CONFERENCE: Exclusion and Embrace 2016: Disability, Justice and Spirituality

Exclusion and Embrace 2016: Disability, Justice and Spirituality

From August 21, 2016 03:04 until August 23, 2016 05:04

•  At Jasper Hotel, 489 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, Australia

The Australian Catholic University, The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, The Progressive Christian Network of Victoria Inc., would like to invite you to:

2016 Exclusion and Embrace Conference

Date: 21-23 August 2016 Venue: Jasper Hotel, 489 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, Australia.

This Conference is a rare opportunity to bring together people interested in understandings of sacred texts, and the experiences of people with disabilities and carers within the context of faith. This  multi-faith Australasian Conference  has the support of a wide number of organisations including the Jewish Christian Muslim Association (JCMA) and the Faith Communities Council of Victoria (FCCV). The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania is providing the Conference Secretariat.

The Conference will draw on the wisdom of all faiths, and will deepen our understanding of the many aspects of disability and spirituality. We are interested in your experience, research, practice, and ideas and knowledge.

Among the themes explored will be ethics, care, inclusion in faith communities, friendship, discrimination, love, justice, liberation.

In Australia, and abroad, an increasing number of people are actively exploring the intersection of disability and spirituality. An excellent Conference program will present perspectives across the faith spectrum, with opportunities for dialogue and formation of new networks. It will have appeal to people who live with disability, families and carers, academics and practitioners (volunteers and staff).

Two esteemed speakers will be keynoters at our Conference: Prof Hans Reinders is Chair of Ethics at VU University, Holland, and editor of the journal Religion and Disability. Rev Bill Gaventa is Director of the Summer Institute of Theology and Disability and President-elect of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). We are also delighted that an Australian cast of presenters is increasingly coming on board: Prof David Tacey an interdisciplinary scholar who is widely published for his knowledge of Australian spirituality. Other presenters include Lorna Hallahan, Sheik Isse Musse, Melinda Jones and Diana Cousens (see website Speakers tab for details).

There will also be an exhibition of artworks that reflect people’s experience of disability and spirituality, as it relates to the conference theme.

View and download the brochure (note: when printing remember to tick print on both sides and flip on short edge)

The Conference is also seeking Abstracts within these three streams, as they relate to disability and spirituality.

(i)         Supports in faith communities/service providers

(ii)        Sa­cred texts/theological understandings of disability

(iii)       Theological Educa­tion/Research.

Please go to Call for Presentations for details of Abstract Details and Guidelines. Abstracts need to be submitted by 10 April, 2016. Presentations may include formal papers, posters, personal stories, poetry, or other approaches.

We invite presentations which address aspects and experiences as they relate to spirituality and disability. Themes include liberation, education, bioethics, reconciliation, sexuality, pastoral care, inclusion, love, theological interpretations. All presenters must be registered for the event by 15 July, 2016.

Other sponsors and endorsers include Spiritual Health Victoria, Spiritual Care Australia, Christian Blind Mission, Victorian Council of Churches, Progressive Christian Network Victoria, Australian Catholic University and the University of Divinity.

As part of the Conference, we are also launching and displaying an  Art Exhibition, depicting the conference themes. Andy Calder, Conference Convenor

Further Information:  Ann Byrne  The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania  Email: ann.byrne@victas.uca.org.au

Phone: (03) 9251 5404

Endorsed by: Faith Communities Council of Victoria, Jewish Christian Muslim Association of Australia, Victorian Council of Churches, Spiritual Care Australia, Spiritual Health Victoria and University of Divinity.

Remembering the Red Bishop

This post bring back memories - 

studying theology at St Mark's, Canberra and at St John's, Morpeth.

"In 1948 a former curate in the Parish of Gosford, Ernest Burgmann, by then Bishop of Goulburn, traveled to Paris with...
Posted by Margaret Higgins on Tuesday, 10 November 2015

St Paul's Father Constantine at the launch in Ballarat of "For those who've come across the seas - Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers"

http://theminer.net.au/justice-for-refugees-and-asylum-seekers/

The Forum speakers: 

Bishop Paul Bird, Cr Belinda Coates, Ann Foley ASSG, 

and Fr. Constantine Osuchukwu of St Paul’s Anglican Church Bakery Hill, 

at last week’s statement release.

THE Australian Catholic Bishops’ recently released Social Justice Statement “For those who’ve come across the seas – Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers”, was welcomed in Ballarat last Wednesday. 

