The Wellington Abrahamic Council, The Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, and the Religious Diversity Centre invite you to a Prayer Vigil.
In October 2023, we ran a vigil to unite in sorrow for the peoples of the Holy Land engulfed in war. Sadly, the situation is ongoing, and we thought it was time to join together again.
Thursday 1 May 2025, 6:30-7:30pm at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, 2 Hill Street, Wellington
The event will provide a sacred space for those impacted by violence, to grieve their personal loss, and to give public expression to the grief for all united alongside them. There will be periods of shared silence, music, and meditative reflection.
As this is a peaceful gathering, no flags, banners, symbols or patches, please.
We hope to see you there.
You can download a poster to share with your friends and colleagues.
The Wellington Abrahamic Council of Jews, Christians, and Muslims were greatly saddened by the news of arson attacks at four churches in Masterton yesterday morning. Our prayers go out for our Christian sisters and brothers at the Anglican Church Of The Epiphany, St Patrick’s Catholic Church Masterton, Masterton Baptist Church and Equippers Church Masterton. We are here for you.
Jews, Christians, and Muslims stand together against religious extremism, as we have said in our October 2023 statement rejecting all forms of hate and bigotry. Our diverse religions present different pathways to spiritual enlightenment. The destruction of places of worship is an attack on all of us. Let us work together for an Aotearoa New Zealand where we can all peacefully practice our religions.
Our sister organisation, the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue in Jerusalem is holding an online webinar discussing women in religious leadership in Israel and Palestine.
You can watch a recording of the event right here:
What
Women at the Helm: Reimagining Religious Leadership
Sarah and Hajjar / Hagar – Our Abrahamic Matriarchs
When
Wednesday 20 November, 7:00 pm
Where
St Joseph’s Church 152 Brougham Street Wellington
Moderator
Rev Jenny Chalmers Jenny was the founding Christian Co-Chair of the Wellington Abrahamic Council, an Anglican priest, and until recently the Vicar General of the Waiapu Diocese.
Claire Massey (Jewish) Claire is former Chair of the Wellington Jewish Community Centre and current Chair of its advisory board, a professor emerita of Business, and currently teaches yoga.
Rota Stone (Christian) Rota is an ordained priest in the Anglican Church, and an ordained pastor in the Latvian Lutheran Church. She recently received a PhD on early Jewish-Christian relations.
Rehanna Ali (Muslim) Rehanna is a founding member of the Islamic Women’s Council of NZ. She has a background in Law, including Islamic Shariah, and has spent the last two decades working in the field of international development.
Abraham is the esteemed patriarch of Jews and Muslims, and the spiritual father of Christians. Our matriarchs, Sarah and Hajjar / Hagar play a pivotal role in the unfolding stories of all three Abrahamic religions.
This evening we will focus on the vital roles of these women, Abraham’s wives, the mothers of his children, and the female co-founders of our three Abrahamic religions.
Our three speakers – each one learned and distinguished members of their religious communities – will introduce the stories from their traditions and explore their past and contemporary meanings.
Connolly Hall, 10 Guildford Tce, Thorndon A light supper will be provided.
Speakers
Ahmet Ozturk (Muslim) Manager Islamic Sciences and Research Academy, Sydney.
Abi Buchhalter (Jewish) Youth Counsellor
Darlene Adrian (Christian) Environmental consultant
Religions globally, and especially the Abrahamic religions face unprecedented challenges in the 2020’s. For our religions to survive and thrive, we need to be meaningful, relevant, and attractive to people of all ages. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all face similar challenges in this respect.
In this session, we’ll explore these issues, including questions like
How does faith inspire young people?
What does meaningful religious practice look like?
What are the most pressing issues facing religious young people?
Come join this event which is being organised by the Pearl of the Islands Foundation in conjunction with the Wellington Abrahamic Council, where we’ll talk to and learn from members of our own and other religions.
At our monthly internal Abrahamic Council meeting today, we agreed on a set of values to guide our discussions. We believe these values are a good basis for interreligious discussion, and are more important now than they’ve ever been.
Our values
We are kind and respectful
We act in good faith, and assume good faith in the actions of others
We appreciate our shared values and respect our differences
We don’t try to convert others
We listen respectfully to what others say
We are genuinely interested and open
We are open to ask and answer questions
We learn from each other
We see the inherent worth in others’ beliefs and practices
We are honest
No one can represent an entire religion, but we represent our own beliefs
We identify where our personal beliefs diverge from common or mainstream beliefs
We don’t speak for the beliefs or practices of other religions
We are bold
We are not afraid to have hard conversations, but do so with sensitivity
We are tolerant and forgiving
We do not blame each other for the actions of coreligionists, present or historical
We are slow to take offence
When we are offended, we treat this as a misunderstanding, seek to understand the context, and forgive.
We are united
We make our decisions by consensus.
We seek to achieve consensus, but where this is not possible, we move on.
NOTE NEW LOCATION St Joseph’s Church 152 Brougham Street Wellington
Speakers
Paul Morris (Jewish) Paul is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Victoria University / Te Herenga Waka. He is the author of the National Statement on Religious Diversity. He is a member of the Wellington Jewish Community Centre.
