Events Archive
Gyuto Monks of Tibet - 2012 New Year Program
The Gyuto Monks of Tibet will again be presenting a New Year Program at Dromana Uniting Church Hall, Point Nepean Road, Dromana, from 2 Jan until 9 January, 2012. To view the daily program for this event, click here (program opens in new window)
UN Observance of Elimination of Violence Against Women
Faith Communities Condemn Violence Against Women
Media Release: Faith Communities Council of Victoria, 25 November 2011:
On behalf of Victoria’s faith communities, we, the members of the Multifaith Advisory Group (MAG), join together on White Ribbon Day to voice our support for women affected by violence and to unequivocally denounce such violence.
Health and Happiness
- taking care of our health brings happiness
Presented by Mindful Melbourne and Green Bamboo Sangha
All are welcome to a public talk by Dharma Teachers at Plum Village in the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. The Talks will be given at the RMIT Spiritual Centre; details below:
- Wednesday October 12, 2011, 6.00pm - 8.00pm
- RMIT Spiritual Centre, Level 3, Building 11 (Old Melbourne Gaol) City Campus
- Free of charge (Donations welcome)
Talks will be given by:
- Brother Phap Lu, Le Van, trained as Medical Acupuncturist
- Brother Phap Lieu, Leo, was a Cardiologist
For more information, please click on the flyer
To find the RMIT Spiritual Centre, you may use this map
Meditations and Prayers for Peace
Tenth Anniversary of 9/11
Terrorist Attack in the United States
Sunday September 11, 2011 1.00 pm to 1.45 pm St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
A Service of Sacred Music, Silent Prayer (A Guide of Prayers from World Religions provided) with Personal Reflections by:
Professor Ismail Albayrak, Fethullah Gulen Chair in the Study of Islam and Muslim-Catholic Relations, Asia-Pacific Centre for Interreligious Dialogue, Australian Catholic University,
Bishop Philip Huggins, North-West Region, Chair Multi-Cultural Ministry, Chair Social Responsibilities Committee, Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.
People of all faiths are welcome.
Download a Flyer for this event
iAct - 2 Day Training Program
iAct is 2-day program focused on building the knowledge, vision & skill-set of emerging young leaders from diverse faith backgrounds working for greater interfaith cooperation. See the attached flyer for more details about the upcoming iAct workshops this Sept 3-4th (Melbourne Uni), Sept 17-18th (RMIT), and Sept 24-25th (Monash Uni). The trainings run from 12pm-5pm on both days. Interested participants should to return the registration form to info@interaction.org.au.
Download a Flyer for this event.
Exploring the Role of Faith Development in Interfaith Encounter
The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne will conduct an enlightening conversation with leading religious and spiritual representatives on 31 March, at St Michael's Church, Collins St, Melbourne.
Professor James W. Fowler, has proposed a six-staged development of faith/ spiritual development across the life span.
He proposes that as people develop, the impact of life experiences and the quest for meaning, influence our beliefs and values.
Questions we will explore at this special event:
- Do we find ourselves in one of the stages of development proposed by Fowler?
- How does our developed awareness impact on interfaith encounters?
Come and hear what our speakers say about these stages in their own lives:
- H.H. Vishwaguru Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwaranda, Founder of Yoga in Daily Life
- The Right Reverend Philip Huggins, Bishop of the Northern and Western Region, Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
- Murshida Nuria Daly, International Sufi Movement in Australia
- Freeman Trebilcock, Tibetan Buddhist, Founder of InterAction
- Moderator: Dr Nicholas Coleman, Head of Religious Education, Wesley College
You are welcome to bring questions for the speakers with you.
Date and Time: Thursday 31st March 2011, 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.
Venue: St Michael's Uniting Church, 120 Collins Street, Melbourne, corner of Russell Street.
Tickets at door: $20, $15 conc.
