I’m part of a group of Christians, Jews and Muslims on the Gold Coast preparing for ‘Project Abraham’, a forum and exhibition being launched on September 10. The project is connected with an initiative of Jewish and Muslim leaders in Adelaide last year.
On Sunday September 10 we’ll be holding a forum at the Gold Coast Arts Centre, focusing on “Eating and Drinking at Abraham’s Table”, food and drink in the three Abrahamic faiths. This will be a little different to the usual summaries of faith and practice given at inter-faith dialogues. We’re working together in the afternoon to explore ways in which the Gold Coast community can proactively engage with the rich traditions brought by overseas tourists. At this time of year, for example, we have a lot of tourists from United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. I’ve been told that even back in the 1970s Surfers Paradise was known in Victoria as “Surfers Palestine”.
The exhibition will include artifacts and photographs from the three Abrahamic faiths. I’m working as a Uniting Church in Australia participant with representatives of the Anglican and Catholic churches in the North Gold Coast region. The Uniting Church doesn’t have anywhere near the number of artifacts and worship aids found in the two more traditional denominations. The other two have collected most of the work and given me the job of putting them together.
The Gold Coast City Council has provided the venue and two staff to work with the coordinating team. Funding comes from the Australian government’s Living In Harmony programme. Local schools are being invited to send students to the exhibition and participate in an educational programme.