From the National Council of Churches in Australia

The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) will hold its 6th National Forum from 13-17 July at Alexandra Park Conference Centre, Mari Street, Alexandra Headlands on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

The National Forum is a gathering of around 110 people consisting of national leaders and representatives from 15 member Churches, and observers from several others.  It is the highest meeting of the Council at which it sets its objectives for the next 3 years.

The Forum theme, Life Together, is the title of a book by the great theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  More than 60 years after his martyrdom at the hands of the Gestapo in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer continues his witness in the hearts of Christians around the world.  Life Together is practical advice on living together in Christ through the story of a unique fellowship in an underground seminary.

“This Forum is a chance for Churches to grow in understanding each other and working together in our Australian society,” said the Revd John Henderson, NCCA General Secretary.  “The message of Christian unity is a simple one, but centuries of historical, geographical, and theological separation have divided us, sometimes in very profound ways.  Today God is giving us a chance to change things.  We can share God’s message of love, peace, and justice with each other, and the world,” said Mr Henderson.

On Friday evening, 13 July, Forum participants will be welcomed to the land of the Gubbi Gubbi people.

On Sunday morning, 15 July, there will be a public worship service at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Forest Drive (off Paveways Drive/Wises Road) Buderim, Queensland.  It will take place from 11:00 am on Sunday, 15 July.  Everyone is welcome to join the Forum participants at this ecumenical service.

On Monday, 16 July, two sessions at the Alexandra Park Conference Centre will also be open to the public.  At 3:00 pm Sylvia Haddad, Executive Secretary of the Joint Christian Committee (JCC) in Lebanon, will address the Forum.  The JCC is one of the five regional committees of the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches.

Following dinner, at 7:30 pm, Monsignor Don Bolen from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, based at the Vatican, will address the Forum.  He will share his experience of Catholic involvement in a wide variety of ecumenical dialogues.

From the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission

40 years ago some 90.77% of the population stood up for Indigenous Australians and allowed Federal laws to be made on their behalf and to be counted in the census.  Even with the hard work of many supporters of Indigenous Australians this was a huge surprise.  We moved from the racist colonial system of the past into what was hoped to be a brighter future.

“As I reflect on the last 40 years it is evident people do not care, like in the past, about their fellow Australians who are left on the dung heap of society,” said Mr Graeme Mundine, Executive Secretary of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission.

“This is the picture which I see has emerged.  Yes, some have become better educated and are doing quite well within the wider community, but for the vast majority life still stinks.  All the statistics vouch for this and yet those who have the power to change things, Governments and in effect all Australian citizens, don’t really care.  Even when good solutions are put forward they are either under funded or not funded at all.  Images are put forward by Governments that advances are being made.  Yet the statistics still tell us the truth that not enough is being done,” said Mr Mundine.

Even the recent Australian Federal budget seems to have failed to address the chronic lack of interest in Aboriginal affairs.  For many years politicians have been heard to say, “There are no votes in ‘Blacks’,” when asked to address the plight of Indigenous Australians.

As we begin to gather for the anniversaries, in a couple of weeks, of the handing down of the report of the Stolen Generations and the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, Indigenous Australians cannot help but feel quite alone in their quest for justice.

We are very quick to race off to save the poor children of Africa who are beamed into our TV’s every night (which I don’t object to) but we fail to notice those little speed humps along the road, our so called ‘fellow Australians’.  These little speed humps are annoying but are there to remind us that we should also address the problems in our own backyards.

I call on all Australians during this time of reflecting to think again about our own country and about the continual lack of interest in Australian Indigenous issues.

Graeme Mundine, Executive Secretary
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission
of the National Council of Churches in Australia

Contact for comment: Graeme Mundine 0419 238 788

From the National Council of Churches in Australia

The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) is often contacted before Easter by media looking for a religious comment on this high festival.

This year the NCCA has gathered together Easter messages from 9 of Australia’s heads of Churches, and an ecumenical message from the General Secretary of the NCCA.  Please scroll down the page or click on the links below to read the message of one of the listed Churches.

