The Wesley Centre

25/08/2026

Some of you might be interested in this amazing opportunity being offered through Act for Peace, a program of the National Council of Churches. 👇
Original post at Jarrod McKenna

24/08/2026

We think implementing the recommendations of the Yoorrook Justice Commission is important, including Treaty. But the Victorian liberal party has said they would scrap it if elected. So, if you want Treaty to stay, please consider signing this letter of petition to go to the Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, or write your own.

This is not about party politics or who you vote for, its about asking our elected officials whoever they are, to do the right thing.

Jess Wilson's Liberal Party will rip up Treaty with First Peoples if elected this November. Sign the petition and tell her: hands off Treaty.

20/08/2026

Jonathan Cornford (Manna Gum) talks about our political history and when things shifted form an equalitarian system to something that drove consumerism and wealth inequality.

Join us for more 'Conversations That Matter' about the state of our democracy, leadership, and the values that underlie it all. The next one is 15th September with Tim Costello and Jessica Hateley-Browne from Uniting Vic.Tas.

19/08/2026

An important article here about the inquiry into racism. "Dozens of politicians, government officials, and national powerbrokers were asked to attend each hearing. Most didn't show up."

The Wesley Centre ran a webinar earlier this year encouraging folk to write submissions testifying to any racism they had witnessed, particularly against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Whether this inquiry leads to any change remains a big question. Let's hope and pray it does and also commit ourselves to the ongoing work of educating ourselves and working to stamp out racism in our communities.

Witnesses laid bare the impact of racism on their lives in hearings held around the nation. But the repeated absence of key decision makers raises questions about who was listening and what the impact will be.

18/08/2026

When a woman is sexually assaulted and we fail to centre her, we render her invisible . When we fail to centre her suffering, we also fail to centre compassion. This has been vividly on display in the way the media has reported the alleged sexual assault of a woman at the Pullman hotel by several Sydney Swans footballers this week.

Several rhetorical tactics have been used that downplay the severity of the assault and centre the male experience, all of which are sadly too common in reporting on gendered violence:

1. Minimising: The alleged assault was called an 'incident'. Incident implies something minor or even accidental. And, while this is language the police often use in a press briefing, its repetition in media headlines and by a team spokesperson has the affect of minimising sexual assault.

2. Passive language: "the players have found themselves in this situation" said Pavlich, chief executive of the Swans. Other media reported that players were "caught up" in the alleged assault. This use of the passive mitigates the responsibility of perpetrators of violence. It's as if they just accidentally were in the wrong place at the wrong time - oopsie!

3. It's really a tragedy for men: Much of the sports media reporting has focussed on how 'devastating' this is for the Swans so close to the finals. Garry Lyons called it 'an unmitigated disaster'.... not for the woman who was attacked, but for the team and the game. This turns men into victims - just think of those poor team-mates who are now suffering (note sarcasm).

Of course, we do not want trial by media. The recent case of Cambridge academic, Jason Arday, reminds us that can have tragic ends. The police investigation into these allegations are ongoing and people are innocent until proven guilty.

But, it is vital that the media and those in leadership at the AFL demonstrate some comprehension of the impact and seriousness of sexual assault allegations and remember that at the centre of all this is a woman who is potentially incredibly vulnerable and traumatised. Where is our compassion for her?

The Christian tradition reminds us that God sees the suffering of the marginalised, the poor, the forgotten. Jesus looked on such people with gut-wrenching compassion (Mark 1:41). The Bible points us to cast our gaze on people like Hagar, an enslaved and abused woman who God sees and saves. We are called to view the world with these same eyes.

15/08/2026

Is there anything we can do to address wealth inequality? Catherine de Fontenay (Productivity Commission) talks about some of the public policies that help and what we can do.

14/08/2026

Did you miss our 'Conversations that Matter' event last week about economic leadership? Here, Jonathan Cornford from Manna Gum talks about wealth inequality as a moral problem.
Join the conversation. Get your tickets to our September conversation here: https://events.humanitix.com/wesley-centre-spring-series-conversations-that-matter

13/08/2026

Did you miss our 'Conversations that Matter' event last week about economic leadership? Here is a first look at some of Catherine de Fontenay's opening comments about the state of wealth inequality in Australia.

06/08/2026

Reflections on the Census and that religion question.... What do you think about the religion question?

06/08/2026

Thanks to everyone who came out on a cold and rainy Melbourne evening for the first in our series "What is the Leadership Australia needs?"
Catherine de Fontenay and Jonathan Cornford led us in a robust and deep discussion about the economy, wealth inequality, taxation, ethics, faith, and how we need political and economic leadership that thinks long term.
We'll post some content from the evening over the next couple of weeks.