Neil Vaney (Christian) Neil is a Catholic priest of the Marist order, ordained in 1969. He has been a university chaplain, lecturer, writer and spiritual director. His doctorate was in environmental ethics and the theology of nature.
Tahir Nawaz (Muslim) Tahir is a senior analyst of Muslim affairs. He has been involved in community service as the President of the International Muslim Associations of New Zealand (IMAN), and he is the Chairperson of Deen Welfare Trust, which provides social services to migrant communities.
Chair
Jenny Dawson Jenny is an Anglican priest who has served in various pastoral roles in the Waipu and Wellington dioceses. Her doctoral thesis was about the future of the church as community in this country. She is an Ignatian spiritual director.
Why do bad things happen to good people?
This question, and the answers given in our religious traditions, have framed what is often referred to the problem of evil, or theodicy, and of the meaning of justice. These religious and spiritual responses have generated profound reflections concerning the uncertainties of religious experience and human existence.
In modern times, for some, the answer to this question has been the gateway out of religious belief, for others it has served to reinforce belief and religious commitment. It remains one of the significant questions facing us as human beings.
Members of the Wellington Abrahamic Council were invited to attend a reception to welcome the newly ordained Patriarch of the Assyrian Ancient Church of the East, His Holiness, Mar Gewargis III Younan, as part of his tour of the South Pacific (Australia and New Zealand).
The reception was held on Friday 1st March 2024, beginning at 7pm at the Samoan Presbyterian Church located at 55 Daniell St in Newtown, Wellington.
The invitation came from Phil Pithyou, whose dad, Father Aprem Pithyou (now living in Australia), had been a member of the Abrahamic Council some years ago and held our Council in high regard for the inter-faith dialogues and meetings, which we either organised or attended.
Ann Desmond and Rev Rota Stone attended as representatives of the Abrahamic Council. We were made very welcome and given ‘front row’ seats where we had unobliterated views of all the proceedings.
Approximately 300 men, women, and children plus special guests, packed the hall attached to the Samoan Presbyterian Church in Newtown.
It was a very interesting evening with Phil Pithyou acting as MC. Many of those present were members of the Assyrian Ancient church of the East in Miramar. Supporting guests included Community based organisations, representatives from the Police, local government, other churches, the Jewish community, and the Wellington Abrahamic Council. Phil opened the evening by welcoming everyone, naming all the special guests.
The event proceeded with a number of speeches – all of which were spoken in Assyrian (a derivative of Aramaic). Fortunately, these were followed by an English summary for the benefit of those who did not speak or understand Assyrian.
A group of children and women entertained us by signing / chanting an Assyrian song. The children were delightful and coped very well considering this was the first time that they had performed their song in public.
The Patriarch was the last to speak, prior to the cake cutting ceremony. All the special guests were invited to cut the cake!
The evening proceeded with the main meal – a full meal of Assyrian / middle eastern foods – a veritable feast.
It was an honour to participate in the event. I have written to Phil Pithyou thanking him for the invitation and the welcome which was extended wholeheartedly to us.
Ann Desmond
Footnote: the new patriarch is described as ‘educated’ and ‘young’ (or younger than previous patriarchs). Although born in Iraq, he has lived his entire life in the USA, in Chicago. His ordination took place in Baghdad on 6 June 2023. The visiting delegation included the Vice-patriarch from Iraq, plus a number of other dignitaries.
The Wellington Abrahamic Council, The Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, and the Religious Diversity Centre invite you to a Silent Vigil.
Wednesday 28 February 2024, 5:30-7:00pm at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, 2 Hill Street, Wellington
The event will provide a sacred space for those impacted by violence, to grieve their personal loss, and to give public expression to the grief for all united alongside them. There will be periods of shared silence, music, and meditative reflection, with light vegetarian refreshments served afterwards.
As this is a peaceful gathering, no flags, banners, symbols or patches, please.
You can download a poster to share with your friends and colleagues.
Join us for the fifth Wellington Peacenic, a picnic for peace! Where: Shorland Park, Island Bay When: Sunday 18 February 2024 4pm-6pm Theme: Kids and games
We’ll get together with our Jewish, Christian, and Muslim friends, share some food, enjoy conversation, play some games, and make new friends.
Peacenic began in Auckland in 2016. It grew out of a desire to replace the polarising bad-news stories that dominate the media with real experiences of hospitality and friendship in our own backyard. The simplest gift of sharing time and food is rewarding in itself but goes beyond that to offer a glimpse of the world as it could be. In our increasingly multi-religious, multi-ethnic community, we want to help build bridges across the divisions that have historically separated Muslims, Jews and Christians.
Shorland Park is right at the main beach at Island Bay, and is right on the popular #1 bus route. Parking is available on Reef Street, and access is via a sealed pathway. Bring food to share (ideally kosher, halal, or vegetarian) but be sensitive to other faiths’ dietary requirements; ask if you are not sure. Please take rubbish away with you. Invite friends of other faiths, consider car pooling…and enjoy yourself!
Bring your kids, and we’ll all have fun together.
For further info, contact Ann Desmond on 022 494 1775.
You can also download our flyer you’d like to invite others from your faith community or post it in your church, mosque, or synagogue.
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