We hope these messages are helpful to the media, and the Australian public, as Christians in Australia and around the world celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ.*

Ms Debra Porter
NCCA Communications Officer

(* NB. In 2007 all Christians, of Western and Orthodox traditions, will celebrate Easter on April 8.)
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Anglican Church

This year, as we follow again Christ’s journey to the cross, we are surrounded by unusually stark reminders of the fragility of life.  We have watched rivers and waterways run dry, and seen, either first-hand or on television news, farming land become arid and non-productive.  In many parts of Australia we are facing increasingly severe water restrictions and we are seeing grass and plants in our own gardens gradually wither and die.  These images are ready and immediate symbols of death for us.

Easter brings the promise of life in the face of death.  Where, this Easter, will we find corresponding images of resurrection life?  Will there be new life for our society in working together to find ways to share the scarce resource of water and to manage our waterways more effectively?  Is it possible that this crisis may contain in it the seeds of our future life together?

The God of the Bible acts in unexpected and surprising ways to create life and new beginnings where all looks dead and lost.

My prayer for us all, this Easter, is that we should know the full life of the risen Christ.  May this Easter season be for you like a fresh, green shoot, which rises from the earth and matures to bear much fruit.

The Most Reverend Dr Phillip Aspinall
Primate
Anglican Church of Australia

Assemblies of God

For millions of Australians, and billions of Christians worldwide, Easter is one of the most significant events on the calendar.

It’s a time to reflect and remember the selfless sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross, and to celebrate the forgiveness and hope we have through His life, death and resurrection.

Pivotal to the Easter message is the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.  It’s the resurrection that differentiates Christianity from all other religions and gives potency and legitimacy to the message of Christ.

For close to two millennia people have tried to discredit this Truth, most recently in a documentary that claims to have found Jesus’ sarcophagus.

The resurrection transcends understanding and can’t be explained rationally because what took place on the third day was truly supernatural.

This supernatural event arrested Mary Magdalene’s attention, the first to encounter Jesus after His resurrection.  It ignited faith and passion in the Apostles, fuelling them to take Christ’s message far and wide, and it continues to transform the lives of people today.

Jesus died and rose from the grave for all humanity.  Spectacular?  Yes.  But more importantly, it was supernatural.

I pray in the midst of gathering with family, friends and an abundance of chocolate, that we will all take time to reflect on the true meaning of Easter and the supernatural power of Jesus Christ.

Brian Houston
National President
Assemblies of God in Australia

Catholic Church

To celebrate the feast of Easter is to experience real hope.

It is a time of great promise – we hope for a better world, that misunderstandings may become friendships and that in our faith we find the conviction to live with positive influence.

The very centre of our belief is the risen Christ.  He offered us all hope by rising from the dead but we, too, can be comfort for others.

Amidst the gloom of drought, the war on terror, bushfires, growing social disadvantage across Australia, unthinkable family tragedies and a rising road toll, Easter reminds us to keep the faith.

It calls on us to champion life and love and to have special care for those for whom life is so bleak there appears to be no hope at all.

The task facing Christians, as Disciples of Christ, is to be enlivened by the reality of his resurrection and presence among us.

Therefore, we should not look at Easter as simply a holiday, but rather as a time to reflect, and in that, find renewal.

By reaching out to family, friends and those in need, we realise that often the most important gift is that which we cannot see.

Easter has become a symbol of this, for it is the risen Christ who walks with us through trouble and darkness towards eternal peace and joy.

The Most Reverend Philip Wilson
President
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

Coptic Orthodox Church

“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Gal.1:3-5)

I wish to extend to you all my sincere greetings on the occasion of the blessed Easter, beseeching the Lord Jesus Christ to grant us all the blessings of many returns of this holy occasion in heavenly peace, together with a life of sanctity without which no one will be able to see the LORD.

Click here to view the full text of His Grace Bishop Daniel’s Easter 2007 Message.
Let us rejoice in Christ the Lord’s Resurrection from the dead.  Let us fear nothing.  We are the heirs of the Kingdom.  We are heirs with the LORD, through the intercession of the Virgin Lady, all the Saints and the prayers of His Holiness our Great Pope Shenouda III.  May the Lord keep him safe for us for many years to come and may our LORD Jesus Christ bless him with good health and peace.

We pray our LORD to protect our country and its leaders.  May He give them the wisdom and the ability to always lead Australia to a better future.  We also implore our LORD that HIS Peace and Love prevail over the whole world.

