Health concerns relating to water quality have triggered an environmental advocacy group to call for the banning of baptisms in the lower Jordan River, where the Bible says Jesus was baptised.

     "For reasons of public health as well as religious integrity, baptism should be banned from taking place in the river," said Gidon Bromberg, the Israel director of EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), which has offices in Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, and Amman.

     Israeli authorities said on 27th July that tests done on the water of the lower Jordan River show the popular site for baptismal ceremonies at Qasr el Yahud on the West Bank meets health ministry standards. Mr Bromberg said, however, they should not take place until pollutants are removed from the water.

     JUDITH SUDILOVSKY, of ENInews, reports...  | more...|

Sex is God's gift to humanity and healthy sexual behaviour should be the church's gift to the world. As reported in The Age this week, we are neurologically wired to desire sex, to fall in love with the person we desire sex with, and for that love to develop into a deep personal attachment. Our bodies are wired to operate best with one sexual partner for life.

     The Christian church has a positive duty to help all people form healthy sexual self-identities, which lead to healthy sexual behaviour, particularly in a world where highly sexualised images are commonplace.

      The church has renounced this responsibility for far too long. We have been far too insular and defensive, merely giving the ''good'' Christians a list of rules - most of which start with ''don't'' - to try to immunise them against the ''bad'' world. At best, this means Christians are regarded as irrelevant, marginalised eccentrics. At worst, it leads to self-destructive hypocrisy.

     In a story first published on the National Times website, KAMAL WEERAKOON explains why people who follow the Bible's guidance on sexuality lead happier and healthier lives...  | more...|

A working group from across the worldwide Anglican Communion has met at Lambeth Palace in London to plan how to turn a proposed Anglican Alliance on relief, development and advocacy into a reality.

     Professionals from five continents working on advocacy, relief and community development programmes reviewed responses to a public consultation on the foundational document and the issues arising from them, and worked together to chart a way forward for the first few years of the Alliance.

     On the consultation’s final afternoon, the group reported back to both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Canon Kenneth Kearon.

     Their report included inspiring stories of local church action on relief, development and advocacy currently taking place around the Anglican world and comments on how the Alliance could support this work.

     A report from Ekklesia...  | more...|

A group of prominent Christians say they expect hundreds more people to sign up to a document declaring the importance of issues such as religious freedom, marriage and the sanctity of human life in the lead up to next month’s federal election.

     Called the Canberra Declaration, the document was formally launched at Parliament House in Canberra on Friday. Among the more than 20 Christian leaders involved in drafting the document were Dr Graham McLennan, convenor of the National Alliance of Christian Leaders, Bill Muehlenberg, founder of ethics and apologetics ministry CultureWatch, Dr Lachlan Dunjey, of Morality in Medicine, and Ros Phillips, of FamilyVoice Australia.

     Release of the document follows that of the Westminster Declaration – released in the UK ahead of the British election earlier this year – and the Manhattan Declaration – released in the US in late 2009.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

YOUR SAY: What do you think of the 'Canberra Declaration'?...  | more...|

“Why do we vote for ourselves and not for others?” A friend asked this question some years ago. This certainly challenged the way I voted in that year’s election. As a voter, it is natural for us to vote according to how a prospective government would affect ourselves. It is natural for us to ask how it would affect the future of our children, how much tax we would have to pay, and whether our mortgage payment would increase. This is not wrong. But, as Christians, we should carefully examine our value system in everything we do. We need to remember that our whole Christian life is based on Christ's self-giving love. The cross itself is a symbol of Jesus’ sacrificial life, and he has called us to love our neighbour as ourselves. How we vote in an election is an expression of that. Do we vote for ourselves? Or do we vote for others?

     Our interest

     Throughout the election campaign period, we hear all sorts of news about the political parties’ policies. They include, for example, macroeconomic policies, healthcare reform, funding of government and independent schools. It is easy for us to think first about ourselves when we hear these policies. Will we pay more or less taxes? Will the private health insurance premium increase? Will our children’s school get more funding? These are important questions, and cannot be dismissed.

     With Australia's federal election to be held on 21st August, SIU FUNG WU says it's important Christians consider the wider ramifications of their vote...  | more...|

Faith leaders can play a key role in the fight against the HIV pandemic if their public statements help combat stigma and discrimination, a meeting of faith groups in Vienna in advance of the 18th International AIDS Conference has heard.

     "Religious leaders have the trust and confidence of their communities and can help break these barriers and create a more supportive environment," the Netherlands AIDS ambassador Marijke Wijnroks told a 17th July multi-faith conference in the Austrian capital.

     Wijnroks acknowledged that faith communities have been "on the frontline of the response to HIV and AIDS". Still, religious leaders through their language have also contributed to the burden of the disease, she warned.

     STEPHEN BROWN reports for ENInews...  | more...|

Jeremy Schierer can still vividly remember the day in 2008 when he saw two men’s eyesight restored in Apia, the capital of Samoa. It’s one of the reasons he does the job he does.

     The captain on the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) medical ship MV Pacific Link, the 35-year-old was aboard the ship in port one morning when he noticed the medical team were packing up early after only three of 10 people scheduled for eye surgery had turned up for their appointments.

He decided to head down to Apia's main fruit and vegetable market to see if there was anyone else who they could help.

     “So I literally ran out to the street and jumped in a taxi and went down to the market…” he recalls. “I was the only white guy in the whole market at that moment and making eye contact with everybody...And finally at the very end of the market there was a fellow sitting there whose eye didn’t look right.”

     As the YWAM medical ship, MV Pacific Link, prepares to head to Papua New Guinea following the completion of its tour of Australia's east coast, DAVID ADAMS speaks with the ship's captain, Jeremy Schierer, about his job...  | more...|

     Six months ago on 12th January, the Caribbean island nation of Haiti, already one of the poorest in the world, was devastated by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake which killed more than 230,000 people and destroyed most of the capital, Port-au-Prince. In a special photo gallery to mark the passing of six months since the disaster, World Vision photographers capture life in Haiti today...  | more...|

SIX MONTHS LATER, MANY FEEL 'IT JUST HAPPENED'

Some Haitians feel as if it happened just days ago, the Rev Kerwin Delicat, an Episcopal (Anglican) priest based in the city of Léogâne, said as people prepared to mark six months since a calamitous earthquake struck on 12th January.

     While some progress is discernable such as students being back at school for some time, Léogâne, like the capital of Port-au-Prince, is still years from recovery.

     "Eventually, there will be a return to normal life," Rev Delicat said in interview. "But it's been just less than six months. It's like something that just happened."

     CHRIS HERLINGER reports for ENInews...  | more...|

PREVIOUSLY:

POSTCARDS: HAITIAN PEOPLE'S RESILIENCE SHOWS THROUGH AS LIFE REGAINS SOME SEMBLANCE OF NORMALITY

At the end of April, I went to Haiti for four weeks with the organisation I work for, Samaritan’s Purse, to evaluate our work there.

     “A beautiful country in a complete mess” is how Mac, a Haitian man I met living an internally displaced person  camp, described his own country. I would agree.

     ALEX DAY, of Samaritan's Purse, writes about his recent visit to Haiti...   | more... |

Church-backed campaigners on water issues say they have received a boost from a global body representing 80 million Protestants that has called on its members to support access to water as a basic human right.

     "Preserving the world's water resources, and securing access to water for all, is one of the greatest challenges we face," Maike Gorsboth, the Geneva-based coordinator of the secretariat of the Ecumenical Water Network told ENInews.

      Gorsboth was speaking after the World Communion of Reformed Churches at its 18th to 28th June founding meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, urged its churches to support and adopt a declaration on "Water as a Human Right and a Public Good".

     STEPHEN BROWN reports for ENInews...  | more...|

You founded Operation Mobilisation more than 50 years ago. Did you ever imagine it would grow into the international organisation – with more than 5,400 people working in 110 countries – that it is today?

“No I don’t think I did. I was only 19 when I went to Mexico and started this thing and it’s 50 years that my wife and I, after six months in Mexico, moved to Madrid. My vision was very narrow and I wasn’t sure how it was all going to work out – it was for Muslim countries like Afghanistan and Iraq and Turkey, it was for closed countries like (those) in the Soviet bloc and Communist countries, but, through get arrested by the KGB the next summer, in ’61, I realised maybe I was running too fast.

