Former US President Jimmy Carter has told Christian leaders in Jerusalem he sees "new hope" for the peace process in the Middle East.

     "His analysis is that there is a new hope for the peace process given the new US administration's determination to press seriously for hope and to be an honest broker in the peace process," said Hrair Balian, director of the Carter Center's Peace and Conflict Resolution department following a closed-door meeting with the Christian leaders on 18th June at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.
      Mr Carter was near the end of an almost two week tour of the region and spoke to both Israeli officials and Hamas as well as regional leaders.

Mr Balian said the meeting with international and local Christian leaders and the World Council of Churches was held in a very "friendly, warm atmosphere" where Mr Carter shared his impressions of the situation in the Middle East.

     JUDITH SUDILOVSKY reports from Jerusalem for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

I met Dr Steven Collins in the reception area of Trinity Southwest University in Albuquerque, where he serves as provost and professor. Instead of staying at the school, we headed off to a local coffee shop.

     Dr Collins didn't look like your average jet-setting archeologist: no Indiana-Jones leather jacket, hat, or whip. Instead, Steve wore jeans, sandals, and a "Life is Good" t-shirt. And for Dr Collins, that motto is playing out in his own life.

      With his newest discoveries in Jordan, life is turning out very good for the unassuming archeologist from New Mexico.

     I first got word of his recent finding at Calvary of Albuquerque, where Dr Collins sat down for an interview with Senior Pastor, Skip Heitzig. Dr Collins brought some convincing evidence of a monumentally significant find: he contends that he may have discovered the historic city of Sodom.

     BRIAN NIXON, of Assist News Service, speaks to Dr Steven Collins about his bid to find the lost city of Sodom...  | more...|

A ground-breaking presentation on extreme poverty - which aims to generate as much clout and discussion as the documentary An Inconvenient Truth - is making its global launch in Australia next month.

     The innovation of anti-poverty campaigners Hugh Evans and Simon Moss, the 90 minute slide and film presentation, 1.4 Billion Reasons, will debut in Melbourne on 4th July before a whirlwind tour of the nation's capital cities, paving the way for culturally-customised presentations around the world.

     Evans and Moss are the co-founders of the Global Poverty Project which launched in September last year at the United Nations' meeting on Millenium Development Goals (MDG) in New York.

     With the backing of both the UN and the Australian government, the Global Poverty Project is driven by a small management team that includes world-renowned researchers in social justice, international development, sustainability, anthropology and economics.

     SALLY HOLT talks to former Young Australian of the Year, Hugh Evans, about the Global Poverty Project...  | more...|

It seems the most natural thing in the world for a person to care about family members. A scientist points out that family is an extension of self, and argues that there is a "selfish gene" driving each of us to ensure the successful continuation of our family line. Perhaps this explains our concern for people who live in our own neighbourhood, as well: by watching out for the people who live close to us, we provide better security networks for our loved ones and ourselves.

     But what is it that causes us to extend ourselves, and to take real risks, for people farther removed from us? Why, in the parable Jesus told, did a passing Samaritan put himself out for the sake of a Jewish traveller? The Jew was someone whom this passer-by would have regarded as "the Other", someone whose well-being had no immediate relevance to the well-being of himself or his family.

     In a sermon given at a racism conference held in The Netherlands last weekend, Rev Dr SAMUEL KOBIA, general-secretary of the World Council of Churches, takes a look at what the story of the Good Samaritan tells us about what is means to love our neighbour in today's world...  | more...|

Darren Lewis says he didn’t really have a relationship with his father.

     “He was an alcoholic and a workaholic so I really never knew him...” says the 38-year-old, who now runs Queensland-based organisation, Fathering Adventures, aimed at providing opportunities for fathers to connect with their children. “I didn’t have a relationship with him.”

     In fact, it was only in the last weeks of his father’s life - as the former rigger was dying of liver disease in 2004 - that he says he heard the words he’d been wanting to hear all his life.

     “Even though I was 34 at the time, I was amazed how much I still wanted to hear those words, ‘I love you, I’m proud of you’, and so on,” he recalls.

     The moment finally came only days prior to his dad’s death. His father had fallen into a coma and wasn’t expected to wake again. Told his father only had 48 hours to live, Mr Lewis had gone into his father’s room and prayed over him, asking him to call out to Jesus.

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to Darren Lewis, founder of Fathering Adventures, about his heart for helping men understand their role as parents...  | more...|

Sister Pina Sandu says that in her Orthodox monastery in the mountains of Romania, they practise "touristic spirituality". With a resort built up around the monastery, "like it or not" the tourists "hear the bells, hear the services three times a day...They hear, they feel, they know that something is happening." As a result, their curiosity leads them into the yard and into the church - "small, sure steps towards something beautiful".

     Sister Pina and five other sisters - two each from Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant orders - are providing a similar subtle but radical witness at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey outside of Geneva, Switzerland, for students and visitors alike.

