You are warmly invited to a Memorial Service for Pope Shenouda III which will be held at
St Mary & Archangel Michael Church, 318 Shepperton Rd, East Victoria ParkWA 6101 At 7.00pm on Thursday 22nd. Fr Abram Abdelmalek will receive condolences at that time. Please contact ecumenical@churcheswa.com.au if you require any further information
CCWA is delighted to welcome Right Reverend Brian Kyme to the role of President. Bishop Kyme is currently the Director of the Institute of Anglican Studies at St Georges Cathedral in Perth.
He has had a long involvement with both the ecumenical movement and is a past member and office bearer of CCWA. The Council looks forward to sharing his experience and wisdom.
The Council is equally as delighted to welcome Rev Dennis Ryle, Church of Christ Wembley Downs, as Chairperson. Dennis has had a long association with CCWA as an Associate and Member of the Council. He has been a tireless worker for ecumenism which is most clearly demonstrated in his work with the Council, and in his Church which has been operating as a Peace Church for a number of years, in response to a CCWA initiative. Two areas of focus have emanated from this – a local congregational environmental policy, and the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan.
The Council welcomes his commitment and enthusiasm.
Electing new office bearers means saying farewell to those who have held the role, and it is with regret that we say goodbye to Ramzy Sawiris, past President who not only leaves the role but also CCWA as he travels to USA to continue his work in the oil and gas industry. We thank him for his wisdom the clear thinking; for his boundless hospitality, and for his dedication and commitment to our churches working together.
We also thank past Chair, Rev Jeni Goring for the graciousness that she brought to that role. She has also been deeply involved with the ecumenical movement and has been able to offer much knowledge and understanding as the Council has grappled with some difficult issues. We are delighted that Jeni will remain on the Council.
The Council of Churches WA Annual General Meeting was held at St Peters and Emmaus Church Joondanna on Saturday morning. The gathering heard reports from staff members, chaplains and associate members, which provided an overview of the work of the Council in 2011.
Rev Allan Forsythe spoke about the difficulties experienced by exiting prisoners who may have lost touch with their families and friends, and who find it difficult to find supportive communities.
Rev Lorna Green, Acting Field Officer, spoke of a new vision for the way in which CCWA resources chaplaincy in a number of settings – hospital, prison and industry.
Please contact Isobelle at ecumenical@churcheswa.com.au if you would like to know more about the work of the Council.
Pope Shenouda III, spiritual leader of the Egyptian Coptic Church since 1971 and a president of the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 1991 to 1998, passed away of natural causes on Saturday 17 March. In a letter to the church dated 18 March, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit paid tribute to Pope Shenouda’s unwavering pursuit of Christian unity and peace throughout the Middle East and the world.
“As a leader he taught us that modesty is the best way to serve Christ,” wrote Tveit, noting that Shenouda is remembered as “a strong believer in Christian-Muslim conviviality and cooperation. His initiatives in the field of interreligious dialogue contributed to the unity of the Egyptian people.” Continue reading
Like many students of spirituality and theology, I have been intrigued by the Celtic vision of “thin places.” You might say that my recent book, The Center is Everywhere: Celtic Spirituality in the Postmodern World, is a poetic meditation on experiencing thin places in daily life.The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) supports calls for one dollar maximum bets on poker machines. The NCCA Executive, representing many of theChristianChurchesinAustralia, issued a statement from a meeting in Sydneythis week. Continue reading
The Council of Churches of Western Australia
In Partnership with
Dayspring Centre for Christian Spirituality
Is pleased to offer a
LABYRINTH EXPERIENCE
On Wednesday 30th May 2012
At
Wesley Uniting Church, William Street, Perth
“Unity is neither a means nor an end,” he told assembled staff, visitors and governing body members of the WCC and other organizations in the Ecumenical Centre. “Unity is what God has given us in the church.”
The responsibility of Christians who receive the gift of unity, he continued, lies in “seeking a life in which no one is without the other.” This life, “constantly moving us forward into a further truth”, compels all who live within the love of God to ask the question: “Who is not yet here?” Continue reading
Fire at a refugee camp on the Thailand-Burma border has destroyed hundreds of buildings and left 3,000 refugees in need of emergency assistance.
Act for Peace is a member of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, which provides food, shelter and other support to around 130,000 Burmese refugees living in 10 camps along the Thailand-Burma border.
On Thursday February 23, a fire broke out in the Umpiem Mai camp, which houses 17,000 refugees from Burma/Myanmar. Thankfully, there were no casualties, but more than 700 houses have been destroyed or badly damaged, leaving approximately 3,000 refugees homeless and in need of emergency accommodation.
To make matters worse, the sections of the camp affected by the fire had just collected their monthly food rations before the fire broke out, and all food rations were destroyed in the blaze. Two nursery schools, two mosques, a Muslim women’s office and a security centre were also destroyed during the fire.
Your gifts to the Christmas Bowl are already helping in the rebuilding effort at the Umpiem Mai camp. Thank you! With your help, the Consortium is providing food rations, blankets, soap, mosquito nets, first aid supplies and other items to the thousands of refugees affected by the fire, and bamboo and thatch will be purchased to rebuild or repair houses damaged or destroyed by the fire.
Please keep the people affected by this terrible situation in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you for your kind support, which means that Act for Peace can respond to emergencies like this one, and work long term to help people from countries affected by conflict and disaster, like South Sudan, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.
Lectio Divina: A brief historyLatin for Divine Lectionary or Sacred Reading.Lectio Divina is a very old method of reflection on scripture, which finds its roots in the desert movement in early Christianity. The desert fathers and mothers were a strong movement in the first four centuries of Christianity. The desert is the place where Jesus went after his baptism. It is the place where God was found and a relationship with God built in many other instances in scripture. These desert fathers and mothers lived alone or in small groups, gradually clustering in monasteries; moving from living alone- to living alone together- to sharing a communal life. They were always lively in their interaction with the larger faith community who came to seek their wisdom or simply meet with them. Continue reading
