MANY FAITHS --- ONE PLANET : an interfaith pathway to caring for our environment

Have received the following with the picture above from Sister Veronica Lawson, a Catholic Sister of Mercy based here in Ballarat.  It comes from the Parliament of the World's Religions.

Spiritual Leaders Deliver Interfaith Climate Declaration

at COP23 - By Bicycle

PROGRAM BLOG

Posted In: 

CLIMATE CHANGE

11. 10. 2017

By

Parliament of Religions

Personal Commitment and Invitation to UN Climate Conference:

“Walk Gently on Earth”

10.11.17

MEDIA CONTACT: Rev. Fletcher Harper, revharper@greenfaith.org

+1-201-390-0094Photos, B-roll: Dorothy Breuer DorotheeBreuer@gmx.net

(Bonn, November 10, 2017) Scores of religious leaders and people of diverse faiths and spiritualities on bicycles, some wearing traditional religious clothing, delivered a multi-faith statement to the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP23), pledging to adopt sustainable behaviors themselves and calling on their followers and world leaders to do the same. The delivery also marked the launch of a new international, multi-faith sustainable lifestyles initiative.

Bishop Marc Andrus of the Episcopal Diocese of California was among faith leaders carrying the message to the UN meeting on bikes, symbolizing a commitment to sustainable transport. “By changing our own lifestyles, the lifestyles of our congregants, and the consumption habits of our congregations, we can help make good on our commitment to the Paris Agreement,” he says. “For us, it’s a way to state loudly and clearly: We’re still in.”

The COP23 Interfaith Climate Statement on Sustainable Lifestyle, entitled Walk Gently on Earth (Download Here), represents a shared assertion by religious leaders globally that widespread sustainable behavior change is required if global temperature rise is to meet the targets established by the Paris Climate Agreement. 

“Together we are coming to you with an invitation to embark on a journey towards compassionate simplicity for the sake of the climate, the human family and the community of life,” the statement says. The signatories pledged to reduce home energy use, adopt plant-based diets, and use cleaner modes of transportation, behaviors which scientists say make the greatest contribution to household greenhouse gas emissions in many countries.

The November 10th events began at 9:30 with interfaith prayers at St. Cyprian Church, Andauerallee 61, Bonn, after which bikers depart for the three-kilometer route along the Rhine River, arriving at Dahlmannstrasse and corner of WilhelmSpiritus-Ufer, steps away from the World Conference Center where the UN meetings convene. 

A UN representative accepted the declaration carried by Gopal Patel, Bhumi Project (Hindu); Saffet Catovic, Islamic Society of North America; Nana Firman, Global Muslim Climate Network (Indonesia); Tomas Insua, Global Catholic Climate Movement; Rev. Henrik Grape, Church of Sweden and World Council of Churches; Sister Jayanti, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, and Bishop Andrus.

The statement marks the launch of a global Multi-Faith Sustainable Living Initiative, a campaign launched at a day-long symposium in Bonn November 9th. The livestreamed conference (see blog post below for the video) addressed the challenges and opportunities on how to best foster sustainable lifestyles. Partners in the Initiative include leading Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Interfaith and Unitarian organizations.

Following events in Bonn, a community of multi-faith partners will work with spiritual leaders and people of faith worldwide to secure formal commitments to a sustainable lifestyle. “These commitments will accelerate a growing multi-faith sustainable living movement,” says Imam Saffet Catovic, Senior Advisor for GreenFaith, the organization coordinating the initiative. “The commitments will be announced at a global weekend of commitment in 2018 through thousands of grassroots events at spiritual and religious centers around the world,” he says.

Groups partnering on the Multi-Faith Sustainable Living Initiative include the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, The Bhumi Project, CIDSE, Franciscan Action Network, the Global Catholic Climate Movement, the Global Muslim Climate Network, GreenFaith, Hazon, Islamic Society of North America, One Earth Sangha, Parliament of the World’s Religions, Friends World Committee for Consultation (Quaker), Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the World Evangelical Alliance, and the World Council of Churches. 