     The sisters live together, coordinate the worship and prayer life at the Ecumenical Institute, participate in classes - and embody a sense of "ecumenical spirituality" in daily life.

     SARA SPEICHER reports for the World Council of Churches...  | more...|

Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun has urged China to change its stance on the crackdown 20 years ago against peaceful protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

     "I hope they really consider seriously the possibility of a reassessment of the verdict," the RTHK radio station reported the recently retired Roman Catholic bishop of Hong Kong as saying in a 1st June 2009 speech at the territory's Foreign Correspondents' Club.

     Some reports have suggested that about 1000 people died in the crackdown on 4th June, 1989, against protesters calling for more democracy and clean government. Beijing says that the official intervention was necessary because the protesters threatened the primacy of the Chinese Communist Party.

     RHTK was reporting on 3rd June that police and security forces in Beijing had stepped up controls among tourists on Tiananmen Square ahead of the anniversary. The radio station said human rights groups had estimated that about 30 people are still serving prison sentences for their activities in 1989, while hundreds of protest leaders remain in exile.

     FRANCIS WONG, of Ecumenical News International, reports...  | more...|

Celebrity strikes again!

     Today's sad news that Susan Boyle, popular runner-up in the latest series of Britain's Got Talent, has been admitted to The Priory suggests yet again that celebrity culture is not all the hype suggests it to be.

     Ms Boyle is apparently suffering from the extreme pressure of performing and dealing with the public's interest in her life.

     When will we learn that the hyped-up publicity and bubble-like lifestyle that accompany modern celebrity are not particularly healthy, emotionally or psychologically for any human being caught in its glare?

     Yes, there are many who deal with the impact of celebrity better than Ms Boyle seems to be able to do at present, and we can only hope that she will have all the support she needs to see her way through this period.

     But let's face it, the entire celebrity machine is set up not for the benefit of the performer, but in order to sell 'units' for multi-national corporate 'talent factories'.

MAL FLETCHER says while people have always looked to celebrate people of unsual talent, celebrity culture today all too often involves chewing up the lives of the people it worships. He says society needs to think long and hard about where celebrity culture is leading us...  | more...|

In Christian tradition, Thomas the Believer has a strong connection with India. In recent times a much younger Thomas Delaney has come from India to share something of what God is still doing in that country.
      Thomas is a year eight student at St Laurence's college this term, immersed in a Brisbane Catholic school while his missionary parents take a furlough and study break. Boys' obsessions with the latest X-Box are puzzling for a lad who carries drinking water in buckets at home.
      His parents, Mark and Cathy experienced short term mission visits to India during their university years.

     “When we eventually met, we both had a sense of the third world and a sense in which it just wouldn't be right to walk down a career path to a comfortable life," says Ms Delaney.

      PHIL SMITH speaks to student Thomas Delaney about his life in two worlds...  | more...|

Its population may be dwindling, but the Palestinian village of Taybeh is striving to maintain normality in the midst of conflict, and hope in the midst of oppression.

     Taybeh, 14 kilometres north east of Ramallah, is one of the few predominantly Christian villages in Palestine. Like villages all over the West Bank, it is suffering as many of its people decide to emigrate, seeing no other choice given the economic and physical hardship they suffer under Israeli occupation.

     In the 1960s the town had a population of 3,400. The population today is 1,300. Unemployment stands at around 50 per cent.

     But for Father Raed Abusahlia, priest of the Latin (Roman Catholic) church of Taybeh, the grim situation only adds urgency to efforts to empower the local people spiritually and economically, as he explained to an ecumenical delegation visiting the village in March.

      EMMA HALGREN, of the World Council of Churches, writes of a move to put a peace lamp in every church around the world...  | more...|

The Micah Challenge coalition has welcomed the Federal Government’s continued commitment to overseas development assistance in the 2009-10 aid budget announced on Tuesday.

       While the government’s commitment to reaching 0.5 per cent holds firm, the previously announced timetable for reaching that figure has slipped. This is going to make it increasingly difficult for the government to meet their commitments in subsequent budgets, and even more difficult for them to reach the 0.7 per cent that Australia needs. We committed as a nation to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to halve world poverty by 2015. But as this date looms closer, Australia is yet to contribute its fair share.

     Particularly pleasing in this year’s aid budget was the renewed attention for maternal and child health, with funding of $370 million dollars. This is good news for Micah Challenge supporters who have been campaigning tireless

      TABITHA HORSLEY, of Micah Challenge Australia, takes a look at what the Federal budget means for the world's poor...  | more...|

POPE CALLS FOR PALESTINIAN HOMELAND AND DENOUNCES ANTI-SEMITISM

Resisting pressure from both Israeli hard-liners and those antagonistic to the Israeli state, the visiting Pope Benedict XVI has come out in support of a genuine Palestinian homeland and has condemned equally both anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

     The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics has used his Middle East trip to call for positive renewed relations between Christians, Jews and Muslims, for reconciliation and justice in Israel-Palestine and for an end to anti-Jewish and anti-Arab prejudice.

