Different beliefs, common ground: Four women on faith & values

For the first week in February each year, people from many different faiths and belief systems come together to celebrate World Interfaith Harmony Week. The goal is to build bridges and to share our commonalities, rather than our differences. It’s an opportunity to learn, to set aside judgement, and to see the humanity in each other.

At Spectrum, we’re proud to have a diverse team that represents many cultures, religions, beliefs and strong personal values – just like our clients across Melbourne’s north and west.

To mark World Interfaith Harmony Week, we’re sharing four different staff stories of faith and values – that have led them all to working here together at Spectrum.

Meet:

• Luseane, our Aged Care team’s Recruitment and Compliance Administrator, who is a practicing Christian
• Ann, our Head of Learning and Development, who is not religious and lives by a strong set of personal values
• Kelsey, our Communications Coordinator, who practices Indigenous Polynesian spirituality as part of her Maori culture, and
• Shafica, our Migration team’s Migration Agent, who is a practising Muslim

(L-R) Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre team members Luseane, Ann, Kelsey and Shafica

Do faith and values influence who you try to be as a person?

Luseane: Yes, significantly. It shapes my character, values, and how I approach life. My faith pushes me to act with integrity, compassion, and humility, helping me stay grounded and live with purpose. It reminds me to uphold principles like honesty, kindness, and forgiveness, which influence how I treat others.

Ann: My values have strongly influenced the people I choose to have in my life and how I treat them, the organisations I work for, the type of work I do, and how I travel through life. It has also strongly influenced how I have raised my children.

My values have led me to support my friends who live overseas, by hosting their sons and daughters over here. My family have provided a safe place for them to spread their wings and work out who they are and what they want to do next with their lives. We provide a home away from home, support, a listening ear, advice, and independence.

Kelsey: Definitely. My spiritual practice shapes my perspective to be – what can I do with what I’ve been given? And to be open to opportunities showing up in ways that I might not expect.

For instance, I don’t have biological children – it’s not on the cards for me this lifetime. Instead, over the years I’ve been in the position of caring for, supporting, mentoring or advocating for many extremely vulnerable children, young people and victim-survivors when they need it. As well as rescuing and fostering animals that might otherwise be put down. These situations often come out of the blue and find me in funny ways. So I feel that I’ve actually been blessed with this path – to have the opportunity to give love, care and energy not where I choose, but where it’s asked of me. My faith has me trusting my own path wholeheartedly, not comparing it to other people’s and feeling less than.

Shafica: My faith has taught me tolerance and embedded in me that you must do unto others what you would want done to yourself. I am the person today because of my faith and the teachings of Islam. A beautiful quote by Our Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him): “The best among you are those who have the best manners and character.”

 

What about at work?

Luseane:  At work, my faith plays a big role in how I handle things. It helps me navigate relationships with patience, understanding, and respect, even when situations are difficult. When dealing with clients, my faith inspires me to approach them with a servant’s heart—listening, caring, and meeting their needs with sincerity while maintaining professionalism.

For me, faith is like a guide that influences every part of my life, including work. It helps me see challenges as opportunities to reflect on God’s love and values, helping me grow as a person and find deeper meaning in what I do.

Ann: My values have led me to choose the types of organisations I work for both in terms of their purpose and their culture. Before Health and Community I worked in retail, hospitality and sales. I was deeply uncomfortable in sales because I was often selling things people did not need or want. My goal was to get people to part with as much of their money as possible.  It did not feel good!

Health and community is much more aligned with my values and I have learned over the years that the culture of an organisation is as important to me as my role!  As a result my values play a big part in how I show up at work, my work ethic and  how I treat my colleagues and clients.

Kelsey: Spiritual values have huge influence in my professional path – it highlights the need to make a meaningful difference, even if it’s just for one person or planting some seeds for future growth.

In Maori worldview, stories (korero) have a spiritual power – they have impact long after people have gone. And it’s clear that words and narratives can change how people think about themselves, each other, and how they act. A problem of years can be healed (or created) by hearing a single sentence! So there’s been a common thread in my career of striving to find words that could make things easier, safer, more just or more empowering for people.

Shafica: Working at Spectrum has been such a blessing to me as the organisation has been so supportive and inclusive. Facilitating a prayer room for employees of all faiths to pray in has allowed myself and others feel comfortable to complete our religious obligations even while we are at work. I am truly grateful for this.

 

How were you introduced to your value system or faith?

Luseane:  I grew up in a Christian family on an island where most people share the same faith. My grandma has had a huge impact on my beliefs. Every Sunday, we gather in worship, embracing the teachings of faith through church and Sunday school, empowering us with values.

As I grew older, I experienced the truth of my faith in my own life. God has put people in my life who encourage and guide me in my faith, and I’m grateful for their support.

Ann: I don’t follow a religion.  I was christened Church of England but church and religion were not a formal part of my life growing up. I have values I live by which are – to provide care, compassion, kindness, and commitment to others.

