Author : Chuen-Tat Kang (江俊达)[*]
PURPOSES OF PROPOSAL PRESENTATION
Many multifaith members or groups that are faithful to the LORD believe that the main purposes of the Multifaith Centre are to attract as many people as possible to be part of the multifaith community and spread the love and words of God to those in need with special healing powers. Most emphasis has been placed on quantity – number of existing actively attending and participating members rather than quality – faithfulness, income and professionalism. For the construction of physical Multifaith Centre building, not all multifaith members in fact are qualified to be truly professional in multifaith building management but only certain groups of religious experts that are interested in the physical sections of Religious Study could manage the building properly.
One of the reasons for the presentation is to describe the importance of Multifaith Centre building for multifaith community that could serve as protection and case for expansion. Such physical property, although is not perceived as one of the important factors towards truly religiously wise network but building, as one of the basic necessity of life as accommodation, other than food and attire, could serve to provide strong financial foundation of certain group of interfaith network with more permanent base that could really reflect the visible social status and well-established conditions. Mere rental for conducting religious activities is not good enough in the perception of many religions where holy church or temple requires strong physical foundation as well as quality supporters where in such case this normally happen in most charismatic churches or temples that are still in the process of struggling towards maturity. Even if the proposal presented are not fully accepted it could provide new insight for future directions of Multifaith Centre where additional physical facilities could be added. This could be referred to Bible – Haggai on the church building development process.
Other reasons for presentation are to look for sponsorships and other supports in term of financial and manpower to attract the sufficient and suitable resources for future.
STATEMENT OF ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING [1]
The mission of the proposed Multifaith Centre Building is to promote harmonious and peaceful Multifaith Religious Study environment among the executives and members of Multifaith Centre from various religious background and denominations, particularly from Christianity – Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Protestant, Jehovah W, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikism, Islam, Bahai, Judaism, Taoism, Confucian etc, through collaboration of holy activities via learning and practising of noble religious philosophies in Multifaith Religious and appreciation for the contribution of prophets towards the knowledgeable social environment.
The vision of the proposed Multifaith Centre Building is to produce quality and faithful multifaith religious fellows with calibre leading roles in respective faith groups in the Malaysian societies particularly in universities as background training space, promoting best cultivation of quality of noble religious leaders that are able to produce good activities in Multifaith Centre programs competitive to other multifaith religious organizations in the world via consistent research and development (R&D).
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRES FOR PROPOSED MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING [2]
The proposed Multifaith Centre Building, if available at the size of conventional social churches or temples, could be used and rented for various religious events, producing real impact towards contribution of spiritual development of the society via noble religions. The proposed Multifaith Centre Building in whatever scale will inevitably produce good impression about the caring multifaith community in the spiritual development of executives and members.
The Multifaith Centre Building as Religious Centre will be able to provide a space for various faith groups of different traditions and affiliations to interact especially among the executives and members of different races with same religious background and among the existing student groups with different background, through noble philosophical teaching and practising following the example of respective spiritual leaders or prophets. Multifaith group leaders do not have to compete with other groups in getting spaces for religious and typically religious discussions but special spaces will be allocated for individual caring multifaith groups to conduct various beneficial religious discussions and activities in the proposed Multifaith Centre Building. Sufficient facilities should be available and ready for personal professional development especially for multifaith leaders and interested philosophical executives and members.
In order to ensure the developed centres are planned properly that could be able to benefit most members, specific plan should be available to cater the need of all faith groups. Specific petition (as in the attachment), informal interviews and meetings should be available to publicize the application of proposed Multifaith Centre Building so that the multifaith centre could be fully utilized by most faithful members. It is also proposed too that Building Setting Design and Logo Design Competition to be available to enhance the attractiveness of the Multifaith Centre Building but this proposal will only be applicable only if sufficient funding if available from the management of the multifaith centre central. Table above simplified the potential centre application rosters for Multifaith Centre Building.
Possible Collaborators IN MONASH MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING DEVELOPMENT [3]
Name : Reverent
Position : Pastor / Patriarch
Email :
Contact :
Services
Name :
Position :
Email :
Phone :
Services
Name :
Position :
Email :
Phone :
Units and Groups under Existing Monash Multifaith Centre
Purpose of Initiative
For the establishment of a “Multifaith Centre Building” that provides for the religious/existential needs of all executives/members and facilities for Chaplains to operate and make readily available, all relevant resources that executives/members may access.
Aims and Objectives
To persuade Multifaith Centre Executive Committee (EXCO) to establish a “Multifaith Centre Building” for the benefit of executives and members, in support of the pursuit of their religious and spiritual views, beliefs and practices in various faiths. The “Multifaith Centre Building” is intended to provide a place in the community where religious or spiritual activities for Multifaith Centre can take place, and as base of operations for groups and individuals with a focus on or interest in religious or spiritual matters.
The “Multifaith Centre Building” will operate in accordance with the rules and procedures outlined by the Interfaith Council.
Purposes of “MONASH MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING”
A first point of contact for executives and members in the community with religious or spiritual needs.
Providing pastoral and religious care at a person’s point of need.
A network of contacts for referral and complimentary support for executives and members.
Assisting the community at times of celebration, mourning and transition.
Contributing to opportunities for personal and community spiritual enrichment.
Promoting understanding of diverse religious paths among various religious denominations and respect for those of other religious traditions and affiliations.
