Date: 2009-11-24 19:04:09
“Look for the possibilities!”
This was the advice of Rev. Tara Curlewis, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) when she spoke to the recent General Council meeting of QCT (see below).
Ecumenists are impossible optimists. It’s maddening sometimes. They won’t take no for an answer. That was the message Tara was giving us: covenanting is possible. If sharing property is still a step too far, if there are still hurdles to be overcome in accepting each other’s ordained ministries, at least we can commit to praying for each other. We can pledge to care for each other and to explore joint avenues of engagement in the community. We can become friends. Heaven knows, the world needs to see it.
We are approaching Advent. Advent is coming to us, once again, coming too fast, before we can catch our breath. Members of one local ecumenical group in Brisbane have expressed their commitment to each other in the production of a resource for daily prayer during Advent. What a blessing.
As Advent approaches, other big events stare us in the face. Copenhagen for one. Sick of hearing it? God forbid we should succumb to climate change fatigue. I sometimes feel like I’m in a time warp: the world is crumbling around me (somebody said recently that 70% of plant species are predicted to disappear), but I’m still rubbing my eyes to comprehend it. God give us the vision to see it is still God’s world, and the courage to know how to be prophetic because it is God’s world and not our own.
The Parliament of the World’s Religions is set to start next Thursday (3 December). Some articles today give us a foretaste of what that could be like. Making friends at that level, deepening our understanding of other faiths, is becoming more and more important as movements of people around the globe increase.
This will be the last QCT News until after I return from the Parliament of the World’s Religions, when I hope to share some of the rich colour of that experience.
May Advent be an open space for you, full of possibilities.
Glenine Hamlyn
“Make a World of Difference; Hearing each other, Healing the earth” – that is the theme of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Hurry to register by 29 November!
It was a toe-tapping night of laughter, wonderful music and great hospitality: the third annual evening of “One God, Many Voices.”
Read about the visit of Rev. Tara Curlewis, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) and discussions at QCT’s General Council meeting.
For the second year the NE Brisbane Inter Church Council has compiled a booklet of daily prayers for each day of Advent, starting on 30 November.
Leaders from a wide range of religions spoke to Penny Wong recently, urging for action.
During a visit to Rome, arranged some time ago, the Archbishop of Canturbury is meeting with the Pope to discuss the recently published apostolic constitution.
Ecumenical Women at the UN is a new coalition advocating at international level for women’s education, development and leadership, following up on UN agreements.
Chances for peace in Israel/Palestine look slim following Israel’s latest plans to expand the settlement of Gilo, the WCC General Secretary warns.
“Strengthen society where saving lives is paramount” – that is a key aim of the new Chair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
Dec