*****

Quotes from religious and spiritual leaders on COP23 Interfaith Climate Statement

Addressing climate change by reducing our carbon footprint is a moral responsibility as Khualfa al-ard – caretakers, stewards, and guardians of the earth. We must care for all of creation. Reshaping our patterns of consumption and conservation not only help preserve the planet for us and our future generations, but also improve overall public health and economic prosperity, particularly for the vulnerable amongst us who are most severely impacted by climate change. Dr. Azhar Azeez, President, Islamic Society of North America

As Muslims we are enjoined to be the custodians of God on this earth. We must walk softly thereupon and do no harm. This ethic is desperately needed if we are to help avert a looming climate disaster. -- Imam Zaid Shakir, Co-founder, Zaytuna College, Berkeley, CA

God the creator has given us this world as our common home, together with all that are created and living here. We have to walk on the land and sail at the sea with care and deep respect for what is given. To love God and to love our neighbor means that we also love the creation of God. -- Rev Dr. Olav Fykse-Tveit, General Secretary of World Council of Churches

Keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius will take people of all faiths and all nations working together as quickly as possible. In Laudato Si' Pope Francis said, "All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation. " That is why Catholics, through the Global Catholic Climate Movement, have signed this interfaith statement committing to adopting a sustainable lifestyle. We stand with our brothers and sisters of all faiths to protect creation the poor and vulnerable. -- Bishop Allwyn D'Silva Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Bombay

Climate change isn't a side issue for Catholics. It’s one of the most important things we can do to live out our faith. It's a way to protect the poor and care for the gifts God has given us. With sisters and brothers from all faith backgrounds standing beside us, we have good cause for hope. Climate solutions are within our grasp. -- Tomas Insua, Executive Director, Global Catholic Climate Movement

Evangelicals responding to the biblical call to care for creation want to know how they can live joyful, faith-consistent lives that care for God’s gift of creation. In addition to advocating for necessary large-scale solutions to tackle climate change— which is the greatest creation care challenge of our generation, our individual lifestyle choices, when scaled up can make a big difference. Dr. Chris Elisara, Director World Evangelical Creation Care Task Force.

In the Hindu tradition we believe the world is one family. That world includes not only human beings but also all living beings, all of Mother Nature and Mother Earth. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each of us to live in a way that is sustainable for all beings with whom we share this planet, today and for all future generations. To abuse it, neglect it, or destroy it, is sacrilege. -- Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, President Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance

We cannot be bystanders when our planet is in such danger; we belong to this living web and are called to consciously engage. While that engagement needs to address the larger political and economic systems that can wreak such havoc, it also needs to include our daily relationships with each other and the earth. Can our daily choices in consuming and sharing our own resources reflect the truth that we are a part of this precious world and it needs our care? --Tara Brach, Buddhist author, teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC

LIVESTREAM: Launch of the Multi-Faith Sustainable Living Initiative

Remembering the dead - in action, in prayer, as community

The text and the pictures of this post are taken from Religion News Service
This is from a USA viewpoint - but The Editor of this blog thinks it applies in
other nations and situations as well.

Who decides when we as a country pray
and when we act?

By Chloe Breyer 

SHARETWEET EMAILPRINTMORE

 (RNS) — The similarities and contrasts of two terrible attacks in recent days — one in Manhattan and one in Sutherland Springs, Texas — begs the question: When do we as Americans pray, and when do we act?

In one case, after a man driving a truck ran over scores in New York City, our president demanded new immigration restrictions immediately without qualms about offending the friends and family of victims, who came from Argentina, Belgium, New Jersey and New York.

And after a gunman attacked a Texas church five days later,  President Trump called for prayers and skirted any discussion of policy change. Conservative lawmakers argued that discussing gun control would be an offense to the 25 people between the ages of 1 and 77 who, like the innocent civilians in New York, were also killed in cold blood.  