He who loves you all,
 Daniel
Bishop of Sydney & Affiliated Regions
Coptic Orthodox Church

Lutheran Church

The rituals of Easter make much use of light.  In many traditions, the lights are extinguished at the conclusion of Maundy Thursday’s service, leaving the place of worship dark and unlit as a reminder of Jesus’ death and the time he spent in the tomb.  The return of the light comes with the dawn on the day of Resurrection: the ascent of the sun through the morning sky is reflected indoors as the lights come on in our churches and the worshippers sing ‘hallelujah’.

The Gospel of St Luke tells of two men walking home from Jerusalem, and joined on the road by a stranger to whom they related the amazing happenings of the first Easter day.  It took them the time of their walk as well as time at the dinner table before they recognized the risen Saviour in their walking companion.  They simply had to return to Jerusalem as quickly as they could to tell the other disciples of what they had seen.  Their Easter joy just could not be contained!  What better news can we bring to a sorrowing world, than that Jesus Christ the Lord is risen and triumphs over death and sin.

The Reverend Mike Semmler
President
Lutheran Church of Australia

Mar Thoma Church

The celebration of Easter brings to our attention the fact that it is the resurrection of the crucified Messiah.  The crucified Jesus is vindicated by God.  Jesus’ obedience to the uttermost is honored by his Father (Mt 26:39).  The resurrection of Christ helps us to understand Jesus' death as a victory instead of a tragedy.  Through the resurrection of Christ, the style of life through self-giving is affirmed.  The doctrine of resurrection is of great importance not because of its supernatural wrappings but because of the theological questions:  Does God allow sin or evil to have the final word in history?  Is there any enduring value in our stances for the just causes and the resultant sufferings?  The resurrection of Christ gives the message of God’s ultimate triumph over the forces of evil in this world.  This also helps us to see the eternal value in suffering for the sake of others.

The cross is an inevitable part of Christian life.  In our life of faith there should be a continuous assimilation of the mystery of the cross and resurrection over against the values and ethics of the present day market culture such as individualism, competition, profit and pleasure.  The picture of the crucified- risen Christ brings before us a new pattern of life, which sets new priorities and values before us.  Our task is to give witness to Christ by following him on the way of the cross (Mk.8: 34).  So the resurrected Christ exhorts us to choose life and its higher values and reject the forces of death at all levels.

Wishing you all a happy and blessed Easter.
Reverend Dr. Koshy P. Varughese
Mar Thoma Church

The Salvation Army

We greet you this Easter in the name of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.  May this season and this resurrection Sunday bring to you and your loved ones the joy of Jesus and the hope of promised tomorrows in His name.  His love for each of us is demonstrated on the cross of Calvary and made secure by His resurrection on the third day.

As leaders of The Salvation Army in Australia, we call all Salvos and the wider Christian community to celebrate the victory of Jesus over death and the grave as we love others to the plan and delight of God.

Have a happy Easter.

Commissioner James M. Knaggs                          Commissioner Les Strong
Territorial Commander                                        Territorial Commander
The Salvation Army                                            The Salvation Army
Australia Southern Territory                                 Australia Eastern Territory

Uniting Church

Two long-sworn enemies sat down together last week and promised to work together.  To see Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams sitting just a metre apart, and agreeing they could together form a joint government in Northern Ireland, was to witness a near-miracle.

It’s nine years since the Good Friday agreement was signed by the warring parties of Northern Ireland and approved by referendum.  Now that agreement, after much wrangling, is finally bearing fruit.

Easter is a most fitting time for peace to shine through.  Christians believe the life, death and resurrection of Jesus brings us peace with God and, through commitment to the peaceful vulnerable courageous way of Jesus, gives us the opportunity of peace with each other, across all our human divisions.

Jesus lived in absolute goodness and love.  And people couldn’t stand it - he was opposed, arrested and executed.  His resurrection to new life three days later shows the victory of love.  If only humankind would learn it and live it.

This Easter I’ll be particularly praying for the peace of Jerusalem.  Right now appears to be the best chance in years for progress towards peace for Israel and Palestine.  May the leaders and people of the Holy Land learn from the leaders and people of Northern Ireland.  And may God bless us all with peace this Easter season.

