A Multifaith Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne on Thursday 24 July at 10am will mark the tragic loss last week of 298 lives aboard Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17.
The Primate of Australia, the Most Revd Dr Philip Freier, and the Premier of Victoria, the Hon. Dr Denis Napthine, will be joined by members of the Dutch, Malaysian, Indonesian, British, Belgian, German, American and Canadian communities.
Dr Freier will preach, and Dr Napthine and Consular representatives will lead an Act of Remembrance. Representatives from Victoria’s faith communities and the Victorian Council of Churches will take part in the service. Clergy and laypeople from the affected nations will lead prayers to remember those who perished.
Dr Freier said: ‘Our sympathies and prayers are with the thousands of people who are grieving the loss of family members. The tragic loss of Flight MH17 reminds us that, in this globalised world, we are intimately connected with the suffering of people far away and in conflicts we often don’t understand.’
The Dean of Melbourne, the Very Revd Dr Andreas Loewe, will lead the service. Dean Loewe said: ‘We share the grief of families in Melbourne and Victoria who have lost loved ones on Flight MH17. Thursday’s service gives Victorians an opportunity to join together in commemorating those who perished as a result of terrorist action and to pray for their families and friends.’
The service will bring together many Victorians affected by last week’s plane crash, Dr Loewe said.
‘As people from many backgrounds we will join in prayer for our world, for freedom, justice and the rule of law. As Victorians from many faiths and from many nations, we will commit ourselves to work for a common vision of peace.’
There is no need to register for the service.
AIDS Conference Delegates commemorated
At the Opening Worship for AIDS 2014 last Sunday, Dean Loewe paid tribute to the delegates who died aboard Flight MH17: ‘We celebrate their work and contribution to HIV research. I pray that their commitment to make real the vision of a world free of HIV transmissions and AIDS-related deaths will inspire future generations of researchers and advocates to bring renewed hope and care to those living with HIV.’
