by Jim Houston
“Goodbye, Daddy†said the pretty little four year-old, as she and her mother got out of the car outside Parliament House that bright morning, Wednesday 13th February. Just two more people among the crowd scurrying around in the hope of finding a vantage point to hear the long-delayed S-word finally offered to the stolen generations. I couldn’t help wondering how many little Aboriginal children through those long years ever had the opportunity to say goodbye to Daddy or Mummy.
“I had tried the public health system and counsellors, but none were beneficial,” Ms Habkouk said.
Although the 11-month Mercy Ministries program was hard, now she can look back at it through enlightened eyes.
“It was absolutely the best time of my life,” she said.
by Rev. Arnie Wierenga
When I was about 6 or 7 years old, I remember my older brother talking about logging and how we could not keep cutting down trees because there were not enough of them. As a child I was puzzled by what he was saying because my known world was of rolling hills completely covered by trees.
Sometimes our world can be too small to fully appreciate a problem. I think Australians are the highest users of water per person in the western world which is an odd thing because we live on the driest continent. We have been able to waste a lot of water while our population has been low, but with population pressure and the bite of drought, our world view has had to grow.
Who wants to be guilty? Especially when guilt is associated with court trials, judgement, punishment and humiliation. In prayers, it is a stain, a burden or a curse. Christian theology speaks of the guilt we inherit through Adam, even though we were not involved personally in his action. Guilt is heavy stuff.
Michael Heller, a Polish Roman Catholic priest and cosmologist whose intellectual and religious life has been grounded in the insights of both science and religion, has won the 2008 Templeton Prize, believed to be the largest yearly monetary award given to a single individual. Heller, 72, who teaches at the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow, was awarded the prize for his work in connecting the realms of physics, cosmology, theology and philosophy.
Heller reiterated his belief that the oft-described “two worlds” of religion and science are not at odds, in an interview the day before the 12 March announcement, saying that without the meaning afforded by religion, “science would be meaningless”.
At 8.00pm on Saturday March 29th, people, businesses, corporations, towns and cities all over the world will switch off all unnecessary lights for one hour, following the lead of Sydney in 2007.
Dubbed “Earth Hour” it acknowledges climate change as a crucial issue for our community and provides a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on our personal responsibility for the planet and yet know that we are not alone.
Project Australia invites you to be a part of this initiative by engaging in a “Conversation by Candlelight”
We are asking you to gather together a few friends (and strangers too if you can manage it) preferably by candlelight and create a conversation about climate change and any other sustainability issue that is of interest to you.
And then we’d like feedback. Just a few lines telling us where you met, how many of you were there and what the issues were that occupied your attention. You can also tell us about anythng else that came out of the event that you think might be interesting. eg. Any actions you decided to take? Any new friendships or associations that might have developed. Just whatever you feel comfortable with sharing.
We will gather these stories together for a comprehensive report on our website, http://www.projectaustralia.org.au/
You can find out all about the initiative at http://www.earthhour.org/
For further information on the “how to” either call or email to Meetups coordinator Noel on Tel: 0403 347 067 or email: noel.winterburn@gmail.com
We can also offer a range of useful topic headlines to help get you started if you like.
Please tell us if you are considering such an event.
I hope we hear from you soon.
Project Australia
Be inspired by an indigenous perspective from Vicki Walker, the mystical art of Jenni Mitchell, poetic reflections from Christina Rowntree and the reflective genius of Shane Charles on didgeridoo.Â
Saying Sorry to the Earth – flyer
7.30pm till 9.45pm, Sunday 30th March,2008
Templestowe Uniting Church, 104 Atkinson Street, car park at 111 Wood Street
This is Grandstand’s second major event to draw our community together to reflect on the environment. Grandstand is an informal group of grandparents/seniors from Manningham and beyond, mainly folk from the local UCA churches.
The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI will host a ground-breaking “summit” of Catholic and Muslim leaders in November.
The “Catholic-Muslim Forum” from November 4 to 6, will bring together 24 dignitaries from each faith on the theme of “love God, love your neighbour,” it said.
About 100,000 Australians are now classified as homeless, and the number is growing.
But the man charged by the Federal Government to help fix this massive human tragedy, social welfare expert Tony Nicholson, is confident that figure can be more than halved within a decade.
However he says the solution demands much more than extra beds.
A researcher argues that it is wrong to “demonise” private education as a source of social tension or divisiveness. Instead, Jennifer Buckingham argues, it is time to consider why some parents want to send their children to religious schools.