SOR Quotes

Aboriginal Art & Culture, Alice Springs Australia, 2024

The dreaming… is the way aboriginal people explain life

Skin Groups in Tiwi Culture

 They are inherited by the mother

 Determines who someone can marry, and their totems (e.g. crocodile, shark)

The Tiwi Pukumani Ceremony

 Burial ceremony

 Pukumani poles are placed around the gravesite

 Ensure spirit finds its way to the spirit world

Bringing them home report, 1997

10-33% of ATSI children were removed between 1910 to 1970

Crownlands NSW, 2024

50% of NSW is under native title claims

No Religion Data

 38.9% in 2021

 Increased by 2.8 million from 2016

Islam Data

2nd most common religion:

3.2% in 2021 & increased by 200,000 from 2016

Hinduism Data

3rd most common religion:

2.7% in 2021 & increased by 240,000 from 2016

New Age Religion Data

 Nearly a fifth of Australians identify as 'spiritual but not religious'

 38% of Gen Z Australians identify as spiritual

McCrindle, 2012

Christianity Data

 Most dominant religion: 1st – 43.9% in 2021

 % Christians dropped by approx. a half since 1947

Anglicanism data

39% in 1947 to 9.8% in 2021

\

Catholicisim data

20% in 2016

remain relatively stable (decreased by 2% from 2016)

Uniting Church data

7.6% in 1986 to 2.7% in 2021

Christianity NFD data

Increased from 1% in 2016 to 2.7% in 2021

Mark 12:29-31

Love the lord your God and your neighbour as yourself

NCCA Example

The Christmas Bowl mission

 Providing food, shelter, healthcare to displaced and impoverished communities around the world

 During Ethiopian famine  provided food and agricultural tools to communities to build resilience for future droughts

 Aim to show compassion to refugees and restore their humanity

 living out the greatest commandment

NSW Ecumenical Council example

+ Australian institute of health and wellness, 2025

Domestic violence information program

 Believe the Church is a source of hope and guidance  need to address the issue of increased domestic violence in Australia

 Aims to prevent family violence by

 Engaging church leaders in marginalised communities and teaching them how to help DV survivors

 Teaching them how to identity domestic violence

 Calls on priests to directly refer anyone seeking advice about domestic violence to professional support groups

1 in 4 women experience domestic abuse

Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations example

Hold Muslim-Christian interfaith dialogue events

 Christians and Muslims are invited to celebrate important days in Islam together

 E.g. Hosting Iftar dinners during Ramadan where the two religions can dine together

 Believe in the power of communication in dismantling stereotypes

Australian Council for Christians and Jews example

Heads, Hearts & Hands

 Three-day Gathering of AUS and NZ people interested in understanding interfaith dialogue

 Hold a panel of international speakers about the current challenges facing Christian Jewish dialogue and the need for conversation and reflection.

 Discuss how dialogue involves information (heads), emotional responses (heart), and practical action (hands)

Lisa Jackson Pulver

(Newtown Orthodox Synagogue president):

Australia [being an] equitable place [is made possible through] commitment to positive change

Uniting Church example

 Take part in Reconciliation Week

 Seek to unite one fellowship of Aboriginal Christians to promote harmony between Aboriginal Spirituality and Christianity

 develop mutually respectful relationships between Aboriginal people within congregations and the wider community

Romans 6:3-4

We were baptised in union with his death… so that we might live a new life

WCC, 1982

Pardoned, cleansed, sanctified by Christ

1 Peter 3:21

This water symbolises the baptism that now saves you

Acts 2:38

Repent and be baptised… in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins… you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

Mark 28:19

Go forth and make disciples of all nations… baptising in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthian 6:19

temple for the holy spirit

Exorcism in baptism

Do you reject Satan and all his works?

WCC, 1982

Baptism is… administered during public worship, so that… the congregation may be reminded of their own baptism

For the Rite of Infant Baptism

“the Christian community welcomes you with great joy.”

