Noelene Osora
A Negotiated Solution for Syria not Military Action
At this crucial time, the people of Syria and the Middle East need peace not war. Weapons or military action can not bring peace to Syria is the firm conviction of Middle Eastern Church leaders meeting this week in Amman, Jordan.
The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) expresses concern for the people of Syria and condemns the use of chemical weapons. “This crime needs to be investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted.” said the Reverend Tara Curlewis, NCCA general secretary. “External military intervention will only increase the suffering of the people and increase the risk of escalating sectarian violence”
Australian churches gear up for the International Day of Peace: a global day of action and prayer for peace
Australian churches gear up for the International Day of Peace: a global day of action and prayer for peace
Each year, on 21 September churches across Australia and the world mark the International Day of Peace through prayer and action. Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council for Churches in Australia (NCCA) is inviting churches to join this year’s action to call on our political leaders to invest in direct peace-building projects and keep their promises on the amount they spend on overseas aid.
Alistair Gee, Executive Director of Act for Peace says: “We are bringing churches together because we know that they, and their congregations, are an influential voice in Australian public life - and this is our big moment to put peace and aid on the national agenda. We’re very encouraged by the response so far with events busily being planned in churches across the country.”
Statement Concerning the Recent Sad Events in the Middle East
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Heads of the Eastern Christian Churches
In Australia and New Zealand
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” (Matthew 5:11)
We, The Bishops and Representatives of the Eastern Churches in NSW- Australia who are gathered today, Friday 23rd of August 2013 in the Office of the Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Sydney, are following closely the unfortunate incidents occurring in the Middle East. We have been witnessing the wide spread targeted attacks on churches and Christians over the past few years, and which sadly have escalated to levels unknown till now.
We express our total rejection of all kinds of violence and we are deeply concerned by the spread of armed groups and dark malicious forces which are brutally attacking public entities and churches; terrorizing the civilians and destroying our original homelands. These attacks by the extremists and fanatics are unprecedented. We condemn these actions which stand against the basic notions of freedom of religion, morals, and human rights.
NCCA Safe Church Program
THE NCCA SAFE CHURCH PROGRAM
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The Safe Church Program was officially wrapped up at the start of 2024. In recent years, we have witnessed churches around Australia responding and developing their own training and resources, and the need for the Safe Church Program to actively work in this area has been shrinking over the past few years. For over a decade, the NCCA Safe Church Program led the ecumenical endeavour to make Australian Churches safe for children and vulnerable people. It had its own membership base that included both NCCA member and non-member churches, and it worked across all denominations to support churches in their safeguarding journey. |
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SAFE CHURCH TRAINING - WHAT NOW? If you are looking for a Safe Church Awareness Workshop (or equivalent), please contact your denomination's Safe Church, Professional Standards, or other relevant office. OUR JOURNEY Since the commencement of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the release of the recommendations in December 2017, Australian churches and Christian ministries made historic changes. The NCCA Safe Church Program consulted with member churches to equip them with the resources to address and respond to the recommendations arising from the Royal Commission, and assist with capacity-building in safeguarding issues and professional standards. As part of the NCCA's commitment to assisting our Churches and Christian communities to effectively meet the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, the Safe Church Program collaborated with Child Wise to develop the NCCA Child Safety Framework and all its associated resources. The Framework and resources supported awareness-raising workshops and other training related to the safety and prevention of abuse of children and vulnerable adults. The Framework also encouraged and equipped churches to develop their own training around the safety and protection of children and vulnerable adults. Through the Safe Church Training Standards and SCP Training Partners and Providers system, the program promoted national consistency in content and standards of training. In 2023 we trained additional Awareness Workshop presenters across several states/territories, and updated many of the resources provided through our program to reflect the various legislative changes. Presenters who were trained and assessed through our Presenter Endorsement Process will continue to facilitate Safe Church Awareness Workshops and collaborate to continue to provide up-to-date information. THANK YOU We would like to thank all the churches and organisations that have worked with the NCCA Safe Church Program over the years, and all the leaders and volunteers who have worked diligently to develop, improve, and implement safeguarding training and strategies within Australian churches. Although there is still much work to be done, we celebrate the Churches' passion and commitment to creating and maintaining spaces that are safe and welcoming for all people. |
The Faith and Unity Commissioners
The Commissioners are appointed by the member churches and confirmed by the NCCA Triennial Forum.