Ministering to executives and members of the chaplain’s own faith, as well as providing support, regardless of faith.
Supporting those who are working for social justice, giving priority to the marginalized or disadvantaged.
Chaplains do not offer clinical counselling or the application of therapeutic interventions addressed to particular problems, but is available to “journey with” persons supportively through difficult times.
Provide facilities and storage to operate and provide service to their electorate/members or general executives and members.
Possible Mission Statement
We see the space making an increasing contribution to the vitality of the community.
It is a space:
where we support, respect and learn from one another, in our common and separate paths
where our spirits are lifted and faith nurtured
available to support the disadvantaged
that provides facilities for a variety of groups to offer their activities
where we may explore what may be done together, for the future benefit of this Malaysian community and the world
Resources Required (TBC)
Pre-existing unoccupied building or spaces
Interim funding for the provision of associated start up costs
Pre-existing staff , i.e. Chaplains attached to pre-existing “Chaplaincy Department”
Appointment of a “Multifaith Centre Building Committee” to oversee administration
Furniture and other miscellaneous items
Funding Required (TBA): TBA
POTENTIAL MULTIFAITH RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS IN PROPOSED MONASH MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as recounted in the Gospels. Christians believe Jesus to be the Messiah, and thus refer to him as Jesus Christ. Christianity began in the first century as a Jewish sect, and therefore shares many religious texts and early history with Judaism—specifically, the Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament. Like Judaism and Islam, Christianity is an Abrahamic religion.
Denominations of Christianity
Anglican
Anglicanism is the term used to encapsulate the doctrine, religious belief, faith, system, practice and principles of the Church of England and other Anglican churches. The term at its broadest includes those who have accepted the work of the English Reformation as embodied in the Church of England or in the offshoot Churches which in other countries have adhered, at least substantially, to its doctrines, its organization, and its liturgy.
Catholic
The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church is the Christian church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and spread by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. The Catholic Church is by far the largest Christian church and the largest organized body of any world religion. According to the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, the Catholic Church’s worldwide recorded membership at the end of 2005 was 1,114,966,000, approximately one-sixth of the world’s population.
Methodist
Methodism or the Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity. The Methodist movement traces its origin to the evangelistic teaching of John Wesley. It originated in 18th century Britain, and through vigorous missionary activity, spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond. Originally it appealed especially to workers, agricultural workers, and slaves. Theologically most Methodists are Arminian, emphasizing that Christ accomplished salvation for every human being, and that humans must exercise an act of the will to be saved (as opposed to the Calvinist doctrine of limited atonement); and low church in liturgy (although this varies greatly in individual chapels; the Wesleys themselves greatly valued the Anglican liturgy and tradition). There are also a number of Calvinistic Methodists in Wales. In 2006 Methodism claimed some seventy-five million members worldwide.
Uniting Church
The third largest Christian denomination in Australia (the Roman Catholic and the Anglican churches are larger) the Uniting Church has around 243,000 members in 2,500 congregations. According to the Australian Census in 2001 there are 1,248,674 people identifying some sort of association with the Uniting Church. The National Church Life Survey (NCLS) research indicates that approximately 10% of these people attend a church worship gathering frequently.
Jehovah Witness
Jehovah’s Witnesses are governed by their understanding of Scriptural laws and principles based on instructions received from the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. is a legal organization in use by Jehovah’s Witnesses for their ministry work. The religion was developed in response “to what they saw as compromise and corruption in mainstream Christianity.” They dispute doctrines such as the Trinity, hellfire, immortality of the soul, and clergy-laity divisions as illegitimate additions to the original Christian teachings. The name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” is based on Isaiah 43:10, and was adopted in 1931.The Watchtower Society has been publishing religious materials since the late 19th century, its most widely known publications being the magazines The Watchtower and Awake
JUDAISM
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. The values and history of the Jewish people are a major part of the foundation of other Abrahamic religions such as Christianity, Islam, as well as Samaritanism. Judaism has seldom, if ever, been monolithic in practice (although it has always been monotheistic in theology), and differs from many religions in that its central authority is not vested in any person or group but rather in its writings and traditions (known as the Torah).
BUDDHISM
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy focusing on the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni (Siddhārtha Gautama), who probably lived in the 5th century BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five centuries following the Buddha’s death, and propagated into Central, Southeast, and East Asia over the next two millennia. Today, Buddhism is divided primarily into three traditions: Theravāda (Sanskrit: Sthaviravāda), Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna. Buddhism continues to attract followers worldwide, and, with around 350 million followers, it is considered a major world religion.
ISLAM
Islam (Arabic)is a monotheistic religion based on the teachings of Muhammad as recorded in the Qur’an. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims. Like Judaism, Christianity, Islam is an Abrahamic religion. Muslims believe Muhammad to have been God’s (Arabic: Allāh) final prophet.
HINDUISM
Hinduism (Sanskrit – Hindū Dharma, also known as Sanātana (eternal) Dharma and Vaidika (Vedic) Dharma) is the religion based on the Vedas as well as the traditions and beliefs of other peoples and tribes of India. It is the oldest existent religion in the world. The term Hinduism is heterogeneous, as Hinduism consists of several schools of thought. It encompasses many religious rituals that widely vary in practice, as well as many diverse sects and philosophies. Many Hindus, influenced by Advaita philosophy, venerate an array of deities, considering them manifestations of the one supreme monistic Cosmic Spirit, Brahman, while many others focus on a singular concept of God, as in Vaishnavism, Saivism and Shaktism.