     However, he has also stressed that his visit is of a spiritual nature and that he is not seeking a direct stake in political negotiations - though he does consider it his business to comment on questions of truth, justice and peace.

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

PREVIOUSLY:

POPE DENOUNCES USE OF RELIGION TO SHIELD IDEOLOGICAL HATE AND VIOLENCE

As he heads to what could be a sea of controversy in Israel-Palestine, Pope Benedict XVI's Middle East trip has been marked by a strong message of reconciliation and affirmation of hard-pressed historic Christian communities in the region.

     In particular, he has addressed 40,000 Catholics in Jordan - who rarely, if ever gather together - as well as visiting the Hashemite Museum located next to the mosque in Amman.

     The pontiff also met with Muslim religious leaders, the diplomatic corps and rectors of Jordanian universities on an area near the mosque.

     He addressed some remarks to Prince Ghazi bin Talal, one of the signatories of the message 'A Common Word between Us and You' from 13th October 2007, sent by 138 Muslim scholars to the Pope and to other global Christian leaders.

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

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a mother. I never really had preconceived ideas about motherhood, but assumed as many had gone before me and survived it, it couldn't be that hard. Fortunately for me, falling pregnant was relatively easy, but being a mother was a different story. Like most women, becoming a mother was life-changing for me, but all under the scrutinising eyes of those around me.

     I learned very early on in my mothering, that parental critique has become an art form. Everyone believes they are the expert and no mother is safe from critical eyes or hurtful judgments. I remember, when my first son was just born, being told my milk was "off”, because he was crying. I never realised, as a mother, I would be judged on my ability or inability to settle my newborn.

     I remembered going to “mothers' group” and listening to the other mothers talk about their child's stages of development. Little Johnny was now walking but pity the mother whose child had not yet crawled. These women were made to feel like this was in some way their fault; they had not done something right. I, too, have been guilty of judging the mothers whose children throw a tantrum in the shopping centre, only to be given a chocolate to pacify them. Or the mothers who won't reprimand their child after he has hit another.

      As we mark Mother's Day around the world this Sunday, mother-of-four CORAL VASS says mothers need to be encouraged in their job, not criticised...  | more...|

Six-month-old Josephine was born with congenital cataracts in both eyes. She was one of the youngest cataract patients treated by volunteers serving with Mercy Ships in West Africa.

     Being blind in any country is challenging, but even more so in West Africa where access to quality eye care is practically non-existent. There are no special schools for blind people, no guide dogs, and no help for people with this disability. With such obstacles, Josephine faced a dark and difficult future.

     But Josephine's mother Annie heard about the big hospital ship where people would be able to help. They arrived at the Mercy Ship Africa Mercy with a fresh sense of hope. Josephine received free surgery to remove the cataracts. Dr Glenn Strauss, a volunteer eye surgeon, believed that if the girl's cataracts were not removed quickly, the prospect of permanent blindness was certain. Her mother wants Josephine to go to school and study to become a doctor.

      AMOS BENNETT reports on Mercy Ship's work in West Africa...  | more...|

The outbreak of swine flu in a number of nations worldwide is rightly a cause for concern. But it is not yet a cause for wide-spread anxiety.

     The threat is real. Yet this situation is already showing signs of morphing into yet another example of the science and politics of fear.

     Whatever we do to take action against swine flu, we must also guard against the panic or malaise that sustained fear brings.

     Cases of infection have surfaced in countries as far apart as New Zealand, China and Israel. Around the world, governments and health authorities are trying to curtail the spread of the disease, by discouraging travel to affected areas and providing fast-track support to laboratories that are looking for an antidote.

      MAL FLETCHER says that while the threat posed by swine flu is real, it is important to keep a sense of perspective, particularly given the counter-productive nature of fear which can breed not only terror and panic but irrational responses to problems...  | more...|

The rollercoaster of emotions that I have experienced and will continue to experience since last Tuesday are virtually indescribable – from the depths of sadness to utter elation, solidity to tears – my heart has been torn down and re-built with several new, harder, stronger layers...something akin to re-building an onion.

     It began as I approached the area on Tuesday, 14th April. The 10 to 15 kilometres between St Andrews and Kinglake you are literally driving through a valley that’s in the shadow of death. The roads are no wider than about 10 metres and both sides are surrounded by the most barren vista – trees completely burnt out, the ground black – it’s like a horror movie where you expect the Grim Reaper to appear, although sadly, he’s already been and cut his swathe of destruction.

     I pictured myself driving along the twists and turns of those roads attempting to escape the fire’s wrath during Black Saturday. It would have literally been hell on earth.

