ECUMENICAL RESOURCES
SA Council of Churches promotes conversation, study and reflection on Ecumenism and the following resources may be of interest.
Religious Freedom Review
Ecumenical Lenten Resources
SA Council of Churches invites all who downloaded the Resource to send insights and reflections to sacc@picknowl.com.au. This will assist the preparation of further resources.
eturn to God: Divine Grace and Human Struggle offered 6 sessions, focusing on a range of Gospels during the Lenten season, and includes prayer, icons, art, and time for sharing, with reflections from the lived experience of being Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. In 2016, the Western Church celebrated Easter on 27 March 2016 and the Orthodox Church celebrated Easter on 1 May 2016.
Refugee and Migrant Sunday 2017
Refugee and Migrant Sunday is a celebration of the dignity of people who are refugees and migrants and the contribution they have made to life in Australia. It is celebrated by the Churches together on or around the last Sunday of August each year.
Resources to mark Refugee and Migrant Sunday are available thanks to Queensland Churches Together: 27 August 2017 or from 2016.
Resources to support refugees and asylum seekers are also available from Effective Living Centre here.
Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Romans 12:13-15
Additional to this are resources that were prepared by the SACC Working Party to assist marking Refugee and Migrant Sunday 28 August 2011.
Liturgy NotesHealing Gifts for Wounded Hands: The promise and potential of Receptive Ecumenism
Resource (updated May 2014)Domestic Violence
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 28 May - 4 June 2017
Reconciliation - The Love of Christ Compels Us (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-20)
Befriending Asylum Seekers
Resources to support refugees and asylum seekers can be downloaded at Effective Living CentreSA Refugee Week
Sunday 18 - Saturday 24 June 2017
https://amrc.org.au/events/sa-refugee-week-2017
Prisoners, Prisons and Respectful Relationships
An ecumenical resource, developed by SA Council of Churches Working Party, to assist us all to:
- Become more aware of and better respond to the needs of people who are in prison.
- Advocate for reducing conditions of inequality and disadvantage.
- Contribute to the restoration of right relationships for all.
SECTION A Introduction and Two Social Justice Statements
SECTION B Prisons and Prisoners
i. Personal Stories
ii. Bible Stories
SECTION C Statistics and 'Maps' of Disadvantage
SECTION D Process for Group Discussion and Theological Reflection on Social Justice Statements
SECTION E Resources, Prayers and Poems for Justice
SECTION F Volunteering & Caring for Prisoners
SECTION G Preparing for Release
SECTION H People, Organisations & Resources
SECTION I Advocacy: Contacts for Members of Parliament, Media etc
Flyer
Letter Writing Guidelines from Prison Fellowship Australia
A Day of Listening 24 June 2014
‘A Day of Listening’ - To Listen.....
To the sounds and noises of our environment
To the cries of pain from our planet home
To the voices of hope stirring in the Earth
on The Feast of John the Baptist
Resource developed by the Eco-Mission Team of South Australia
International Day of Peace - 21 September 2016
A global 24-hour spiritual and practical observation for peace
The United Nations' International Day of Peace - marked every year on 21 September - is a time when individuals, communities, nations and governments highlight efforts to end conflict and promote peace. Established by U.N. resolution in 1982, "Peace Day" has grown to include millions of people around the world who participate in all kinds of events, large and small.
The initiative was further developed by the World Council of Churches, inviting us all to pray for peace on 21 September, or the Sunday preceding it, as a response to the United Nations' encouragement for a "global 24-hour spiritual observation for peace", which "is meant to demonstrate the power of prayer and other spiritual practices in promoting peace and preventing violent conflict".
For 2015 the theme was "Partnerships for Peace - Dignity for All".
SA Council of Churches 2015 compilation of resources can be accessed here
See World Council of Churches International Ecumenical Peace Convocation website which also has While adults talk peace, kids try walking in another’s shoes
Prayer Service: May Peace Prevail Upon the Earth click here
For resources developed over past years by Working Parties of SA Council of Churches, please click here
South Australian Council of Churches
Discussion Guides
-- An Ecumenical Resource for use between Easter - Pentecost
Authors - Dr Stephen Downs and The Rev'd John Littleton
Introduction
In late 2006 the SA Council of Churches planned a period of discernment, to look anew at its core business and to further the Council's aims in a new and different context. One of the tasks it has set for this period is discussion based on the documents "Called to be the One Church" and "Australian Churches Covenanting Together". Two discussion guides have been prepared to assist with this: "Christian Fellowship: What does in mean to me?" and "Common Action: What am I doing about it?"
