October 2009 Events
CES public forum: “The social inclusion agenda: What does it mean for poverty in Australia?”
The global financial crisis is greatly increasing poverty and hardship in Australia. Its greatest victims, especially those without work, will continue to suffer long after the financial markets have recovered and the crisis has been declared over. Many Australian governments and community organisations have adopted the European concept of "social inclusion" as a policy theme. Will it help to promote hard-headed attention on those in greatest hardship and on underlying causes in areas like employment, income, housing and transport? Or will there be a softer focus, concentrating more on alleviating symptoms and on the less deeply disadvantaged?"
Speaker: Prof. Julian Disney.
Professor Julian Disney is a well-known speaker, commentator and author from the heart of Australian Social Welfare. He is currently Chair of the National Affordable Housing Summit and National Chair of Anti-Poverty Week; Convenor of the Community Tax Project; and of the Neighbours Program, which works to strengthen engagement between community leaders in Australia and neighbouring Asian countries.
Time and date: 7.30 pm Wednesday 14 Ocotober. Venue
Donation: $5. Supper provided.
Contact: Heather. McLaren 6291 4537 or chair@ ces.org.au.
Inter-Faith Forum on Global Climate Change: Global Problems Require a Global Response
A Pre-Parliament of the World's Religions Event, to be held from 2.00pm to 5.00pm Sunday 18 October 2009 in the Chapel.
To see a flyer for this event, please click here.
To date initiatives taken by religious communities have tended to focus on encouraging adherents to be good stewards of God’s creation in their local communities. However, global climate change is not simply a local problem, but concerns the whole earth. World religions have a role to play in responding to these challenges. This forum seeks to explore the ethical questions raised by climate change, provide a theological perspective from the different world religions, and encourage all people to be actively engaged in addressing an issue of global significance.
Professor Clive Hamilton, Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), will challenge faith communities to reflect theologically and spiritually on their responsibility to care for the creation entrusted to them. In response, a panel representing the world’s different religions will offer their own theological and spiritual perspective to the issues surrounding global climate change and respond to questions from those attending the forum.
There is a suggested donation of $5 to cover expenses. All are welcome to attend!
Organised By:
Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture together with the faith communities of Canberra
as a Pre-Parliamentary event of the Parliament of the World’s Religions
For further information contact Margaret Roberts acc-c@csu.edu.au
Regular Events
Keep your eyes open for news of these events, which take place on a recurring basis at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACC&C).
Commonwealth Day Multifaith Celebration
The Commonwealth is an association of 53 nations bound together by common values and traditions, working together for peace, liberty and economic and social progress in the Modern world. The Commonwealth Day Multifaith event held at the ACC&C celebrates this multicultural bond and aims to support the work of the Commonwealth as an active and relevant international organisation working to address the problems and challenges confronting the global community.
The Commonwealth Day Multifaith Celebration is an excellent event for all the family. It is held in the Chapel of the ACC&C on an annual basis in March. Each year, the Commonwealth Day celebration focuses on a particular social theme. In 2008, the theme was 'The Environment -- Our Future', and in 2009 was 'The Commonwealth @ 60 -- Serving a New Generation'.
The celebration includes addresses from the local leaders of the major World Religions, a message from The Queen, Indigenous Australian participation and Commonwealth cultural performances, including singing, music and dance. Photographs of previous Commonwealth Day performances at the ACC&C can be viewed in the Photo Gallery. Political and community leaders, schoolchildren and Commonwealth diplomats representing their member countries will be present.
The Commonwealth Day Multifaith Celebration is organised by The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) and The Commonwealth Round Table in Australia (CRTA) in conjunction with the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACC&C).
St Patrick's Day Ecumenical Service
St Patrick’s Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green, shamrocks and good luck.
But St Patrick’s Day is also a time to remember the legend and history of St Patrick, Ireland’s Patron Saint. He was kidnapped as a teenager by Irish pirates and exploited as a slave for six years. After making a daring escape, he chose to go back to his kidnappers and extended to them the hand of forgiveness and friendship. He spent the rest of his life sharing with them the thing he valued most — his faith.
As a tribute to St Patrick, the Canberra Friends of Ireland Society holds an annual lunchtime Ecumenical Service in the Chapel of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
Representatives from the Embassy of Ireland and diplomatic missions of other countries with historic ties to Ireland are invited, and Canberra’s Irish organisations, the Celtic Choir and Irish traditional musicians, provide music, poetry and song.
Many people in the Canberra region have an Irish connection. In the spirit of St Patrick, the Friends of Ireland Society and the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture extend a warm welcome to them, and to everyone with an interest in things Irish, to join this special celebration.
Speeches from previous St Patrick’s Day Ecumenical Services can be found on this website under Papers and Publications. Look out for more information on our home page as St Patrick’s Day approaches.
Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross is a major annual ecumenical service held each year on Good Friday. It is organised in conjunction with St Christopher’s Cathedral.
The Stations of the Cross involves a re-enactment of the last days before Jesus’ death and resurrection. Costumed actors play the key people in the Easter story. Beginning in the Chapel, the procession moves about the grounds of the ACC&C, incorporating the significant spiritual landmarks of the Pilgrim Walk. It is a moving experience, and a way to remember the significance of the public holiday in real terms.
The service uses the ecumenical version of the Stations of the Cross from the World Council of Churches. Local church leaders from around the ACT will conduct the service, and all are very welcome to attend.
Christians for an Ethical Society (CES) Forums
Christians for an Ethical Society is a Canberra-based organisation that is an associate member of the Council of Churches of the Australian Capital Territory and a working group of the New South Wales Ecumenical Council. It holds forums in the Chapel of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture in order to consider and discuss social justice issues currently relevant to the community.
The motivation for CES was a growing concern that a narrow range of personal moral issues, largely concerned with sex and the beginning and end of life, have increasingly come to be portrayed as the totality of the Christian view. Scriptural imperatives to love your neighbour and to care for the downtrodden and the ‘stranger in your midst’ are increasingly ignored as core Christian values by the media, the general public and, sadly, by some Christians. The CES aims to promote a more accurate, balanced view of Christianity and to emphasise that social justice is an essential part of Christianity.
Central to their interpretation of an ethical society is the idea of the common good, which requires consideration of the well-being of all in the community, be it the local community, the national community or the world community, and regardless of race or religion. This common good includes our responsibility to future generations who will have to live in the world we leave behind.
The CES public forums aim to raise the level of knowledge and understanding of the community on key social justice issues and their Christian ethical basis. They understand that social justice is not the monopoly of Christianity, and that it is also supported by the values of other religions and secular ethical systems. Information on upcoming CES forums at the ACC&C will be displayed on our Home Page. All are welcome to attend forums. Recordings of previous forums are for sale, and can be bought from the CES website, at www.ces.org.au.
Pause for Peace community prayer group
Pause for peace is a quiet moment in which to join with different faith traditions to pray for peace and unity.
This event is in the Pavilion of the ACC&C, and takes place on the first Tuesday of each month. Upcoming meetings for this year will take place on: 7th July.
Meetings begin at 12.20 pm and run until 12.55 pm. All are welcome to attend and to stay for tea, coffee and conversation after the event.
This initiative has been planned in consultation with leaders of the Canberra Christian Churches and of other faiths. For more information, please contact Ms Margaret Thomson on 02 6290 2414 or on 0439 408 993.
Future Events
2010
| MAY | ||
| TBA | Global Network for Public Theology, Triennial Meeting, Australia | United Theological College, Sydney and ACC&C, Canberra |