Interfaith Gathering Advisory Committee

What is an interfaith network?

An interfaith network is where the leaders of faith communities:

• build trust
• work together on common issues
• educate each other about their faith, and
• hold events that show acceptance and understanding of different faith communities.

Leaders of faith communities in Moreland formed the Interfaith Gathering in 1996. 

Members

• Cr Helou
• The Gathering is open to all faith leaders and their representatives.
• Members are from the following faith communities: Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Catholic, Anglican and other Western Christian faiths, Greek Orthodox, Indian and other Eastern Orthodox faiths.

Meetings

The Moreland Interfaith Gathering meets every two months.

Awards and recognition

In 2004 Moreland Interfaith Gathering won a Community Harmony award as part of the Victorian Awards for Excellence in Multicultural Affairs.

The Moreland Interfaith Gathering is profiled in the federal government guide to building an interfaith network.

Community issues

The Gathering's response to the events of 11 September 2001 shows how the network gave a positive example of religious harmony and acceptance.

Moreland Interfaith Gathering played a constructive and positive role in response rather than an analytical and critical one. The network organised an interfaith ceremony to mark the event and issued a public statement urging mutual respect and understanding between faith groups.

Activities of the Moreland Interfaith Gathering

Inter-faith dialogue is key aspect of the activities, Inter-faith dialogue most simply, is a conversation between members of different faith traditions on common subjects. Inter-faith dialogue attempts to foster understanding among religious groups as well as developing respect and empathy and contribute to social and religious harmony.

The Interfaith Gathering meetings include a conversations and dialogue and collaborations across faith groups on common issues and projects.

A recent example of the Inter-faith activities at Moreland is the digital stories project, Beyond Belief: Young People, Faith and Identity. In partnership with students from Brunswick Secondary College, the project aim was to promote discussion and dialogue between young people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, leading to the development of succinct narrative presented as digital films.

Northern Interfaith Intercultural Project

The Northern Interfaith Intercultural Project is about building an Interfaith and Intercultural Network for Melbourne's northern suburbs. This work is led by the Centre for Dialogue and eight project partners including the following local governments:

• Banyule City Council
• Darebin City Council
• Hume City Council
• Moreland City Council
• Moreland City Council, and
• Whittlesea City Council.

For further Information contact Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University on 9479 1813 or email Dialogue.

Files

• Interfaith Gathering terms of reference (DOC 121Kb)
• Initial Report of the Northern Interfaith Intercultural Project (PDF 1Mb)

Links

• Federal Government guide to building an interfaith network

If you can't download or use PDF documents please contact Council.