RSVP: Seats limited, to register your attendance, phone: 9650 7163 or email: info@interfaithcentre.org.au
Please feel free to forward this invitation to your network. A flyer is available for download
Governor launches the inaugural UN World Interfaith Harmony Week at Parliament House
"Love of God and Love of the Neighbour or Love of the Good and Love of the Neighbour"
Reverend Helen Summers, (The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne),
Professor David de Kretser, AC,
Nur Shkembi, (Islamic Council of Victoria)
Professor David de Kretser, AC, Governor of Victoria, accompanied by Mrs de Kretser, launched the World Interfaith Harmony Week in Melbourne at a luncheon for over 80 religious and spiritual leaders, in Queen's Hall, Parliament House on the 1st February. The Hon. Ted Baillieu, Premier of Victoria, sent a congratulatory message to be read out to the guests.
The Governor reminded us that we in Australia are fortunate to live in a diverse, multicultural society, and are at liberty to practise our respective faiths openly and without fear. He said: "Around the world there are too many places where religious intolerance is rife ... where people are oppressed or unable to practise their religion openly and where people are incapable of expressing their values. In too many countries this tension is the cause of constant unrest and conflict." The Governor hoped that the observance of World Interfaith Harmony Week would have a lasting and significant impact around the world.
You may read the speech of Professor David de Kretser, AC, Governor of Victoria.
You may visit the World Interfaith Harmony Week website
An Interfaith Prayer Ceremony
and Chant for Japan
The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne and the Buddhist Council for Victoria will conduct prayers, chants, music and reflections for the people of Japan at Federation Square, Melbourne, on Saturday 9 April, commencing at 10:00.
The Ceremony will be led by clergy, monastics and leaders of many faiths: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Baha'i, Islam, Sikh, Brahma Kumaris, and Naga Indigenous Spirituality. The ceremony will commence at 10:00 am and conclude at 11:15 am at the BMW Edge, Federation Square, cnr Swanston and Flinders Streets, Melbourne.
A flyer for this event is available for download.
A speech was given at the ceremony by the Acting Consul-General of Japan. You may read the Consul-General's speech.
Buddha's Day and Multicultural Festival
Federation Square, Melbourne, 15-16 May 2010
Annual Interfaith Ceremony for Peace and Understanding
3:00 pm Saturday 15 May 2010, Buddha's Stage
Presented by Fo Guang Shan Melbourne and The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne.
Victorians come from more than 250 birthplaces, speak more than 290 languages, and may follow one or more of 130 religions and spiritualities.
While many of our cultural, religious and spiritual traditions may include important differences, we find that we share human values such as: compassion, non-violence, peace, love, truth and right action, values at the core of our beliefs. These human values may also be shared by people who are non-religious.
In this Ceremony, prayers or readings from sacred texts for peace and understanding will be offered by representatives from several faiths.
Together, participants will make a Light Offering for understanding and peace between the peoples of the world's religions and spiritualities and between people of no religious tradition.
The Interfaith Ceremony for 2010 will include:
- Buddhist Prayer/Reading: Venerable Jue Yao - Fo Guang Shan Melbourne
- Sufi Prayer/Reading: Shaikha Nuria Irene Daly - The Sufi Movement in Australia
- Naga Indigenous Chant: Visier Sanyu - Naga Community (Burma/India), National Council of Churches
- Jain Prayer/Reading: Alka Khare - Melbourne Shwetambe Jain Sangh
- Islamic Prayer/Reading: Rosmin Robertson - Islamic Council of Victoria
- Christian Prayer/Reading: Reverend Dr Ruwan Palapathwala - Anglican Archdiocese of Melbourne
- Brahma Kumaris Meditation/Reading: Christine Westbury - Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga
The photo below is from an Interfaith Ceremony from a previous year.
You can find out more about Buddha's Day by visiting the wesbite below.
(Hint:Click the image, it will take you to this site in a new window)
Queensland Flood Disaster
17 January, 2011
The Queensland flood disaster is the worst in Australia's history.
The Premier of Queensland, Ms Anna Bligh, said that 500,000 square kilometres of the State (as big an area of France and Germany combined) has been affected. 18 people have been confirmed dead and 14 people are still missing. 86 towns and cites have been inundated with water and 2 million people were living in areas that are now declared disaster zones.