     “So I had a day of prayer and that’s when God gave me the name – the original name was Send The Light (STL) – and…the vision for Western Europe: that He wanted a significant mission mobilisation to take place through the churches in Western Europe and I was to be just a servant of the churches. So that was a huge shift. I moved to from Madrid, Spain, to London, England, and I started taking meetings in places like Cambridge and Oxford and that became the real birthplace of OM as it is today...Europe seemed to be ripe for this vision and Europeans took the leadership and then, of course, it spread to international leadership. It really is the grace and mercy of God – I don’t feel I’ve really led it very well; I feel the Holy Spirit has led a whole team of us to keep pressing on, especially toward the more unreached places of the world.”

    George Verwer, the 72-year-old founder of global mission organisation OM (Operation Mobilisation), was recently in Australia where he gave a series of talks in major cities. Here, the grandfather of five talks to DAVID ADAMS about OM’s beginnings, his vision for the ministry and his heart for mission...  | more...|

A global Protestant body representing 80 million Christians has issued an apology for the role played by churches in perpetrating abuse against Native Americans, First Nations and other indigenous peoples.

     "We...repent of our history littered with ways in which we have betrayed Gospel values of justice, fairness, and love for our neighbour...by the confiscation of land, and mass killings," delegates at the founding meeting of the World Communion of Reformed Churches said in a 26th June statement.

   The 18th to 28th June gathering in Grand Rapids, in the state of Michigan, took place on the traditional territory of Native American peoples, delegates noted.

     In their statement, they said they hoped that through "genuine repentance" they would have courage to repair broken relationships and begin new paths of reconciliation. They also said they were repenting for manifesting, "cultural, economic and theological arrogance", and the way their church structures had "perpetrated abuse".

     STEPHEN BROWN reports for ENInews...  | more...|

PREVIOUS:

WORLDVIEW: NATIVE AMERICAN TELLS CHURCHES "IT'S TIME FOR A TRUTH COMMISSION"
A Native American leader has challenged a global Protestant body to create a truth and reconciliation commission to redress the injustice of church involvement in cultural assimilation against indigenous peoples.
STEPHEN BROWN, of Ecumenical News International, reports...  | more...|

The customs officer was abrupt and rude. He even admitted that he pulled Funmi Para-Mallam out of the line simply because she was Nigerian. “Because some of the Nigerians who travel around the world are drug dealers, do you think we all are? Some Americans and Australians deal drugs too: do you pull all Americans and Australians out and search them and grill them?” Despite the time delays and the rude officials that she dealt with, Funmi could be gracious as well. She commented later, “Of course nations have to be vigilant and fight the drug trade. But it was the worst customs experience I have ever had, and I have visited 16 different nations”.

     What causes a mother of five to fly from Nigeria to Melbourne, to spend a week at a conference on gender equality in the church and society, the Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) conference? Why do this to yourself? Endure jet lag at both ends, and have a full schedule during her time here? What makes her endure the indignity of rude customs officers and delays at the airport in the middle of the night? What would make her do it all again if the opportunity arose? Passion for the empowerment of women.

    Dr Funmi Para-Mallam was recently in Australia to address the Christian for Biblical Equality conference. JIM REIHER tells of her passion for gender equality...  | more...|

ESSAY: VOICES FOR JUSTICE - STORIES OF INTEGRITY AND PROPHETIC ENGAGEMENT

Taken from the prophet Micah’s call in Micah 6: 8 to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God, the aims of Voices for Justice are well expressed in the first two (doing justice and loving mercy), but Christians of a more activist mindset can find it more difficult to walk humbly with our God.

     So it was with great solemnity that, on the Sunday night, we held a public service of repentance on the front lawns of Parliament House. Earlier in the day we had all made pledges to repent of behaviours and attitudes in our lives that were damaging to the poor of the world. Invariably they had to do with our Western lifestyle. We each wrote our pledges on little flags which we then pegged to a giant map of the world laid out on the lawn. A number of Christian leaders then came forward and declared what they were now committing themselves to do to live out the call of Micah in their own lives. It was a very moving time. In this type of work we need to constantly be reminded that if we do not live out this way of life ourselves, we have nothing worthwhile to say to those in power.

     Along with Nadja Leffler, NILS VON KALM was among those who attended Micah Challenge's recent Voices for Justice gathering in Canberra. He gives this thoughts on what happened...  | more...|

ESSAY: CHRISTIANS MAKE POLITICS PERSONAL AND CALL FOR JUSTICE

More than 320 members of churches from every denomination met face to face with MPs at Parliament House, Canberra, this week to call for justice for the 1.4 billion people still living in extreme poverty.

     They were part of Micah Challenge’s Voices for Justice campaign which annually gives Christians interested in helping poor communities two days of training on aid issues and lobbying. It then arranges events and appointments at Parliament House.

     This was my first year and as we stood in the cold at 7am on Monday morning waiting for security to let us into Parliament House, I don’t think I was the only one thinking - surely this isn’t real? I, a mum of three from Lindfield, Sydney, am part of a group of seven Christians, none with lobbying experience, and four of them school students.

     Over two days last week people from churches across Australia met with federal MPs to call for justice for the 1.4 billion people around the world still living in poverty. NADJA LEFFLER was among them...  | more...|

CHRISTIAN LOBBY WELCOMES NEW PM BUT THANKS RUDD FOR COMMITMENT TO HOMELESSNESS, POVERTY, RECONCILIATION AND MARRIAGE
The Australian Christian Lobby said it would expect Labor under new Prime Minister Julia Gillard to “confirm its concern for the poor and the disadvantaged” along with “the values in society that proved attractive to many Christians throughout Australia” under former PM Kevin Rudd.

     Ms Gillard was sworn in as Australia’s 27th prime minister at Government House in Canberra this afternoon after Mr Rudd stepped down from the office following a leadership challenge this morning.

     The Australian Christian Lobby’s managing director, Jim Wallace, congratulated Ms Gillard on what he said was an "historic occasion".

     “However, we also want to thank Kevin Rudd for the commitment and energy he brought to issues such as homelessness, poverty, reconciliation and the importance of marriage in particular,” he said in a statement.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

ESSAY: PRINCIPLED POLITICS?

When the former Prime Minister announced that there would be a leadership vote in the caucus, he made this telling remark: "I was elected by the people of Australia as prime minister of Australia. I was elected to do a job."

     He also pointed out that he was not elected by the Labor Party's parliamentary factions. Sadly, at least for those who put their trust in the "Kevin 007" campaign at the 2007 election, Mr Rudd decided that he would not contest the challenge and has stepped down. So even this final phase of his prime ministership, presents us with a problematic interpretation of how Mr Rudd saw the office of prime minister in the Commonwealth of Australia.

     Put it this way: even in the terms by which he defended his office as PM against the caucus vote, Kevin Rudd's explanation presents us with ambiguity. It is an ambiguity basic to Australian political life.
     BRUCE C. WEARNE takes a look at what today's dramatic events reveal about the Australian political system...  | more...|

Tens of thousands of Christians gathered in churches across Australia this week to watch Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott talk about their Christian faith and to address issues ranging from asylum seekers to climate change, marriage, school chaplains and the sexualisation of children.

     The event at Old Parliament House in Canberra, hosted by the Australian Christian Lobby and attended by 200 Christian leaders, was beamed out live via the internet to churches across the country.

     Called ‘2010 Make It Count’, it followed a similar event ahead of the 2007 Federal Election which was addressed by then Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd.

     Speaking at the event on Monday night, Mr Abbott, in his first appearance at such an event, stressed that he was  “a Christian in politics, not a Christian politician”.

     “(A)nd I am not asking Christians to vote for me because I am of like mind. Faith has influenced my life but it does not and I believe should not shape my politics.”

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

ESSAY: LEADERS' QUESTION TIME REVEALS STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

On Monday night, 21st June, Rudd and Abbott both spoke in turn to an audience full of church leaders assembled in Canberra to hear them, and to ask them questions.

     The event was telecast and hundreds of churches around Australia put up big screens and watched the event live. I sat in the Doveton Baptist Church in Melbourne, to observe and take notes.

     How did it go? Will it influence people to vote for one or the other major party? Or will it reinforce in people’s minds the party they prefer already?