Gregor Henderson
President
Uniting Church in Australia

National Council of Churches in Australia

Jesus’ death and resurrection is the defining event of Christianity and the bedrock of belief.  For millennia Christians have commemorated it every time they worship, not just at Easter.

In Australia the Easter long weekend is mainly a secular public holiday.  All Australians should enjoy this well deserved break from their daily routine.  Rest and relaxation are an important aspect of our lives and should give us time to ‘re-create’ ourselves.  It’s an important counter to the work and routine that so easily takes over.

Millions of Christians will use this time to attend the thousands of worship services that will be held all over the country from Thursday night to Sunday.  There the drama will be re-told, sadness and joy will mingle, and people will reconnect with each other and with the God who loves them.

Church doors will be open across Australia this weekend.  Some will be ancient and traditional and others will be cutting edge contemporary.  Some will have brilliant music and choirs and others will be struggling or have no musicians at all.  The externals will vary, but the heart of the celebration is the same.  The National Council of Churches hopes that even more people will find their place in a Christian community this weekend, and that those communities will welcome everyone who comes, in the name of Christ.

John Henderson
General Secretary
National Council of Churches in Australia

From the National Council of Churches in Australia

The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) is often contacted before Christmas by media looking for a religious comment on this high festival.

This year we have gathered together Christmas messages from 7 of Australia’s heads of Churches, and an ecumenical message from the NCCA.

We hope these messages are helpful to the media, and the Australian public, as Christians in Australia and around the world celebrate the birth of Christ.*

Ms Debra Porter
NCCA Communications Officer

(* NB. In the Western Church, Christmas is celebrated on December 25.  Most Orthodox Churches will celebrate Christmas on January 7, 2007.)
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Anglican Church of Australia

My prayer for us all this Christmas is that we should know God’s peace.

In 2006 Australians have worked hard to bring peace.  Our troops have been deployed in such places as Iraq, Afghanistan, the Solomons, and East Timor, trying to broker peace and then to keep it.  We have wept over efforts to find peace in the Middle East.  Locally, the Cronulla riots marked a breach of a peace that we in this country can no longer take for granted.

Ironically, many of our images of peace tend to involve guns and tanks and explosions.  When we send in ‘peace-keepers’, we equip them with weapons and train them to deal with violence.

God’s Prince of Peace came to us as a new-born baby.

God’s response to violence and to fear is love.  It is always love.  Celebrating Christmas helps us to remember God’s love.

This Christmas let us allow the story of the baby, of cattle lowing, of worshipping shepherds and magi bearing gifts to remind us to greet our neighbour, to smile at those we meet, to give generously and to receive graciously.  Let us all be makers of peace through ordinary, everyday acts of loving kindness.

May the love of God and the gift of God’s son bring peace to your hearts and lives this Christmas.

The Most Revd Dr Phillip Aspinall
Primate, Anglican Church of Australia

Churches of Christ in Australia

The Christmas story has survived the process of time because it is more than a story. Christmas reminds us that God in Christ intervened in the lives of humankind to announce his gift of eternal love to all who would receive it.  At a time when the world is preoccupied in all types of conflicts and threatened by natural and human crises we need the Christmas story to remind us there is hope and in this hope there is peace and love.

Mr Richard Menteith
National President, Churches of Christ in Australia

Coptic Orthodox Church, Diocese of Sydney & Affiliated Regions

The Gifts of Christmas
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago brought 3 great gifts to humanity:

Light
He shone upon us who were sitting in darkness.  By His light we came to know light.  He is the light of the world with His unique example, Holy teachings, and life-giving guidance.  Man knew the path of light, and became light.  Man’s mind was enlightened, as well as his heart, through his continuous living with the Good Saviour and Beloved Teacher.  The Lord left us a living example and a Bible: the example to follow, and the Bible to learn from and be enlightened by its word.

Has not the Lord said to us when He came to our earthly world:  “I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12).  “The light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does what is truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:19-21).

Salvation
He is the “Saviour of the World” of the New Testament.  Pharaoh gave Joseph the same title, for he saved the people from death by physical hunger resulting from the famine.  Likewise, Christ saved us from death by spiritual hunger.  He is the “Second Adam” by the First Adam we died, while by the Second Adam we live and are saved.  Our salvation was not easy, for it cost Him His precious blood and His broken body.

