Prominent journalist, TV presenter and author Liz Deep-Jones will speak at a reception after a service on Sunday 20 September at the Baha’i Temple in Sydney.
The service, which is open to all, will start at 11am. Held to mark the International Day of Peace, it will feature readings from the sacred scriptures of the major world religions.
Then, at noon in the Visitors’ Centre, Ms Deep-Jones will discuss “peace, social cohesion and religion” in conversation with Venus Khalessi, Public Information Director of the Australian Baha’i Community.
Ms Khalessi said the topic of peace is central to the Baha’i Faith.
“As Baha’is we are confident that humanity can move away from war and disunity and head towards global peace,” she said.
“The task of building a more peaceful world requires the participation of not just a select few, but of everyone,” Ms Khalessi said.
“We are confident that the spiritual principles underlying the great world religions will help us overcome the paralysis of will that is currently afflicting the world.
“In that regard, ‘The Promise of World Peace’*, the message issued in 1985 by the international governing body of the Baha’is Faith, the Universal House of Justice, rewards careful reading by those interested in finding a way forward.”
Ambassador
An Australia Day ambassador and UNICEF Australia Ambassador, Ms Deep-Jones is the author of two published teen novels.
A former sports presenter for SBS TV, she is also known for her high profile interviews of significant international and national figures such as the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela.
Ms Deep-Jones was senior producer and journalist for Living Black, an indigenous news and current affairs program, and produced the 2012 Deadly Awards, an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community.
She was executive producer of SBS TV’s first locally produced national in-language news and current affairs program, Mandarin News Australia.
Read The Promise of of World Peace, a statement from the Universal House of Justice.