Nairobi: In the fertile grasslands of central Nigeria, the roar of a motorcycle is enough to instill fear in the Christian cattle herders stalked by an increasingly bloody conflict. The rev of an engine is the first sign that gangs of kidnappers have emerged from the forest for their latest sortie in a battle over diminishing farmland that appears to be drawn along sectarian lines.
Across Africa's most populous country, an undeclared war, triggered in part by climate change and fought over cattle, has turned Muslims and Christians against each other in a confrontation so bitter it threatens to tear Nigeria apart.
Sister Wolfgram and Sister Lu say the Book of Mormon is often a conversation starter.
ABC RN: SIOBHAN HEGARTY
Sister Wolfgram can only see her family twice a year via Skype: on Mother's Day, and at Christmas.
She's allowed to email relatives weekly, but as a Mormon missionary, this is the most contact will she have with her family, during her 18 months of overseas service.
"I come from a family of 10, there's four brothers and four sisters, so I miss them a lot," says Sister Wolfgram, who was raised in West Valley City, Utah, a majority Mormon state.
Her family is originally from Tonga, another heartland for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — home to more Mormons per capita than any country in the world. Statistics show that nearly 60 per cent of the population belongs to the church.
"As Tongans, the two most important things are God and family … and then food," Sister Wolfgram smiles.
On February 27th the Church of England keeps the feast and celebrates the memory of George Herbert, the gentle poet priest whose book the Temple, published posthumously in 1633 by his friend Nicholas Ferrar has done so much to help and inspire Christians ever since. In an earlier blog post I gave a talk on George Herbert and the Insights of Prayer, today, on the eve of his Feast Day, I offer this sonnet, part of a sequence called 'Clouds of Witness" in my poetry book The Singing Bowl. The sequence is a celebration of the saints, intended to complement my sequence Sounding the Seasons.
You can get this book in the UK by ordering it from your local bookshop, or via Amazon, and I am very happy to say that both books are now available in North America from Steve Bell who has a good supply in stock. His page for my books is HERE
US evangelist Billy Graham - one of the most influential preachers of the 20th Century - has died aged He died at his home in Montreat, North Carolina, a spokesman for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said.
US evangelist Billy Graham - one of the most influential preachers of the 20th Century - has died aged 99.
He died at his home in Montreat, North Carolina, a spokesman for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said.In a 60-year career, he is estimated to have preached to hundreds of millions of people around the world.
Former presidents are among the many who have been paying tute. President Trump called him "great" and a "very special man".
After becoming one of the best-known promoters of Christianity in the US, Graham embarked on his global mission with an event in London in 1954.
Graham reached millions of worshippers through TV - the first to use the medium to convey the Christian message on such a scale.
On 25 July, 2017 this blog carried a post regarding a Sikh child being refused enrolment in a Christian school because the traditional headcap the child wore did not conform with the school's dress code.
Readers of Beside The Creek will be pleased to know that the matter has now been resolved in favour of the child and his family.
A Christian school unlawfully discriminated against a five-year-old boy when it banned him from wearing a traditional Sikh patka, a child's version of a turban, a tribunal has ruled.
In a win for Melbourne father Sagardeep Singh Arora and his son Sidhak, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled that Melton Christian School breached the Equal Opportunity Act.
Sagardeep Singh Arora with his son Sidhak. Photo: Supplied
The decision, which was handed down on Tuesday, could have implications for the way schools set their uniform policies.
It also paves the way for Sidhak to attend the school of his choice.
____________________________________________________________"It is not reasonable to accept enrolment applications from students from non-Christian faiths only on condition that they do not look like they practise a non-Christian religion," VCAT member Julie Grainger said.
Mr Arora had hoped that his son would start prep at school this year, but the enrolment hit a roadblock when principal David Gleeson said Sidhak would have to comply with the school's uniform policy.
More than 300 members of the Uniting Church in Australia met last month at the 14thtriennial Assembly, held in Perth. Church gatherings such as this represent a microcosm of issues facing society. Our relationship with Australia’s First peoples, multiculturalism, same-gender marriage, asylum seeker policies and foreign aid were just some of the subjects discussed throughout the eight days. This month, Crosslightbrings you a snapshot of news and reflections from Assembly.
A Uniting Church member accepts a unique invitation to crown a king.
Rev Jean Mayers recently took part in a ‘minister swap’ and shares the experience of a lifetime.
Meet the man from Humpty Doo, the UCA’s new president, Stuart McMillan.
Garth Jones reviews Supermarket Monsters, a book that questions the reality of a ‘free’ market.
Synod Snaps brings you images from throughout the Church and beyond.
All of the August Crosslight stories are available here. Crosslight is also available in digital form, so you can read it from your iPad or tablet device.
If you are not able to get to a Uniting Church congregation but would like to continue to receive Crosslight each month, we can arrange to deliver it to you, whether you are in Australia or overseas. Subscribe here to receive Crosslight in your letterbox every month.
