It was with great joy that we launched the 2022 Christmas Bowl with the Executive and Membership of the NSW Ecumenical Council in late November. For over 70 years churches across NSW and Australia have joined together to respond to the call of the Reverend Frank Byatt, who, in 1949 placed a bowl on his heavily laden Christmas table and invited his guests to contribute from their good fortune to those suffering from the horrors of WWII.

Today, with churches across Australia, Act for Peace continues this work with our purpose being to, together, create a world where people displaced by conflict or disaster have a safe place to belong.

Act for Peace works with ecumenical partners and other actors overseas to provide safety in exile, a place to belong and reduced displacement. This work requires courage, and a long term view; so many of the conflicts we respond to around the world are protracted and we know that we can only make a lasting difference if we work with our partners for many years, indeed for decades.

Our work includes our long term partnership with the Middle Eastern Council of Churches responding to the needs of Palestinians in Gaza and Syrian’s in Jordan. As the conflicts in Gaza and in Syria continue it’s essential that we continue to do our part to support the church in the Middle East with their humanitarian and development work.

This year our Christmas Bowl main image is from Kenya, where our partner RefugePoint is providing essential services to refugees from many nations.

In all of our partnerships we are careful to engage from the point of view of the local partner and from what they are learning from the communities we jointly serve. We hope that by listening, by backing people affected by displacement, and advocating for transformative change, we will extend the vision of the Christmas Bowl to build unity and break down the root causes of displacement, including oppression and discrimination.

It’s a privilege to partner with the church in Australia in the Christmas Bowl – celebrating the gift of Christ in a vital expression of ecumenism, churches acting together for the poor. If you would like any further information please take a look at the resources on our website: https://christmasbowl.actforpeace.org.au/about

Or contact Andy Corkill acorkill@actforpeace.org.au