     A former Federal Greens candidate, JIM REIHER was among the tens of thousands who watched the live event. He gives his view on how he thought the two leaders performed...  | more...|

YOUR SAY: Did you watch the event live? What did you think? Have your say here...  | more...|

With the World Cup in full swing, fans across Australia are glued to their TV sets enjoying the thrills, spills and drama of the biggest global sporting event since the Olympics. But sadly, on a recent trip to India, World Vision discovered it’s not all fair play when it comes to soccer balls.

     Most of the world’s soccer balls are hand-stitched in countries where worker conditions are questionable at best. Most balls branded Nike and adidas are made in Pakistan and India, which together produce 90 per cent of the world's hand-stitched soccer balls.

     World Vision’s Don’t Trade Lives campaign leader Susan Mizrahi said while there had been some big improvements in how soccer balls were made for the export industry, there was still a risk that child labour was used to make sports balls.

     World Vision Australia's SACHA MYERS writes about why we should think about where our soccer balls come from...  | more...|

What does 'Love All, Serve All' involve?

"'Love All, Serve All' is about a group of local Christians demonstrating the love of God to the overnight tennis fans who queue for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships each year. We go out every night offering free drinks and snacks, and a leaflet that explains who we are and why we do this. We have discovered that acts of kindness open up great opportunities for deeper conversation, so we also spend time talking to people about life and faith, we offer prayer and share our stories."

Who are the participants - are they all tennis fanatics? 

"The volunteers are made up of people from local churches who want to bless the people who visit our town each year.  Some of them are tennis fans but that’s not a requirement! The only requirement is that you love God and love people!"

     Carolyn Skinner is the team leader for 'Love All, Serve All', a joint church initiative centred around outreach at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships which start this week in London. She speaks with DAVID ADAMS...  | more...|

Kyrgyz Christians were risking their lives to help and shelter Uzbek believers in southern Kyrgystan, where ethnic clashes killed at least 190 people and uprooted some 400,000 people, Christian aid workers said.

     "Amid the carnage, Kyrgyz Christians are trying to help their Uzbek brothers and sisters escape the violence – despite the prospect of severe retribution from fellow Kyrgyz if they are caught," explained Barnabas Fund, a group supporting minority Christians in predominantly Islamic nations.

     A Kyrgyz pastor, identified only as 'Pastor K' for security reasons, his wife and church members are among Kyrgyz Christians receiving death threats for supporting Uzbek Christians, added the group.

     STEFAN J. BOS reports for Bosnewslife...  | more...|

An International Soccer Peace Tournament organised by Catholics has brought together “South Africans, immigrants, and fans from around the world, united in the greatest challenge, peace".

     "We want to involve all South Africans in the world, especially those who remain on the margins of this event," Antoine Soubrier from the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference explained to the news agency Fides.

     He continued: "We've organised a parallel World Cup, to complement the official one, with the soccer teams from all the realities of South Africa, from the townships to the more affluent neighbourhoods."

     “The aim is to bring together fans of different social classes, different ethnicities, and national origins as well as fans from all over the world," said Soubrier.

     A report from Ekklesia...  | more...|

Two leading national organisations aimed at promoting Christian thought have joined in a new initiative which aims to increase the collaboration and the exchange of ideas between Australia’s "Christian thinkers and activists".

     Ethos – the EA Centre for Christianity and Society has been jointly formed by the Zadok Institute for Christianity and Society and the Evangelical Alliance’s Department of Public Theology.

     Launched in late March with a discussion on the issue of climate change, the new body adopt a “multi-disciplinary and conversational” approach towards issues and help avoid duplication by the organisations involved, according to Ethos assistant director Ian Packer.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

EDINBURGH 2010 CONCLUDES WITH A CALL TO CHRISTIAN ACTION AGAINST INJUSTICE

Dr John Sentamu issued a reminder at the closing worship service of the Edinburgh 2010 conference that the verdict on Christianity rests on the shoulders of its adherents.

     The Anglican archbishop of York appealed on behalf of “the crucial importance of Christian witness.”

     Alluding to the Gospel account of Peter’s denial of Christ before his crucifixion, Dr Sentamu added: “Jesus today is on trial in the court of the world by our lips and lives. Jesus and His Gospel are being judged.”

     Encouragement to exercise loving hospitality towards others and humility in Christian outreach formed the refrains of Edinburgh 2010’s closing celebration and of the meeting’s Common Call in which delegates expressed “full awareness that God resists the proud, Christ welcomes and empowers the poor and afflicted, and the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested in our vulnerability.”

    A report from Ekklesia...  | more...|

WARNING ABOUT "EVANGELISM" THAT DIVIDES CHRISTIANS

"Good evangelism" and "bad evangelism" came under discussion when a diverse group of Christians met to discuss the 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference 100 years later in the capital of Scotland.

    Antonios Kireopoulos, the associate general secretary dealing with faith and order issues and interfaith relations for the US National Council of Churches, alluded to, "what I like to call good - or appropriate - evangelism, and bad - or inappropriate- proselytism".

    After his 4th June keynote speech at the 2010 Edinburgh Missionary Conference, a number of evangelical and Pentecostal speakers from the floor criticised Kireopoulos' stance.

    PETER KENNY, of Ecumenical News International, reports...  | more...|

INTERVIEW: DR TINYIKO SAM MALULEKE, PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

During Edinburgh 2010, you’ve sometimes been wearing a South African football shirt and carrying around a vuvuzela (a traditional South African stadium horn). Can you tell us your motivation behind that?

"I think the awarding of the FIFA world cup to an African country for the first time is quite historic, because the FIFA World Cup is easily the biggest sporting event in the world. So I wanted to acknowledge and celebrate that, to start with. Secondly, I wanted to emphasise the affirmation for and of Africa in the process. It’s a massive affirmation in a world where Africa has often been suspect and thought of negatively. This is one major morale boost for Africa. More than that, I wore that shirt and brought the vuvuzela because Africa continues to be heard and seen in ways that Africa would not want to be heard and seen. And so I see the vuvuzela as a desperate attempt by Africa to be heard. It’s a very loud instrument, and probably much louder when you have thousands of people playing them. But here is a continent which continues to cry out for recognition, for dignity, to be interpreted positively.

    Among those attending Edinburgh 2010 is Dr Tinyiko Sam Maluleke, director for research at UNISA in Pretoria and president of the South African Council of Churches. He spoke with ANNA MOYLE of the UK Evangelical Alliance...  | more...|

ESSAY: MOBILISING YOUTH FOR MISSION?

It’s been 100 years since delegates met in Edinburgh to discuss the state of world missions, and many momentous, world-changing decisions were made. I sit now, a young South African, in 2010, part of the centenary celebrations. My presence here shows just how much the times have changed. In 1910, a mostly male, all-Western, all-adult delegation met. I represent the opposite of all that - young, female and African. But I have to ask myself, what does this conference mean: for me personally; for the youth I represent; for the country I am from?

     Mission is no longer an activity solely of the West - young Christian South Africans are as able to go into all nations and make disciples as any other. Africa is no longer a dark continent. The Gospel and light of Jesus shines strong here. And it shines out of the youth. It’s time we mobilised and released our young people into mission, instead of only being a nation that receives missionaries. Edinburgh 2010 should not only be a meeting of minds, of discussions and academia. It needs to be a springboard, a reminder that all Christians everywhere carry the light of Jesus and can go into all the world, and that young South Africans (and indeed young people the world over) are a powerful missionary force.

     Young South African FOFO LEREFOLO talks about the important role youth can play on the mission field...  | more...|

CHRISTIAN MISSION SHOULD REFLECT "HOPE AND HUMILITY", CONFERENCE HEARS

The shape and priority of Christian mission in the 21st century should show "the love of Jesus Christ for all the world,” Professor Dana L. Robert of Boston University told a Friday press briefing at the Edinburgh 2010 conference on world Christianity.

     “The mystery of salvation is not ours to know,” she added, yet Christians feel compelled to bear witness to the gospel with an urgency “as inevitable as breathing”.

      This proclamation happens locally and in broader contexts, she said, whenever believers “inhale the Gospel” through worship and Biblical meditation and then “exhale mission” as practical concern and generosity towards others.