As an Episcopal priest and director of the Interfaith Center of New York, I believe the dichotomy between prayers and action portrayed in the Twitter feeds of our leaders is a false one and serves neither the dead, the bereaved, nor our nation as a whole. It reveals a narrow view of prayer on the one hand and a shortsighted understanding of action on the other.

Last Tuesday evening (Oct.31), after establishing that friends weren’t in the path of the attacker’s van, I saw an email from a member of the Majlis Ashura (Islamic Council of New York), a fellow member of New Yorker Interfaith Coalition Against Islamophobia. The email read, “I hope and pray someone will be organizing an interfaith vigil.”

Along with the Muslim Community Network and other faith groups, we began a now all-too-familiar drill: Find a location, secure a permit, put up a Facebook invite, get co-sponsors, rent sound equipment, locate electric candles, draw up a speakers list and send out invitations. By early Wednesday morning, a plan was in place.

Who arrives at a moment’s notice to something like this? Who showed up at this vigil on Wednesday night on the steps of Foley Square to commemorate the dead and to pray for the city? Debbie Almontaser, a co-organizer of the vigil and the chair of Muslim Community Network, welcomed the assembled crowd and introduced  Manhattan’s borough president. Then came an inspiring slate of diverse religious leaders from all over the city.

We heard from a member of Sadhana: The Coalition of Progressive Hindus, a bicyclist herself who brought her bike up on our makeshift stage as she said her Hindu prayer. Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah and Evan Bernstein of the Anti-Defamation League offered their Jewish perspective. Three prominent Christian pastors spoke as well: the Rev. Winnie Varghese from Trinity Church Wall Street, the Rev. Jacqueline Lewis from Middle Collegiate Church and the Rev. Kaji Dousa from Park Avenue Christian Church.

Aldo Rafael Perez of the Islamic Leadership Council of New York — in Spanish and English — mourned the dead, prayed for the families, condemned terrorism and gave thanks for the police and first responders who put their lives on the line to stop the carnage.

Family and friends of Nicholas Cleves introduced themselves to us at the vigil. Nicholas was the 23-year-old software developer, Skidmore College graduate and only native New Yorker of the eight people murdered last Tuesday. Bahij Chancey, Nicholas’ childhood friend, carried a piece of cardboard with his name on it and photographs of Nicholas smiling astride his bike. The religious leaders and Nicholas’ family and friends read the names of the dead one at a time, by the light of the plastic candles we all held up.

This understanding of prayer — a collective, public expression of grief and solidarity inclusive of Islam, the very religious tradition so desecrated after the suspect, Sayfullo Saipov, reportedly said he committed his atrocities in its name — this vision of prayer that recognizes our common humanity across faith lines and national borders, seems wider than the definition of prayer many of our political leaders express after American mass slaughters.

A narrow understanding of both prayer and action was on display from the White House in the recent inconsistent response to the two terrible tragedies.

According to our national leadership, prayer actually has a narrow and specific meaning: It is something that Christian Americans do when they lose their loved ones to indiscriminate violence. Other prayers, such as those expressed in New York, with the outpouring of grief from Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders, are deemed less valid.

How else do we explain that in the Sutherland Springs church shooting, the administration deems discussion of policy change as an affront to the prayers of the bereaved? But in the case of New York, the prayers of bereaved families and fellow citizens should apparently not be offended by a same-day call to end the green card lottery.

The prayers and heartache of some were less valid than others and therefore not worth the sign of “respect” that a pause in policy advocacy apparently indicates.

And what about action? The juxtaposing of the New York City and Sutherland Springs attacks again reveals a shortsighted and narrow definition of the word in the mouths of our national elected leaders. The action we need at this time – across both acts of mass violence – is coming together across our diverse backgrounds to find solutions rooted in evidence, not religious discrimination.

We need inclusive prayer and farsighted action together.