      MATT PAYNE, communications coordinator for missions, aid and development organisation Global Care Australia, talks about his recent trip to Kinglake, one of the communities worst affected during the Black Saturday bushfires, and the work Global Care has been doing in the area...  | more...|

The statistics are startling: more than 880 million people around the globe are forced to rely on what are potentially harmful sources of water resulting in what has been referred to as a “silent humanitarian crisis” which kills some 3,900 children every day.

     Samaritan’s Purse ‘Turn on the Tap’ initiative aims to help turn the tide.

     Officially launched in February,the project hopes to raise $500,000 to help bring clean water to communities throughout the Asia-Pacific region by World Water Day in March next year.

     Darren Tosh, in charge of projects for Samaritan’s Purse Australia, explains that project is not just focused on water supply but also the quality of the water being provided.

     “So we end up having two aspects...that we’re really focusing on: we’re sourcing water for communities that are currently dry or they currently don’t have great water access...and then, at the other end, we’re actually doing water filtration to address the quality issue. So it depends on the community.”

      DAVID ADAMS reports on Samaritan's Purse Australia's Turn on the Tap initiative...  | more...|

PICTURE: © Thorsten Rust (www.istockphoto.com)

OUT OF THE ARCHIVES: ANZAC DAY - MORE THAN JUST A SYMBOL

The national day of commemoration of those who sacrificed in times of war immortalised on the 25th April each year - Anzac Day - has become much more than a symbol of a battle. The current generation of new adults has captured and taken ownership of it in a revived nationalism.

     There was a sentiment across Australia from the ‘60s and into the '80s that downgraded Anzac Day. Some have put this down to the anti-Vietnam sentiments, exacerbated by the feeling of abandonment by its veterans; but it began long before that when the post war baby-boomers, only ever experiencing affluence, disassociated themselves from their father's and grand father's war exploits.

     MARK TRONSON writes about how our perceptions of Anzac Day are changing...  | more...|

Easterfest never fails to amaze me.

     And this is not because of the huge crowds, the immense behind-the-scenes work, or the big names that this event attracts, although these things in themselves are quite mind-boggling.

     It's a special 'something extra' that makes this event more than simply a big Christian festival.

     It's hard to describe, but this 'something extra' - or 'buzz', as I like to call it - is a feeling of anticipation, excitement, hope, and joy.

     It's the feeling we so often sense when God is worshipped in a big way by a big crowd.

     In a way that's hard to define, I believe this 'something extra' - or 'buzz', as I like to call it - is in fact the spirit of God, and it hovers over Easterfest in a wonderful cloud.

     This year was my third time working at Easterfest, and the buzz was there again right from the start.

      CHARLOTTE DURUT enjoyed the buzz of this year's Easterfest music festival in Toowoomba, Queensland, and caught up with a couple of the lesser-known artists at the event - Lester Davis and Alarice...  | more...|

“It’s just about spurring one another on.”

     That, in a nutshell, is the essence of what Melbourne-based band Simeon’s latest project is all about. Called Not Calming Down 4 Niger, the project - a joint initiative between the band and CBM - aims to raise $50,000 toward helping the mission organisation’s work in the African country.

    Singer/songwriter, lead singer and the band's namesake, Simeon Shinkfield, says the idea for the project came about when he was writing a song called Not Calming Down - the second single off the band’s latest album, Then We Collide - and had a strong sense that God wanted more from him than “just a song”.

     “The Bible talks about us not becoming numb to the needs of other people and becoming numb to God as well,” says Simeon, who spent a couple of years in Niger during his schooling while his parents worked with mission organisation SIM (Serving in Mission).

      DAVID ADAMS speaks to Simeon about his band's project - Not  Calming Down 4 Niger - aimed at raising $50,000 to help fund the work of CBM in the African nation...  | more...|

THE BIG PICTURE: THE MEANING OF EASTER?

   Follow the link to see a larger version of ANN WOJCZUK's take on Easter... | more...|

ESSAY: EARTHQUAKES, G20, JADE GOODY - WHY WE STILL NEED EASTER

Three news stories from the past week remind us why Easter should remain a sacred and special season, even in today's highly secularised age.

     The devastating earthquake in Italy this week reminded us that our collective fate is profoundly impacted by natural events beyond our control.

     The recent bushfires in Victoria, Australia - the state of my birth - inevitably point us to the same conclusion.

     Futurists sometimes speak of events like these as wildcards - low probability, high impact events that are potential game-changers in terms of their impact on human society.

     MAL FLETCHER says three recent stories - that of the Italian earthquake, the recent G20 summit in London and the life, and recent death of reality TV's Jade Goody - all illustrate why Easter is so important...  | more...|

ESSAY: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

When I came to Australia 20 years ago I wondered why people kept asking the question: What is the true meaning of Christmas? As a convert from traditional Chinese religion, I had to learn what Christmas meant when I became a Christian. I had assumed that every Christian knew the meaning of Christmas - that is, it is about Jesus the Saviour and Lord, rather than Christmas presents or Santa. But later I realised that consumerism had a big influence on our culture. It is not surprising, therefore, that we got confused because we were constantly bombarded by all sorts of alternative messages about Christmas.

