Victorian Shared Values Day - Sun 10

WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG?
Sunday 10 September, 2pm
Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall, cnr Swanston and Collins Sts, Melbourne

On the eve of 9/11, the shared values Symposium will bring together the teachings of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.

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MULTIFAITH CONCERT
Sunday 10 September, 7pm
Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall, cnr Swanston and Collins Sts, Melbourne

Performers include the Quang Minh Choir, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, La Romanesca and Brahim Benhm.

Sponsored by Victorian Multicultural Commission, City of Melbourne, AMES, Living Now.
Supported by the Buddhist Foundation (Victoria), Islamic Council of Victoria, Victorian Council of Churches, Council of Christians and Jews, Hindu Society of Victoria and Jewish Community Council.

My Israel Question and The War in Lebanon - Mon 4

Monday 4 September, 6.30pm
New Council Chambers, Trades Hall, cnr Lygon and Victoria Streets, Carlton

A presentation by Antony Loewenstein.

ENQUIRIES: Contact The New Internationalist Bookshop on 9668 3744 or visit http://nibs.org.au

Organised by the New International Bookshop

Australia Fair - Accoss

Dear Action Network member,

Thank you to all who have told us what you think are the 10 essentials to make Australia fair.

We are compiling the responses for a report on what Australians think is needed to make Australia fair. Submissions close on September 11, so please act now: •

If you have not already, go to http://www.acossweb.org.au/ausfair/ and fill in your 10 essentials to make Australia fair (you can also download an Info pack to assist you and your organisation in this process). •

Forward this email to your friends, family and colleagues so their views on what makes Australia fair can be counted too.

Thank you for your involvement in making Australia fair.

The ACOSS team.

Justice and Mercy - what are they?

Below is some ponderings from Kim’s blog that caught my eye on the rss feed. I tried to get her to post it here but she said it was just her thoughts…. well as it is only ever someones thoughts up on morepraxis here it is. Post by Age to encourage Kim and morepondering

Yesterday morning, way too early I was at a breakfast where Tony Campolo and Tim Costello spoke. I was really thought-provoking and interesting, even if I did have to get up at 5am!

It was a ‘discussion’ rather than a presentation or speech and both men were asked:

What does ‘justice’ mean?

Whether acts of mercy are a band aid action?

How do Mercy and Justice meet?

They took this from the Micah 6:8 verse. Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. A verse that is still with me after it being the theme of my first NCYC in 2001. (As Rhax says: ‘Everything with me is NCYC.’ So why should I disappoint him and have a post that doesn’t mention NCYC?)

Anyway there were a couple of points that I though were worth writing down.
[Read more]

Rightsatwork Action - Rallies Tues 29

Dear friend,

107 Western Australian building workers face jail and personal fines of up to $28,600. Their crime? Participating in a stoppage in support of a sacked workmate and refusing to accept persistent safety breaches in their workplace.

This is the largest prosecution to date of individual workers under the Federal Government’s harsh new laws for building workers, part of its radical industrial relations changes.

The workers have their first court appearance on Tuesday. Send a message of support to the workers at the Rights at Work website now.

www.rightsatwork.com.au/campaigns/supportthe107
[Read more]

RSS Feed fun

Hi morepraxis buddies

You may have noticed the feed space to our right….

I was thinking it would be fun to feed (into the 2 spots on the right) all members who have sites as a bit of a community GTKYG (get to know you game).

Of course this means that we will hear all about Rus & Di’s car, Bens and Cheryls latest adventures plus Dave, Daz, Jeff and tim’s rants about the world.  I like the chaos of it in 2 or 3 most recent links. So if you update your info to show your site I will kick off.

(Feel free not to play – just tell me and I will delete your link.)

Age

Remembering the Tampa Five Years On

A human installation for freedom, justice and humanity
Saturday 26 August, 11.30am
Sandridge Bridge, Melbourne

Saturday August 26, 2006 is the 5th anniversary of the Tampa incident. It was then that, after a dramatic stand-off, 433 asylum seekers were turned away from Australian shores - a violation of maritime conventions and our human rights obligations. The Refugee Action Collective invites you to be part of a high profile commemoration of this shameful moment. We also aim to highlight the Tampa’s continuing legacy: policies to stop asylum seekers from gaining refuge here - through mandatory detention, deportations, temporary protection and the ‘Pacific Solution’.

At midday on Saturday 26 August we will be creating a human installation of over 430 Australians to gather next to the Sandridge Bridge over the Yarra (Melbourne CBD). Generations of new migrants crossed this bridge on theirway from Station Pier. Today, ‘The Travellers’ - a group of moving sculptures - commemorate these voyages and celebrate the contribution of refugees and immigrants to Australia. We believe this is a powerful symbolic location to remember those we have turned away since the start of the Pacific Solution, which began with the 433 men, women and children from the Tampa.

We see this not as a rally or a march, but an event enacting an alternate history of welcome, instead of refusal; it envisages an alternative future for our immigration policy.

We need you to RSVP…
…to get the numbers exactly right. We ask you to make a commitment to be there - to take part please email your name & phone number to refugeeaction@hotmail.com by Aug 16

ENQUIRIES: www.rac-vic.org

Age (sorry for the late post  - just heard about this today)

Thankyou, God for waking me this morning….

For centuries, contemplatives have opened their day with the prayer:

“Thankyou, O God, for waking me this morning; you didn’t have to”.

Forunately, most poor communities in the third world believe this more deeply than those of us do in the west.

(Bryant Myers, Walking with the poor, Orbis 1999, p132)

JustAct Action_6 - Getting Away with Murder!

Action: Act to prevent further killings in the Philippines and bring the executers of such violence to justice.

How: Send the Government of the Philippines a sympathy card expressing your sadness of the recent spate of killings of human rights and church workers in the Philippines.

Facts:

- Human rights abuses continue to occur un-investigated in the Philippines.

- Since President Gloria Arroyo took power in 2001 over 700 politically motivated killings appear to have been executed by Filipino security forces.

- The common link between those targeted: all have spoken out against human rights abuses and corruption in the Philippines.

- In the last two years 15 members and ministers of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines have been murdered in circumstances suggesting the involvement of the security forces of the Philippines.

- None of these 15 cases have been fully investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice!

[Read more]

Refugee & Migrant Sunday Kits - Available

Refugee and Migrant Sunday is on August 27

The Parish/Adult and Schools Education kits contains education sheets, liturgical and parish resources to help raise awareness, celebrate the day and take further action. There is also a schools’ media competition, for which entries close September 11.

Both kits highlight Burma in building a better understanding of war and peace, life in a refugee camp, and what it is like to resettle in Australia. Please feel free to use all or any part of the kit in your own publications.

Please visit www.ncca.org.au/cws/rdp/rms to
download this year’s resources, or contact Dr Visier Sanyu by email
(vsanyu@ncca.org.au) or phone (03 9650 6811).

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