TAOISM
Taoism (Daoism) is the English name referring to a variety of related Chinese philosophical and religious traditions and concepts. These traditions influenced East Asia for over two thousand years and some have spread internationally. Taoist propriety and ethics emphasize the Three Jewels of the Tao; namely, compassion, moderation, and humility. Taoist thought focuses on wu wei (“non-action”), spontaneity, humanism, and emptiness. An emphasis is placed on the link between people and nature. Taoism teaches that this link lessened the need for rules and order, and leads one to a better understanding of the world.
Other religions known could use the facilities in Multifaith Religious Centre too.
TYPE AND SCALES OF MONASH MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING OR UNIT
There are estimated three possibilities for various faith groups in the current committee to successfully obtain one space to conduct religious prays and activities for spiritual requirement.
Proposal A : Space in a room of single office lot
This is the minimum available space that could be allotted for multifaith activities, particularly for existing groups. The selected site could be an office lot near the proposed where the proposed bigger multifaith building is located. One small office as a size of a master room in house of religious leader may be allocated particularly for the placement of tables, chairs and so on as the settings of most rooms in religious student house. Fridge, water heaters, air conditions, air heater and so on may be available with notice boards and pigeon box available in front of the Multifaith Office. This type of setting could be applied to other registered affiliated groups, for example, family, aged and unfortunate etc. The cost of this Multifaith Office setting will take the estimated cost whereas the location to construct the centre could be referred to the organizers.
Proposal B : Shared space
In certain circumstances, a series of individual rooms of a size of lecture or classroom as conventional family house, business lot or school offices could be used for permanent activity space. Normally one room could be shared by 2 groups, may be allotted for the uses as a secretariat or meeting place for groups of executives and members of the same unit. The size of the space allotted increase with the number of members and the frequency of activities available in the group. Example of setting for such proposal will look as below, that could be part of the future bigger Multifaith building.
The cost of operating Multifaith Office of such type depends on the number of rooms allotted with similar facilities as in Proposal A.
Cost of operating Proposal B = n (Cost of Operating Proposal A)
where n = number of room allocated with similar facilities
Some Multifaith Building Committees may specially appoint typical room that is specific for the uses of multifaith activities out of the general office hours or special holidays. Normally cooperation with individual unit is required to avoid crashes with the other existing programs and no fixtures allowed to be placed in such shared space in conventional meeting rooms.
Proposal C : Complete Multifaith Building
This is most luxurious form of Multifaith Building that may cost the multifaith central management a lot if without external sponsorships. The setting may comprise of Chaplain Hall that can accommodate 150 guests, with smaller rooms of a size of a meeting room in conventional college office, used for the activity of known faith groups, particularly led by youth group, with supporting groups like family, student, unfortunate, kids, professional units etc. The facilities available may consist of kitchen, toilet as stated in the section of “Special Facilities Requested from Complete Multifaith Building”. The plan below depicts the reference setting that could be available for the proposed multifaith building, with reference to other more well-established multi religious centre.
CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGIOUS USED BUILDING COMMITEE MEMBERS
Detailed screening is required to ensure the righteous and bold Multifaith Centre committees are selected to manage future building.
(a) Faithful in serving the Lord & God physically
Those who are really faithful in the protection of hardware and utilities in the future religious centre are in balance with spiritual fruitfulness. The building committee should be able to contribute the physical power to ensure convenience inside and outside the structure all the times
(b) Co-operative with existing sections
The members of the building committee should communicate with spiritual and other religious sections all the time to understand the requirement of other units as well especially through various suggestions and complaints especially related to certain potential hazards in the physical location. This will be helpful as guidance to attract righteous and religious members to the Multifaith Centre.
(c) Ensure proper building structure and conditions
Those committees should preferably posses technical and civil engineering background that could handle repair, maintenance and design at the lowest cost but suitable for the occupants.
MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING Committee RULES
Terms of Reference
To oversee the operation of the Multifaith Centre building, in accordance with the provisions contained in this document.
To allocate funds and resources, and oversee the administration of any funds or resources, made available for the general use of the Multifaith Centre building.
To facilitate the use of the Multifaith Centre building, and oversee the timetabling and allocation of space by any individuals or groups who may wish to use it, in accordance with the Rules for the Use of the Multifaith Centre building.
To receive reports from members (at each member’s discretion) on activities or matters that may be of interest to the Committee.
Membership of the Multifaith Centre Building Committee
Chairperson and Office Holders
a. The Multifaith Centre building Committee will elect from amongst its members a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Secretary and other office holders as required, for a term of one year.
b. Nominations for the positions of Chairperson and other officers will be called, and an election held by secret ballot, at a meeting of the Multifaith Centre building.
Membership
The membership of the Multifaith Centre building Committee will comprise one person each from any faith group, or religious or spiritual organization that regularly participates in activities within the Multifaith Centre building, or is otherwise a stakeholder in its operations, being either:
a. A Chaplain, or a person holding an equivalent position; or
b. a member or nominee of a group affiliated with Multifaith Centre where the group has been constituted primarily for religious or spiritual purposes; or
c. An individual or a member of a group not otherwise represented by (a) or (b), and who has an ongoing involvement with the Multifaith Centre building; and
d. Up to three other persons co-opted by the Committee.