     How about Easter? Do we know what Easter means? I think we do. We know that it is quite literally “a matter of death and life” (yes, I deliberately put “death” before “life”), for it is all about the death and resurrection of Jesus. But is this just another statement of faith that we intellectually confess? Or do we really know what it means? Let's dig deeper.

     SIU FUNG WU reflects on the meaning of the Cross...  | more...|

AUSTRALIAN CHURCH LEADERS REFLECT ON EASTER'S MESSAGE OF HOPE

"The recent bushfires in Victoria and flooding in Queensland have shocked us with their reminder of the violence of the forces of nature and the vulnerability of life. Our communal images of death this Easter are fresh and stark.   

     "Jesus’ death by crucifixion also shocked his community. It was inconceivable to his followers that this man, in whom they were beginning to sense the presence of God, could die in such a cruel and inhuman manner. It was inconceivable to them that life could go on in any meaningful manner after his senseless death."

Read the rest of this statement and those of other Australian church leaders...  | more...|

OUR YOUR SAY EASTER SPECIAL!

As millions of Christians reflect on the death and ressurrection of Jesus Christ this Easter, we're asked the question: 'Who is Jesus Christ to you?' Here's a "word cloud" of the key words you used in your responses...

To see a large version of this image and the responses used to create it, follow the link... | more...|

Bass Strait is regarded as a tough stretch of water by any measure yet was armed only with her windsurfer that Allison Shreeve set out in late March to make the 240 kilometre crossing from Tasmania to Australia's mainland.

     While the forecast was initially favourable with winds mainly at the lower end of the 20 to 30 knot scale and a swell of one to two metres, the winds proved to be mostly running at around 30 knots and Ms Shreeve, four time world champion and the world’s top-ranked formula class windsurfer, was forced to abandon the attempt at the nine hour mark.

     “Because I had six hours instead of three of such conditions, it was really too rough and in the end the swell got up to four metres and peaking over that at times,” she says.

      DAVID ADAMS speaks to windsurfer Allison Shreeve, one of four Australian sportspeople to be featured in the Bible Society's Easter TV special on Good Friday...  | more...|

World leaders meeting in London have pledged $US1.1 trillion to global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund to combat the global economic crisis, prompting investors to buy up stocks while the Dow Industrials in New York surged over 8,000 for the first time in two months.

     United States President Barack Obama said the measures announced on 2nd April at the just-completed Group of 20 nations summit, which was held amid deadly protests, would be a "turning point" in worldwide economic recovery. He stressed leaders were able to overcome "honest disagreements" and reach agreements to “boost” economic growth, job creation, and lending to troubled nations.

     STEFAN J. BOS reports on the outcome of the G20's London Summit ... | more...|

You can read the full text of the London Summit

issued on 2nd April here...

ESSAY: CHURCHES CALL FOR FINANCIAL SYSTEM BASED ON "HONESTY, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DIGNITY FOR ALL"

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has been observing with deep concern the current global financial and economic crisis that has led to increased unemployment, indebtedness and poverty world wide.

     At the outset, the WCC considers this crisis as not merely a financial and economic one but as a crisis that has moral and ethical dimensions that have slowly been eroding our societies over a period of time. We are witnessing an era when greed has become the basis for economic growth. It is therefore necessary, in the understanding of the churches, to go beyond short term financial bail out actions and to seek long term transformation based on sound ethical and moral principles which will govern a new financial architecture. The WCC has been expressing its concern on this since 1984, when it had issued a call for a new international financial order based on ethical principles and social justice.

In a letter to G20 nations ahead of their April summit in London, Rev Dr SAMUEL KOBIA, urges national leaders to seize the opportunity to transform global finances... | more...|

Recounting stories such as the alleged forced poisoning of a young couple, speakers at the Global Ecumenical Conference on Justice for Dalits which opened in Bangkok, Thailand, on 21st March gave a face to the 3,500-year-old system of caste-based discrimination, detailing practices many would consider unthinkable in the 21st century.

     Shortly after their wedding on 5th May, 2003, 25-year-old S. Murugesan and 22-year-old D. Kannagi - both college graduates from Puthukkooraippetti village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu - were allegedly forced to drink poisonous liquid in the presence of scores of people, who witnessed the couple's agony. The bodies were burnt, leaving no evidence of the gruesome incident.

    This real-life Romeo and Juliet story happened because Murugesan was a Dalit while Kannagi was a Vanniyar with low caste status.

     MAURICE MALANES reports on the recent Global Ecumenical Conference on Justice for Dalits...  | more...|

An international expert on church unity has urged the Roman Catholic Church to declare officially that its excommunication of Martin Luther no longer applies.

