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On Thursday 26 August 2015, the Darebin Interfaith Council hosted a tour to places of worship. These tours are organized in response to Council’s mission to work with our diverse community to build a sustainable and liveable city, which is home to people from 148 different countries, who speak 105 different languages.

Thirty seven people attended the tour which covered places of worship spanning the breadth and width of the City of Darebin. The departure point was the Preston Town Hall, Preston.

The first stop was St Mary’s Catholic Church located in Thornbury. St Mary’s Thornbury has been a parish since 1923 and prides itself in being a very friendly and welcoming community. The host for the tour guests wasFather Gerry Medici who spoke about the Parish and the history of the church. The hosts served a generous morning tea provided by the Parish school’s catering glass.

The second place of worship was the Linh Son Buddhist Temple in Reservoir. The Melbourne Linh Son Buddhist Congregation was established and incorporated in March 1991 as the Melbourne branch of the World Linh Son Buddhist Congregation. Our host was Ven. Thich Tinh Dao.

The third place of worship was the Omar Bin Al Kattab Mosque located in Preston. Our host at the mosque was Sk. Abu Zahir. This mosque was built in 1976 and on a daily basis, almost 800 worshippers frequent it for the daily prayers. In 2009, the Darebin City Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Islamic Society of Victoria (ISV). This is the first of its kind in Australia between a mosque and council. This is a result of a strong and robust relationship between Council and mosque. The focus of the memorandum is that the council and mosque will work together on projects that have benefit to the community.

The tour provided the patrons the opportunity to explore three very different faith traditions. It was a great experience for everyone and the tour ended at 3:30pm.

Report by Aziz Cooper: Interfaith Development Officer, City of Darebin