The Commissioners for the period 2016 -2019 are;
| The Reverend Gerard Kelly (Chairperson) | Roman Catholic Church |
| The Right Reverend Doug Stevens | Anglican Church |
| The Reverend Jane Lee Baker | Anglican Church |
| The Reverend Fr Ninos Elya | The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East |
| Dr Maggie Kappelhoff | Churches of Christ |
| Rev Fr Athanasius Attia | Coptic Orthodox Church |
| Dr Philip Kariatlis | Greek Orthodox Church |
| Fr Pradeep Ponnachen | Indian Orthodox Church |
| The Reverend Andrew Brook | Lutheran Church in Australia |
| Peter Bennett | The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers Australia) |
| Birute Arendarcikas | Roman Catholic Church |
| Major Clayton Spence | The Salvation Army |
| The Reverend Dr Morag Logan | Uniting Church in Australia |
| Mr Damian Palmer | Uniting Church in Australia |
Lutheran commissioned as 7th President of the National Council of Churches
The Reverend Dr Mike Semmler from the Lutheran Church in Australia was commissioned as the President of the Natio
nal Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) last week. The service took place on Sunday 7th July, in St Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church, East Melbourne. Dr Semmler is the 7th President of the NCCA, following Bishop Michael Putney of Townsville. Dr Semmler has been the National President of the Lutheran Church for the past 13 years as he enters retirement in his own church he embraces the leadership of the NCCA with great enthusiasm.
Visitors to the 8th Forum
Visitors are welcome to attend the Forum either the whole event or as a day visitor or even to individual sessions.
The Day rate of $88.00 per day includes morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner and the opportunity to spend the day with the Delegates in all sessions unless the Chairperson requires a Forum business session to meet in a closed session.
The Forum organizers recognise that some visitors may only want to attend an occasional session and a special rate of $15.00 per session applies. This will include morning or afternoon tea when the session immediately follows or precedes one of these breaks.
There is no charge for the Ecumenical Worship; however a free will offering will be received to support ecumenical activity through the Council.
Monday Evening is the Ecumenical Lecture and details and cost for this is still being finalised. More information will be available soon.
Visitors will be asked to where a name tag at all times and to be seated in an identified area in the meeting room. Visitors are not permitted to speak or address the Forum.
The Visitor Registration form is available here .
Eastern Orthodox Christians prepare to celebrate Easter
Today over 200 million Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide commence Holy Week as they prepare to celebrate the greatest feast of the Christian calendar - Easter.
Many Orthodox Christians continue to observe the Julian calendar and this year Easter Sunday will be celebrated on May 5. Western Christians observe the newer Gregorian calendar where Easter was celebrated on March 30.
This year in Jerusalem, even though the two dates for Easter are separated by 5 weeks both the Eastern and Western churches will celebrate according to the Orthodox calendar. The Jerusalem Heads of Church agreed last year to celebrate together.
Churches horrified at the abduction of two archbishops in Syria
The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) and the whole ecumenical community is horrified at the news that two archbishops from Aleppo, Syria were abducted and their driver killed earlier this week.
“Churches around the world are concerned for the safety of Archbishop Mar Gregorius Yohanna Ibrahim, Syriac Orthodox Church and Archbishop Boulos Yazigi, Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and all the East, who were intercepted by armed men as they travelled from Turkish border areas where they were undertaking humanitarian work.” said Reverend Tara Curlewis, NCCA general secretary.
Job’s not done yet in Burma:
From Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia
Job’s not done yet in Burma: pioneering aid worker Jack Dunford MBE
to send message to Australians on upcoming visit
Humanitarian and refugee advocate Jack Dunford, who has helped hundreds of thousands of Burmese refugees over the past 30 years, will be in Australia on April 22 and 23 and is available for interview.
Mr Dunford stepped down this year as head of The Border Consortium, which continues to provide food, shelter and other assistance to 130,000 Burmese refugees in Thailand and leads assistance to and research on many thousands displaced people in eastern Burma/Myanmar.
