Faith, Hope and Love Conference

Val Barker-Piggot

At the Anglican Church of Australia’s Faith, Hope and Love Conference we learnt what the church is doing in response to Domestic & Family Violence in our faith communities. Representatives from 19 dioceses around Australia attended along with other denominations and some from New Zealand. Three of us from the Anglican Parish of Sunraysia South attended and were actively involved in various parts of the conference.
For the first time a Men’s Summit was held for men only. The Ten Commitments of the Anglican Church were explained. The program Communities that Care was launched. This program is aimed to equip Christians to be alert to domestic and family violence and to become active bystanders. I participated on a panel with three other community workers regarding what is needed in rural and regional areas which is sometimes different to urban centres.

Our group came away with a deepened passion to keep this matter on the agenda in our community. We want to let the community know that we as a church will not step away but will step toward and speak out against Domestic and Family Violence. And we want to be able to provide a safe space for all those impacted.