September 15-22, 2022
World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel
Theme: “Faith, Hope and Love in Action: Towards Justice in Israel Palestine.”
World Council of Churches (WCC) invites people and churches all over the world to pray, advocate, and stand in solidarity with people in the Holy Land during the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel. This year, the theme is anchored in active hope and in striving for a better future with no occupation.
Worship resources and information here.
Wednesday 21st September, 6-7pm AEST
Receptive ecumenism – learning and healing together: Reflections on the 5th International Receptive Ecumenism Conference
With Rev Prof Vicky Balabanksi and Rev Peter Balabanski.
Free, online registration for Zoom link.
5.30-6.30pm Adelaide time (6-7pm Melbourne timezone)
Tuesday 20th September 2022, 10.30am-12 noon
Cultural diversity data seminar – 2021 Census
Free event
The seminar will be jointly hosted by SBS and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and will reveal data insights about the cultural diversity of the Australian community. It will provide useful and practical information for any organisation wishing to learn more about the makeup of an increasingly diverse Australia. If you are unable to tune in on the day, the seminar will be recorded and available on the ABS website and the ABS YouTube channel after the event. For more information visit the ABS website.
Registration here.
Wednesday 21st September 2022
UN International Day of Peace
Thursday 22nd September 2022, 7-8.30pm AEST
Religion, Peace & the Moral Issues of Fully Autonomous Weapons (free hybrid seminar)
Due to growing concerns surrounding fully autonomous weapons or ‘Killer Robots’, Religions for Peace Australia, Quakers Victoria, Pax Christi Victoria, URI, Canberra Interfaith Forum, The Multifaith Association of South Australia, Stop Killer Robots Australia and others are jointly hosting an informative and interactive event in person and online. Autonomous Weapons will be able to select and engage targets without meaningful human control. They use artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning to make life and death decisions without human compassion, judgment or morality. We invite you to join all people of conscience and faith in speaking out to preserve our humanity. As it says in the Interfaith Statement on Killer Robots “Instead of placing our faith in technologies that unaccountably kill, maim and destroy human life, we devote ourselves to building cultures of peace, nonviolence, dialogue, and mutual cooperation, respecting the dignity of difference.”
Speakers include:
Philippa Rowlands – Chair,Religions for Peace Australia
Caesar D’Mello – Pax Christi Australia
Rev. Chris Parnell – Religions for Peace Australia
Matilda Byrne – Stop Killer Robots Australia
Dean Sahu Khan – Canberra Interfaith Forum
Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky – South Australian Faith Leader
Venue: Zoom Online or Victorian Quaker Centre, 484 William Street, West Melbourne, Vic, 3003
Registration: https://forms.gle/qFCdsQ4mMAZbXtDR6
Thursday 22nd September, 11 am
A free NCLS* webinar with Dr Ruth Powell, Director of NCLS Research, and a panel of experienced ministry practitioners – Dr Coz Crosscombe (Sydney Anglicans), Aaron Fozzard (Queensland Baptists),Rev Dr Paul Goh (Uniting Church in SA)and Major Sandra McLean (The Salvation Army Australia) who will provide practical reflections on the keynote presentation of the demographic picture of Australian churchgoers. (*National Christian Life Survey)
What do we know about the people who go to church in Australia today? How old are they? What is their education level? What is their cultural background? This free webinar that will present a demographic picture of Australian churchgoers based on the results from the 2021 National Church Life Survey.
To register for the free webinar 
http://ow.ly/OVQ850KlweR
Sunday 25th September – Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
Sunday 25th September – Week 4 of Season of Creation
(continues through Sundays in September)
Season of Creation is the annual ecumenical celebration that unites the world’s 2.4 billion Christians in prayer and action for our common home. The 2022 Season of Creation theme reflects on the need for all Christians to truly “Listen to the Voice of Creation”.
Sunday 25th September, 12 noon
International Day of Peace: a Multifaith, Multicultural Discussion (free event) Facebook event link here.
Event is FREE but please RSVP via Humanitix or email Secretary@coburg.victas.uca.org.au
Sunday 25th September, 4-5.30pm (Zoom only, free event)
Sr Joan Chittister: ‘The Time is Now’. A call to action.