Genesis 2:15

“the Lord [put man] on the Garden of Eden… to take care of it”

Genesis 1:28

“dominion”

Genesis 1:27

‘So God created mankind in his own image’

Genesis 1:31

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good”

WCC, 1998

The world, as God’s handiwork, has its own inherent integrity

Pope Francis, 2015

We need to think about the kind of world we are leaving for future generations

Uniting Church gw

Our words are not enough. This Climate Action Plan is intended to drive that action.

St Francis of Assisi

Men who… exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion… will deal likewise with their fellow men.

Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals

We believe that the Bible teaches us to care for animals

Acts 9:15

This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name

Galatians 3:28

you are all one in Christ Jesus

Pew Research Centre,

2015 In 2010, there were 2.2 billion Christians

Pope Benedict 16, 2006

how can we not thank God for an apostle of this category?

Galatians 2:16

men are not saved by the works of the law… but through faith in Jesus Christ

the Enchiridion of Faith, Hope and Love

men are not saved by good works, but by the grace of God through faith

1 Cor 13:4

love is patient, love is kind

Pauls agape example

CARITAS Australia’s Project Compassion: Lenten Appeal

• Show selfless love by donating to those in need

• E.g. Irene, DRC → single mother became a skilled seamstress (vocational training) = overcame extreme poverty

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world, God’s… eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen

Galatians 5:2-4

circumcision… will be of no benefit to you

Surah 42:29

His signs are the creation of heaven and earth and all living beings

Hadith 2:169

The whole earth was created a place of worship

Surah 6:165

it is He who made you successors upon the earth

Surah 40:57

the creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind

Hadith 135:13

Whoever plants a tree is rewarded by Allah

The Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change, 2015

Human beings are created to serve the Lord [and do good for] all… of Allah’s creatures

Hadith 43:4451

Whoever kills a sparrow… without a just cause, Allah will hold him accountable

Al-Mizan

Islamic Law forbids that Allah’s creatures be used cruelly or wastefully

Dream Fable

Your prayers are your light, devotion is your strength

Surah 65:3

Whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He alone is sufficient for them

Hadith 31:40

Renounce the world and Allah will love you

Rabia - tawakkul

May Allah deprive you all of which deprives you from Allah

My Beloved - 1

For his love, I can find no substitute

If I Adore You

If I adore you out of fear of hell, burn me in hell

Surah 5:54

Allah will bring a people, he shall love them, and they shall love him

My Greatest Need is You

I cannot live in this world without remembering you

My Beloved - 2

I strive for union with thee

My Beloved - 3

My peace… is my solitude

In My Soul

In my soul there is… a mosque… where I kneel

Golden Sufi Centre

Organisation that aims to offer spiritual guidance through a Sufi lens

Have seminars and events teaching Sufis how to meditate to obtain continual remembrance of Allah

Their practices are based upon Rabia’s influence on Sufism and the path of love to Allah

Surah 2:158

Let them walk

Surah 37:103

They submitted to Allah’s Will, and Abraham laid [his son] on the side… for sacrifice

Hadith 355:3955

People are all the children of Adam

Hadith 355:3955

People are all the children of Adam

Surah 3:97

Pilgrimage to this House is an obligation by Allah

Hadith 25:1549

Here I am O Allah, here I am

Surah 21:33

It is He Who created… the sun and the moon, each in an orbit floating

Hadith 25:1521

Whoever performs Hajj for Allah's pleasure… will return as if he were born anew

Hadith 47:2975

The Hajj is Arafat

Surah 22:29

Let them… circle the Ancient House

Surah 2:199

Seek Allah’s forgiveness… Allah is All-Forgiving

Surah 37:103

“They submitted ˹to Allah’s Will, and Abraham laid [his son] on the side… for sacrifice”

Surah 22:27

“Call all people to the pilgrimage. They will come… from every distant path”