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NZ Catholics will mark Anniversary of Assisi Peace Meeting

A multi-faith prayer service will be held in all of New Zealand’s Catholic dioceses to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Assisi Peace Meeting.  The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations is organising the events, which will take place on or around the 27 October 2011.

The St Francis of Assisi Day of Prayer for Peace began on 27 October 1986, when Blessed John Paul II initiated a meeting in Assisi with members of different faith communities. Another meeting followed in January 2002.

The New Zealand services will consist of prayers read from members of different faith communities and conclude with a shared prayer of the Decalogue of Assisi for Peace, a prayer of commitment to peace first used at the 2002 meeting in Assisi. The faith groups participating include Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Baha’i and Sikh.

Chair of the NZCBC Committee for Interfaith Relations, Sr Catherine Jones, says the Assisi Anniversary is important for us in New Zealand, “as we are drawn ever more into peacemaking in our own lives, in our country, and in the world”.

“Being a “pilgrim” means that we are on a journey with others, seeking the way ahead, step by step, day by day,” she says. “Organising a multi-faith prayer event is an invitation to each one to enter more deeply into our own faith tradition, and to receive the gifts of truth and of peace that other believers can offer us”.

New Zealand multi-faith prayer services
Wellington
Date: Thursday 27 October
Time: Gathering from 5.30pm for 6.00pm service
Place: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hill St, Thorndon
For more information contact Sr Catherine Jones SMSMc.jones@wn.catholic.org.nz
Auckland
Date: Thursday 27 October
Time: 7.30pm
Place: St Patricks Cathedral, 43 Wyndham St, Auckland Central
For more information contact Pat Lythe patl@cda.org.nz
Hamilton
Date: Friday 21 October (part of monthly Taize prayer)
Time: 7.30pm
Place: Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 494 Grey St, Hamilton East
For more information contact Deacon Peter Richardson peterr@cdh.org.nz
Palmerston North 
Date: Thursday 27 October
Time: 7.00pm
Place: The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, 197 Broadway Avenue
For more information contact Mary Eastham m.eastham@xtra.co.nz
Christchurch 
Date: Sunday 23 October (in partnership with the Christchurch Interfaith Society)
Time: 2.00pm
Place: At the Peace Bell in Hagley Park, Christchurch
For more information contact Sr Bertha Hurley SMSM bhurley53@hotmail.com03 355 0959
Dunedin
Date: Thursday 27 October
Time: 7.30 p.m.
Place: Holy Name Church,  420 Great King Street
For more information contact Fr Kevin Toomey OP revkev1@yahoo.com

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