In this address, ‘The Time is Now’, Sr Joan Chittister calls on listeners to become modern day prophets, to confront the power-hungry institutions and systems of the world, and to move toward a world of justice, freedom, peace and empowerment.
How does Christian faith connect with the contemporary world? What are the implications now of being Christian?
Zoom link using URL or Meeting ID is 86518600824, and the Passcode is 433216.
Sr Joan Chittister is an American Benedictine nun, theologian, author and speaker. She has written more than 50 books and received numerous awards for her work on behalf of peace, and of women in church and in society. Her context is the Catholic Church and society in America, but her words have resonance in Australia. Everyone Welcome!
Organised by the Progressive Christian Network of Victoria.
Tuesday September 27th, 11am
A contemplative action for climate justice
A national prayerful gathering held online by Zoom every Tuesday (leading up to COP27 in Egypt in November 2022). No password needed for Zoom link. All welcome.
Each session will follow the format created by Fr Peter Martin, facilitator of Queenscliff Lonsdale Anglicans Prayers for COP 26
* 3-5 minutes introduction into silence by a guest speaker
* 25 minute meditation
* 5 minutes listening, non-controversial sharing time for those that want to stay on.
Wednesday 28th September
Melbourne City Churches in Action (MCCIA)
Spring Bible Studies (session 2)
Covid lockdowns have produced an existential and spiritual challenge to our churches that has been quite severe. How do you maintain the faith when gathering together is forbidden by the government for health reasons? MCCIA is planning a series of studies that seek to address this question with three of our congregational leaders to help us bring to awareness the resources of biblical tradition that have proved to be important. The sessions will be on the last Wednesday evening of the month at 6:00 p.m, commencing on 31st August. (The first meeting was held on Zoom, but may be in person thereafter).
28 September: Rev. Grant Edgcumbe (Holy Trinity Church)
26 October: Rev. Margaret Mayman (St. Michael’s Church)
Contact: Sandy Yule for more information and registration, yules@optusnet.com.au
Saturday 1 October 2022, 7 pm Taize Service
Chalice (Northcote Uniting Church) hold a Taize service on the first Saturday each month.
Venue: 251 High St, Northcote
(Bring $10 towards pizza and wine – but not essential)
See Facebook page here.
Sunday 2nd October 2022 World Quaker Day
World Quaker Day is an annual event to celebrate the diversity of global Quakerism and build connections.
Quakers Australia on Facebook.
Sunday 2nd October 2022 World Communion Sunday
Monday 3rd October 2022, 11am-12 noon (free, via Zoom)
Voices of Victoria: Listening Tour report
VCOSS (Victorian Council of Social Services) is proud to share the Voices of Victoria: Listening Tour report from the statewide ‘Listening Tour’ held from February to May 2022. Victorians spoke about loneliness, the ‘digital divide‘, housing struggles, access to decent food and the rising cost of essentials among their chief concerns. VCOSS is hosting an online briefing session to step through the findings of the report.
Registration online.
For enquiries please contact lyndsey.bateman@vcoss.org.au
Tuesday 4th October 2022 Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement – holiest day of the year in the Jewish faith) to Wednesday 5th October 2022. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a day-long fast, confession and intensive prayer, with synagogue services.
Saturday 8th October
One day conference on Actions for Churches – Disabilities and Mental Health. Organised by the UCA Vic/Tas Justice Advocate Mark Zirnsak in collaboration with the Victorian Council of Churches. Highly recommended for churches.
More details here.
Sunday 9th October – Jewish Festival of Succot
Succot (‘booth’ or ‘tabernacle’) is the third of the Jewish holidays known as the “Shalosh Regalim” – “three festivals” – the other two being Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost). It takes place after Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) in the Jewish calendar.
(it continues with various services, events and activities until 18th October)
11th October 2o22
International Day of the Girl Child
Tuesday 11th October 2o22, 9.30am-12.30pm
Intercultural Seminar on Zoom ($10 + booking fee)
Rev Dr Monica Melanchthon is Associate Professor of Old Testament at the Pilgrim Theological College in Australia. She is a graduate of the United Theological College, Bangalore (BD) and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, USA (Th.M and PhD). Born and raised in India, she taught Hebrew Bible studies and Women’s Studies at the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, Chennai, India, before coming to Australia in 2012. Monica positions herself as a feminist advocate and liberation theologian, committed to producing reflections and texts that resist and counter cultures and languages of dominance that exclude the voices of the oppressed. She has strong commitments to the marginalized, particularly, women and Dalits. She draws on insights derived from the lived experiences and social biographies of the marginalized, particularly women and dalits to interpret the biblical text. Monica is an ordained Lutheran minister.