”For there is a Saviour born to you this day.” (Luke 2:11).

By the birth of Christ, the Saviour was born…
Rather salvation was born…
For there is no salvation without incarnation…
And no redemption without incarnation…
And no incarnation without birth…

”Great is the mystery of godliness:  He (God) was manifested in the flesh.” (1 Timothy 3:16).  There is a link between human godliness and the manifestation of God in human flesh.  It is divine incarnation that enabled our loving God to manifest amongst us so that we can say: “We beheld His glory.” (John 1:14).  “Which we have looked upon and our hands have handled.” (1 John 1:1).

To die upon the Cross and to redeem us, offering up His humanity, which is united to His divinity, as a sacrifice in place of us.  Then He arose from death into life, that by Him we too might be reborn into a new life.

Peace
The Angels proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will towards men.” (Luke 2:14).  Christ became man to reconcile us to God the Father and bring peace to a broken and disturbed world.  Christ is our peace for He said, “My peace I give.  My peace I leave with you.” (John 14:27).

May the Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, bless our beloved country Australia, its people and Government.

His Grace Bishop Daniel
Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of NSW, QLD & NT

Lutheran Church of Australia

The newborn child bound in swaddling clothes at birth is unbound as a man in his resurrection.  The Christmas birth of Christ is not just a matter of life before death, but finally of death before life.

The celebration of the birth of a special child, the event we call Christmas includes the wood of the manger being exchanged for the wood of the crucifixion cross; not much more than thirty years later.

The celebration is for a Saviour.  It is a time of hope and meaning in our lives because of what God has done for us, rather than a focus on what we can do for ourselves or for him.

God enters time and our history and offers us life in the Child we know as Jesus.  He has taken care of us so that we can spend time caring for others.

The Revd Michael P Semmler
President, Lutheran Church of Australia

Roman Catholic Church in Australia

The face of a mother or father holding a child in their arms reveals the graciousness of God.  Christmas recalls these moments for many in the mystery of the birth of Jesus.  It reminds us that these experiences can touch our hearts and fill us with happiness and joy and reveal to us the presence of God in our everyday lives.  Christmas is a time when we have the chance to stop and reflect on the gifts that children bring to our world.  The busy days that lead to the holidays and the celebrations of the day itself can blind us to what moves and inspires the children around us, and their openness to love and acceptance is a challenge that can be missed.  In our heart of hearts we recognise that not to respond with open hearts and greater generosity of spirit towards them is to belittle them and sell ourselves short.  Those who follow Christ are called to recognise as he did, as Mary his mother did, the presence of God’s love in the faces of those around us.  This is a way of discovering meaning and direction in our lives not as a burden but as a response to the graciousness of God.  In the bigger picture, the spirit and meaning of Christmas provides us with the opportunity to reassess individual and communal responses to those around us.  It is a time to bring to our families, friends and neighbours a spirit of acceptance, understanding, forgiveness…. or “peace and goodwill to all”.

The Most Revd Philip Wilson
President, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

Syrian Orthodox Patriarchal Vicarate of Australia and New Zealand

"Some two thousand years ago, a young descendant of King David and her honourable husband travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  This trip was, in all likelihood, a difficult one for Mary as she was in the late stages of pregnancy.  However, she bore this burden with joy saying that, "My Soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant."  It was in her suffering, that she carried the hopes of the World.

So this Christmas, let us remind ourselves of the simplicity and humility into which Jesus was born: at an inn, in a manger and wrapped in swaddling cloth.  At the same time, let us recall the majesty with which he was greeted: a multitude of angels harking "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!", the rich gifts presented to him by foreigners from afar and the worship of him by local shepherds.

Christmas should be a reflection on Christ, his birth, his life and his purpose.  Let the celebrations, baubles and presents be a reflection of our joy at being reminded of God's love for us: in that he sent his only Son for us.

His Eminence Archbishop Mor Malatius Malki Malki
Archbishop of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchal Vicarate of Australia and New Zealand

Uniting Church in Australia

The Christmas event speaks to us more than 2000 years later because it is not just a story about divinity.  It is a story which is most deeply about what it means to be human – a story of human vulnerability, of hopes, fears and dreams, family and culture, exclusion and acceptance.  And because of this, the meaning of Christmas continues to break into our world and challenge us all, but especially Christians, to live lives that reach out in the world without fear or favour.