     Such a statement, "in these ecumenically less exciting times..would be a remarkable step and a sign of hope and encouragement", said the Rev Günther Gassmann, a German Lutheran theologian, who was director of the World Council of Churches' Faith and Order Commission from 1984 to 1995.
      Born in 1483, Luther trained as a Catholic monk, but was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1521 after refusing to retract teachings the church judged to be heretical.

     In a 19th March lecture in Rome, Rev Gassmann said that a joint Lutheran-Catholic statement published in 1983 to mark the 500th anniversary of Luther's birth had sought to elaborate a common position on the work and legacy of the reformer.

     A report from Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

Why has Voice of the Martyrs Australia decided to appoint a youth director?
      "Voice of the Martyrs Australia has been serving the persecuted church since 1969. We bear witness not only to the hardships of persecuted believers but also to their incredible faith, hope and joy through suffering. We want to challenge young people to live with this same kind of passion and commitment to Christ in Australia. We also want to train and equip youth to prayerfully and practically support persecuted believers around the world. Youth are the future of the church, and we have a message that they need to hear. My job is to get that message out to youth."

    Brad Konemann, 22, has recently been appointed Voice of the Martyrs Australia's first youth director. Mr Konemann, who lives with his wife Katherine in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, spoke to DAVID ADAMS about his new role and how trips to visit the persecuted church in Vietnam and Colombia have impacted his life...  | more...|

Members of the church-backed Ecumenical Water Network are urging that water be affirmed as a "basic human right" by government delegations meeting in Istanbul at the World Water Forum.

     "The right to water and sanitation is firmly grounded in international human rights law," said a statement signed by EWN members Church World Service, the Church of Sweden and Norwegian Church Aid, along with other "civil society" organisations.

     The EWN groups churches and Christian organisations campaigning for people's access to water around the world. They have maintained that water is more than merely a "human need", as stated in the forum's draft ministerial declaration.

     A report from Ecumenical News International... | more...|

Late last year, the Israeli government announced that it would hold a worldwide press conference to field questions about its war with Hamas. Big deal, you say. But wait: they planned to do it via the Twitter web phenomenon.

     TIME Magazine says, "Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app", and Newsweek noted that "Suddenly, it seems as though all the world's a-twitter".

     Celebrities, politicians, even preachers - everyone who is anyone, it seems, is eager to start twittering. Even the US President sends "tweets" - though it's hard to imagine that he is the one actually punching in the messages!

     Where is this twittering culture taking us? And what does this mean for the person of faith who wants to break through the clutter, the white noise of web traffic, and share something of substance?

     MAL FLETCHER says that Christians need a strong presence in a world where new media - like Twitter - is constantly emerging, saying it's part of a Christian's calling to "sanctify new technologies"... | more...|

Ask the four key questions:

1. When were we created?
There is no timetable mentioned in scripture. God’s Word states simply “in the beginning” (1:1). Creationists try to develop a timetable from the Bible, ending with a date for creation within the last 10,000 years. Some use the method developed by Archbishop Ussher in 1650. They count the age of people in the Bible before the birth of Christ working backwards until 4004 BC, thinking, wrongly, that includes every generation.

     We do not know the date of creation. The Bible does not say. That is the role of science. Scientists give various dates. Some geneticists in USA conclude that the first women lived in central Africa 200,000 years ago. Professors Leakey, working in the Oldavai Gorge in Africa, date the earliest at two million years ago. The discovery of a well-preserved woman in Ethiopia is placed at three million years ago. Other scientists believe evolution was not slow and steady but leaped in rapid developments. There are 26 Australian archaeological sites indicating that human beings inhabited this country 40,000 years ago.

In part two of an article looking at our origins, Rev Dr GORDON MOYES asks the "four key questions" concerning that age-old concern of humanity - how were we created?... | more...|

PART I - HOW WERE WE CREATED?

I once wrote a little book entitled, How Were We Created? It was used for study fairly widely by university students with much appreciation. Printed in March 1968, it quickly sold out, but it was reprinted five times. It has been out of print since. It grew out of my studies that were selected because I wanted to know more about how evolution and Biblical faith intersected. My studies in biology, geology, paleontology, archaeology, ancient history, botany, geography, and theology have blessed me through 50 years of ministry.

In the first part of an article looking at our origins, Rev Dr GORDON MOYES takes a look at the intersection of Darwinism and Christianity... | more...|

The Federal Government’s decision to overturn a ban on using foreign aid for abortion funding has sparked a sharp response from some Christian organisations.

     The Australian Christian Lobby, which had pressed the government not to overturn the ban, said Christians were dismayed at the decision.

     Managing director Jim Wallace says the Government has “caved in” to pro-abortion advocates.

     “This will be the first time in Australia’s history that our aid dollars are used to kill unborn children overseas,” he says in a statement.

     He says Christians who pushed for an increase in foreign aid funding at the last election would be “appalled” that some of those aid dollars will now be redirected to ending the lives of unborn children in poor countries.