Registration here.
Tuesday 11th October, 7-8.30 pm
JCMA October Free Online Discussion Group
Part 2:’Living & Dying’
Participants are invited to bring along any piece of writing they have found helpful for understanding the concept of ‘Living’ or ‘Dying’ in their religious tradition. As always, the JCMA Discussion Group is not a presentation’, but a joint conversation about pieces of writing in which we find something of our faith reflected, and which we would like to share with others in JCMA.
More information and registration here.
Wednesday 12th October 2022
20th anniversary of Bali bombings
Thursday 13 Oct 8.00 am – 9.00 am
Geelong Faiths For Climate Justice Multi-faith Service
Venue: Christ Church, McKillop Street, Geelong
Organiser: ARRCC Melbourne
More information here.
Thursday 13 Oct 5.10 pm – 6.00 pm
Melbourne Faiths For Climate Justice Multi-faith Service
Venue: St Paul’s Cathedral, Flinders Street, Melbourne
Organiser: ARRCC Melbourne
More information here.
Tuesday 18th October, 10.30am-12.30pm
Women’s morning tea with Dr Susan Carland
(academic, author, and social commentator)
Venue: Islamic Museum of Australia, 15A Anderson Rd, Thornbury
Suitable for ages : 18+
Cost: $40/table of 10 – $400
What’s included:
* A fully catered morning tea
* Conversation with special guest Dr Susan Carland
* Admission to the Islamic Museum of Australia
Females from all cultural and faith backgrounds are welcome.
Information and registration here.
16-20th October 2022
Anti-Poverty Week
(17th of October is the United Nations Day for the Eradication of Poverty)
Worship resources and information here.
Thursday October 20th, 6.30-7.30pm
A crack in the wall: Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan
Venue: The Wheeler Centre (south wing of State Library, 176 Little Lonsdale Street)
Information and registration here. Cost $20/15.
Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan represent two worlds torn apart. Aramin is a Palestinian academic who spent seven years in an Israeli jail for his role in the Palestinian resistance. Elhanan is an Israeli graphic designer who served in the Israeli Army as a young man.
On the first day of the school year in 1997, Elhanan’s daughter, Smadar, was killed by two Palestinian suicide bombers. In 2007, Aramin’s 10-year-old daughter, Abir, was killed by Israeli border police in front of her school.
United by this shared grief, these two unlikely friends have devoted their lives to building peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Their quest to overcome hatred, reconcile and ultimately heal from unimaginable loss carries inspiration and hope in a time of unprecedented polarisation.
October 22nd, 2022, 9.30am – 4.45pm
Inaugural First People’s Theological Conference (Sydney, & also online)
An opportunity to hear the voices and perspectives of First Peoples on issues relating to the Uniting Church, Theology, and Reconciliation.
Keynote speakers include:
- Rev. Mark Kickett, Interim National Chairperson of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC).
- Rev. Dr Garry Deverell, Lecturer and Research Fellow, School of Indigenous Studies, University of Divinity.
- Professor Dr Anne Pattel-Gray, Head of the School of Indigenous Studies with University of Divinity.
Cost: in person $65/$50 concession; Digital Access ticket $35.
Registration on Eventbrite
Wednesday 26th October, 7.30pm
Maroondah Winter Shelter Advocacy Group is hosting a Housing Forum at North Ringwood Uniting Church, 14 Dickson Crescent, North Ringwood prior to the Victorian State Election which will be on November 26th, 2022.
Contact and more information: minister@nruc.org.au
Friday 28th October, 6-7.30pm AEST
Intercultural Bible Reading (free online event)
How might we open ourselves to new ways of understanding the Bible to share with the world? Could our neighbour prove a vital asset in bringing fresh perspectives to the text? Might reading with our neighbours help us not to brush over familiar texts but to become active listeners and, in the process, hear more clearly from our neighbours? Dr. Mburu is the author of the text African Hermeneutics (Langham Press, 2019). Youtube interview here. Registration here.