My hope this year is that Christmas will remind us that so-called ‘Australian values’ are human values and that the birth of Jesus Christ teaches us that they are part of God’s gift to us, for what kind of world would it be without the gifts that lie within us all - compassion, forgiveness, prayerfulness, justice, inclusion, and the celebration of life.

May this Christmas bring you joy and peace, fresh purpose and new life.

The Revd Gregor Henderson
President, Uniting Church in Australia

National Council of Churches in Australia

“Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us.”

The story of Christmas begins with a divine choice, but it happens in the lives of ordinary human beings.  A baby is born, and generations have gone on to call him the Son of God.  The event demands a response – is this really God with us, or is Jesus just another human martyr?

Many Australians do not like questions of faith, preferring instead a vaguely agnostic world of privatised religion.  It makes sense in a sort of post modern way, but we now know that such a world doesn’t exist.  Religion is a very public business.  We are more aware than ever of its importance, and the centrality of faith to so much of what we do.

The Christmas holiday is popular, but so far the question of faith isn’t.  What is our response to this Christian festival and the story on which it is founded?  If this child is the Son of God you can’t just walk away from him.  He changes everything.

The Christmas event could have happened to any one of us.  It does happen to all who believe that in Jesus God came into the world to live a human life to the full.  Christian faith, and Christian living, means living out that belief, day by day, week by week, month by month, among real people, in real places, and at real times in our life.

The Revd John Henderson
General Secretary, National Council of Churches in Australia

From the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission

“Yesterday’s decision not to bring charges against the officer allegedly involved in the death of Mulrunji at Palm Island is difficult for fair minded Australians to accept.  This is another example of the justice system failing Aborigines,” said Graeme Mundine, Executive Secretary of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission.

“Presumably the Coroner who found the officer was responsible, and the DPP who found he was not, had access to the same evidence.  It is difficult to believe that they could draw such different conclusions.”

“These contradictory decisions in no way clarify the culpability of the officer in Mulrunji’s death and raise many more doubts about due process in this case.  His family, and the Aboriginal community, is right to feel that they have been failed by the judicial system - there are obviously still many unanswered questions relating to how Mulrunji died.  These are questions that should be answered in a court of law.”

“NATSIEC supports the call for an independent inquiry into this case.  This level of doubt about the decisions of two senior people in the Queensland judicial system must be examined.”

“NATSIEC rejects the Queensland Police Minister’s assertion that such an inquiry amounts to political interference.  It is clear that justice has not prevailed in this case, and that only an independent inquiry can offer the hope of clarity and justice for Mulrunji and his family,” Mr. Mundine concluded.

For further comment:  Graeme Mundine 0419 238 788

From APRO [the NCCA is a member of APRO]

The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils’ of Australia (FECCA) and the Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations (APRO) strongly support actions to build respect between faith communities.

“APRO and FECCA support condemnation of disrespectful actions that hurt any faith community,” said Mr Abd Malak, Convenor of APRO today. “We therefore support the actions of East Preston Islamic School in expelling students for totally unacceptable behaviour and trust that the school will also ensure that students are counselled so that they understand the hurt that they have caused.”

“Mutual respect is important to building and ensuring a cohesive and accepting community,” said Ms Voula Messimeri, FECCA Chair. “Disrespectful actions by individuals from any community must be challenged,” she continued.

“APRO acknowledges the importance of young people learning about each others faiths as a positive way of building respect,” said Mr John Walker, APRO member, and National Secretary of the Baha’i Community. “We hope that this incident provides an opportunity to build this understanding in the future,” concluded Mr Malak and Ms Messimeri.

For media comment: Mr Abd Malak 0417 489 066
                                Ms Voula Messimeri 0414 532 529

From the National Council of Churches in Australia

Plans for a new government refugee holding facility on Christmas Island were leaked last week, prompting comparisons with the highest security prisons, and even the US facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“If what we are hearing about the new centre on Christmas Island is true this sounds more like a prison than anything else,” said the Revd John Henderson, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia.  “Why would we treat the innocent in this way?  How can we add to their woes, not only locking them up but adding the moral censure of treating them like criminals?  Sensible precautions for our security should not include demonising people who need our help.  This only adds to our sense of insecurity and leads to hostility and aggression. The social and psychological effects are insidious and ongoing; not only for those who are imprisoned, but also for the society that imprisons them.”