     A report from Ekklesia...  | more...|

MISSION: EDINBURGH CONFERENCE MARKS 100 YEARS OF MODERN ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (centre), and Rev Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of the World Evangelical Alliance (right), talk at the beginning of the Edinburgh 2010 conference in Scotland.

     The international gathering, which takes place from 2nd to 6th June, marks 100 years since the 1910 World Mission Conference in the Scottish capital - widely considered the start of the modern ecumenical movement.

     In his opening speech to the 300 delegates, Rev Dr Tveit said being a witness for Christ is both evangelism and the "prophetic stand for Christ’s will for justice, peace and care of creation".       

     "Christian mission is called to offer reconciliation to humanity - with God, with fellow human beings and with creation - a life that has the quality of the eternal life," he said. "The churches can be witnesses of hope in times of injustice, of financial crises, of violence and tensions between peoples of faith, and of environmental threats."

     For the full text of the speech, go to the WCC website here.

~ www.edinburgh2010.org

PICTURE: Juan Michel/WCC.

When seeking professional life coaching content to play on air, Australia’s community radio stations are often forced to rely on American programs due to a lack of locally produced ones. While the quality of the content from overseas may be excellent, the presenters’ accents can frequently fail to engage local audiences.

     In an initiative to better connect Australian community radio stations with their listeners, the North Queensland Uniting Church has produced a series of free 60 second radio spots, called At the Top.

     At the Top was designed for a secular audience and promotes the Christian worldview. It addresses modern issues in a non-confronting, conversational way - such as how to maintain a good work/life balance and why all of us need God’s forgiveness.

     KARYN MARKWELL reports...  | more...|

Palestinian Christian organisations have urged protests by church groups around the world against an Israeli assault on ships bringing aid to Gaza, which Israel says has led to the deaths of at least 10 activists on board the convoy.

     The Joint Advocacy Initiative of the East Jerusalem YMCA and YWCA of Palestine said on 31st May it "strongly condemns this massacre against unarmed civilians which visibly violates international law and human rights".

     Activists say Israeli troops came on board shooting; Israel says its soldiers were shot at and attacked with weapons, the BBC reported, quoting an Israeli spokesperson.

     The YMCA and YWCA urged sister movements throughout the world as well as church leaders and groups to organise demonstrations in front of government buildings or Israeli embassies to protest against the action.

     JUDITH SUDILOVSKY and STEPHEN BROWN report for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

On 19th May, I looked up from where I was at the Klong Toey Community Centre and saw plumes of smoke rising up into sky from not too distant business buildings. Along with the adults and children gathered there, I was transfixed as army helicopters started to land on the very top of one of the closest, the burning ‘Channel 3’ sky scraper, rescuing TV execs and staff from the fires, looting and rioting going on below.

     The Red Shirt leaders had just surrendered after the army crashed through their protest areas in downtown Bangkok with tanks. Now their supporters, some armed with M-16s and grenade launchers, were moving across the city exacting revenge. Banks who had held on to former Prime Minister Shinawatra Thaksin’s assets, media outlets that had not fully supported their cause (including Channel 3), and some of the largest shopping malls were set alight and turned to rubble.

     Urban Neighbours Of Hope (UNOH) workers, including myself, quickly gathered together with our children at the community centre, trying to work out what was next for us and our neighbours. Even getting in and out of Klong Toey was difficult now and there was a rumour Red Shirts were coming to burn our slum down.

     ASH BARKER, Bangkok-based international director of Urban Neighbours Of Hope, reflects on the recent turmoil in the Thai capital...  | more...|

The development of a fully synthetic DNA transplanted into a bacterial cell was hailed by the world's media as "the first creation of synthetic life" and was followed by the usual concern about scientists "playing God". Quoting the book of Genesis, the Financial Times trumpeted "Let there be life!" - as if we had just witnessed a re-run of the dawn of time.

     Such unashamedly theological language certainly caught the eye of this theologian. It's by all accounts a brilliant achievement: Craig Venter and his team at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) have, they claim, implanted a microbe with a synthetic genetic code. As a result, a new strain of the bacteria called Mycoplasm mycoides has begun reproducing in the petri dishes of the institute. According to Venter, the code includes "watermarks", such as a website and an email address, which prove the man-made origin of the genome. It also includes some words of the Irish novelist James Joyce: "To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, and to recreate life out of life".

     In an article first published on Fairfax's National Times website, Dr MICHAEL JENSEN reflects on the implications of the work of geneticist Dr Craig Venter, hailed as the creator of the first synthetic life...  | more...|

At least 20 people are confirmed dead and hundreds of thousands are homeless as a result of flooding on the island nation of Sri Lanka.

     "This is the worst flooding to hit the country since the Asian tsunami devastated Sri Lanka in 2004," said Gospel for Asia president Dr K P Yohannan. "They had absolutely no warning that this huge storm was on the way. It took them totally by surprise."

     Dr Yohannan had just spoken with Lal Vanderwal, GFA's country leader in Sri Lanka, who reports that entire villages are underwater.
     "Their homes are flooded and they've lost everything," Dr Yohannan said. "The children don't have any clean clothes to wear and their schoolbooks have been destroyed."

     MICHAEL IRELAND, of Assist News Service, reports...  | more...|

It was in 2001 that then school teacher Andrew Carnell first heard there were 2,000 languages spoken around the world into which, as yet, any of the Bible had been translated.

     “I heard that statistic and it was really like ‘Well, what am I going to do about that?’,” recalls the 31-year-old Queenslander. “Before that moment I was totally ignorant of the fact that there were 2,000 people groups, language groups – the equivalent of 350 million people…who didn’t have Scriptures.”
     The statistic has since changed his life, awakening and stoking within him a passion for world mission. Not only did it help to lead him into his current job as the state director for OM (Operation Mobilisation) in Queensland, it’s also leading him and two friends to walk 2,000 kilometres from Cairns to the New South Wales-Queensland border town of Stanthorpe in a bid to raise awareness about the need for new Bible translations.

     Together with his second cousin Dave Carnell - a 24-year-old phys-ed teacher who has trekked through Nepal with OM, and Andrew Sav - a 48-year-old former sign writer who has previously spent three years working as a linguist in the Sahara Desert in Mali, Andrew will head off on the walk this August.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

What if we could reshape the lives of hundreds of millions of people who are suffering from poverty and at the same time stabilise financial markets to help prevent catastrophes like the Global Financial Crisis? What if we could generate substantial sums of money for practical action on climate change and for social services like health and education? And what if we could do it all without any cost to the average citizen? Would it be worth doing?

     Absolutely. This is exactly what economists and campaigners are arguing is on offer with the Robin Hood Tax: a tiny tax on the transactions of financial institutions that could raise billions of dollars to fight poverty, tackle climate change and provide money for domestic spending priorities.

     The idea itself is rather simple; it’s a tiny 0.05 per cent tax on financial transactions – that’s just 50 cents on every $1000 traded. It taxes things like currency and share trades as well as the trade of financial derivatives like credit default swaps (If you don’t know what they are, don’t worry - half the time the people trading them don’t understand them either).

     GERSHON NIMBALKER puts forward the arguments for a 'Robin Hood' tax...  | more...|

The international tug-of-war over carbon emission thresholds and other instruments meant to limit the deterioration of the earth's climate has caused a big stir in recent months, but yielded little results. Therefore the international community must now get ready to take care of those who will be forced from their homes by climate change.

     As the global climate changes, millions of people will be uprooted by sea-level rise, extreme weather events, droughts and water scarcity. While many players - ranging from development consultants to security pundits - have incorporated this fact into their rhetoric, the international community so far has done little to protect the rights of "climate refugees".

     When it comes to climate change induced migration "everybody jumps the bandwagon and waves their own agenda" said Professor Dr Frank Biermann, an expert in global environmental governance, in a keynote presentation at a recent conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

     In an article first published by the World Council of Churches, ANNEGRET KAPP reports on moves to protect 'climate refugees'...  | more...|

Seeking military victory against the Taliban will not guarantee a "just peace" for the people of Afghanistan, says the head of the world's largest grouping of churches.

     "Violence will only come to an end if at the same time we build up Afghan society," the Rev Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, said in an interview with the Rheinischer Merkur, a German weekly newspaper, published on 6th May.

