Participants of the Abraham Conference Prayer Service. Photo: Kim Chong
On Thursday 12 June 2025, faith leaders and community members gathered in a poignant show of solidarity at the Abraham Conference Prayer Service for Peace in the Middle East. Kate Xaiver, chair of the Interfaith Commission Diocese of Parramatta, and Kim Chong, of the Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations in Blacktown, are members of the organising committee, among representative members from the Jewish and Islamic faiths and other Christian churches. The interfaith event, held in Ferguson Hall at St Stephen’s Uniting Church in the Sydney CBD, brought together Jews, Christians, and Muslims, in a unified call for peace, justice, and understanding in a region long marred by conflict.
The Abraham Conference, an annual event fostering dialogue and cooperation among the three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, Islam – is currently focusing its efforts on the urgent need for peace in the Middle East. With violence and humanitarian crises continuing to escalate in the region, the service aimed to provide a spiritual platform for collective reflection and reconciliation.
Opening the event, the Abraham Conference chair and Uniting Church minister, Rev Dr Manash Ghosh, spoke of the shared ancestry and values that bind the Abrahamic faiths, particularly the call to love one’s neighbour and to pursue peace. This was followed by a candle-lighting ceremony, where representatives from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths lit a candle from a single taper before saying the word of “peace” in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. The flickering light served as a solemn reminder of the shared cost of violence and the shared responsibility for peace.
Scripture and prayers were offered in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Each religious leader took a moment to read from their sacred texts, highlighting messages of peace, compassion, and unity, which was followed by a minute of silence. Columban Fr Patrick McInerney read the Sermon on the Mount. To close the service, the late Pope Francis’ Prayer for the Earth was read in English, Hebrew and Hindi-Urdu.
Attendees expressed deep appreciation for the event’s inclusive spirit, noting that to see Jews, Christians, and Muslims sitting side by side and praying together is a powerful testament to what is possible.
As the service concluded, participants took home sprigs of an olive tree and were encouraged to continue the work of peace in their communities, bridging divides with compassion and mutual respect. The Abraham Conference Prayer Service for Peace in the Middle East stood not only as a call to end conflict but as a beacon of interfaith unity and spiritual resilience.
