Canadian First Nations People: Victorian Council of Churches

Victorian Council of Churches invites you to:

Canadian First Nations People

Date: Monday 20 February 2023    Time: 7pm to 8:30pm
Location: St Peter’s Eastern Hill hall, 15 Gisborne St, East Melbourne
(Note: No parking in Gisborne St due to tram upgrade)

A small group of Canadian First Nations people is visiting Melbourne (18th to 20th Feb) before travelling to other parts of Australia. They will do a major presentation on the Sunday afternoon, and VCC was asked if we’d like to host an event while they are here.

One of the group, Lewis Cardinal, is a Trustee of the World’s Parliament of Religion. This year is the 30th anniversary of the Parliament (it was held for the first time in 1893, and then again in 1993 and at intervals since then). It seemed appropriate to focus on the Parliament, and have a fresh look at inter-faith matters.

Since 1993, the Parliament of the World’s Religions has maintained through its Global Ethic that the involvement of people of faith and good will “for the sake of human rights, freedom, justice, peace... is absolutely necessary.”

The objectives of the World’s Parliament of Religion include reciprocal teaching and learning (with a focus on both common and distinctive beliefs and practices), defending theistic religion against 19th-century secularism, amplifying the spiritual bonds and cooperation between different faith communities, and engaging religious communities in current social problems and institutions, including the movement toward international peace.

Lewis Cardinal comes from the Woodland Cree First Nation in Northern Alberta. He is a communicator and educator who has dedicated his life’s work to creating and maintaining connections and developing relationships which cross cultural divides. A lot of his work has taken him into inter-government and inter-faith work as well as community development.

“Walk side by side until you have built bridges of understanding. That is the relational approach informing all of Lewis Cardinal’s work as he acts to inspire a more just and equitable society. Through the power of indigenous teachings, the value of treaty, story and education, Lewis reminds individuals, communities, government, industry and institutions that we have obligations to each other that must be honoured to inform the legacy we have borrowed from our grandchildren. His explanations and metaphors are helpful in understanding other people and our place and purpose in the world”.