     Rev Tveit was interviewed in advance of the 12th to 16th May Ecumenical Kirchentag, or church convention, in Munich organised by German Protestant and Roman Catholic groups. The WCC leader is to speak at the opening of the five-day event, which is expected to draw more than 100,000 participants.

     STEPHEN BROWN reports for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

It’s probably not typical practice on a movie set to start every day with a 10 minute devotional. Nor would it be considered the norm in Hollywood to have ‘prayer warriors’ standing by during filming, charged with the task of ‘bathing the set in prayer’.

     But Christian film-maker David Nixon – who’s just finished production of Letters To God - believes both are critical to the success of his latest production, Letters To God.

     An Australian who’s worked for more than 30 years in the US film and television industry, Mr Nixon says that throughout filming of the movie, the set was "bathed in prayer", an approach to film-making he learnt from working with the Georgia-based Sherwood Baptist Church when making the 2006 release Facing The Giants and the 2008 film Fireproof.

     “(T)hey just bathed those projects in prayer and that’s really the key to the whole thing,” he says. “We have what we call prayer warriors on the set with us everyday while we’re shooting.

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to Christian film-maker David Nixon...  | more...|

Indigenous Australians will soon be able to read the entire New Testament in simplified English - a basic version of English consistent with the linguistic and semantic features of Indigenous languages.

     The Simplified English Version (SEV) Translation Project team includes translators from Bible Society SA, Bible League Australia, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Australian Indigenous Ministries and Church Missionary Society. Its purpose is to make the Bible more easily understood by Indigenous Australians, many of whom speak English as a second language.

     "This is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been involved in,’ says Grahame Smith, the CEO of Bible League Australia. "We’re providing Indigenous Australians, for whom English is a second language, with a copy of the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament, in a translation they understand."

     KARYN MARKWELL reports on a project aimed at taking the Bible to Indigenous Australians...  | more...|

A Filipino couple who are both pastors have become accidental entrepreneurs after their daughter's search for body care products for her allergy-sensitive skin led to the creation of a home-based industry, which the family sees as its ministry.

     "With this evolving business, poor parishioners can earn extra income, which can sustain their local churches," Pastor Robinson Ayupan told Ecumenical News International. "With more income, parishioners can give tithes, support their pastor, and sustain their ministries."
      Ayupan's wife, Lorna Jane, says many of the 100 dealers, who retail the family's bath soap and other body care products, are poor parishioners, some of whom are students working their way to college, others unemployed housewives.

     MAURICE MALANES, of Ecumenical News International, reports...  | more...|

An estimated 350,000 men gathered on a farm belonging to South African farmer/evangelist, Angus Buchan, over the past weekend for the Mighty Men conference in what was one of the largest gatherings of men for a Christian event ever. Some came from as far afield at Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Pakistan, and the UK. 

     Buchan is a farmer turned evangelist who exhorts people to trust God for the impossible, drawing on his personal experience of the miraculous. The author of the book, Faith Like Potatoes - released as a movie in 2006, says he has seen God intervene in his life many times including when his farm was saved from a raging bushfire by his family’s fervent prayers for rain, when a farm worker was raised from the dead after she was struck by lightning, and when God came through for him with a miracle crop of potatoes in the face of the severest drought.

     Buchan refused to comment on the numbers attending the conference, referring to the Biblical story of David who commissioned a census out of pride and was later punished. However he was prepared to say it was the largest gathering of Christian men in the world as far as he knew. He added, “there is no stadium in the world that could hold this number of men.”

     In an article released by Assist News Service, NICO BOUGAS reports on Angus Buchan's 'Mighty Men' conference...  | more...|

Almost two-thirds of Europeans think Christian values are still relevant to contemporary life and are ready to acknowledge the Church's efforts to promote them, a recent survey carried out for La Croix daily newspaper has found.

     "Whether rooted in Christianity or not, Europeans recognise a privileged place for this religion in its Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox forms," France's Roman Catholic-linked newspaper commented on 1st April.

     "Yet while two-thirds think Christianity's message is still up-to-date, this isn't the case for the other third. So, Christianity remains an element marking the religious culture of the Old Continent, but no longer claims exclusivity," the newspaper noted.

     In the survey, conducted during March by France's Institut Francais d'Opinion Publique (IFOP) in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, 57 percent of respondents said they believe Christians are "sufficiently visible" in society. That was compared to 28 percent who thought they were "not visible enough" and 15 percent who considered them "too visible".

     JONATHAN LUXMOORE reports for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

THE BIG PICTURE: EASTER IN SYDNEY

Photographer RAMON WILLIAMS was there for some of this year's Easter celebrations in Sydney...  | more...|

MOOGERAH PASSION PLAY MAKES ITS MARK IN SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND

It’s become something of an Easter tradition in south-east Queensland and, just as they have in previous years, this year once again hundreds of people are expected to make the trek out to Lake Moogerah to watch a passion play about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ under the open sky. This year, organiser Kosti Simons expects, will be no different.

     The first passion play was staged at Moogerah, located about 60 kilometres southwest of Ipswich, in 1993. Mr Simons and his wife Carroll had returned to Australia after 12 years of living on their sloop in Barcelona inspired by a vision he had received during a holiday in Queensland that he was to write a passion play.

     “(I) was meditating in a park when an interior voice quite clearly told me I had to return to Australia,” he recalls. “It actually repeated itself lest it fall on deaf ears. As I opened my eyes I saw dead ahead a bright star (and) I knew…I was to write a passion. I was to found a passion play organisation.”

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|


AUSTRALIAN CHURCH LEADERS REFLECT ON THE MEANING OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST

This week will see millions of Christians around the world celebrating the same date for Easter by attending church and again reflecting upon the meaning of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
      What does Easter mean for us in Australia? Is it just another long weekend or is it more than that? For some it may just be another day but for others it does have a special significance, even if only for the chocolate. This Easter weekend will once again see many attending local churches searching for a deeper meaning.

      Easter reminds us that God is no stranger to suffering and pain. Easter reminds us that God is not just watching from a distance. God comes near to us in Jesus Christ, the one born in a manger in Bethlehem, schooled in the ways of the world in Nazareth and spent three years actively showing people God’s mercy and compassion.

- Rev Tara Curlewis, General Secretary, National Council of Churches in Australia

     For this and other Easter statements from Australian Christian leaders, follow the link...  | more...|

ESSAY: THE GOD WHO DIES

‘Died He for me who caused His pain, for me who Him to death pursued. Amazing love how can it be, that thou my God shouldst die for me?’ – Charles Wesley, ‘And Can It Be?’, 1738

     As we prepare to celebrate another Easter, I have been thinking about Jesus’ death on the cross and what it really means. The view I was always taught was that Jesus is the substitutional atonement for our sins and that He took our place and became sin for us (II Corinthians 5: 21). Therefore God the Father turned His back on Jesus because He couldn’t look on sin. Jesus took the punishment we deserve. I have a problem with that last sentence. For a start, it is not Biblical. Let me explain why.

     Firstly, it goes against the fact that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5: 19). This was God Himself up on that cross. Later in the New Testament, the letter to the Hebrews tells us that God will never leave us or forsake us, so it hardly follows that He would forsake His own son.

     NILS VON KALM writes about the meaning of Easter...  | more...|

More than three months on from a devastating earthquake in January, the world’s media have largely turned their attention away from Haiti. Yet, for those worst affected by the disaster, even as rebuilding begins, the fight for survival is far from over.

     Philippa Youd, a British doctor who recently spent time in Haiti, says the tens of thousands of people remain living on the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding communities in “tent villages”.

     “The village our hospital served had 6,000 people and 100 tents. The rest of the people are living under plastic sheets or curtains and the rainy season had already started..." she says, describing the city as "devastated".

     "It is worse than it appears on the news because the news only gives a snapshot. Flying over Port-au-Prince or driving through miles and miles of rubble and collapsed buildings is breathtaking.”

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

For chaplain Matthew McBurney, the highlight of the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, didn’t involve him witnessing a gold medal win.

     Rather, for him, the most special moments included the time he spent with an inspirational young US female athlete, Caitlin Compton, who had paid her own way to Canada to be able to compete as part of the Cross Country Team as well as coaching herself and caring for her ill mother at the same time.

     Not to mention meeting the ‘Snow Leopard’ - 33-year-old Kwame-Nkrumah Acheampong - who made up Ghana’s one man ski team and whose story, according to Rev McBurney, was simply “inspirational”.