1st November 2022
All Saints Day
Sunday November 13th, 12-4pm
2022 Victorian Interfaith Networks Festival
Free event
Theme: What creates a sense of belonging for young people in a Multifaith and Multicultural society? In 2022, the Festival will focus on youth, with young speakers, youth performances and a youth workshop on ‘Faith, Multifaith and Multiculturalism’.
Venue: Hawthorn Arts Centre,
360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
More information and registration on Eventbrite.
20th November 2022
World Children’s Day
Wednesday 23rd November 2022
Go Home on Time Day
This is an initiative of the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, and serves as an accessible way to start conversations about work-life balance and the enormous unpaid contributions staff make to their workplaces. ‘Time Theft‘
25th November: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
The day raises awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence. Learn and pray in your church Sunday 20 or 27 November, or revisit the Common Grace 16 Days of Prayer series here.
The annual Holding the Light Service will be held at Eastern Hill Anglican Church.
25 November to 10 December 2022
The United Nation’s international campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, takes place each year from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) until 10 December (International Human Rights Day). The 2022 theme is ‘Respect Women: Call It Out (Respect Is)’.
‘Safe and Equal’ website here.
Blessing of the Nativity (date in mid Dec to be advised)
The annual ‘Blessing of the Nativity scene‘, with representatives of the City and the inner city churches, will take place at Federation Square (corner of Swanston Street & Flinders Street).
December 18th – 3rd Pillars of Light Festival (celebration of Chanukah, held over several evenings)
Federation Square
(Jewish celebration, intentionally multicultural and multi faith)
JCMA On-line Monthly Discussion Group
(Jewish Christian Muslim Association)
Scriptural Reasoning Three Part Discussion Series:
‘Cosmos, Creation, Life & Death’
Part 1 – Cosmos & Creation (9th August)
Part 2 and 3 – dates tbc
More information and registration here.
Zoom link will be sent to those who register nearer the event time.
People are welcome to bring along any piece of writing they have found helpful for understanding the concept of ‘Creation’ or ‘Creator’ in their religious tradition.
As always, the JCMA Discussion Group is not a ‘presentation’, but a joint conversation about pieces of writing in which we find something of our faith reflected, and which we would like to share with others in JCMA.
ARCHIVED EVENTS here
Other dates for First Nations people here
Key dates 2023
Good Friday – Ecumenical Walk
Organised by Melbourne City Churches in Action (MCCIA)
An ecumenical walk through the City of Melbourne to remember Jesus’ walk to the Cross. The walk is marked by a series of 14 superb bronze sculptures which tell the story of the journey of Jesus from the Last Supper to the Cross. The 14 ‘stations’ are placed outside various City Churches with two in the grounds of St Patrick’s Cathedral. At each station those participating pause for prayer, readings, reflection and song. The walk commences at St Francis Church in Lonsdale Street and concludes at St Paul’s Cathedral in Flinders Street.
9th August
United Nations International Day of World’s Indigenous People
10th August International Prisoners’ Justice Day
Prisoners’ Justice Day is a solidarity movement that takes place annually on August 10 in support of prisoners’ rights and to remember all the people who have died of unnatural deaths while incarcerated. Plenty to think about with Aboriginal deaths in custody, and refugees who have died in detention.
Resources (prayers and information) here.
12th August 2022
International Youth Day
21st August Asia Sunday (CCA)
23rd August International Day For The Remembrance Of The Slave Trade And Its Abolition
More here.
Slavery in Australia including Indigenous Australians and Pacific Islanders (‘black birding’) and modern slavery.
World Water Week, 23 August – 1 September 2022
2023 Theme:
Perhaps congregations might like to include a focus on water on Sunday 28th August?
Some worship resources for ‘water’ can be found here.
Sunday 4th September Fathers Day
A Father’s Day blessing (PC NZ)
Father’s Day resources (Strandz)
A Toolkit for Dads (Focus on the Family)
Father’s Day craft activities (Ministry to Children)
Prayers for Father’s Day & Mother’s Day (Building Faith)
Father’s Day (Pilgrim Worship Resources website)
Child Protection Week (first week in Sept every year)
2022 theme: ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’
Organised by NAPCAN
For liturgical resources could check out Child Protection Week