Some of my values were born out of a chaotic home life as a child. My desire for security, stability peace and happiness was best achieved by me supporting and helping others, acts of service, listening and making others feel better.

Kelsey: Spiritual connectedness is a fundamental belief in Polynesian cultures. One of the first things you learn as a child is the mountain, the river, the ancestors, the meeting lands, and the iwi you belong to. Always having a connection and purpose in being here in this time and place. Even if that time and place is very challenging, and for many Maori families, it is!

The idea that you are the hope of your ancestors, and the torch-bearer for those who come after you, is very special and I think, is important for young Indigenous children to stay connected to. Our spiritual worldview accepts all religions and belief systems, so I was lucky to have exposure to many ideas.

Shafica: My mother instilled in me a very deep awareness of God. My mother was born and raised in Australia, so she lived a very liberal lifestyle and it wasn’t till she had me that she became more curious about God and the Abrahamic faiths. Being a well-read person, she made it her mission to read all of the Abrahamic Books of faith and really studied religion deeply and I was fortunate enough to have been a part of her journey.

This gave me such a deep understanding in how intertwined our faith systems are. It lead me to appreciate my religion even greater, because the Islamic faith validates and emphasizes that all the Abrahamic Books and faiths are the word of God, and we are more alike than we are different.

 

Are there misconceptions about your faith or values?

Luseane:  Yes, I often deal with misconceptions. People often reject me when I say that I’m a Christian. As a Christian, I love to share my faith with people who don’t know or are curious about God, I’m always ready to share or be an example of my faith to others, whether it’s forgiveness, patience, being joyful, be humble or being kind and generous. People sometimes misunderstand Christianity, thinking it’s only about rules, judgment, and money rather than seeing the grace, love, and hope it offers.

I believe actions speak louder than words, so I focus on living in a way that reflects God’s love; being compassionate, forgiving, and genuine. My goal is to show through my life and words what Christianity truly means to me.

Ann: Sometimes my supportive approach can be mistaken for weakness but generally,  misconceptions  are based on my appearance – a middle aged black woman.

Kelsey: With any Indigenous spiritual practice, people tend to stereotype it as primitive, when it’s a very practical tool for growth and equity. For example, in Polynesian spiritual worldviews, all things are interconnected in systems. You can’t fix a problem at the level of the symptom, you fix it at an environmental or systemic level. Even though it’s a very old, Indigenous practice of understanding people and communities, it’s only more recently accepted in professional spaces as ‘systems thinking’, as though it’s a newer, Western idea.

Or, people focus on the performance aspects – the face tattoos, the Haka. Those are beautiful! But my faith practice is constant and strongest when I’m speaking up when it would be easier to stay quiet, or participating in what’s happening in the world even when ignorance would be bliss.

Shafica: Unfortunately, media and the few odd uneducated Muslims have set a negative tone to our peaceful and beautiful religion. I make a conscious decision to be mindful that I represent my faith to the best of my knowledge, ensuring my character and ethics mirrors the teachings of our Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him).

Honesty and integrity are at the focal points of my faith. I pray that people take the time to see beyond the propaganda and hate, and to see what Islam really teaches.

 

What are some of the most important or helpful things your values or faith have taught you?

Luseane: One of the valuable lessons my faith taught me is the power of grace, it’s a gift from God; we can’t earn it nor deserve it, I learned to receive it from God and extend it to others. It taught me the power of forgiveness.

It reminds me to be patient and rely on His timing rather than mine. Another important lesson is learning to love people unconditionally. My faith encourages me to see people through God’s eyes, showing mercy, kindness, and compassion even when it’s difficult.

Above all, my faith has given me hope, purpose and assurance that I’m never alone, even in difficult times.

Ann: I have learnt that standing strong in my values requires integrity and for me to take context into account. I have also learnt that I need balance.  Compassion, care and kindness is not always what is needed at the time. That is why I need to take context into account.

Kelsey: Radical acceptance. That doesn’t mean giving up– it’s about being able to assess where and who you are in a situation, to learn from history and other people and even nature, so you can change things. And constant gratitude. Not ever forgetting how connected we all are. To even have my morning coffee, someone had to grow the coffee beans, someone had to transport them across the ocean, someone had to design the mug and make it, and so on. I benefit from them; I owe them. We all impact each other much more than we realise.

Shafica: My faith has taught me tolerance and embedded in me that you must do onto others what you would want done to yourself. A beautiful quote by Our Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) “The best among you, are those who have the best manners and character”. And “You smiling in the face of your brother, is also a form of charity.”

So smile, and be kind! It’s charity.

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When we take the time to go beyond the different looks or languages of different faiths or values systems, we find that they all have much in common: Here are human beings who participate in their community, who worry about their clients and loved ones, who work on themselves to build patience, accountability and compassion.

Regular people who love, care, face difficulty, go to work, share our lunch table, sit beside us in traffic.

This World Interfaith Week, we have one challenge for you: to meet those of different belief systems with an open mind, genuine curiosity and a sense of empathy. There is so much to learn and to gain in co-creating a more peaceful, welcoming community together.