     The 45-year-old father of five was one of two Australian chaplains at the Games (the other being Nett Knox). In recent years he’s been more usually based in Jindabyne, in New South Wales, where he serves as chaplain for the three nearby ski resorts of Thredbo, Perisher, and Charlotte Pass as well as for the NSW Institute of Sport’s winter development program

     DAVID ADAMS speaks with Olympic chaplain, Rev Matthew McBurney...  | more...|

FOR MORE ON THE WINTER OLYMPICS:

GOLD AND SILVER, SALT AND LIGHT

In an article first published on Canadian Christianity.com, JIM COGGINS looks at how Christians are reaching out to others at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver...  | more...|

THE INTERVIEW: NETT KNOX, OLYMPIC SPORTS CHAPLAIN

Sydneysider Nett Knox is a sports chaplain who will be working at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. She spoke with DAVID ADAMS...  | more...|

Church leaders have taken to eating curry meals to support campaigns to overcome violence and racism against Indian students living in Australia.

     "Vindaloo against Violence" was a recent event where Australians were invited to have a curry lunch or dinner on 24th February as an act of appreciation and peace between local citizens and the Indian student community.

     The Rev Alistair Macrae, leader of Australia's largest Protestant church, the Uniting Church in Australia, had urged church people, "to head out for a curry...to the local Indian restaurant and order a vindaloo or a curry and while giving thanks for the food, pray for Indian students in this country and pray for the generous Spirit to soften our hearts".

     KIM CAIN reports for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

UPDATE: FURTHER KILLINGS REPORTED IN NIGERIA IN WAKE OF JOS MASSACRE

A group of Muslim herdsmen disguised as soldiers "butchered" and then burned over a dozen Christians Wednesday, 17th March, in a small Christian village in central Nigeria, near the location where hundreds were killed last week, witnesses and officials said.

     The attackers were also seen cutting out most of the victims' tongues, in the latest violence in a region where religious fighting already has seen several massacres this year, news agencies reported.

     Officials said the attack resembled tactics used by those who carried out similar massacres in Christian villages last week when some local authorities said over 500 people were slaughtered, although other sources put the death toll at roughly half that figure.

     A report from BosNewsLife...  | more...|

HUMAN RIGHTS AGENCIES CALL FOR "PROMPT INVESTIGATION" INTO JOS MASSACRE

Human rights groups are putting pressure on the Nigerian Government to ensure the prompt investigation into a massacre in which hundreds of Christians are believed to have been killed earlier this month.

     Human rights organisations Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Human Rights Watch are among those who have called on the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, to ensure the perpetrators of the violence are prosecuted and that citizens of all ethnicities are protected from further attacks or reprisal killings.

       The latest killings in Nigeria’s Plateau State – which also drew calls from US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, for the perpetrators to be prosecuted - took place in the early hours of 7th March when, according to Human Rights Watch, “groups of men armed with guns, machetes, and knives attacked residents of the villages of Dogo Nahawa, Zot, and Ratsat, 10 kilometres south of Jos, the capital of Plateau State”. The organisation said the dead included “scores of women and children”.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

Australia - described in the 19th century by a Scottish church minister as "the most Godless place under heaven" - will get its first saint when Sister Mary MacKillop is canonised by Pope Benedict XVI later in the year.

     Some Protestant church leaders have, however, raised questions about the need to find "proof of a miracle" in order for her sainthood to be confirmed.

     Mary MacKillop, the daughter of a Roman Catholic, Scottish immigrant, at just 24, established the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph in South East Australia in the late 1800s.

     A teaching order, known locally as the "brown Joeys" after their brown habits, brought the first educational experiences to many of Australia's rural poor then.

     The recognition in 2009 of a second miracle attributed to MacKillop, has ensured she has passed the last stage of the three stages needed for her to be granted sainthood.

     KIM CAIN reports for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

What was the reasoning behind embracing comic books as an evangelistic tool?

"'The truth is like a lion, just let it out of its cage and it will do its work.' (John MacArthur) We do many different stories, such as sci-fi, action-adventure, Biblical epics, historical fiction, and biographical. Some are positioned so as to expose people to Biblical truth and stories and others are genre stories framed within a Christian worldview. We just signed  well-known writer Dr Marvin Olasky to a 15 comic, three graphic novel deal and his stories are imagination-expanding tales that I think will have a big impact. We should have about 30 to 35 books out by the end of this year. The goal is to have 75 plus by the end of 2011.

     "The power and authority are already there in God’s Word in His story and the way the Spirit takes those stories and then reaches into the human heart with them. We are simply setting the table and giving people reasons to believe. CS Lewis viewed reason as the natural 'organ of truth' and imagination as the 'organ of meaning'. He believed that the only way we grasp any idea with clarity is if we have an image associated with it.

     Pastor Art A. Ayris is founder and chairman of Florida-based comic book company Kingstone Media which, as well as producing the award-winning feature film The Touch and publishing books including Pastor Ayris' own novel, Sudan, has published comic books focusing on stories such as those of Exodus, Moses and Revelation, sci-fi tales such as the two volume series 2048, in which the future of genetic engineering takes a dark turn, and a true tale, fittingly called The Last Convert of John Harper. Pastor Ayris spoke with KRIS BATHER...  | more...|

Thousands of Christians worldwide will unite in prayer for Burma next week as part of global day of prayer for the nation, organisers said.

     It comes amid reports that thousands of predominantly Christian Karens have fled their homes amid fresh attacks by government backed troops on their villages.

     The Global Day of Prayer for Burma first began in 1997, initiated by Christians Concerned for Burma at the request of Burma’s democracy leader, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

     “It has since become an internationally recognised event attended by those struggling to see an end to suffering in Burma,” said Britain-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), which has investigated the situation of Christians in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

     A report from Bosnewslife...  | more...|

It’s the life affirming stories, the good news stories, which keep Youth With A Mission (YWAM) volunteer Hannah Peart from being overwhelmed by the needs of a place such as Papua New Guinea.

     Stories like that of Bonnie, who, when she first met him, was only a month-old and already an orphan after his mother died in childbirth. When Hannah, a registered nurse who visited his community as part of a team providing healthcare and education, the village had declared him “as good as dead” and decided to throw him in the river. But a couple, with whom the decision didn’t sit well, decided to take him and adopt him. While his life was saved temporarily, they had no milk to feed him with and he just grew weaker by the day.

     “When I met him, I didn’t think he had much longer than a day to live.,” recalls the 28-year-old New Zealander. “But I really didn’t think this was the plan for this small child so I really encouraged this family to believe that this child could live and declare life and the value of life over this child.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

Aid agencies are scrambling to respond after news that at least 700 people have died after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck the South American nation of Chile on Saturday.

     As many as two million people have reportedly have been affected by the quake and subsequent tsunami.

     There has been extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure – particularly in the city of Conception, the second largest in the nation which lies close to the epicentre of the quake, and in coastal communties where entire populations are feared lost.

     Repeated aftershocks, some as strong as magnitude six, have continued to affect the area.

     Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet has described the disaster as “a catastrophe of such unthinkable magnitude that it will require a giant effort (for Chile to recover from it)”.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

A mobile phone suspended on a belt round the waist, or from the neck, is a common sight among members of church congregations in Africa. Now, church leaders are heaping praise on mobile phones, sometimes called cell phones, because they say the instruments help congregations grow.

     Mobile phone use increased rapidly in Africa about 10 years ago. At that time, however, some Christians on the continent criticised the phones for being "marks of materialism". Now, that has changed.

     "It is as if cell phones have come to revolutionise everything, even Christianity," says Anglican Bishop Charles Gaita of Nyahururu in central Kenya. "They are making things happen quickly."

     Bishop Gaita says mobile phones make it easier and cheaper for the church to spread word about its activities, such as Bible studies and meetings. The phones also make it quicker to get information, and help improve lives.

     FREDRICK NZWILI, of Ecumenical News International, reports...  | more...|

Lent, iPod and ‘carbon fast’

When the Lent season started, a friend of mine decided to fast from Facebook and take-away food. Meanwhile, Bishop Richard Chartres in London, and Joel Edwards, Head of Micah Challenge International, are calling on Christians to give up using their iPods and mobile phones, as well as participate in a ‘carbon fast’ to reduce their carbon footprint. The reason for the ‘carbon fast’ is that Christians can show their solidarity with those suffering from the effects of climate change.

