Wyndham Interfaith Network

The Wyndham Interfaith Network was set up in March 2010 to
enhance Wyndham’s growing reputation as a welcoming
environment for people of all backgrounds, faiths and spiritual beliefs.

In planning for the Network, we were greatly encouraged and spurred on by the spirit of goodwill and harmony that prevailed at the Parliament of the World’s Religions held in Melbourne in December 2009 and the success stories of many Inter Faith networks throughout the world.

A generous grant from the Victorian Multicultural Commission has enabled us to initiate and launch many innovative programs that seek to build on this reputation utilising the enormous goodwill and community spirit that is present among Wyndham residents.

We were further strengthened by positive feedback we received from local religious leaders and our local government to the idea of a local interfaith initiative.

We spent quite a bit of time consulting with Interfaith networks in other municipalities – learning from their successes and failures. One piece of advice we received early on was “to hasten slowly” and it’s a mantra we have kept coming back to during the year.

We currently boast of a membership of over 20 religious leaders representing all the major religions of the world and to date, have held regular meetings throughout 2010 and 2011 where we have learnt from each other of the issues that unite us rather than those that divide us. We have also had the opportunity to visit each other’s places of worship and learn about each other’s faiths and beliefs.

Meetings are held every 6 weeks and we have also had several presentations on topics such as the barriers new migrants and refugees face in settling into their new homeland, the role of the Victoria Police Multicultural Unit in working with new and emerging Communities and issues around palliative care across cultures.

A highlight of the last two years has been the tree planting events organised in August which brought together over 100 residents and their religious leaders together to plant over 2,000 native trees in Wyndham to mark National Tree Day.

The Wyndham Interfaith Network has supplemented the work being done since 2006 in settling new arrivals to Wyndham through the Wyndham Humanitarian Network. However, in meeting the day to day needs of new arrivals it is just as important to cater to their cultural and religious needs as it is to give them a sense of belonging and enable participation in mainstream community life.