3.1 The Chairperson will accept a nomination from each faith group that wishes to have a member appointed to the Multifaith Centre Building Committee. If more than one nomination has been received from a faith group, or the status of a nomination is unclear, the Chairperson will discuss the matter with the relevant parties and establish a process for identifying a nominee.
Operating Procedures
The Multifaith Centre Building Committee will conduct its business in accordance with the Operating Procedures (Identified below as “Operating Procedures).
Amendment of this Document and the Operating Procedures for the Multifaith Centre Building Committee
This document, and the Operating Procedures of the Multifaith Centre Building Committee and any subsequent amendments, will be subject to approval by the Director of Administration, following consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
Appeals and Complaints
An appeal or complaint concerning a decision of the Multifaith Centre Building Committee, or the behaviour of any person or group within the Multifaith Centre building, or any other matter relating to the use of the Multifaith Centre building will normally be submitted, in confidence, to the Chairperson of the Multifaith Centre building Committee, who will take one of the following steps, as appropriate:
a. Firstly seek to resolve the matter through discussion, having regard to the views and interests of all relevant parties; and
b. where the matter involves a decision of the Multifaith Centre building Committee, and subject to all parties consenting, refer the matter back to the Committee for further consideration; or
c. Where a matter may be of concern to the Multifaith Centre central, or where an appeal or complaint cannot be resolved after following the processes outlined in (a) or (b) above, inform the Chief Religious Leader about it and act in accordance with any directions given by the Chief Religious Leader.
An appeal or complaint of a confidential nature may be lodged directly with the
Chief Religious Leader. Once the Chief Religious Leader has received a complaint, he or she will:
a. Investigate the matter, or appoint a mediator or a panel to investigate the matter,
b. Taking account of the views of all parties, and the best interests of the Multifaith Centre, decide an outcome.
c. Where a complaint has been lodged and the Chief Religious Leader has reason to believe it is of a malicious or vexatious nature, he or she may dismiss the complaint, and where appropriate, reprimand or otherwise take action against the person or persons who lodged the complaint.
Booking of Rooms and Facilities
Rooms and facilities within the Multifaith Centre building, other than offices, may be booked in accordance with procedures established by the Multifaith Centre.
MONASH MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING Committee Operating Procedures
1. Meetings
1.1 Meetings will be held at least once a month, in accordance with a schedule identified by the Committee.
1.2 Members of the Multifaith Centre Building Committee will be given at least two weeks notice of the date of any scheduled meeting, and a notice will be placed on the Multifaith Centre building notice board about the meeting.
1.3 An unscheduled meeting of the Committee may be called to deal with urgent matters, at the discretion of the Chairperson, in which case the Chairperson will ensure that all members receive as much notice of the meeting as is practicable in the particular circumstances.
2. Role of the Chairperson and Members of the Multifaith Centre Building Committee
The Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Secretary and members of the Committee will have such responsibilities as are conferred on them by the Committee, to be carried out in accordance with the rules, principles and procedures of the Multifaith Centre building, and any directives provided by the Multifaith Centre building Committee, under the direction of the Chairperson.
All members of the Multifaith Centre building Committee must at all times act in the best interests of all persons who use the Multifaith Centre building.
The Secretary of the Multifaith Centre building Committee will maintain a register of members of the Committee, contact details for each member, and the church or relevant religious or spiritual group or organization with which they are affiliated.
Meeting Procedures
The Chairperson and Secretary will prepare an agenda for each meeting, and ensure it is available within the Multifaith Centre building for perusal by all members of the Multifaith Centre building at least five working days before the date of the meeting.
Any member may put forward an item for inclusion on the agenda, provided the matter is within the Committee’s terms of reference.
The Chairperson may accept items for inclusion on the agenda after it has been circulated, if:
In his or her opinion the matter will not directly be of concern to any person or group that is not represented at the meeting; and
A majority of the eligible voting members present at the meeting agree to the matter being considered.
A member who is unable to attend a meeting may appoint another person as a proxy to attend the meeting and vote on his or her behalf, and must inform the Chairperson or the Secretary or provide written notification in advance of the meeting of the name of the person appointed. Where he or she is from a particular group or organization, the person appointed must be from the same group or organization.
Proceedings of the Committee will be open to observers.
Voting
The Chairperson and each member will have one vote.
The Chairperson will not have a casting vote.
To have the approval of the Committee a matter must have the support of half plus one of the eligible, voting members present at the meeting.
Quorum
A quorum will be half plus one of the eligible, voting members of the Committee.
A decision of the Committee will be valid only if a quorum is present at the time the decision was taken.
6. Powers and Responsibilities
A decision of the Committee on any matter within its terms of reference will apply to any person or group that uses the Multifaith Centre building.
The Committee will not enter into any financial commitments or legally binding relationships or agreements.
The Chairperson or another office holder, or a member of the Committee, may be removed from office or have their membership revoked, if a motion to that effect is moved and seconded, and supported by two thirds of the eligible members present and voting at a meeting, if in the Committee’s view:
the person has failed to discharge his or her responsibilities; or
He or she has behaved in a disorderly or disruptive manner.
Dissolution of the Multifaith Centre Building Committee
The Head of Multifaith Centre may, at his or her discretion, dissolve the Multifaith Centre Building Committee if:
a. the Committee fails to discharge its responsibilities in accordance with the provisions contained herein, or fails to act properly in any matter; or
b. the Committee membership ceases to be broadly representative of the religious and spiritual needs of executives and members in the community; or
c. The Committee recommends that it be dissolved, and not less than two thirds of the eligible voting members support the recommendation.
