Faith Communities Council of Victoria : Statement on Syrian and Iraqi Humanitarian Crisis

Support those who are supporting women & their children experiencing Family Violence

Cross Posted, with permission, from Advocacy @ St Paul's

 

For anyone in or around Melbourne on the 6th of May, 

please go along to Federation Square for a candlelight vigil 

being held by Victoria's statewide DV Crisis Line. 

They're doing fantastic work in Victoria 

speaking up for the need for specialist women's services 

and against violence against women. 

They're even speaking up about their considerable concerns 

about what's been happening to women's refuges north of the border in NSW. 

They definitely deserve support.

HOME TRUTHS: THE COSTS AND CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

#Keephopealive by attending Amnesty International's vigil to-night in #Ballarat - the information is below

The information below is cross-posted with permission from Advocacy @ St Paul's

Dear Networkers,

Apologies for the short notice of to-nights's event.

Have only received notification this morning.

Details are in the re-published email below.

Please do your best to support this event.

Remember the mercy you give is the mercy you get! 

 The Ballarat group is part of the worldwide Amnesty International movement that opposes the death penalty in any circumstance, for any person.  Residents are invited to the

Spiritual Centre, 

Ballarat Base Hospital

7.00p.m.-8.00p.m. 

To-night 

Sunday 8th.February 

(entry from Sturt Street) 

to light the flame of justice, and send a public message that Australians oppose state-sanctioned executions.

The event is a response to comments by Indonesian President Joko Widodo that he would not grant clemency to at least 64 individuals who have been sentenced to death for drug-related crimes and that there were plans to execute all of them.

These include Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in the next batch of 11 whose claims for clemency have been rejected.

Amnesty International is asking Australians 

to use the hashtag #KeepHopeAlive

 and sign

Amnesty International’s petition

calling for the executions to be stopped. 

The death penalty has been proven not to work in deterring crime. It is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and it has no place in today’s justice system.

Amnesty International has been campaigning against the death penalty for the last 30 years, and most countries in the world have recognised the justice in this stance. When Amnesty International first pledged to abolish executions in the ‘70s, only a handful of countries had stopped killing people as a form of punishment; now 140 countries have abolished the practice.

Vigil for Hope ("Stop the Executions") 

 7.00-8.00p.m. 

Sunday 8th. February 

 Spiritual Centre, Ballarat Base Hospital. 

 Media Contact: Max White 5331 2502

Dale Hess's Calendar 2013-07-29

Tuesday 30 July, 8 pm: Asylum Seekers – Fact v. Retoric! Genuine facts and figures from Prof. Andrew Markus, Monash University and
Faris Mallouhi, La Trobe University. ALL WELCOME! Venue: High Street Road Uniting Church. Enquiries: Jim 0400 789 543 or Dennis 0488 198 461
Sponsored by the Uniting Churches in Chadstone & Mount Waverley.

Tuesday 6 August, 7.30 am – 8.30 am:  Hiroshima Day Vigil. Every year MAPW, along with other peace organisations, holds a vigil to mark the dropping of an atomic weapon on Hiroshima at 8.15 am on 6 August 1945 and to remember those killed in the attack. Venue: Steps of St Pauls Cathedral,Swanston St., Melbourne.

Wednesday 7 August, 7:30 pm. What now for asylum seekers? Caz Coleman will review efforts by church and community groups to improve outcomes for refugees and asylum seekers in Australia, while recognising the difficult political constraints. Misha Coleman will speak on how local church and community groups can help shape humane policies, including by questioning candidates for the forthcoming federal government elections, and helping to bust the myths perpetrated in this debate, within congregations and with parishioners. She will identify successes so far and challenges everyone can help overcome. At the Study Centre, Yarra Theological Union, 34 Bedford Street, Box Hill (best entry via 34 Bedford Street). Tea/coffee and snacks provided afterwards. Your donations welcome.
For the flyer for this event, click HERE.