Martin Luther King Jr., second from left, and Abraham Joshua Heschel, second from right, during Selma march in 1965. Courtesy of Susannah Heschel

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the civil rights leader and scholar who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., when challenged by some people in his community as to why he would march on the Sabbath, replied famously that he was praying with his feet. Heschel, like King, embraced the prophetic strand of his religious tradition as much as he did the pastoral. He knew his civil rights activism for policy change was sacred because Jim Crow laws and legally justified segregation denied the God-given equality of all people regardless of race, religion, gender or national origin.

With the benefit of hindsight, we know King and Heschel’s “actions” to be prophetic. At the time, plenty of their pro-segregationist enemies would have been quick to call their activism disrespectful for whatever reason happened to be lying around at the time.

Policy or action, then, when it is portrayed by politicians as “disrespectful” to the prayers and grief of those who mourn the death of their loved ones in the recent senseless killings in New York and Southerland Springs, deserves a qualifier when it is pronounced as such by our political leaders. What they really mean is “certain policy actions” are disrespectful to “a particular kind of expression of prayer.”

(The Rev. Chloe Breyer is executive director of the Interfaith Center of New York and an associate priest at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Harlem. The views expressed in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.

Religious freedom for Indonesian native faiths

Court recognises Indonesian native faiths in victory for religious freedom

·       Jewel Topsfield

·       Karuni Rompies

This story is from The Age of 8 Nov 2017

Dewi Kanti adheres to a traditional Indonesian religious belief system known as Sunda Wiwitan, which venerates the power of nature and the spirit of ancestors.

She is among perhaps 15 million native-faith followers in Indonesia who have been discriminated against for decades by Indonesia's policy of only recognising six official religions.

As it stands, Indonesians have had to list their religion as Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist or Confucian on their national identification cards –or leave the religion field blank.

But those who left their ID cards blank had difficulty registering their marriage, obtaining birth certificates, accessing employment as civil servants and applying for government services.

Now, in an historic victory for religious freedom in Indonesia, the Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday it was discriminatory to require native-faith followers to leave the religion field blank.

Constitutional Court Judge Saldi Isra said this was not in line with the spirit of the 1945 Constitution, which enshrines religious freedom.

The court recommended that a seventh category be created – native-faith followers –  although the card would not specify the particular faith.

Sunda Wiwitan is one of several hundred native-faith beliefs across Indonesia. They follow an animistic system of belief but over time have been influenced by other religions including Hinduism and Islam.

Ms Dewi welcomed the Constitutional Court decision. "Our fight has borne fruit," she said.

"The most important thing is the restoration of civil rights especially for those who have been stigmatised. Under the repressive New Order regime, I was stigmatised as (following) a deviant sect. This is a realisation on the part of policymakers that there has been an abuse of our constitutional rights."

Despite practising a native Javanese faith, Ms Dewi's husband had been forced to put "Catholic" on his ID card so the couple could obtain birth certificates for their children.

She said it was almost impossible to know how many people still adhered to Sunda Wiwitan, because there were no administrative records.

"In 1964 there were around 10,000 to 15,000 of us," she said.

However, blasphemy laws passed in 1965 stipulated only six religions would be officially recognised.

"The New Order regime said it was compulsory for all citizens to follow a religion, this was a policy to fight communism because communism was regarded as atheist or not believing in God," said Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the vice chairperson of the Setara Institute for democracy and peace.

"Native faith was regarded as not believing in God because it was ethnocentric."

He said the Constitutional Court ruling provided protection to followers of native faiths and granted equality among followers of other religions.

Human Rights Watch Indonesia researcher Andreas Harsono said the court ruling marked the end of Indonesia only recognising six religions.

See also Wikipedia entry - Native Indonesians

See also SETARA Institute

Andreas Harsono - his website

See also Religion of Java

Shabbat Shalom

From the Facebook site of

the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Australia

We pray for a refreshing Shabbat for all our Fellowship friends around the world! 

Have our daily devotionals sent straight to you:bit.ly/2gG8Qlo

VICTORIAN INTERFAITH NETWORKS CONFERENCE - BENDIGO - 2017 - PROGRAM

BOOK YOUR FREE BUS SEAT TO THE VICTORIAN INTERFAITH CONFERENCE IN BENDIGO. REGISTRATION IS FREE TOO.

