The
Catholic Weekly
Online
Sydney
22 February 2004
Home
Archive
Subscribe
Links
Contact
A melting pot of faith
Jobs plan may hurt disabled
Theology of Body
First PNG Michaelites
Census data
‘Quiet revolution in our school buildings’
‘Outstanding’ approach to teaching
Cardinal will launch Project Compassion
Pregnant pause: First all-night ‘wake up’ call of baby acrobatics
Human rights
Alternative to IVF
Young take steps on interfaith road
Questions to shape choice of next Pope
Editorial: Value for money
Letters: Confession
Conversation: Fr Con Keogh, honoured for helping people rehabilitate themselves - ‘Insane’ priest who draws others to God
Easter – a renewal of life
Pancakes for peace
Catholic schools build for the future
St Joseph’s – a happy partnership where ‘everyone is bubbling over’
‘Getting value for their money’
Shot fanned flames of fear
Knocked out by Marists
Obituary: Capuchin Fr Ted gave up farming and shearing for a ‘late’ vocation
Obituary: Fr Colin, Renaissance man
... mud, sweat and gears? Crazy!
Riverview’s ‘Big Bird’
Young take steps on interfaith road
By Marilyn Rodrigues
Similarities are more important than differences. That’s the consensus of Bahije Mawas, 19, Kelly Millward, 22, and Kim Baetz, 20, who are among 30 young Christians, Muslims and Jews who spent a week living together as part of a Sydney interfaith youth project.
The week-long immersion in the three faith communities was part of the Journey of Promise, an interfaith project which began last year.
It has been developed by the National Council of Churches in Australia, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry as part of the National Dialogue of Christians, Muslims and Jews.
The young Sydneysiders who volunteered to take part came together for three major celebrations, Eid
Ul-Fitr, Chanukkah and an Orthodox Church Christmas service.
But the main event was the live-in immersion experience where 10 Jews, 10 Muslims and 10 Christians (Catholic, Anglican and Uniting Church) spent a week based at North Sydney.
Kelly says the first few days were an opportunity for them to “explore each other’s faiths”.
They visited a Muslim school and a mosque and spoke to a representative from the Islamic Women’s Network
On the Saturday they attended St Ives Synagogue, and on Sunday they split into three groups to attend a Catholic, Anglican or Uniting Church service.
They also visited the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry at La Perouse.
“Then we looked at how we can move forward together,” says Kelly.
Kelly is on an interfaith committee formed on the last day to facilitate ongoing dialogue and events. A picnic is being organised for Harmony Day – Sunday, March 21 – as a follow-up.
“The most important thing about the week was the informal conversations and sharing most evenings, after the planned activities were over, and the last day,” she says. “They were really the times of exploring each other’s beliefs and thoughts.”
Kelly, a nurse, has had experience in youth work, drug and alcohol counselling and in overseas mission in the Philippines, Thailand and South Africa. She is devoting this year to Josephite Community Aid, which supports newly arrived refugees.
“I grew a lot and it challenged a lot of misconceptions I had about the other faiths – for example, that all Jews are rich and Muslim women keep very quiet and don’t talk a lot,” she says. “Some things were hard to understand, such as why some people have to pray several times a day, and have to be covered up so much.”
Bahije, who is studying hearing and speech at university, also found the week enlightening.
“I’ve never been to places like the Jewish Museum, synagogues and churches before,” she says.
But the highlight was “getting to know so many people you wouldn’t get the chance to meet in everyday life, and the contacts and bonds that we formed. We are now trying to spread this work among all the communities; trying to think of different strategies to get people together”.
Bahije was intrigued by similarities in the culture and traditions of the three Abrahamic faith communities. “The Jewish community, in particular, seems to be so similar to us in some of their traditions,” she said.
Kim, a speech pathology student, enjoyed visiting the churches and mosque, which was “a very new experience” and “a bit strange at first”.
“Most enjoyable was talking to people about theology and God, and the fact that we could have those kinds of discussions even though we were from different faiths,” she says.
“I developed a deeper understanding of the other religions, where before I had a very superficial understanding.
“Also, answering questions about my Jewish faith made me think deeper about some things that I had just accepted before.”
A Journey of Promise video is being prepared to encourage others to make their own contributions to interfaith dialogue.
The project has been made possible by a Federal Government Living in Harmony grant.