000 Syrian refugees into Australia;
  •  Is Australia right to bomb Syria? The Revd Dr Gordon Preece considers the ethics, dangers and complexities of the Syrian crisis;
  •  A special ‘Transforming Lives’ feature on a project which has led to children in detention on Nauru receiving books and letters from all over Australia;
  •  A special supplement celebrating Chinese ministries within the Diocese of Melbourne;
  •  Removing SRI (CRE) from the school curriculum will only further cultural amnesia, argues the Revd René Knaap;
  •  Professor Graeme Clark’s mission to bring hearing to the deaf – a review of a new book about the man who invented the bionic ear.

 

 

 

Huggins: Asylum seekers need bipartisan amnesty

melb_ang2The Anglican Church is urging the Government and Opposition to extend to asylum seekers in detention the bipartisan approach seen recently over Syrian refugees and people-trafficking.

The Church says a bipartisan approach could work in areas such as education, work-rights, and removing children and families from detention without encouraging people-smugglers.

Melbourne Bishop Philip Huggins has written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten calling for “some kind of bipartisan amnesty”.

He says both parties’ policies are now similar, both supporting admitting an extra 12,000 refugees from Syria, both eager to prevent people-trafficking.

Asylum seekers now in Australia or off-shore detention centres could also benefit from a bipartisan approach, says Bishop Huggins, chair of the Anglican Church’s General Synod Working Group on Refugees and Asylum seekers.

“There is plainly no third country which will be taking these asylum seekers. It seems most are refugees and therefore can’t be returned to their original home-land,” Bishop Huggins wrote.

“It is cruel to leave their fate undetermined and to treat them, in effect, just as collateral damage from the previous effort to shut down people-trafficking. Unless you agree on a plan together, their current plight will continue. Some kind of bi-partisan amnesty is needed.”

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New PM can restore confidence, says Anglican leader

The head of the Anglican Church in Australia, Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier, has written to new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull today, wishing him well and assuring him of the support and prayers of the Church.

Dr Freier, who is the Primate of Australia, said in the letter: “I hope that you know the peace of God in Christ as you fulfil this demanding office”.

Dr Freier says Mr Turnbull is taking the reins at a challenging time in the nation’s history, including such issues as economic growth, climate change, asylum seekers and social justice. But Dr Freier hopes the change in the nation’s leadership will provide an opportunity to restore public confidence, and Australia’s leadership in international affairs.

Anglican churches pray for political leaders, among others, at their services every week.