     Lent is, of course, about Christians preparing themselves for Easter. And Easter is, of, course about Christ’s death and resurrection. Most people will agree that giving up social networking and junk food will help us to focus on God. But some may question whether the emphasis on ‘carbon fast’ runs the danger of reducing the meaning of Easter to some social justice agenda.

     In the past I thought that Christ’s resurrection was all about the victory He had won for me so that I might have eternal life. But now I think that it’s much more. In the following I want to affirm the absolute importance of proclaiming Christ’s death and resurrection, but at the same time suggest that the implications of the resurrection are much more profound and far-reaching than we normally think.

     SIU FUNG WU argues that the 40 days of Lent is a good time for Christians to take another, deeper, look at the implications of Christ's resurrection...  | more...|

Christians are finding many ways, in and around the Vancouver Olympic Games, to be the 'salt and light' Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount.

     The initiatives range from offering 'radical hospitality' and quality arts presentations, to addressing social issues through both advocacy and protest.

     Christian volunteers are pleased with "how responsive people are" said Karen Reed, executive director of the joint Christian outreach effort, More Than Gold (MTG).

     While the main Olympic venues are in Vancouver and Whistler, some Games events are being held in nearby British Columbia municipalities.

     The City of Richmond has a newly constructed 'Oval' speed skating track. With the Skytrain transit system now connecting Richmond and Vancouver, the city anticipated an influx of crowds and converted its large central park and sports complex into the 'O Zone,' with a performance stage, food venues, a pub, a small outdoor ice rink and other attractions.

      In an article first published on Canadian Christianity.com, JIM COGGINS looks at how Christians are reaching out to others at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver...  | more...|

There has been much fuss in the media of late, applauding the trend of putting “real women” on the covers of our magazines in a bid to promote positive body image. Think Sarah Murdoch without air-brushing, or Jennifer Hawkins posing nude. Never mind the fact that Sarah and Jen are both supermodels to begin with! You have to wonder that if they need their flaws disguised or erased, what hope is there for the rest of us mere mortals?

     Like many readers, I am rather cynical about this abrupt departure from the usual idealised images. Despite the media patting itself on the back, I can’t help wondering...Where are the real women on our magazine covers? The women of different ethnic origin? The ladies with killer curves? The women in the 50 plus age bracket? Are they not considered attractive enough to appear on a magazine cover?

      Christian women's magazine, Footprints, is searching for a "real woman" to grace the cover of its 50th issue. Editor JANET CAMILLERI explains why...  | more...|

One of the outstanding sculptures of the week-long Sapporo Snow Festival in the far north of Japan is of the Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady, dedicated to Mary the mother of Jesus, in Dresden, Germany.

     For seven days each February, snow and ice statues and sculptures of all shapes and sizes turn the city of Sapporo on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands, into a venue for winter images representing different themes.

     The Frauenkirche, in the eastern German city of Dresden near the border with the Czech Republic, presents itself at the festival, "as a symbol of a reunited Germany". The church is considered unusual because, though it is Protestant, it bears the title of "Our Lady", which Roman Catholic churches more commonly use.

     HISASHI YUKIMOTO reports for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

FEARS THAT FINAL DEATH TOLL LIKELY TO EXCEED 250,000

The authorities in Haiti have increased their estimate of the number of people killed by the devastating 12 January 2010 earthquake from 212,000 to 230,000, with the final figure likely to be much higher.

     Twelve days afterwards, it was believed that 150,000 people had perished in the immediate aftermath of the tremor which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale. But many more lives were lost in the succeeding days and weeks, and the capacity to monitor the situation was almost wholly absent at the beginning, such was the appalling impact of the disaster on the country's fragile infrastructure.

     Rescue workers and officially believe the final figure for fatalities will exceed a quarter of a million people, making the earthquake a catastrophe on the scale of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004-5.

    A report from Ekklesia...  | more...|

CHURCHES APPLAUD AS G7 CANCEL HAITI DEBT BUT SAY MORE MUST BE DONE

The World Council of Churches has applauded the decision of G7 nations to cancel Haiti’s debts and urged others to follow suit.

     The council’s general secretary, Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has called upon the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions to follow the example of the G7 nations - which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. He added that the international financial community should also ensure financial support being offered to Haiti in the wake of the 12th January earthquake, is “grant-based and not debt-creating”.

     An estimated 200,000 people died after the earthquake struck the capital, Port-au-Prince, and a further 250,000 people were injured. It’s estimated that around 1.5 million people have been left homeless.

    DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

FOR MORE OF OUR COVERAGE OF THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE CLICK HERE...

Like most other Victorians, I was shocked by the bushfires that swept through the Marysville region in February last year. Having personal connection with people who lost loved ones drove home the devastation more deeply. Blackness befell everyone, both physically and emotionally.

     Visiting the burnt out area six months on, whilst the regrowth was evident, the solemn feeling was still all pervasive.

      A year on from Victoria's devastating 'Black Saturday' bushfires in which 173 people died, NELL POTTER talks about her inspiration for 'Wiped Out'... | more...|

Every now and again we are reminded of the continuing Christian/Muslim conflicts in the Sudan, in Nigeria, and in the Middle East. Most recently blood was shed in Jos, Nigeria, an area close by a seminary for training pastors I have supported.

     Most reports of these violent conflicts have blamed the jihadists. The anti-Muslim groups in Australia always describe atrocities in such a manner. But reliable eyewitnesses are now saying that as people lost loved ones and began to retaliate, mistrust widened between the Christian and Muslim communities. Many Christian young people have taken up their machetes to gain revenge.

     The majority of people in Jos, Muslim and Christian alike, live in peace and want to continue to live that way. In some areas of Nigeria the two religious groups have co-existed for decades. But the Government media is largely Muslim and their reports are often suspect. At least Christians make that complaint.

     Rev Dr GORDON MOYES provides his perspective on the recent violence in Nigeria...  | more...|

Are the athletes generally receptive to your presence? Have you forged ongoing relationships with athletes at previous Olympics?

"The Olympics is a unique experience for athletes and all the emotions they feel each day are heightened in an Olympic environment. It's important for athletes to have an outlet where they can let off steam, be consoled, find support, debrief and/ or relax. Often, being with a
chaplain can foster that.

    " The confidentiality of the relationship between the athlete and the chaplain is crucial for them trusting us and feeling comfortable and safe to unload whatever they need to unload. That may be feelings arising from their performance; it may be feelings about being isolated from family and friends back home; it may be issues with team members, coaches or other support staff, their boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife.

     "Sometimes the relationship begins at the Olympics and continues to be supportive and helpful for them after the Games are over. For many athletes, post-Games support is even more important. For that reason, I believe follow-up is crucial and I spend a
lot of time following up athletes once the Games are over."

     Sydneysider Nett Knox is a sports chaplain who will be working at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. She spoke with DAVID ADAMS...  | more...|

PICTURE: RAMON WILLIAMS

21st January, 2010

Thousands gathered in Sydney this week to march in protest at the treatment of Coptic Christians in Egypt.

     Peter Tadros, from the Coptic Orthodox Archidiocese of Sydney, told the ABC their plight has been ignorned by governments and the media.      "We've had hundreds and hundreds of Christians killed over the last decade, hundreds of churches have been burnt down," he said.

     In one of the latest incidents - and the deadliest attack in years, six young Coptic Christians and a Muslim security guard were killed and others injured when three gunmen opened fire on churchgoers as they celebrated in Nagaa Hammadi, Egypt, on 6th January, the eve of the Coptic Orthodox Christmas.

     Egyptian officials have since labelled the attack as 'criminal' rather than sectarian.

     The Sydney rally - held on 19th January - followed one in Melbourne on 13th January.

     Copts account for almost 10 per cent of Egypt's population of 80 million.

- DAVID ADAMS

RECONSTRUCTION MUST BE BASED ON JUSTICE, SAY CHURCHES

As churches and church related organisations mobilise resources to bring immediate relief to the people of Port-au-Prince, they are also advocating for the international community to waive Haiti's foreign debt while building a more sustainable future for the country.

