Mornington Peninusla Interfaith Festival 2009

The Shiva ashram is in full swing in November as we lead up to the Parliament of the World’s Religions.  Many members of our community are involved in various activities including our ‘interfaith man’, Sandy, who is the current President of the Mornington Peninsula Interfaith Network – an organisation devoted to promoting understanding and respect amongst religious and spiritual communities in the Mornington Peninsula area. Part of Sandy's work involves organising a yearly Interfaith Festival that celebrates faiths through music, dance, art, workshops, and talks.  This annual event was held on Sunday 22^nd November at the Peninsula Community Theatre and was a very successful day with many participants and a true feeling of love and respect amongst faith traditions. 

The highlight of the day was a talk by Swamiji on meditation in which he encouraged all participants to find the place of true peace within. The festival also featured an art show organised by Shiva Yogini, Lakshmi, who also ran a creative inquiry for artists.  Sharvani was part of an interesting and timely panel speaking on ‘Ecology, Spirituality and our Future’.  Along with good food and various workshops ranging from African Drumming to Yoga Laughter classes, the day ended on a high point with a concert featuring the spiritual music and dance of various faith traditions including the One Fire Dance Troupe (Indigenous), Temple Beth Israel Choir (Jewish), Nadanalya Academy of Dance (Hindu), Sudanese Chollo Choir (Christian), The Colour of Unity (Islam) and our very own Shiva Yoga chanting group.