“Our society will be judged by the way we treat those in need.  Compassion and fairness are marks of a truly civilised society, upholding values of human dignity and individual worth.  To hold people fleeing persecution in such intrusive, high-security conditions is inappropriate and unacceptable,” said Mr Henderson.

“These prison-like Christmas Island plans, together with Temporary Protection Visas, which are designed to promote insecurity and a sense of impermanence, contradict the promised reform spirit of greater individual care.  What have become of the 2005 Palmer Inquiry and recent nation-wide Immigration Department community consultations on how to improve services, including community care models, for asylum seekers?”

“We would welcome genuine reassurances from the government that it does not intend to clamp down even harder on those who have already suffered severe harm.  In recent times there has been a lot of talk of so-called ‘Christian values’ including by many in government.  We would like to see such values reaffirmed in the cause of human rights and treating our neighbour as we would ourselves want to be treated,” Mr Henderson concluded.

For more information:
Mr Alistair Gee, Director, Christian World Service, NCCA 0417 672 650

Released on behalf of National Church Leaders in Australia

Heads of Christian Churches meeting in Sydney last week acknowledged and supported the various calls from church groups and other Australians for prayer in this time of severe drought, including a National Day of Prayer on 26 November.

The heads of Churches called for all Australians to pray for:
      • desperately needed rain
      • those who are severely drought affected, and
      • commitment to responsibly care for all our natural resources.

“We invite all Australians to express their solidarity with those who are suffering by taking a few moments to pray or to join a local worship service where prayers will be offered,” said Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, Primate of the Anglican Church.

Archbishop Philip Wilson, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said, “At a time when our political leaders and climate experts are giving close attention to the economic consequences of this drought, we should remember the many people on farms and in small businesses who are suffering often in a deeply personal way.  Local Churches are already providing practical and personal support, and will continue to do their utmost.  Our prayer shows that Australians stand together in the face of adversity.”

“We need to seek God’s guidance as to how we can better manage Australia’s water resources at a time when climate change is upon us.  This too will be part of the prayers on 26 November,” added the Revd Gregor Henderson, President of the Uniting Church in Australia.

The Church leaders acknowledged the recent statement of Queensland Church leaders: “We are very conscious of the life and death needs that beset so many people around this world every day and we in no way intend that much needed prayer be deflected from these situations.  At the same time we recognise that water is an urgent and immediate need affecting so many of us here and now in the most basic ways.  So it is with the confidence that Jesus urged upon us that we simply go to God with this need.”

Many resources for prayer are already available from local church groups, and links and resources will also be gathered and posted on the web pages of the National Council of Churches in Australia, at www.ncca.org.au

This statement is made on behalf of the following leaders of Australian Churches:

The Most Revd Dr Phillip Aspinall
Anglican Church

His Eminence Archbishop Paul Saliba
Antiochian Orthodox Church

His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian
Armenian Apostolic Church

Pastor Brian Houston
Assemblies of God

His Grace Bishop Mar Meelis Zaia
Assyrian Church of the East

The Revd Dr Ross Clifford
Baptist Union

Bishop James Chang Hua Ha
Chinese Methodist Church

Mr Richard Menteith
Churches of Christ

Dr Harry Melkonian
Congregational Federation

His Grace Bishop Daniel
Coptic Orthodox Church

His Grace Bishop Suriel
Coptic Orthodox Church

His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos
Greek Orthodox Church

The Revd Mike Semmler
Lutheran Church

The Rt Revd Bob Thomas
Presbyterian Church

Lyndsay Farrell
Religious Society of Friends

The Most Revd Philip Wilson
Roman Catholic Church

His Beatitude Patriarch Teoctist
Romanian Orthodox Church

Commissioner James Knaggs
The Salvation Army, Southern Territory

Commissioner Les Strong
The Salvation Army, Eastern Territory

Pastor Chester Stanley
Seventh Day Adventist Church

His Eminence Archbishop Mor Malatius Malki Malki
Syrian Orthodox Church

The Revd Gregor Henderson
Uniting Church

Mar Thoma Church

From The National Council of Churches in Australia 

“It is time for an urgent re-commitment to address the pressing problems faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples”, said Rev. John Henderson, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), launching the NCCA’s 2006 statement to mark Social Justice Sunday on September 24th.