Preferred Building Location
There are many reasons that the location of the building should be selected correctly. First, it is because of the convenience of the existing members based on the initial oral survey where not all but only certain areas are suitable to be used as religious spaces where many people can get to the building location easily with accessible transport facilities whether via private car or public transport like buses or trains. Secondly, the prices of the property in the selected area should be affordable by current Multifaith Centre building committee in the minimization of cost. Thirdly, the desired structure of the selected building could only be found in certain are to meet the demand of the majority of the interfaith members. Other reasons could be geomancy and local weathers that could affect the location of new Multifaith Centre building.
MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION – TYPES OF ACTIVITIES RECOMMENDED FOR BUILDING COMMITTEE
There are many activities that are possible to be conducted by the Multifaith Centre Building Committee in the maintenance of the structure for the well-beings of the occupants, in order to meet the demand of all existing groups of the interfaith, ensure the spaces inside are fully occupied and utilized with routine cleaning and renovation. Programs designed for typical building committee should be holy in the physical aspects.
(I) Professional development – this will invite building contractors, civil engineers and designers to voluntarily demonstrate professional methods in properly manage the Multifaith Centre property and land, to be always nice-looking and convenient for multi-purposes.
(II) Concert and other fundraising programs
The building committee will assist in the building fundraising campaign in cooperation with other committee in food, entertainment and other funding units in the setting, planning and management of multifaith hardware as required by the program organizer’s where additional facilities could be prepared for funding purposes.
(III) Cleanliness campaign
Roasters are prepared where cleaning is conducted on daily basis and more frequently on weekends and festive seasons. Normally cleanliness campaigns are conducted before special occasions with special design and infrastructure set-up.
Expected tasks for future Multifaith Centre building committees are:
(a) Sponsorships – sending invitation for donation and negotiation with long term constant benefactors about certain requirement and contract for continuation of funding in cash and in-kind, ranging from government, businesses, religious organizations, private celebrities and philanthropies etc. In kind service will include discounted purchase of building material, labour costs for renovation and facility improvement, food and beverages for fundraising, lucky draw relevant to Multifaith Centre building etc.
(b) Maintenance and upgrading – this will include cleaning of waste and rubbish after program and clearing of dusts, gardening and repair of electrical accessories and building structure like broken roof, furniture and pipes especially after seasonal festivals. Artists committee should devote themselves on painting and decoration.
Tentative usage of Multifaith Centre building will depend on the available capacity, facilities and types of programs to be performed based on the existing Multifaith Centre community that initially does not own the physical activity centre as part of the property of God. The existing multifaith group programs could possibly be modified to fit into the new Multifaith Centre building timetable where certain programs may possibly be conducted outside the main centre of the multifaith groups especially camping, outings and individual group functions that may not require fixed centre for convenience reasons. Multifaith Centre building in such instance could be more suitable to be used as a registered office of the Multifaith Centre. Tentative timetable for Multifaith Centre building usage is shown as below :
Day
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Sunday
Sunday Service in Main Hall,
9AM-12PM.
Kids of God in Classroom,
1:30-3:30PM
Non-English Service Evening
in Halls, 6-8PM
Monday
VACANT
University Student Lunch in
Playground, 1-2PM
Youth Group Meeting in
Meeting Room, 8-9PM
Tuesday
Morning Pray Service in Garden,
8-10AM
Cleaning Service, 3-5PM
Adolescent Group Meeting
in Meeting Room, 8-9:30PM
Wednesday
VACANT
VACANT
Uni Student function in
orchestra Hall, 8-9PM
Thursday
Family Group Gathering in
Playground, 8-10:30AM
Aged Healing Service in
Medical Room, 1-3PM
Children Class in Classroom,
7-9PM
Friday
Morning Pray service in Garden,
8-10AM
Cleaning service, 3-5PM
Care functions in Hall, 8-10:30AM
Saturday
Weekly Forum in Hall, 9AM-12PM
Committee Meeting in Office, 1-3PM
Saturday Service in Hall, 6-8PM
MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING MAINTENANCE SYSTEM
Each year huge sum of money is required to operate the Multifaith Centre owned with building. Most of the funding to the building or office lots will be allocated for the maintenance of the centres to ensure the centre is safe enough for a variety of religious studies related activities and comfortable enough to attract visitors to pray. Possible maintenance items required are :
Building structure – for example, broken windows and doors, roofs, floors with hole or fracture
Fixtures – replacement and repair of lighting systems, fan, temperature control items (heater and cooler), security system etc
Utilities – kitchen items, toilet items, furniture for various guest functions
Operating equipment cost – water, electricity, broadband internet systems, oil, van or bus of the centre etc
Staffs – cleaner and security, chaplains, temporary staffs and partial volunteers
It is estimated initially and proposed too that funding at certain amount per cubic feet of the Multifaith Centre building is required for maintenance cost monthly.
PROPOSED NEW BUILDING RENTAL RATE FOR MULTIFAITH CENTRE ACTIVITIES
The utilization of new Multifaith Centre building is FREE for all existing faith unit to conduct various religious activities for group and community members. This will also include interfaith affiliates and partners that have negotiated with Multifaith Centre building committee about the uses that could benefit the collaborating parties especially in community welfare programs.