The material posted below concerning yesterday's rallies is posted for information and for the record. However, the Social Media Project Officer, a Christian, cannot resist a comment. The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is, in many Christian traditions, a sobering and quiet day. It is a day for remembering Jesus lying in the borrowed tomb after his death on Friday and before his rising to life on Sunday. This year, the Christian holy days overlapped with the conclusion of the Jewish Passover which marks the remembrance of the escape of the Jews from tyrannical power, a tyrannical nation.
This leaves a question. Who were the noisy anti-Islamic people who were the initiators of all this noise in the public squares of Australian cities yesterday? I think it might be possible to rule out the participation of Muslims. Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath - so I think Jews could be ruled out. Some of the participants would have called themselves Christian. I would challenge these people. I would say that they are Christian in name only - and not in spirit. The true spirit of the day would not have seen public outcry and uproar. It would not have seen expressed hatred to another Abrahamic faith - because, in the Abrahamic tradition, we are taught to love and respect others as ourselves. The true spirit of the day, instead, would have been private and reflective.
Something horrible happened in Australia yesterday. It enlivened latent bigotry and xenophobia in the Australian psyche which many of us had hoped we, as a nation, would have overcome. If yesterday did nothing else, it held a mirror up to ourselves. It showed us that all Australians are not sweetness and light and good mates - but dwell in caves of unredeemed nastiness and bitterness which engenders disrespect of others.
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The post below has been cross-posted with permission from The Network
The video above and the text immediately below are from the Melbourne rally. Violent clashes at anti-Islam protests in Melbourne Thousands of anti-Muslim and anti-racism protesters have clashed in cities and towns across the country after Reclaim Australia group organised rallies Violent clashes have marred anti-Islam demonstrations in Australia.
Thousands of anti-Islam and anti-racism protesters clashed today after the Reclaim Australia group organised rallies in 16 cities and towns across the country.
The group claims to oppose Islamic extremism, the "Islamisation" of Australian society, Sharia law and the Halal-certification of most meats sold in Australia.
But counter-rallies were organised by other groups, who claim Reclaim Australia is anti-Muslim. The most violent clashes were in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, where police struggled to hold back opposing demonstrators.
Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Bentley said the Victoria state ambulance service treated four people, three for minor injuries, due to assaults in Melbourne.
The fourth was treated for chest pains.
Police arrested three people after groups clashed in the city's Federation Square. A man at the Reclaim Australia rally in Hobart was arrested and charged with assault after his group clashed with the counter-rally supporting multiculturalism.
A large rally was held in Sydney, where police were forced to remove opposition protesters who stormed the Reclaim Australia stage.
Clare Fester, who organised a counter-rally in Sydney, said Reclaim Australia was racist and divisive.
"It's quite clearly an attack on Muslims and Muslim communities in this country," she told ABC News. "It's all about halal food, sharia law, banning the burka."
But Reclaim Australia's John Oliver said it was wrong to label the group racist.
"We're not against any particular race or any particular religion," he said. "We're against the extremists of one particular religion."
One Nation's Pauline Hanson addressed supporters in Brisbane telling them she was a "proud Australian" who wanted to fight for "our democracy, culture and way of life".
Other rallies were held in Adelaide, Hobart and Perth.
On April 4th an organisation named Reclaim Australia has called racist anti-Muslim rallies across the country. Their core demands include banning the burqa, opposition to halal food and stopping sharia law. It has attracted support from far right organisations such as the Australian Defence League.
Unlike previous far right events this rally has attracted a large number of attendees on Facebook. Reclaim Australia is trying to win credibility by claiming it is not racist to be anti-Muslim. Our counter-protest aims to challenge this and make clear the racist nature of their event. We hope this will stop the hard core racists behind this event from building any greater support.
Islamophobia is already being peddled in the political mainstream. Tony Abbott and the mainstream media have labelled the entire Muslim community as responsible for terrorism.
Abbott has effectively accused Muslim leaders of sympathising with violence and terrorism, saying, “I've often heard Western leaders describe Islam as a 'religion of peace'. I wish more Muslim leaders would say that more often, and mean it.”
Abbott launched a scare campaign about terrorism following police raids in the western suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, despite there being no evidence of any terror attack planned. Just one person was charged on terror-related crimes as a result.
The raids served to whip up fear and division in the community and allow the government to pass a raft of new and invasive anti-terror laws that curb civil liberties. The result has been a spate of violent attacks on Muslims around the country, especially visibly Muslim women who wear the hijab.
It is not a coincidence that Abbott has ramped up the Islamophobia while he keeps sinking in the polls. Across the world governments are using fear of Muslims, refugees and migrants to get away with budget cuts and austerity.
This is a desperate government trying to sow fear and xenophobia in the community as a distraction.
WHY WE ARE RALLYING
We are holding a rally on April 4th in solidarity with Muslim communities all over the country who are currently under attack.