Councillor Belinda Coates, on behalf of the Ballarat City Council, opened proceed­ings by saying that the cur­rent refugee tragedy engulfing Europe, and until recent­ly playing out in the waters off the Australian Coast is a crisis of great magnitude.

She said in part, “Around the world hundreds of thou­sands of people are on the move, or wasting away in camps or detention centres. Tragically, it seems no one wants them.”

“I applaud the authors of the Social Justice Statement 2015-2016. I acknowledge that it’s a document of the Catholic Church – but the truths it contains and the sentiments it expresses go beyond religion.”

The document cuts to the core of the issue and is an unequivocal statement of how a civilized society should treat refuges and asy­lum seekers.

Father Constantine Osuchukwu of St Paul’s Anglican Church, Bakery Hill, said he came to Australia as a twenty-four-year-old in 2003 from Nigeria.

“I wasn’t a refugee or an asylum seeker fleeing perse­cution or violence,” he said.

 “I came here as a migrant of my own volition. In my 12 years in Australia I have had nothing but positive expe­riences.

 “My own personal experi­ence is that Australia is a country of a thousand wel­comes. While my experience has been mostly positive, I know that not all migrants or refugees have been as bless­ed as I have been.”

Father Constantine added that he was not native to think there are easy answers or a magic bullet to end the global refugee crisis and welcomed the Social Justice Statement because it calls people to reflect on the impact of our policies.

Bishop Paul Bird respond­ed by saying he commended the document and under­lined one of the themes that runs through the text – the good examples of Australians welcoming those who have come to this country.

“I was pleased to hear that Australia will resettle 12,000 refugees from the current war torn regions of the Middle East,” he said.

 “I have also been pleased that many church and other community groups are already looking at how they can help these refu­gees when they arrive from December onwards.”

The Social Justice Statement “For those who’ve come across the seas – Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, comes in three sec­tions.

The first draws on scripture and the social teaching of the Church, emphasizing the principles of human dignity, the option for the poor, and solidarity as foundations for how we should respond to the call of the asylum seeker.

The second section aims to lift the gaze from a myopic focus on the interception of boats and detention of asy­lum seekers.

The final section calls for a new global response of com­passion.

Getting it right at Sydney's Wayside Chapel

From here

 

Dear Inner Circle,

Dame Marie Bashir was in our lift yesterday and I saw her put her arms around an aboriginal woman. She said, “Every time I see an aboriginal sister, I just want to say, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Dame Marie was here for our celebrations to mark NAIDOC Week. There were few happier places on earth than Wayside yesterday. We were able to peer into a future Australia that will enter into it’s own maturity because it knows that to love the land means to love the people of the land.

A homeless woman rushed through our front door the other day to say that someone had set fire to another homeless person’s mattress. There is a mattress set up near the theatre right behind us. We were about to rush to the fire and the lady said, “Don’t rush, I put the fire out.” She went on to explain that she’d poured all of her wine over the fire. I’m not sure if she was expecting we’d replace her supply of plonk or perhaps nominate her for an Order of Australia.

A man with quite a sad face approached me this morning. I don’t think we’ve spoken before although I recognised him as someone who appears here from time to time. “I miss Gary” he said. “Gosh, so do I” I replied. It’s been over a year since Gary, one of our much-loved visitors had a massive stroke on the footpath and died. He spoke for a while about how Gary taught him what friendship was. When he was first homeless and sleeping in a park, if Gary had a sandwich, he’d share half with his mate. Gary would choose to sleep in the more exposed spot, offering his mate some sense of protection from danger. He gave me half a dozen examples of the wisdom of Gary. Many of you would have heard me tell a story of a shabby bloke who confronted me one day when I was in a hurry to leave. It was some months after my son had died and I was coping even if I was flying on auto pilot. Gary blocked my way in the front door and I couldn’t get past this shabby man with the goofy look on his face. Eventually he put his arms around me and kissed my cheek and whispered, “That was from your son”. That was Gary and we became close friends and I miss him too.