     Two weeks after the country's worst earthquake in two centuries struck on 12th January, the plight of the victims has prompted a worldwide mobilisation of churches' resources.

     Pledges of funds, delivery of emergency aid items and appeals for donations are reported from every corner of the globe, while messages of solidarity, prayers and even hymns to express the sorrow flow in from near and far.

      The situation of Haiti's devastated capital justifies such a level of mobilisation and much more, according to church witnesses there. "Thousands of houses are flattened", reported the president of the Protestant Federation of Haiti, Rev Sylvain Exantus, soon after the earthquake in an email calling for international solidarity.

     JUAN MICHEL reports in a story first published on the World Council of Churches website...  | more...|

AFTERSHOCK ROCKS CITY AS AID EFFORTS GATHER MOMENTUM

A 6.1 magnitude aftershock rocked Haiti earlier this week in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which devastated the nation on 12th January, estimated to have killed anywhere from between 100,000 and 200,000 people and to have made another 1.5 million homeless.

     Damage from the aftershock - centred about 60 kilometres south-west of Port-au-Prince - was not known but it added to the fear of the tens of thousands of people who are now living on the streets following the destruction of their homes.

     "Uncertainty is what most people I met spoke about," Simon Schorno, the Haiti spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross was quoted as saying. "However, the people of Haiti are incredibly resilient and despite the pain, hardship and chaos, a semblance of normality seems to be returning to Port-au-Prince."

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

"AUSTRALIANS NEED TO KNOW THAT THE SITUATION IS PRETTY DIRE"

"I spent today trying to support the team here to give medical support to Haitians who are teaming in from Port-au-Prince in search of medical support, water, and food. The people were coming in by car, truck loads, and motor bike.

     "The search and rescue teams have finally arrived, aid organisations are distributing water, and giving supplies to support the dwindling supplies from hospitals. So many people had to wait outside.

     "The only hospital here was full to capacity and people were waiting on floors and in the street. People also waiting outside.

     "They soon ran out of simple first aid supplies and so we have given them our own personal travel kits.

     RUTH MLAY, World Vision Australia's country program coordinator for Haiti, was in the Caribbean nation when the earthquake hit. Now located about an hour out of the capital, Port-au-Prince, she speaks of her experience in a communication to World Vision staff in Australia on Thursday, 15th January...| more...|

World Vision staff attend some of the victims of the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT: US MISSIONARIES SURVIVE HARROWING ORDEAL

Two missionaries from a Calvary Chapel in Wisconsin credit God’s hand of protection for their narrow escape from danger in the Port-au-Prince earthquake.

     Pastor Huguener “Bastia” Bastia and his wife Betty minister at a Calvary Chapel located in rural Caneille, Haiti. They had arrived in Port-au-Prince to celebrate their wedding anniversary on the day the earthquake struck, according to Mary Danielsen, a secretary at their home church in Wisconsin.

     “Bastia and I are both safe and unharmed due to nothing short of a miracle of God,” writes Betty, in a 13th January email sent to their home church.

     MARK ELLIS, of Assist News Service, reports...  | more...|

EYEWITNESS TO DISASTER

Troy Livesay works for Christian organisation, World Wide Village, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. On his blog, he talks about the devastation in the city. Click HERE to read Troy's account on his blog (note that by clicking on the link, you are leaving Sight)...

DONATE

FOR A LIST OF APPEALS, click here...

YOUR SAY

Want to express your thoughts or say a prayer about the devastating earthquake in Haiti? Click here to have your say...

On Wednesday, 27th January, Sight held a day of prayer and fasting for the nation of Haiti, as it faces the devastating aftermath of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which struck on 12th January...   | more...|

A  group of international aid agencies has warned of renewed conflict in southern Sudan if urgent international action is not taken to bolster a five-year-old peace agreement that ended a two-decade civil war.

     "A return to war is by no means inevitable, but it depends whether the world heeds the warning signs of the past year and has the political will to save the peace," Paul Valentin, international director of the British agency Christian Aid, said in Nairobi on 7th January.

      Valentin was launching the report, "Rescuing the Peace in Southern Sudan", drawn up by 10 agencies ahead of the 5th anniversary of signing of the peace agreement on 9th January.

     The report warns that a mixture of rising violence, chronic poverty and political tensions has left the pact on the brink of collapse.

     FREDRICK NZWILI reports for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

North Korea has topped the annual list of nations where the worst persecution of Christians occurs for the eighth consecutive year.

     The 2010 list, published by mission organisation Open Doors this week, lists Iran as the second worst nation for the persecution of Christians followed by Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the Maldives. Afghanistan, Yemen, Mauritania, Laos and Uzbekistan round out the top 10.

      Addressing North Korea’s number one ranking, Carl Moeller, president and chief executive of Open Doors USA, says the listing of North Korea as number one was “certainly not a shock”.

     “There is no other country in the world where Christians are persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner...Three generations of a family are often thrown into prison when one member is incarcerated.”

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

Faith groups have expressed disappointment and anger over the outcome of the United Nations talks on climate change that have ended in Copenhagen, pledging to continue to press for climate justice.

     "With a lack of transparency, the agreement reached this past week by some countries was negotiated without consensus but rather in secret among the powerful nations of the world," the World Council of Churches' programme executive on climate change, Guillermo Kerber, stated.

     Kerber said an agreement "called the Copenhagen Accord, was negotiated between five countries, the US, China, India, South Africa and Brazil". He said, "It maintains that the scientific thinking for keeping temperature increase below two degrees Celsius is important, but failed to make commitments to reduce emissions to keep the temperature rise in check."

     PETER KENNY reports for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

ESSAY: SEEING THROUGH THE CONSUMERISM TO THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS

My wife and I recently saw the movie, What Would Jesus Buy? It's a brilliant spoof of all that Christmas has become for millions of people trapped in the shopping frenzy that is the silly season. The film follows Reverend Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir throughout the United States as they try to help consumers open their eyes to the madness that they are participating in every December.

     One of the scenes that captured me the most in this movie was when the choir would roll up to the front door of unsuspecting families and start singing their carols. How nice you might say, until you heard the brilliantly farcical take on some well known lyrics. Take their version of Joy to the World.

     NILS VON KALM reflects on the true meaning of Christmas... | more...|

CELEBRATING CHRIST'S BIRTH AROUND THE WORLD

‘Merry Christmas’ in Swahili: ‘Kuwa na Krismasi njema’.

     Christmas in Tanzania is characterised by great rejoicing, despite widespread poverty and hardship.

     Christmas is a time of celebration for Christians all over the world, but nowhere is this more obvious than in the poverty-stricken nation of Tanzania. Here, local Christians have few possessions and their Christmas dinners may be meagre, yet they celebrate the birth of Christ with genuine joy and love for Him.

     About a third of all Tanzanians are Christians. They celebrate Christmas during their rainy season when schools are closed for the summer holidays. There’s very little lead-up to Christmas by Tanzanians, as most have very few resources to decorate their homes, purchase or make gifts, or attend pre-Christmas festivities.

     In the final part of a series examining Christmas celebrations around the world, KARYN MARKWELL finds out what happens in the African nation of Tanzania... | more...|

FOR PREVIOUS: 

In a series examining Christmas celebrations around the world, KARYN MARKWELL looks at what happens in Japan... | more...|

In the fourth of a series examining Christmas celebrations around the world, KARYN MARKWELL uncovers some interesting traditions in Brazil... | more...|

In the third part of a series looking at how Christmas is celebrated around the world, KARYN MARKWELL relates how Christ's birth is celebrated in Israel... | more...|

In the second of a series looking at how Christmas is celebrated around the world, KARYN MARKWELL takes a look at Denmark... | more...|

Christmas is only six weeks away and already decorations are starting to appear in cities across the world. In the first of a weekly series looking at how Christmas is celebrated around the world, KARYN MARKWELL takes a look at how South Africans mark the birth of Christ... | more...|

YOUR SAY:

How do you celebrate Christmas? Share your customs, traditions and celebrations with others...  | more...|

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - THE SIGHT GOOD GIFT IDEA LIST

This year in the lead-up to Christmas, we're publishing a list of gift ideas we've come across which might make for a good alternative. But we'd love to hear from you too - if you have a good gift idea, just add it to the list!...   | more...|