For certain external programs renting particularly for wedding functions and private ceremonies, nominal rate will be charged on hourly basis, normally for hall rentals. Rooms are available for conducting religious camps. Normally the rate is in the range of certain amount per day depending on the size of the rooms.
For internal fundraising or during services, 30% of the funds collected will be distributed for building maintenance purposes, whereas 70% will be used by organizing committee members to cover the cost of programs. For other types of external non-profit functions, normally 10% of the fundraising incomes will be given to the LORD of the building committee whereas the rest will be donated for public charity in the name of the Multifaith Centre office where the charity programs are located.
DESIRED BUILDNG STRUCTURE
This will require initial survey on the building required by existing committee where petition could be signed as support towards establishment of physical multifaith centre in addition to questionnaires and survey conducted from time to time as referendum and information collection to understand percentage of Multifaith Centre building supporters especially among active committee members where desired building could be drafted with pray and guidance of God.
Tentative characteristics of the Multifaith Centre building as desired by the committee so far based on rational and informal discussions are as below :
(a) able to accommodate at least 300 people per assembly and contain minimum 5 bedrooms for camp purposes, twin-shared preferably
(b) contain basic amenities like toilet, changing rooms, kitchen and hall for Multifaith Centre functions
(c) convenience enough to run various social activities, like religious services, children classes, community charity fundraising events, festival feasts etc
(d) prepared with medium size car park with extra spaces around the building for stopping the car during function
(e) single and double storey will do based on the economic ability but preferably with disabled facilities in toilet and service rooms
Building should be completed with heater and air-conditioned facilities in all chambers. Children playground is preferably available where spaces could be altered anytime for the uses as party and camping sites, games in groups like football and basketball and other sports that could promote friendships among members.
SPECIAL FACILITIES REQUIRED FOR COMPLETE MULTIFAITH CENTRE
For all faith groups will occupy the Multifaith Centre, particularly for family, aged and student groups, tentatively the facilities below need to be available from Multifaith Centre Building Committee for complete operation of proposed Multifaith Centre building.
Kitchen
Kitchen may need to be supplemented with fridge (for clean and halal food storage), sink (for cleaning and dishwashing), microwave oven or stove (for cooking purposes), water heater (for preparing hot coffee and tea). Some food stalls, vandal machines and visitor information booths may be allowed to be placed in the proposed Multifaith Centre building for convenience.
Store room
Store room may be requested for construction that consists of clearing detergent, mop, repairing and workshop accessories for centre maintenance. Several cupboards may be placed with stationery that could be used for all religious student groups and chaplains. Equipment lockers are to be available for storage of religious equipment for individual groups, PA facilities and so on.
Main interfaith leader office
Main interfaith leader offices could be placed with special 24-hour internet broadband connections linking with the main office internet system, an internal phone and external fax machine. For convenience purposes, full time religious leader with diversified multifaith religious background and knowledge could be employed to manage the Multifaith Centre building, working slightly shorter on normal working days plus weekends servicing for members and community in need. One pigeon box to handle mains of all faith groups could be available for communication with external organizations via postal methods. It is also proposed that specific e-mail account to be available for individual affiliated multifaith group, for example, username@monashmultifaith.org. Individual religious notice boards consisting of articles and events of registered affiliated groups should be placed near chaplain offices.
Function hall
Function hall, that may be a size of small religious building that is able to accommodate 150 people especially for members and community, is proposed to be allotted for special multifaith and multicultural seminars, especially as location for introduction to formal groups affiliated with the multifaith groups. Complete PA systems, LCD screen and projector, air heater and conditioner should be placed in the centre for comfortable religious lecture and talk at stated time. In order to fully utilize the hall, the social and university multifaith community and other relevant groups, particularly those interested in religious philosophies in various faiths, may be invited to conduct philosophical lectures and religious studies in the hall frequently. The space could be rented too for external organizations uses not only for religious functions but also for secular wedding functions, public events and so on. For multi-purpose uses reasons, timetable could be arranged by Chaplain Office for sports uses and social events in Multifaith Centre building.
Toilets and locker
In order to consider the requirement of disabled, the facility available in the proposed Multifaith Centre building, including the walking path and toilets, should be completed with special needs facilities. At least one male, one female, baby changing rooms and disability toilet should be available. Lockers for members and representative leaders may be allotted to keep religious clothes, wearing and small accessories especially during special religious occasions, functions and festivals.
Chaplain bookstore or bookshop
Chaplain has to determine the religious philosophies books that should be available in the interfaith library for the uses of Multifaith Centre that could be used as supplementary coursework material for philosophical courses and self-study module. Chaplain office may be used to store all major religious scriptures, including mostly Bible, Torah, Quran, Veda, Dharma, children reference books in religious study with small proportion of shelf allocated for other religious reference and so on, either in the form of systematically recommended websites, or CD / VCD, video cassettes and so on.
Transport facilities
Special car parks and chaplain bus should be applied and available to be used for multifaith religious functions, for example, visiting external churches and temples, group volunteering in noble welfare activities and social caring events. School kids, the disabled, old-folk house residents could be invited to use the bus to conduct religious services in the centre as well under properly arranged timetable.