Another homeless fellow told me that he’d like to buy a farm and help people get off drugs. “I’ve got a couple of million in the bank but it wouldn’t be enough for a farm,” he said. My first reaction was to point out that if he had a million dollars, he could probably afford some warm clothes and a roof over his head. I was quickly reminded of a job I had in ancient times in a boys reformatory. Every little kid had a story of rich parents or a rich uncle whose wealth was beyond calculation. Every little boy had a story about how their rich relative would appear one day soon and all would be revealed. Likewise it’s not uncommon for homeless people to tell me that they’ve got a winning lottery ticket or that they are due to inherit riches. I suspect there is a longing in all of us that intuits worth for which there is no evidence. I suspect it is not an unhealthy response but rather a crude and clumsy attempt to reach for the worth that is given by virtue of being alive and part of society.

Dame Marie said while we were lining up for food yesterday, “I reckon Jesus must peer down from heaven, look at Wayside and say, ‘Thank goodness someone is getting it right.’” It is any wonder that we love that woman so much? Full honour to Monique, Will, Ma’Ata and Annelise in our Aboriginal Project, our volunteers and everyone else who made our NAIDOC Week such a fabulous success.

Thanks for being part of our inner circle,

Graham

Rev Graham Long AM

Pastor and CEO

The Wayside Chapel

Kings Cross

http://www.revgrahamlong.com/

http://www.thewaysidechapel.com/

2015 - a year of foreboding in Australian political and social life?

Post by Anglican Parish of Gosford.

The G20 Summit occurring in Brisbane : voices of the Anglican Communion speak out : message from Philip Freier, Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia & Archbishop of Melbourne

Anglican Communion voices speak out ahead of the G20 summit 

Posted on: November 13, 2014 4:17 PM 

The G20 is a forum for the governments and central bank governors 

from 20 major economies 

Photo Credit: G20 

By ACNS staff

Leading figures from the Anglican Communion are speaking out before and during this weekend’s G20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia, on a range of economic and development issues.

The G20 is a forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies that are said to account for around 85% of the gross world product, 80% of world trade and two-thirds of the world population.

 On the sidelines of the meeting will be people from countries not all represented in the G20, reminding world leaders that global growth should not come at the expense of the world's poorest people.

(l to r) Tagolyn Kabekabe and Abp Winston Halapua 
Photo Credit: ABM
 The Anglican Board of Mission (ABM) reports that the Archbishop of Polynesia, Winston Halapua is asking the G20 to consider how they might co-operate to minimise the impacts of climate change which are already being felt by people in the Pacific Islands.

The Anglican Alliance Regional facilitator for the Pacific will also be in Brisbane during the event. Tagolyn Kabekabe works with communities in the Solomon Islands who are experiencing the erosion of their homelands, poisoning of their food gardens by salt water and increasing exposure to extreme weather events.

Tagolyn represented the Anglican Communion, in particular those in the Pacific directly affected by climate change, at the C20 meeting – a civil society forum that met in June to feed in to the G20 discussions.

The Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, Dr Philip Freier, has issued a statement in which he warns global leaders that “failure to address these issues of economic security and justice will lead to more international conflict and reduce the possibility of human flourishing”. [His full statement is below]

ABM's Greg Henderson has been organising opportunities for people in Brisbane to meet Archbishop Winston and Tagolyn Kabekabe. He says that it is important for Australians to recognise that climate change is a justice issue, "because its impact is being felt most seriously by communities who have the least power to address the causes of anthropogenic warming".

According to the G20 website, the meeting's agenda has been built around the key themes of

• promoting stronger economic growth and employment outcomes 
• making the global economy more resilient to deal with future shocks 
• strengthening global institutions to ensure they reflect the new realities of the global economy.

For more about the G20’s priorities visit  

https://www.g20.org/g20_priorities  

Statement by Dr Philip Freier, 

Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia and Archbishop of Melbourne: 

The G20 meeting of the world’s 20 largest economies in Brisbane this weekend takes place in increasingly uncertain times. There are growing fears of global recession, rising international tensions and growing economic inequality between countries and within countries. 

 In the longer term there are vast challenges, such as managing climate change, global population growth and movement, international conflict, food security, water, and potential epidemics. 

It is essential that the countries taking part look beyond their own short-term national interests and seek to address these challenges in a concerted and effective way. I echo Pope Francis, who urged last week that the discussions move beyond declarations of principle to real improvements in the living conditions of poorer families and the reduction of all forms of unacceptable inequality. 

It will require good will and trust on all sides if the G20 summit is to achieve real progress, and it is the nature of international politics that no one wants to go first on such a path. Yet without a clear-sighted optimism, real change will be impossible. 

