Jews, Christians, and Muslims working together

Wellington Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Peace in the Middle East – audio

A group of about 100 people from many faiths gathered last night at St Andrew’s on the Terrace in Wellington New Zealand for an Interfaith Prayer Vigil and Candle Lighting for Peace in the Middle East.

It was a very moving ceremony and demonstrated the ability for many people from different faiths, ethnicities and political viewpoints to come together and pray for a common purpose.

Speakers included:

• Tiopira Rauna (LDS, Secretary of the Wellington Regional Interfaith Network)
• Dr Margaret Mayman (Reverand of St Andrew’s on the Terrace)
• Rev Godfrey Nicholson (Vicar of St Peter’s on Willis)
• Sultan Eusuf (Chief Officer, Federation of Islamic Associations)
• Rabbi Johanna Hershenson (Wellington Progressive Jewish Congregation)
• Ratilal Champaneri (President, NZ Indian Central Association)
• Carrie Coddington (Past Secretary, Baha’i Kapiti Network)
• Melanie Gregg and Lime (Soka Gakkai NZ)

You can download or listen to an audio recording (35 minutes, 16 MB):

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

2 comments January 15th, 2009

Kuala Lumpur and avoiding the "clash" of religions and civilisations

Various authors have created a fearful climate arguing that a “clash” of religions and civilisations is inevitable. But many are hopeful that instead, genuine justice and peace can prevail. Kuala Lumpur is a significant location in this given that it stands at the crossroads of Chinese, Indian and South-East Asian cultures, and at the contact point between Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism. Edward DeBono many years wrote that KL and Malaysia would be critical to watch as an indicator of future global trends, and he even set up office there to watch first hand what developed.

So its great to see the interfaith work of Just International, which has involvement of Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists, with a long history of Jewish relations too. I don’t agree with all their analysis but at least they have tried hard to present a balanced/multi-viewed approach to news.

Their website is well worth exploring for great insights into global issues, and for positive news of movements for justice and peace. Currently they have insights about Georgia, Kashmir, Thailand, Sudan, Orissa and most of the Middle East. Just tends to focus on anywhere multinationals and governments are using religion to cover-up their violence and oppression. They also have some good news stories of multifaith groups building for the future.

Fr. John

Add comment September 3rd, 2008