Easter response at Mitcham:

Over Easter we have celebrated again a man who voluntarily gave his life to save all mankind from wickedness and later was raised to life again and recognized to be at one with God.  In juxtaposition we have also also witnessed lethal force in an attempt to crush downtrodden people in Iran to “push them back into the dark ages” with the aggressor publicly praying to God for success.

Our  minister, Darren, prayed on Easter morning a prayer seeking forgiveness for our complacency and lack of effort in seeking peace and justice.  This letter is a response to that call to speak out for the oppressed.  To let Australians and Iranians know that we deplore the lethal violence rained down on men women and children, schools and hospitals.

General Douglas MacArthur, supreme Allied military commander in Japan stated after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 “ In the evolution of civilization, if it is to survive, all men cannot fail eventually to adopt Gandhi’s belief that the process of mass application of force to resolve contentious issues is fundamentally not only wrong but contains within itself the germ of self-destruction.”

We seek world leaders to reinvent UN to no longer tolerate vetoes that have neutered justice, as seen in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran; to mandate the practice of civilized resolution alternatives to violence (dialogue, law, trade, aid); to cease wasting resources on arms except for policing consensual justice and to reinvest in humanitarian efforts.

Easter is a season of renewal, focusing on what is good and important and it seems the whole world is in need of that.

.. a letter to the Editor of the Advertiser from a member of the congregation. Apr 2026.