Failure to address these issues of economic security and justice will lead to more international conflict and reduce the possibility of human flourishing. They cannot be left to fester. The Anglican Church of Australia urges the G20 leaders to search for new and cooperative solutions that can work across the globe. To that end, we offer our support and prayers. 

 +Philip, Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia

Dorothy Day, Servant of God - Nov. 8, 1897 – Nov. 29, 1980

Zinn Education Project

Happy birthday Dorothy Day (Nov. 8, 1897 – Nov. 29, 1980), radical journalist and co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. Photo: Day picketing civil defense drill in NYC, 1959, read more: http://bit.ly/M5pHIW More photos:http://bit.ly/WFNt5Q

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Day

Social Christianity
Major figures
Francis of Assisi Antoninus of Florence Wilhelm E.F. von Ketteler Pope Leo XIII Adolph Kolping Edward Bellamy Margaret Wedgwood Benn Phillip Berryman James Hal Cone Dorothy Day Toni Negri Leo Tolstoy Óscar Romero Gustavo Gutiérrez Abraham Kuyper Daniel Berrigan Philip Berrigan Martin Luther King, Jr. Walter Rauschenbusch Desmond Tutu Tommy Douglas Joseph Smith, Jr.
Organizations
Confederation of Christian Trade Unions Catholic Worker Movement Christian Socialist Movement
Key concepts
Subsidiarity Christian anarchism Christian humanism Marxism Christian communism Liberation theology Black Liberation Theology Praxis School Precarity Human dignity Social market economy Communitarianism Distributism Catholic social teaching Neo-Calvinism Neo-Thomism Communalism Law of consecration United Order Bishop's storehouse
Key documents
Rerum Novarum (1891) Princeton Stone Lectures (1898) Populorum Progressio (1967) Centesimus Annus (1991) Caritas in Veritate (2009)
Christianity portal

The Anglican Parish of Gosford and the rising star of Father Rod Bowers

Father Rod Bowers is a bit of a stand-out within the Anglican Church in Australia.  His fame has grown on social media with his use of the noticeboard at the Anglican Church of Gosford. Father Rod posts pithy sayings on the church noticeboad, photographs them and everyone sees them on Facebook.  Most - but not all - relate to current affairs.  With some of these, Father Rod points out the contrast with the teachings of Jesus.  However, as you can see from the picture above of the current (as this post is written) header on the parish Facebook site, Father Rod has become quite blunt indeed on his assessment of this nation's matters of governance. 

Picture above is from here

Here is the latest noticeboard offering from Father Rod ...

 

(for those who haven't heard what Australia's Prime Minister

has been saying this week - this is a reference to the PM's

talk of TEAM AUSTRALIA)

The mixed messages of youth employment and unemployment in 2014 Australia

 Picture above is from here

Darwin is one place where there is a drastic labour shortage, as local workers flock to the new $34bn Ichthys gas project, and as my colleague Helen Davidson reported this week it is also an eligible location under a new government incentive scheme which offers unemployed Australians up to $9,000 to move for work.

Not many have taken up the offer yet, and we probably won’t get the chance to see whether the new hardline welfare policies make a difference to that because the government has just designated Darwin as a special migration area where employers can fill jobs in 19 occupations with foreign workers.

...The above is an extract from a Lenore Taylor article. Read it in its entirety here.

Further reading:

• 457 Visa
• NT's Ichthys project: move to relax 457 visas 'an attack on young unemployed' ----Greens and unions condemn concessions on visa requirements amid labour shortage created by giant gas project 
•  Australian Government - Working in Australia
• Department of Immigration and Border Protection - Designated Areas of Australia  
• Darwin to have a 'designated area migration agreement' to combat skills drain to LNG projects
• Dept of Immigration and Border Protection Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia

The picture below is from here

 

“Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”

Morning everyone. 

This post serves to advise that the historic Ballarat parish of Saint Paul's Anglican Church at Bakery Hill is in the midst of establishing a voice for social and environmental justice under the title of Advocacy @ St Pauls. 

It would be so nice if you could help us to establish ourselves in the world of social media - by emailing our future posts to your networks as appropriate; friending us; liking us; re-posting and re-tweeting from our blog.

And if you think there is something we should be investigating and talking about, please let us know that too. We would like to hear from other Anglican parishes who have a similar group in their parish. If you wish to email us please write to: advocacyballarat@gmail.com

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Advocacy-at-St-Pauls/1511054672464178

Blog
Advocacy
http://advocacyatstpauls.blogspot.com.au/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/StPaulsVoice