To see the Bendigo program, please go here.

Victoria's Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill - Religions protest

Pressure is mounting on state MPs as they prepare to debate controversial voluntary euthanasia laws next week.

The pro and anti campaigns are ramping up their efforts, with voting on the bill to begin as early as next Thursday.

More than 120 doctors from around the state intervened on Wednesday, writing to all 127 parliamentarians, urging the politicians to "reduce the suffering" of terminally ill Victorians by voting in support of the euthanasia laws.

The doctors' intervention came as a coalition of religious leaders launched a united campaign on Wednesday, pushing for a no-vote.

Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs and Christians gathered on the steps of Victorian Parliament to deliver a statement opposing the laws to Deputy Premier James Merlino.

The material for this post has been taken from Ballarat's daily newspaper, The Courier.

For more information on what is being considered/proposed by the Victorian Govt,

please read

The Final Report of the Ministerial Advisory Panel

on Voluntary Assisted Dying: Final Report

Editor's Note:

With Voluntary Assisted Dying, people are being offered an option.

There are particular safeguards on the manner of carrying out the option.

Those with conscientious objections have their objections respected.

The role of palliative care is neither overlooked nor is it excluded. 

Conservatism and Conversion within a Gun Culture

The Editor has been visiting this blog, Resistance & Renewal, for quite a long time. It is no surprise that so soon after the mass shooting in Las Vegas there is a timely reference to the event.  In addition, the massacre has an Australian connection.  John Kuhrt, the Editor of R& R, is on the ball -- theologically and politically.

The overtly religious America we so often see depicted and reflected politically in contradiction to the Christian scriptures, often seems to those outside the USA to be hypocritical in a confronting and conflicting way.

The Editor found the portrayal of this event republished below to be horrifying:

Two years ago I wrote a post about my friend who went to a church service in Mississippi and heard the Pastor stand up and talk about a competition they were running to see who could invite the most new people along to the church in one month.

And what was the prize for the winner? An AR-15 assault rifle – plus a 100 rounds of ammo for good measure. My friend could not believe it as he watched the Pastor hold the gun up and enthusiastically announce ‘This is a killing machine’:

There was a good ending to the story because my friend’s concerns led to a genuine dialogue which resulted in the church graciously withdrawing the prize. Instead, my friend, who is a carpenter, offered to donate a coffee table he had made which was awarded instead of the gun.  He was inspired by the passages in Isaiah about ‘beating swords into ploughshares’ (2:4) and rather than just condemning the church wanted to help find a more creative and redemptive way forward.

The terrible events of Las Vegas this week will see predictable re-runs of the arguments between proponents and opponents of gun control. We will also see plenty of hashtags and trite appeals to #prayforlasvegas. I believe God is wearied by these prayers, especially from people who are so opposed to taking any steps which will produce real change.

Many people are saying that after Sandy Hook, where 20 children were killed by a gunman, that there is no longer any hope for meaningful gun reform. Perhaps they are right.

A mass movement for change?

But could we dream about what would happen if gun-owning Christians, led and inspired by church leaders, decided to make the first step and decided to lay down their guns as part of a mass movement and hand them in?  It could be a ‘Gun Jubilee’ inspired by the cancellation of debts instructed in Deuteronomy 15.

It may sound naive but I think history tells us the only hope for radical change lies in some form of coordinated, faith-inspired, mass movement.  Faith may be easily misdirected or corrupted but it is also the only force which can provide the sufficient bandwidth of public vision and spiritual energy to create change. At its best, authentic Christianity is personal, practical, public and political.

On December 1st 1955, Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat on the bus and sparked a critical phase in the civil rights movement.  Who will be prepared to make a costly stand on this issue?

The Light of Unity: a presentation of the Ballarat Baha'i Community to celebrate the Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahaú'llah