A

Letter

from

the

General

Secretary

I am writing to request your support for and promotion of a national day of prayer for Burma on Sunday, October 21.

The images of tens of thousands of Burmese monks, nuns and civilians marching in the cities of Burma, has highlighted the tragic situation facing millions of people in Burma today: brutal crackdowns on any opposition to the military regime, the forced labour of women and children, child slavery and extrajudicial killings.

The courageous leadership shown by the religious leaders of Burma is a call to us all in the international religious communities to stand with them in solidarity. As people of religion, this joining together to share in prayer with our brothers and sisters in Burma is a powerful act of showing solidarity.

We believe now is the time that Christians can come together to pray for change in Burma and to express our compassion and solidarity for those who live in a climate of fear. Now is the time for us to be the voice for the voiceless for those who have been repressed, incarcerated and silenced in Burma.

Attached and below are some possible prayers that could be used or adapted for use by your churches on October 21. A range of events and interfaith initiatives are being proposed for later in the day. In Sydney, an interfaith gathering followed by a peace procession is being organised to commence at Martin Place at 1:00pm.

It would be a strong message to have many people of faith who could participate in this interfaith gathering and procession to send a strong message to all governments that Australians are concerned about what is happening in Burma. We would greatly appreciate it if you could promote this event in your churches this coming Sunday October 14.

Updated information about the interfaith gathering proposed in Sydney on October 21 as well as other initiatives planned around the country will be available on the NCCA website www.ncca.org.au and Caritas Australia website www.caritas.org.au.  If you would like to put a link on your website it would be appreciated.

We would ask if you could encourage all your churches to participate in this national day of prayer for Burma.

Yours Faithfully
John Henderson
General Secretary, National Council of Churches in Australia