My colleague Heather al-Yousuf, who will be leading us later, mentioned the subject of inter faith marriage when she joined the Christian Muslim Forum five years ago. This is how I introduced Heather to colleagues:
‘She is married to a Shi’a Muslim and is one of the organisers of the Christian-Muslim marriage support group. She produced the Inter Faith Marriage Resource Pack (with Rosalind Birtwistle) which we have made available at a number of Forum events, though none of us are actually promoting inter faith marriage …’
This began to open up a whole new conversation for us. Should we, in order to preserve good Christian-Muslim relations, stay away from this issue? Looking back on those five years I am a little surprised to see that my response to this question fits exactly with where we have ended up and is consistent with our thinking throughout:
‘I think the main issue is helping our religious leaders to continue providing pastoral care and supporting people in their decisions. This could lead to couples feeling less isolated and families/communities less threatened. It raises many of the difficult questions that conversion poses. This is not to say that the Forum will set up any inter faith marriage initiatives, but it is a particularly sensitive area where, God willing, the Forum can be helpful to a range of people, potentially whatever their stance and involvement.
Looking back over the last year, I can say that Christian-Muslim marriage is not the most controversial issue that we have explored, but that’s another story!
The Guidelines
These are some of the issues that we sought to address in our guidelines:
Numbers of mixed relationships are increasing in the UK across all communities and will continue to do so {statistics}. The law (of the land) allows them to do so and they are increasingly normalised in society.
Within both faith communities there is ‘a spectrum of concern’ about inter faith marriages. These range from outright taboo/prohibition to cautious toleration. Differences in perspective may reflect different faith rules and historical contexts but also different traditions of relationship formation.
Family crisis: where seen as forbidden, inter faith relationships may precipitate difficult emotions of shame or fear with some associated risks of family breakdown, violence, mental ill-health.
A (religiously) legitimate marriage ceremony is often key to resolving the initial family and personal crisis over inter faith marriage. However, this can mean decisions over conversion and identification of children is made in a context of pressure/crisis and competition between identities which couples find difficult and divisive.
Treating marriage as an ‘internal’ issue for family/faith community tends to prioritise one partner’s faith rules over the other partner’s autonomy and authenticity. It sets up competition between the two paerertners’ faiths/identities, or causes dissembling about religion in order to tick the box.
Inter faith-sensitive leaders, who can respond to nuanced and complex situations are desperately needed.
Evidence from inter faith couples seems to suggest that authenticity, reciprocity and real acceptance of difference are typical core values of successful long term marriages.
Less successful IF marriages may be driven by community polarisation – faith becomes a point of conflict, there can be mutual fear of annexation and mutual hostility, or where they feel victimised and excluded by a faith community they may treat faith with ambivalence or avoidance (‘a curse on both your houses’).
Increasing number of IFMs mean increasing numbers of people of mixed and marginal identities who may identify with and draw meaning from one or more faith traditions, even those feeling excluded from the main community of faith.
IFMs are an area in which practical and sustained intimacy between the lived experience of faith traditions is disseminated through society. At best such relationships are crucibles of practical theology and working solutions for the issues of ‘coexistence’ that society faces. They create real bonds and unite people of both faiths in one family.
Thus the guidelines focus on:
ethical pastoral support
no forced conversion (including nominal conversions)
prioritising of the welfare of children
and being welcoming.
The last is a particular favourite of mine in our work, and of other inter faith activists, a welcoming attitude goes a long way.
Many people in the early 21st Century will only know C.S. Lewis by his children's books in the Narnia series - or by the movies and plays made from them. There is much, however, to explore.
The latest issue of Current Dialogue is now available! This edition of the World Council of Churches magazine on inter-religious dialogue covers the following topics:
Challenges the Assembly Theme Poses for Interreligious Dialogue: Some Personal Reflections - S. Wesley Ariarajah
Whose God of Life? Whose Justice and Peace? - Edmund Kee Fook Chia
Orthodox Expectations from the 10th Assembly of the WCC: The Importance of Interfaith, Ecological and Economic Witness - Petros Vassiliadis
Engaging Economic Injustice Today: Challenges for Interreligious Cooperation - Martin Lukito Sinaga
Delivering Peace Out of the Broken Womb: A Postcolonial Interreligious Perspective - Jea Sophia Oh
Life, Justice and Peace through Mission and Dialogue - Graham Kings
Towards an Other-Shaped Paradigm of Interfaith Relations in Nepal - Esther Parajauli
Answers to Justice-Related Suffering in Rabbinic Judaism - Viktória Kóczián
“Being found in human form…”: Monastic Practices of Humility in Archbishop Rowan Williams’ Dialogue with Buddhist Leaders - Katherine Wharton
“Minorities” and… - Clare Amos
Hopes and Uncertainties: Sri Lanka’s Journey to Find Peace and Justice in the Midst of Religious Conflicts - A. W. Jebanesan
Buddhist Resources for Reconciliation and Peacebuilding in Cambodia - Vannath Chea
Buddhist-Christian Cooperation for Moving Together towards Life, Justice and Peace - Vijaya Samarawickrama
Report of the “Inter-Religious Interface” Between Buddhists and Christians in Bangkok - Peniel Jesudason Rufus Rajkumar
Building an Interfaith Community of Young People at Bossey - Marina Ngursangzeli Behera