     Jack de Groot, chief executive of Catholic relief organisation Caritas, says the organisation was “gravely concerned” about the implications of the policy change. In a statement, he says the organisation has not yet been consulted on the issue by the Federal Government.

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

It’s been 50 years since Billy Graham held his first crusades in Australia and to mark that fact the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has commissioned a new documentary which takes a look at the events of of 1959 and their ongoing impact in Australia.

     The one hour film, Remembering ‘59, will be hosted by Karl Faase - the host of weekly Christian talk show Face to Face and a board member of the BGEA. It’s been produced by Olive Tree Media in association with the BGEA.

     Martin Johnson, who directs and produces the film, says the documentary looks at the impact of the crusade on Australia both then and now.

     To that end, it includes interviews with a number of Australians who were impacted by the crusades, the best known of whom is Peter Jensen, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney.

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

We are experiencing what former U.S. Federal Reserve Bank chairman Alan Greenspan calls “a once-in-a-century type of event” – a global financial crisis.

     First came the subprime mortgage crisis, then government takeover of home mortgage lenders, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other major financial firms, and flow-on effects to other sectors and other national economies. Consumer spending is down, trade contracting, unemployment rising, public sector bailouts and financial stimulus measures multiplying, and public sector borrowing at record levels.

     The crisis was triggered by the tendency for individuals and institutions to act for their own short-term benefit while passing on longterm risks to others, combined with lax regulation of financial institutions. Some also argue that misplaced confidence in the “equilibrium” view of economics, whereby the prices of stocks and other securities tend toward their proper value and markets self-regulate, is partly to blame.

   ROSS CLIFFORD and ROD BENSON take a look at how we should respond to the current economic crisis... | more...|

4th March, 2009

Mission Aviation Fellowship's newest addition - a GA8 Airvan - was on show at Sydney's Camden Airport last month as part of the organisation's Mission Aviation Discovery Day. More than 700 people attended the day to see some of MAF's aircraft and meet pilots and support missionaries. The GA8 Airvan - which the organisation is introducing as a replacement for their veteran Cessna 206s - was one of two aircraft which took people on joyflights throughout the day. This aircraft, the first turbo-charged Airvan to roll off the production line at Victorian company Gippsland Aeronautics, is destined for the MAF program in Papua New Guinea Highlands. A de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth - similar to first aircraft used by MAF in the Asia-Pacific region for survey flights in the 1940s (right) was also present on the day. MAF flies to around 2,500 isolated communitiues across Africa, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region to facilitate Gospel ministeries, development services and to provide emergency relief. For more information about the organisation, see www.maf.org.au

As the global financial system falters, many civil society and church activists see the crisis as an opportunity to press for long-overdue, radical reforms. The first opportunity for them to do so will come in early April, when the G20 will meet in London.

     For once, advocates for economic justice seem not to be alone in recognising the need for changes in global finances. Stock markets faltering around the planet and giant banks falling into bankruptcy have convinced governments of the richest countries that they have to do something, especially as the financial crisis impacts the "real" economy with massive lay-offs in companies affected by the global credit crunch and shrinking consumer markets.

     "But there is a fundamental difference of approach between those who try to refund financial capitalism and those who see a need for a shift of paradigm in the world's economy," says Brazilian economist Marcos Arruda from the Institute on Policy Alternatives for the Southern Cone (PACS).

     JUAN MICHEL talks to some of the participants of the recent World Social Forum about reforming the world's financial system... | more...|

Olympian of the Century, Carl Lewis, presented an Australian couple, Mark and Delma Tronson, an international award at a glittering event held the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott ballroom on 16th February.

     The Lay Witnesses for Christ award was for their services over 27 years to the Sports Ministry, which included their part in the Beijing Olympic Ministry international prayer network.

     The spectacular presentation evening was once again hosted by Lay Witnesses for Christ founder and president Dr Sam Mings and his wife, Sharon. Some 700 guests turned out for the 20th year celebration of Texan high school Christian Athletes of the Year (male and female), and many other awards.

     DAN WOODING, of Assist News Service, reports... | more...|

AUSTRALIA MARKS A NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING FOR BUSHFIRE VICTIMS

Updated: 9pm, 22nd February, 2009

Australians joined with people all around the world to mark a National Day of Mourning for the victims of Victoria's bushfires - the country's worst natural disaster.

     Thousands - including survivors of the fires and firefighters - gathered to watch the national service at Melbourne's Rod Laver arena while other memorial services were held around the state - including in the regions worst affected by the fires.

     The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, told those at the service that the communities affected by bushfire would build no matter the cost while the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said that every 7th February would now be a memorial day for victims of the fires, with flags across the country to fly at half mast and a minute's silence to be observed.

