Faiths united for peace on earth

BALLARAT Interfaith Network members come from many diverse backgrounds, but they are united in wishing locals a joyful, safe, and peaceful festive season.

The Salvation Army Delacombe’s Major Craig Farrell said Christmas is a time for families and friends to celebrate, and to recognise the significance of the birth of Jesus Christ.

“Christians come together to remember… the radical gift of hope, peace, joy, and most of all love,” he said.

“This gift is best shown with our interactions with others, especially those excluded and feeling isolated in some way.

“May we each commit to being good neighbours of friendship and kindness beyond the busyness and embrace the gift of radical inclusion and peacemaking that Christmas urges us to embrace.”

The story of Jesus’ birth is an exceptional one for Umar Anees from the Islamic community of Ballarat.

“Islam has also attached great importance to it,” he said. “The Quran says, ‘peace be on the day Jesus Christ was born,’ and these words are extremely meaningful, for the most distinctive aspect of Christ’s personality is that he became a symbol of peace in human history.

“The festival of Christmas is an occasion which brings loved ones together and spreads joy all around.

“I wish this Christmas season usher in peace and prosperity for everyone in Ballarat and elsewhere in Australia.”

Gurudwara Ballarat’s Rajinder Singh Gill said Sikhs commemorate the sacrifice of two innocent young boys between 24 and 26 December.

“Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, aged nine and six, were bricked alive into a wall because they refused to change their religion,” he said.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, BIN chair Margaret Lenan Ellis said the Christmas season’s messages of hope and peace are inclusive of people of all faiths, and those who are not religious.

“When angels appeared to shepherds watching over their sheep in the field on that first Christmas night, they were terrified, until they were assured there was no need to fear,” she said.

“The angels had come to proclaim that the long-foretold messiah or Christ child had been born, the Prince of Peace.

“The message they brought was one of joy and peace from God the father of all humanity to all people of the world.”

The Baha’i community recognises the spiritual nature of celebrating the birth of Jesus.

“We revere him as one of the series of messengers through whom God has progressively revealed his will and purpose for humanity,” said Baha’i community member Elham Jamali.

“The celebration of Christmas embraces universal values of love and peace, the importance of family, and compassion and generosity towards those less fortunate than ourselves.”

With the arrival of a baby central to the Christmas story, Ms Jamali said children are also key to the celebrations.

“Children are the most precious treasure a community can possess. The future character of our society will be largely shaped by what adults do, or fail to do, with respect to children.

“Peace in the world begins from peace in the home,” she said. “As families and friends gather together this Christmas, may we recognise and celebrate the unique capacities of every individual, child, youth, or adult, and the irreplaceable bond that we share with one another.

This consciousness of our unity is the foundation for the just and peaceful world society we are working towards, and which is promised in the world’s holy scriptures.

“Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i faith wrote, ‘Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship.’

“So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth. We wish one and all a blessed and joyous celebration of Christmas.”

The Ballarat Hebrew Congregation Board’s Carol Hughes said her community extends their best wishes to their Christian friends for a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year.