Five Minutes with the Rev. Marie Wilson
Have you attended any interesting interfaith events lately? Do you have any interesting interfaith work happening at the moment?
A few months ago a young Catholic group organized a peace afternoon with Muslims, Christians and Jews, and all young people. It was a great afternoon with afternoon tea, sharing, and open discussion.
Then a couple of weeks ago at an NCCA meeting in Canberra I attended a plenary discussion. There were four speakers on a panel – a conservative Jew, a liberal Jew, conservative Christian and a liberal Christian. They talked about sacred writings.
I also attended an art history lecture on Anselm Kiefer and Marc Chagall – one is a Christian who does work based on the Kabbalah and the other is a Jew who does work involved with the crucifixion – mutual spiritual influences.
Are there any particular interfaith related issues you are watching at the moment, for example in the news?
Well, we're always watching with interest the issue of Israel / Palestine. Particularly, now post-NCCA meeting, this is a challenge. We need to keep in mind that this is a very complex issue.
What direction would you like the work of the Relations with Other Faiths Working Group to take during 2010?
The website is good because building interfaith relationships is where young people are at – they’re not at ecumenical stuff, they’re beyond that - and the internet is the best way to engage younger people.
I think continuing the work of helping people to understand the differences between the faiths and the issues associated with interfaith relationship between the various faiths is important – it’s not quite as simple as saying ‘we’re all the same’.