Thursday 8 August, 7 pm: Public Forum: Truth-Telling: Criminalised by Our Government and Suppressed by our Media. Hear Julian Assange via live video link from London. Speaking together with a candidate for the WikiLeaks Party (TBA) and Bill Deller, host of 3CR Radio’s Solidarity Breakfast Show. Fitzroy Town Hall, 201 Napier Street, Fitzroy. Entry: $10 conc / $20 full. SPECIAL $5 entry for 3CR subscribers http://www.3cr.org.au/subscribe. All proceeds go to 3CR Radio. Presented by WikiLeaks http://waca.net.au/

 & 3CR Radio’s Solidarity Breakfast Show http://www.3cr.org.au/. For more info contact Bill Deller: Phone: 0429 792 274

Email: billdeller49@gmail.com

Saturday 10 August, 3 pm – 5 pm: Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Concert. This year Japanese for Peace will be holding their Peace Concert at Deakin Edge, Federation Square. It will feature Tim Costello, Hiroshima Junior Marimba Ensemble, Australian Percussion Academy, Jenny Biddle, Bart Willoughby, Orchestra 21, and Wadaiko Rindo. Bookings at Trybookings or at the door. Tickets: $20 (full), $15 (conc.). Website: www.jfp.org.au ...

10 August, 12 October, 10 & 11 November: Community Development. A 4-day short course from one of the world's leading community development practitioners. Working with Dr Jacques Boulet, students will explore concepts, strategies and practices associated with community development. This course looks at ways to empower community not just for survival but with the aim that they will thrive in a way that is sustainable and life enhancing. 

For more info & to register, click here. Venue: Oases Graduate School, Community Learning and Research Centre, 2 Minona Street, Hawthorn.

11 August, 8 & 9 September, 13 October: Sustainable Relationships in a Technological Age. A 4-day short course at the heart of what it means to live well. How are your relationships with others and the rest of the living world being affected by this age of extraordinary technological progress? Under the guidance of one of Australia’s leading experts in social development, Dr Jacques Boulet, you will reflect on the last 600 years of human history and understand how to create better relationships and communities. For more info & to register, click here. Venue: Oases GraduateSchool, Community Learning and Research Centre, 2 Minona Street, Hawthorn.

 Picture below from here

Saturday, 17 August, 9.30 am – 5 pm: Climate change: what next? Faith, powerlessness & movement building. Climate change is probably the most difficult issue confronting us, and especially young people. As people of faith we approach this challenge with humility and hope in God’s grace and love that we will be able to find solutions, large and small, to make our way forward. The program will include climate scientist Barrie Pittock as a keynote speaker, addressing themes including climate science; risks due to global warming; social responsibility; caring for nature and rights and welfare of people, particularly Aboriginal communities in remote areas of Australia; Quaker statement on climate change; worship and reflection with Sandy Yule;  Cath James from the Uniting Church on "Signs of environmental hope in the church"; a speaker from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition on "how a movement can change climate change"; Jacques Boulet from Borderlands on the changes to our lifestyles that are needed to address climate change; Don McArthur, postgraduate student, on climate communication when “the facts” are not enough; Pat Long from Earthsong on what is going on when we risk destroying the very system on which we depend for survival: what is shaping our perception and behaviour, why change can be so difficult and how new awareness can be empowering; reflection on climate change with Pat Long from Earthsong and Sandy Yule. Venue: Trinity College, Melbourne University. Cost: $20 student/ unwaged, $40 waged. Webpage: http://ascmblog.blogspot.com.au. Registering online: http://ascm-climate-change.eventbrite.com.au

Sunday 18 August to Wednesday 21 August: JCMA’s 10^th Winter Conference: Sorry is the Hardest Word: Forgiveness and Repentance. JCMA conferences are intended for anyone from one of the three Abrahamic faiths. Participants include men and women, academics, those working in support or welfare roles, tertiary students, and members and leaders of faith communities. Sunday TasterOpportunity:1 pm - 9.45 pm. Cost: $55. Sunday, the first day of the conference, will provide an overview of the main themes. People who unable to att­end for the whole conference are welcome to come to this Sunday taster. Applications closing date: Friday 19 July 2013. Conference CentrePallotti College, Millgrove Melways 289 A2. An application form for registration is available fromwww.trybooking.com/CFGA.

Friday 23 August – Sunday 25 August: Pax Christi Australia National conference:Peacemaking, an Alternative Narrative! Venue: Edmund Rice Centre, Homebush, Sydney.

