Fellowship Gathering of Imams and Priests

One of the most significant developments recently has been the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Australian Intercultural Society and the Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in July 2007.

One of the projects that inaugurated as a product of this agreement is the Imam & Priests Fellowship Gathering to be held once a year; the program brought together key Muslim and Christian leaders from across Melbourne.  The format of the gathering is a conversation around a chosen theme, whereby invitees contribute their thoughts, experiences and views with other faith leaders.  The theme for first gathering held on 13 May 2008 was Entrusting Our Faith to the Next Generation.

Faith leaders laid down their own experiences and discussed the theme through their knowledge and vision to move the values of their own faiths to enable the next generation to stand on their own feet with their strong believes in the future. They believe that this would be the only way to live in justice and peace by establishing mutual respect between different faiths and cultures.  They have first diagnosed and adopted the problems of the next generation together in friendship. They thought that no group of different culture and tradition can be assimilated and forced to live in an isolated position in the Australian society. Religious leaders also focused on issues that would enlighten the future of the world. It was concluded that if religion plays an important role for the next generation in particular amongst the youth, it would satisfy their spiritual and mental desires enabling them to establish a serene, harmonious world in which humanity could live in peace.