The Premier has said that 28,000 Queensland homes will need to be rebuilt and warned residents that their homes would be inhabitable for weeks, months, or even years. Donations will go directly to people in need and can be made through the Queensland Government's website: www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html
Offsite Event, Parliament of the World's Religions
The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne, in conjunction with the City of Melbourne, present Voices for Didgeridoo, Organ and Narrator, as part of the Parliament of the World's Religions and with the original performers, this special work will be heard in Australia for the first time since its world premiere more than eight years ago. Voices will be complemented by performers from the Parliament for the World's Religions
Presented by the Interfaith Centre of Melbourne and the City of Melbourne. Enjoy a special reprise performance of music written to celebrate the reopening of the Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ in 2001.
US composer extraordinaire Philip Glass's composition brings together the traditions of a distinctly European wind instrument (the grand organ), with a traditional Indigenous Australian wind instrument, the didgeridoo. Together with celebrated didgeridoo artist Mark Atkins and Wurundjeri elder Joy Murphy Wandin, Glass created a musical and spiritual message that speaks of both Indigenous and Western cultures.
- Venue
- Melbourne Town Hall
- 100 Swanston Street Melbourne VIC 3000
- (enter via Swanston St.)
- Date & times
- Friday, 4 December 2009
- 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
- Doors open at 6pm.
- Price
- Tickets from $15.
- Bookings
- Bookings available via Easytix
- Tel: 03 9639 0096
- Easytix Website
Voices for Voices for Organ, Didgeridoo, and Narrator, Jordan, 2006
The Parliament of the World's Religions is the world's largest global interreligious event, held once every five years in a different city. The next Parliament will be held in Melbourne from December 3 to 9. The Melbourne Parliament will bring together more than 8,000 people from around Australia and across the world, including renowned spiritual, religious and political leaders. The theme of the 2009 Parliament, Make a World of Difference; Hearing each other, Healing the earth, reflects the urgent need for religious and spiritual communities and all people of goodwill to act on their concerns.
You may download a flyer about The Parliament of the World's Religions (PDF, 621KB)
Promotional video for the 2009 Parliament of the World's Religions
We present a promotional video of the Parliament of the World's Religions:
To learn more about the Parliament of the World’s Religions, or to register to attend the Parliament, visit the Parliament of the World's Religions website.
The Mideast Crisis
We ask people of goodwill and of every religion and spirituality to call on all people involved, Israelis and Palestinians, and leaders of other nations to urge an immediate ceasefire of violence.
In this war-torn region, over 1000 Palestinians are dead, one half women and children. Thousands are wounded. Humanitarian needs have escalated: food, water, lack of electricity, and shortage of medicines in the hospitals in Gaza. Al Ahli Hospital, an Anglican hospital, is urgently in need of medical supplies to treat the dying and wounded. Financial aid is critical at this time.
AngliCORD, (Anglicans Cooperating in Overseas Relief and Development) has supported Al Ahli Hospital for nearly 20 years. Medicines and medical supplies are urgently needed for emergency operations. You can help by sending your gift to AngliCORD through the website: www.anglicord.org.au Gifts are tax deductible.
Further inquiries: 1800 249 880 and 61-3-9495 6100
We pray that the Children of Abraham and all concerned will work tirelessly for a just and lasting peace.
The Sacred Quest & Meditation
Wednesday 15 April 2009 at 6:30pm
Five eminent spiritual leaders share their wisdom and experiences about the role that meditation plays in their spiritual quest. The spiritual leaders, Shaikha Nuria Irene Daly, Sufi; Venerable Jue Yao, Buddhist; Bruce Pascoe, Indigenous Australian; Reverend Paul Sanders, Christian; and H.H. Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Hindu; discuss diverse meditative practices and answer questions from the audience. A short meditation will follow.
The event will be held at BMW Edge in Federation Square, corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets, Melbourne. Doors open at 6:00pm.
Tickets may be pre-booked through Yoga in Daily Life 9427 0977 as seats are limited, or purchased at the door.
Tickets : $25 & $20 concession.
Enquiries: 9650 7163 and 9427 0977
Special Event - March 19, 2008
Find out more about Sharing the Wisdom of Religious Traditions
The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne - Promoting Understanding and Cooperation For Peaceful Coexistence