Free to be Loved

Rigpa Sydney warmly invites you to our interfaith evening of open discussion, stories, poetry and music, as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Amongst Mardi Gras’ vibrancy and partying, we are offering everyone a little time to gently reflect on the universal power of the love in our own hearts, and how can we find the courage to love and be loved in all its manifestations.

Our speakers will include:

• Hugo Ditroia presenting a Catholic perspective
• Ofra Ronen presenting a Jewish perspective
• Nur Warsame presenting a Muslim perspective; and
• Sim Walters presenting a Buddhist perspective.

We are also thrilled that the evening will include the world premiere of a new piece of music written especially for the evening by composer Paul Smith.

The evening will include space for quiet reflection and an opportunity to meet over a light meal.

Friday 21 February
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Free, but please RSVP so that we can cater.

About Hugo Ditroia

Hugo is an active member of Acceptance Sydney a LGBTQIA+ Catholic community, based at St Joseph’s Parish in Newtown. In 2020, Hugo completed his Bachelor of Theology and Philosophy, with majors in New Testament and Spirituality. His passion for Church history, theology, scripture, and spirituality—particularly in the context of identity—drives his ongoing journey of study and exploration. Over the past few years, Hugo has focused his research on how scripture, theology, and spirituality intersect with the experiences of marginalized communities, in particular the LGBTQIA+ community.

About Ofra Ronen

Ofra Ronen is a proud Israeli Jewish Queer woman based in Sydney. With a diverse professional journey spanning hospitality, retail, sales, marketing, and management across Israel, China, and Australia, she now focuses on mental health. As a trauma & relationship Coach, Ofra aids diverse communities, including LGBTQI+, in their journey towards trauma recovery and healthier relationships. Her personal story of overcoming complex PTSD is a celebration of consciousness, self-love, courage, and hope. An advocate against hate and discrimination, Ofra co-founded the national group Jewish Israeli Pride Australia (JIPA). JIPA creates safe spaces for Queer Jews grappling with heightened fear and isolation amid the rising antisemitism in public spaces and on social media.

About Sim Walters

Sim first encountered the benefits of meditation while completing their undergraduate studies in music performance. Soon after, Sim met Sogyal Rinpoche and made an immediate and powerful connection with the wisdom tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. For the past fifteen years Sim has been a student of Rigpa, recently completing an intensive eight year home retreat program. When touring with orchestras, Sim lives in Nipaluna (Hobart) where they are part of a vibrant Queer community.

About Nur Warsame

Warsame was born in Somalia and moved to Australia as a high school student. In 2010 he came out as Australia’s first gay imam. He is a hafiz, ie one who has memorised the Quran. Since 2014 he has run an LGBT support group Marhava (which means welcome in Arabic).

About Paul Smith

Paul Smith is a senior lecturer in music at the University of New England where he teaches composition and music theory. He holds a Doctorate of Creative Arts from Western Sydney University where his research focused on music’s connection with visual art forms. Paul embraces humour, satire and bright sonorities in his works.

He specialises in composing opera and is the co-artistic director for Sydney-based group Blush Opera. Many of Paul’s compositions explore music’s potential connection with other art forms and as a result his pieces are often accompanied by other works of art, including animation, theatre or poetry. He has collaborated frequently with artist Todd Fuller providing scores for Fuller’s animated pieces, one of which was a finalist for the 2019 Sulman prize and exhibited at th Art Gallery of NSW.