How We Work

The NCCA gathers together Churches and Christian communities which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures. We commit to deepen our relationship with each other and to work together towards the fulfilment of common witness, proclamation and service, to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Hope is an action and peace making is the future

R to L – Dr Mark Zirnsak, UCA Vic/Tas Synod; Melinda Jones; Rabbi Dr Peta Jones-Pellach; Ms Riman Barakat; Liz Stone, NCCA; Abe Schwartz, David Rose.

During their recent speaking tour to Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney, the NCCA Secretariat hosted an informal lunch with two peacemakers: Ms Riman Barakat and Rabbi Dr Peta Jones-Pellach.
Hailing from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Riman and Peta represent grassroots movements for non-violent resolution, intercommunal dialogue, and the essential role of women in peacebuilding.

The two are part of a broader cross-border peace movement that embraces 140 different agencies and projects across Israel and Palestine.
Riman runs a creative space in East Jerusalem that uses the arts to create spaces of dialogue, collaboration, and hope.
Peta’s work with Women Wage Peace and cross-border collaboration with Palestinian Women of the Sun reflect her commitment to bridging divides through courageous dialogue and faith-informed activism.

Speaking of the polarisation of debate in Australia, both stressed that;

it is very important to not view the future of the region as a zero-sum game.
The only way to support Palestine, is to support Israelis. The only way to support Israel, is to support Palestinians. Both peoples live with trauma, have suffered greatly and need to listen to each other’s pain.

“Listen to the mothers”, we were told, and we were left with copies of the ‘Mothers’ Call’, a women’s movement seeking the support of 4 million women of the region.