Picture above from here

Sunday 25 August, 11.30 am: Digging a Hole at The Melbourne Writers Festival.  Once Australia grew rich on the sheep’s back, now rocks and minerals carry the economy. It’s no secret that mining has a major impact on the Australian economy. On the flipside, industry expansion and its impacts on the environment are equally contentious. Political journalist David McKnight and activist Aidan Ricketts join Adele Ferguson to look beneath the surface and ask: is Australia digging itself into a hole? Venue: ACMI Cinema 1. Duration: 60 mins. http://www.mwf.com.au/2013/?name=Home-content

Tuesday 17 September, 7 pm refreshments, 7.30 pm start: International Day of Peace Community Program. To celebrate what is commonly known as 'Peace Day' around the world, the Boroondara Interfaith Network, in partnership with Burwood and District Inter-Church Council, invites you to a forum bringing together people of all faith backgrounds to discuss how we bring peace in today's society. The forum panellists are established and well known in their communities including a Director of the Islamic Museum. School Principal, Victoria police inspector a Multicultural Program coordinator at Wesley Mission and a University Law/Arts student who recently played Fraanz in ‘The Producers’. Venue: Church of Christ Hartwell, 246 Highfield Road (close to Toorak Road) Camberwell, (75Tram. Burwood station, MEL 60E5). This event is free, however bookings are essential. Phone 9278 4753 or register online: www.eventbrite/idp.com.au

 

Thursday 19 September (time & location TBA): Satish Kumar to visit OASES & present a talk in the evening. A former monk and long-term peace and environment activist, Satish Kumar has been quietly setting the Global Agenda for change for over 50 years. He was just nine when he left his family home to join the wandering Jains and 18 when he decided he could achieve more back in the world. Satish is Editor of Resurgence Magazine & a Visiting Fellow at the Schumacher College, a close affiliate of the OASES Graduate School. We hope you can join us for an evening with this warm, creative and highly respected man.

Saturday 12 October: March Against Monsanto. Please organise or join the next March Against Monsanto in your town. The movement for GM-free is now grass roots and global! Find the cities already participating at: http://bit.ly/ZTDsk8.

Saturday & Sunday 19 & 20 October, 16 & 17 November:  Creating Connections & Opening Up Creativity. A 4-day short course learning deeply about our inherent creativity. An aesthetic experience can spark an enlightening moment where things become clearer and make more sense. This course will guide participants to create your own bridges towards clarity. For more info & to register, click here. Venue: Oases Graduate School, Community Learning and Research Centre, 2 Minona Street, Hawthorn.

Quickly! Please join this vital vigil to mourn the Stronger Futures Laws

Prayer Vigil Today to Mourn Stronger Futures Laws                  

Thursday, 19 July 2012

Rev. Rronang Garrawurra

The entire 265 Members of the Uniting Church’s Assembly meeting will hold a prayer vigil at 1 pm on Thursday 19 July on the steps of the South Australian Parliament to express their extreme concern at the passage of the Federal Government’s Stronger Futures legislation.

Assembly today decided to incorporate the vigil into the Order of Business of its triennial meeting to make the strongest possible statement about the new laws.

Chairperson of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress Rev. Rronang Garrawurra and the new President of the Uniting Church Rev. Prof. Andrew Dutney will stand shoulder to shoulder at the prayer vigil.

“They have taken our land and now our humanity is taken away by this new law,” said Rev. Garrawurra, speaking through an interpreter in his native Yolngu language.

“The Uniting Church mourns another lost opportunity for true reconciliation with the First Peoples of Australia,” said Rev. Prof. Dutney who assumed the presidency of the Uniting Church last Sunday.    “The passage of Stronger Futures legislation without adequate consultation with Indigenous Australians is a lamentable development.”

Keep vigil with an Iranium asylum seeker on hunger strike

Picture from here

Solidarity candelight vigil

Support Broadmeadows refugee hunger strikers

Wednesday, January 18, 7-10pm. Melbourne Immigration Transit Accomodation, 120-150 Camp Road, Broadmeadows (behind Maygar army Barracks). A candlelight vigil to support an Iranian asylum seeker who is in the 8th day of a hunger strike at the MITA detention centre, Broadmeadows. He has been detained for 16 months and has just received his second rejection.

The another Iranian refugee was granted refugee status five months ago but is still in detention, waiting for a security clearance. He was on hunger strike for three days before ending his hunger strike last night. On January 14, a visitor to the detention centre witnessed one of these men lying outside on the ground; he had been there for two days. He said, "They treat me like animal so I am an animal."

To get to the detention centre by public transport, take the train to Broadmeadows train station and get on the #902 bus which goes along Camp Road and stops near the detention centre.