Prayer vigil brings people of various faiths together
In a telling display of unity, compassion and shared humanity, interfaith communities gathered for a solemn prayer vigil for peace and justice in Palestine
August 20, 2025
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On Saturday 9 August, a prayer vigil for the ongoing crisis in Palestine was held at Pitt Street Uniting Church in Sydney’s CBD. More than 140 people gathered for the solemn event with a further 43 joining them online.
The interfaith service was a moving expression of shared grief, hope and solidarity. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Quaker leaders stood side by side in a unified call for peace and justice to prevail in Palestine.
The keynote address was delivered by the President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Rev Charissa Suli. In her message, titled “Across Faiths, We Cry Out: A Call for Peace with Justice”, Rev Suli urged those gathered to respond with compassion, courage, and action.
Rev Suli shared a poignant story from her 2023 visit to the Holy Land, where a Palestinian Christian father expressed grief for his homeland and fear that the dream of peace was fading. His words became a powerful symbol of generational pain that transcends politics. “His grief,” Rev Suli said, “was not political – it was personal, generational and spiritual.”
Throughout her address, Rev Suli reiterated that the Uniting Church has long spoken out – not to take sides, but to stand with those whose human dignity is denied. She reaffirmed the Church’s calls for an end to the occupation, the lifting of the Gaza blockade, and the rejection of all forms of racism and religious discrimination.
The vigil was a powerful witness to interfaith unity and collective moral responsibility. As Rev Suli shared, “Peace is not naive, it is necessary.”
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