“The 2006 Social Justice Statement reflects the deep concerns that the member Churches of the NCCA have regarding the continued disadvantage suffered by Indigenous Australians,” Rev. Henderson said.

“While communities and governments have rightly responded to the international ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign based on the Millennium Development Goals, Australians need a similar commitment to Make Indigenous Poverty History.

“To Make Indigenous Poverty History, we believe that what is needed is a fuller and far more effective program of spiritual and material regeneration than currently exists. Indigenous Australia deserves the equivalent of the Millennium Development Goals to provide a real framework of change. At the bedrock must be genuine self-determination and funding commensurate with the size of the problem.

“The media and public attention given to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues frequently expresses itself in terms of a shocked moral distance, baffled incomprehension, or fresh forms of stereotyping. Instead, we believe that all Australians need to remember, to recognize, and to rectify the troubled history of Indigenous Australia. In particular we call on all Australians to:

Remember–so that no one can any longer act with surprise at revelations of Indigenous Poverty, or pretend that we do not know why, or how, such injustice persists.
Recognise, and implement the truth of the proposals for change made by representative Indigenous leaders and by national investigations such as the Royal Commissions into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the ‘Stolen Generations’ report.
Rectify the poverty and neglect which stand as a constant rebuke to our much vaunted values of fairness.

“The member Churches of the NCCA continue to remember and to confess our past and present failures to listen to and love Indigenous Australians properly. We make this pledge to our Indigenous Christian networks through the country: we commit ourselves to rectify the hurts of the past and present, and call on others to join us in this task,” Rev Henderson concluded.

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The NCCA Social Justice Statement 2006 will be launched at Parliament House, Canberra on 13th September 2006 at 11.00 in 1S3. The NCCA Social Justice Statement is available at www.ncca.org.au

To arrange comment contact: Graeme Mundine 0419 238 788.

From The National Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission

“On Social Justice Sunday we call on all Australians to reflect on the continuing plight of Indigenous Australians and then commit to action,” said Mr Graeme Mundine, Executive Secretary of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Executive Commission (NATSIEC) of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA).

“Social Justice Sunday, which this year will be celebrated on September 24th, is a time for all Christians to come together and focus their attention on a specific area where injustice prevails.

“This year the member Churches of the National Council of Churches in Australia have chosen to turn their attention to the continuing disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. 

 “In support of the campaign to Make Indigenous Poverty History the NCCA calls on us all to ‘rectify the poverty and neglect which stands as a constant rebuke to our much vaunted values of fairness’”, Mr Mundine said.

“NATSIEC supports this call to action and is, itself, calling on the Federal Government to adapt the Millennium Development Goals to apply specifically to Australia so that like the poverty stricken people on other continents, Indigenous Australians can also hope to be lifted out of poverty by 2015.

“We cannot, in all good conscience, continue to stand by and watch our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be denied access to the same level of resources, wealth and well being that all other Australian citizens have. 

“Too often we think that injustice is something that happens overseas, but we are blind to the every day suffering in our own backyard.  Often it is easier to understand the suffering of those in ‘developing’ countries, but the fact that there are people living in worse conditions in a rich and wealthy nation such as Australia is a situation we should all be ashamed of and must commit everything we have to changing.   

“I urge you to heed the call this Social Justice Sunday and put Indigenous Australia at the centre of your concerns and take action to Make Indigenous Poverty History,” Mr Mundine concluded.

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Bishop Saibo Mabo, Deputy Chair of NATSIEC will launch the Make Indigenous Poverty History CD-ROM of campaign resources on September 13th at Parliament House 1S3 at 11.00.

The Rev. John Henderson, General Secretary of the NCCA will also launch the NCCA’s Social Justice Statement at this time. The NCCA statement and further details about the Make Indigenous Poverty History campaign is available at www.ncca.org.au/natsiec/miph

To arrange comment: Graeme Mundine 0419 238 788.