Explore the VCC
Taize
 

Taize style prayer services are held at several Melbourne and Regional Churches read on>>

 
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WCC Prayer Cycle
 

This week we pray for American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Niue, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga .....
See the WCC Website for prayers.

 
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Emergencies Ministry
  An update on the work of Emergencies Ministry is available.  
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Vic Unity Newsletter
 

To read the latest edition of the Newsletter of the VCC
click here >>

 
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VCC Regional Assembly
  Keynote address by the Rev Dr John Davis, given at the 2009 Assembly in Echuca.  
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Environment Paper
 

The Faith and Order Commission have produced a paper on Christian Care for the Environment.

 
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Festival of Refugees
  Sunday 5th September 2010
Box Hill Town Hall,
See flyer for details.
 
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  Festival of Refugees  
Community Safety requires much more than prison sentences
 

Sunday 5th September, 2010
Box Hill town Hall,
1022 Whitehorse Road,
Box Hill
3.00pm to 5.30pm

Performances from Burma, Sudan, Congo, Vietnam, West Papua, Sri Lanka and more!

Featuring award-winning singer Kavisha Mazzella and Muslim author Hanifa Deen, with performances followed by a Middle Eastern and West African Dinner.
Aboriginal Elder Reg Blow will welcome the refugees to the festival and acknowledge the traditional owners of this land.

$10 admission. Children under 12 free.
Tickets and enquiries - 9650 4511 or email

Organised in partnership with City of Whitehorse, Victorian Council of Churches and Act for Peace.
Photo: Chin Bamboo Dance

 

 

Victorian Church leaders recently sent an open letter on community safety to members of the Victorian Parliament. Click here for a copy of the letter. The Herald Sun ran an article on the letter on 10 August - click here.
The letter argues that, while prisons have their kplace, long term community safety will only be advanced if we intervent early to address the causes of crime, and if we work harder at rehabilitation, and re-engagement once people leave prison. This message is a counterbalance to the focus on imprisonment that features in much media and policy coverage of community safety.
The Interchurch Criminal Justice Taskforce will continue to work on these issues and advance them in the public arena as the Victorian election approaches..

  Text of 2010 Ecumenical Oration  
  Major Churches statement on poverty
 

Being ecumenical: being partial and Practical

The first Oration was given at The Welsh Church on 22nd July.

The 2010 Orator was the Revd Dr Charles Sherlock, an Anglican theologian with a long involvement in ecumenical dialogue including the Faith and Order Commission of the VCC, the Faith and Unity Commission of the NCCA and especially as a member of the Anglican, Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC).

Read the text of the oration here.

 

 
 

Major church groups call for 10 year plan to overcome poverty

Media statement 20 August

Anglicare Australia, Catholic Social Services Australia, The Salvation Army and UnitingCare Australia have joined forces to call on the new government to develop a 10 year national plan to overcome poverty and disadvantage.

Cycle Against the Traffik Act for Peace WCC
  NCCA Media Release

Cycle Against the Traffick Tour 2010

Act for Peace and help build Peace in the World

World Council of Churches

Help put an end to slavery ...

With an estimated 27 million people held as slaves in the world today and human trafficking being the fastest growing means by which people are enslaved, Cycle Against the Traffik is an initiative that uses the love of cycling to raise awareness of human trafficking and provide opportunities for people to join the fight against slavery.

The Cycle Against the Traffick Tour 2010 will take in 1038km along the scenic route of the Princes Highway between Sydney and Melbourne.

There are numerous opportunities for individuals and groups to become involved in fighting human trafficking, through the ride itself, joining them at one of the Celebration of Freedom events in Sydney, Dandenong & Melbourne, or through ongoing anti-trafficking campaigns of partner organisations.

For more information see their website.

 

Pakistan Floods: Act for Peace Launches Emergency Appeal.

Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia, is responding immediately to assist the flood ravaged people of Pakistan with emergency assistance as the death toll soars beyond 1,100 and disease outbreaks emerge.

Act for Peace’s partners on the ground are providing life-saving assistance to those affected by the disaster. The United Nations reports that 13.8 million people have been affected by the floods and the situation grows tense with minimal access to clean water supplies.

World Council of Churches - News Release

HOW THEOLOGY CAN HELP SAVE THE WORLD FROM CLIMATE CHANGE

What does the Bible say about climate change? What are the theological insights churches can offer to a world facing an unprecedented ecological crisis?

These questions, addressed at a public seminar on "Creation and the climate crisis" attended by church representatives to the UN climate summit in Copenhagen on 15 December, seem even more urgent after the summit’s failure to reach the fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement that millions around the world had hoped for.

Read on>>


During its 7th triennial Forum last week, the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) announced it will continue to add its voice to the call for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestine and condemning all acts of terrorism.

In solidarity with Palestinian Christians, the NCCA asks its member Churches and the wider Australian community to consider a boycott of goods produced by Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Read the full media release
Read the Forum resolution

 

Faith Communities Council of Victoria
Multifaith Project Officer

"Connecting Faith Communities" is a project of the Faith Communities Council of Victoria. This project aims to enhance interfaith work across Victoria, and is part of the Legacy of the 2009 Melbourne Parliament of the World's Religions.
Applications are invited for a part-time Multifaith Project Officer