STAGES IN OBTAINING FIXED BUILDING FOR DEVELOPING PHYSICAL MULTIFAITH CENTRE
Physical structure, although is not a must for conducting multifaith activities, it is undeniable that the physical structure could provide additional shield for current multifaith community where addition of fixtures and designs that really belong to the interfaith groups could be installed in the fixed building that could really symbolize the identity and wealth of the Multifaith Centre committee. For the optimization of resource usage in getting physical building and at the same time attract sufficient members and committees to service for the multifaith centre and maintain the facility, thorough consideration and plan need to be conducted from time to time where the realization of getting a big house for LORD could be a big project that cold last for more than 10 years depending on directions and aims of the working committee. Tentative stage in the realization of obtaining Multifaith Centre building are stated as below but the progress and process might differ on case basis depending on the opportunity and threat that could increase and decrease the rate towards realization of the mission of obtaining physical structure, respectively.
Stage 1 : Attraction of sufficient number of members with quality consideration
Preliminary screening is required to select the correct members to develop the building. Based on the usual practises of charismatic multifaith groups, not much emphasizes have been placed on building site but more on programs of evangelism where in certain extreme case the physical requirement to complete the body of Lord has been ignored totally. It is inevitable that as many people as possible should be invited to experience the teachings of holy scriptures but only with sufficient and specific manpower that could determine the successful establishment even one single building committee that specially target on property and basic infrastructure. The pastors and other unit heads should assist in the appointment of specific committee and leaders that are able to function in looking specifically on building where the coordination with other existing units are very important in choosing the building committee from huge pools of members that could really work together towards the objectives and visions of Multifaith Centre where physical property could hopefully catalyse the multifaith mission where the holy missions are towards servicing for society on well-beings but not on religious conversion merely.
Stage 2 : Building committee members screening
Special building committee meetings could be conducted from time to time, initially estimated once a month to accumulate ideas from existing members, to formulate the best building proposal suitable for the direction of Multifaith Centre, at the same time, to gain as much support from members and public about the new religious building construction, as possible, in the desired location. The long-term discussions and negotiations could take longer than 1 year depending on the suitable workforce gained, commitment, contribution and sacrifice of time in working out a more suitable plan for future Multifaith Centre building. Members interested to join the Multifaith Centre Building Committee could be invited to attend the meetings where publicity of such new committee could be conducted via announcement made in between multifaith services and functions, websites, brochures and via verbal invitation. Those truly interested members in assisting the establishment of physical building could retain in the building committee to further follow-up on the building development progress on voluntary basis whereas others are allowed to attend the meetings anytime if inputs are available to be included in the building plan wherever applicable and appropriate. Contact details are included in the publicity for Building Committee leaders where any form of suggestions and comment could be submitted to the Multifaith Centre building committee leaders via suggestion forms on paper or web format. Multifaith Centre Building Committee Directory could be updated from time to time based on individual functions where all meeting reports, minutes and documentation have to be approved by Multifaith Centre central committee that should always send representatives to the multifaith centre building committee meetings as follow-up from time to time.
Benefit of Good Building Plan and Management
(a) Retain and increase more members – thorough survey will be able to help to understand the actual necessity of interfaith members. Having own house means more independent and freedom in working out the settings of the House of LORD that could really reflect the social identity of the multifaith members where the buildings are fully owned by all multifaith members, managed by building committee with helpers and volunteers assisting in building decoration, cleaning, repair, settings and other forms of maintenance.
(b) Cost savings – where certain fixtures and equipment for proper interfaith function could be sponsored by the interfaith benefactors in cash and in kind. Certain professionals could assist in getting cheaper material for building maintenance and decoration with more convenience inner space designed suitable for the majority of the users while retaining the holy identity of the population. Wider land and bigger house could be found with discounted prices as a gift for God depending on chances availability that will determine future survival of the whole Multifaith Centre where the saved money could be used for existing program improvement for longer period.
(c) Wider publicity – where the building construction for Multifaith Centre will obtain better attention from key committee members from other units that could provide better program flexibility and convenience to conduct certain activities where high security is available to keep the instrument and manpower saving in moving certain equipment.
Danger of Misplan of Multifaith Centre Building
The duration set to obtain such Multifaith Centre building is targeted for 30 years. Any inconsiderate plan that tend to rush for getting the religious building as soon as possible without referring to God will jeopardise the future of the Multifaith Centre survival and may destroy the base of interfaith group foundation, with reference to Christian bible, Deuteronomy 28 : 15-19:
“However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curse will come on you and overtake you : You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.”
Danger One : Lose of financial resources and members
Inappropriate plan in obtaining physical religious building that against the majority of the key committees will result in loss of financial resources where the cost of building might exceed the fiscal ability of the interfaith groups, where such worries of financial problems will distract the performance of the interfaith in servicing for the members. The shortage of funding could reduce the quality of performance, leading to low attendance rate gradually.
Danger Two : Instability of Multifaith Centre management
The building committee could be blamed for misappropriation of fund, leading to boycott of the usage of new Multifaith Centre building and quarrel in various related programs in the verge of bankruptcy. Rescue missions with great efforts have to be conducted to rebuild the foundation of religious centre to regain the control and confidence over all units.
Stage 3 : Building Committee Proposed Tasks
Specific unit has to be available to specially target on new building search that truly belong to the Multifaith Centre. That is not possible for only the existing leaders of the units to run the multifaith building committees but should be assisted by additional members where some belong to the other religious units as well that could really understand the basic building requirement of individual units and gain more support towards the establishment of Multifaith Centre building with formal letter support, questionnaires and petition signing from Multifaith Centre units and community members as well. All the tasks conducted by building committee will have to be notified to the management of Multifaith Centre all the times via minutes filing in paper, voice and video recording that could be used as follow-up and updates all the times by the management, absent committee and new building members as well.
Tentative tasks that could possibly be performed by individual building units are as below :
(a) Publicity and preaching – Involved building committee members could go to the desired site to conduct pray and preaching especially among the community members to attend the church or temple at present and also in future, at the same time, obtain guidance and initial impression from God about future appearance of Multifaith Centre building. Petition and survey could be conducted to enable the building committee members to approach wider range of population including existing members and new prospect committee in gaining more opinion and support towards the future appearance in Multifaith Centre building as desired by most members with faith.
(b) Building survey and contract – The central committee and Multifaith Centre building unit should preferably consist of professional surveyors and architects that could help to design the landscape and building structure as desired by the current Multifaith Centre building committee. Civil engineering members could be invited to attend the Multifaith Centre building meeting to understand the Multifaith Centre building requirement and assist in looking for more appropriate properties in the selected areas with affordable prices.
(c) Cost estimates and sponsorships – Normally treasurer of Multifaith Centre building committee will need to determine the funding opportunity available to earn extra income to support Multifaith Centre building maintenance, whether via charity fundraising of concert, building donation dinner and lunch etc. With the blessings of God then it is possible to obtain full sponsorships of Multifaith Centre building if the true building benefactors could be found by chance. If somebody is going to give the whole Multifaith Centre building to the interfaith committee then the issues raised will be the suitability of building for religious uses, the area of sponsored building and overall cost of maintenance in future, current building requirement for the multifaith groups and whether there is sufficient manpower to handle the Multifaith Centre building that need to be considered further where the success will alter the fate of the Multifaith Centre in future. Budget and cost estimates have to be planned financially by the treasurer based on various information provided where specific target will be based on the current property prices like land and building, material and facility prices, availability of in-kind sponsorships etc that could fluctuate all the times where building committee should analyse the potential minimum cost to obtain discounts for building and facilities whenever time is appropriate where true timing will decide the success of getting one house for the LORD with much against the desires of existing embers. Accountants and financial planners could assist this.
(d) Legal requirement – Volunteers with legal and local governmental background could assist in getting approval to set-up Multifaith Centre building in the selected areas, legal documentation in dealing with local city council and other authorities like Monash Multifaith Centre building registrar etc that could help in the legalization of the building as Monash Multifaith Centre following the standard procedures of developing complete facilities in the selected site. Normally lawyer and government officers with local government experience, that are also members of the existing multifaith groups, could be requested to assist the tasks.
(e) Committee selection – The unit head of Multifaith Centre building committee will need to distribute the available workforce for different future tasks at plan first and updated from time to time:
Position
Brief Task Description
Total Required
Decorator
Design the external appearance of Multifaith Centre
2
Gardener
Planting trees and flowers according to landscape
2
Cleaner
Sweeping the floor and cleaning the toilets and kitchens
5
Facility
keeper
Maintain the hardware like chairs, cupboards and
instrumentations of music at safe place
2
Security
Ensure building free of thieves and gangsters
2
Office
Secretary
Correspondences, mails and communication handling and filing, documentation etc
3
Librarian
Keep the books, CDs etc in proper order
2
Technician
Maintain electrical, water and building utilities
5
Helpers
Special festive seasons and program assistances
Casual
Depending on the budget for Multifaith Centre building, some positions are volunteers and some are paid. The future Multifaith Centre building could hopefully be fully utilized and opened all the times where abandon of any building facilities will cause wastage of spaces as well. For such reasons, opening hours should fit with numbers of users and visitors.
OPENING CEREMONY
The opening ceremony will be led by chaplain, expected to be the chief multifaith leader accompanied by representatives from community leaders, university religious study professionals, heads of multifaith groups from various denominations, existing members and general public etc. If the space is fixed for individual religious group usage, labeled will be available in form of the doors.
FINANCIAL RESOURCE FOR NEW MULTIFAITH CENTRE BUILDING
Sufficient and strong financial supports have to be available to obtain such expensive properties especially for new Multifaith Centre that is still in the process of development and expansion, where maintenance costs of Multifaith Centre building is very high and not many interfaith groups could afford without sufficient fiscal support from the members unless benefactor are available that could fully in charge of the spending of the multifaith centre building facilities. Based on the informal survey on the preferable methods of obtaining such physical facilities, a few recommended methods towards the success of owning a religious building are stated as below :
Method 1 : Loan and installment
This is one of the usual methods for owning a religious centre where the Multifaith Centre building committee bear quite a heavy responsibility in supporting the physical building where portion of the cost could be overcome by loan from certain members or bank as installment. In such case, Multifaith Centre building committee will have to pay monthly mortgage to the creditors that are willing to borrow money for the Multifaith Centre to own the building. Special bank account will have to be developed that allow donation and sponsorships in cash to be specifically used for Multifaith Centre building purposes where the monthly instalment, withdrawal and other transactions relevant to income as input and spending as output could be done via this bank account to allow direct deposit and payment via cheque, online transaction etc. The budget and financial position of building fund will have to be updated and reported to the Multifaith Centre building and central committee to look for more financial resources and reduce certain unnecessary spending on the building site whenever necessary where the cost of the maintenance could be controlled to prevent overspending on certain fixtures or additional facilities that might not be useful. Other Multifaith Centre units will have to report special facilities like furniture, chamber etc that might be required to look for more economically priced items with more choices and better quality. Vast amou
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