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

HOPE RISES OUT OF THE ASHES

Saturday, 7th February, 2009, started off well for me; picking up three passengers, two from Marysville and one from Taggerty, for a 45 kilometre trip to the Victorian town of Alexandra to attend an interdenominational men’s breakfast at which I was the guest speaker. Little did I know that within seven hours I would be back in Alexandra with my wife Yvonne, along with most other residents of the burned out town of Marysville, as evacuees without house and possession (along with all six who attended the men’s breakfast from Marysville that morning).

     Black Saturday saw fires on a scale never before experienced in Victoria, or throughout Australia. With temperatures over 45 degrees celcius, high winds in excess of 70 kph, dry grasslands and forests with years of uncleared and unattended dry fuel, it was a recipe for disaster which saw some 2000 homes lost resulting in many casualties and, as I write, over 200 lives taken.

     Rev IVOR JONES, of Mount Cathedral Baptist Church in Buxton, recalls 'Black Saturday'...  | more...|

ESSAY: WHERE WAS GOD ON 'BLACK SATURDAY'?

As the victims of the Victorian bushfires continue to grieve their immeasurable loss, and the community continues to give so generously, the question for some people of faith that has arisen is: Where was God in all of this? What was He doing? Why didn't He intervene? After all, surely He could have prevented this carnage with a wave of His hand.

     To those who have lost loved ones and homes, any words of explanation will probably be woefully insufficient to account for the unimaginable pain that people are suffering. What do you say to people who, in an instant one Saturday afternoon, had their whole lives ruined by something completely out of their control? Or worse, by someone who deliberately lit some of the fires?

     NILS VON KALM reflects...  | more...|

CONFRONTING THE HORROR OF A DAY THEY WILL NEVER FORGET

Like everyone, I’ve known some families deeply affected by the fires. Words can’t describe the pain.

     I spent the day at Whittlesea yesterday as a chaplain offering pastoral care to those returning from the mountain having seen their devastated homes and properties for the first time. Much of my time I spent with families with young children.

     I spoke to little Jess who was five. She introduced herself, “My name’s Jess and my home burnt down”. She told me about how hot it was and how scared they were. Her little brother Jake told me the bricks on his house were glowing orange. They were lucky - both they and their parents got out alive.

     MATT GLOVER writes about the day he spent working as a chaplain in the aftermath of Victoria's fires...  | more...|

IN THE AFTERMATH, A VOLUNTEER REFLECTS

I was privileged to spend a day working at the Whittlesea Bushfire Crisis Centre as part of the Chiropractors' Association of Australia (Vic) volunteer assistance effort, just four short days after the massive bushfires wiped out vegetation, homes, farms, businesses, wildlife, livestock and people. Whittlesea is at the base of the hills where Kinglake and Kinglake West were ravaged by bushfire and what some describe as fire storms and fire bombs. While we reflect on policies of whether people should stay and fight or evacuate, when the harsh reality of ravaging flames arrived, many didn't have sufficient time to make either decision.

     As we drove towards Whittlesea you could see the hills ahead as a dark grey backdrop, as opposed to the usual lovely eucalypt-green-blue hue, with small smoke clouds still being visible in small sections of the forest. Having been a visitor on many occasions to this region while visiting close friends in Kinglake West, traffic was noticeably heavier than usual, and the township of Whittlesea resembled a country carnival.

     Chiropractor NICK HODGSON reflects on the day he spent working as a volunteer in fire-ravaged Whittlesea...  | more...|

• People wanting to donate to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal can go to www.redcross.org.au or call the toll free number 1800 811 700.

• Anyone looking to volunteer can complete a registration form at www.volunteeringaustralia.org/volunteer.

LATEST INCIDENT REPORTS: Visit here for details of the latest incidents...

INTERACTIVE MAP: Visit here for a map of where the fires are...

HAVE YOUR SAY: You can offer your thoughts and condolences here...

Two children, aged 13 and 15, have become parents in a story that is now receiving maximum exposure across the British media. Baby Maisie was born to Alfie and Chantelle, who claim that they are in love and happy to take responsibility to raise their child.

     Perhaps there are unexpected links between this sad story, set in a relatively poor housing estate, and two other reports that emerged last week.
      In one, Jade Goody, the former reality-TV contestant, announced that she has agreed to sell photographs of her last months of life to the media. Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer, she says that she needs the money for the future support of her children.

     MAL FLETCHER reflects on the saga of baby Maisie in the UK and says it raises real questions about the power of celebrity culture and the weakening of family...   | more...|

They sing about taking the shackles off their feet so they can dance, but earlier this month, sisters Erica and Tina Campbell (better known as US Gospel music stars Mary Mary) trod the red carpet at the 51st Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

     Nominated for three Grammy awards (for Best Gospel Song and Best Gospel Performance for their song Get Up, and Best Contemporary R & B Gospel Album for their latest release, The Sound), Mary Mary won the Best Gospel Performance award.

     The sisters are no strangers to the music industry’s equivalent of the Oscars. The girls have been singing out about their faith and reaping the...ahem...awards since their debut album, Thankful, picked up the Grammy for Best Contemporary Gospel Album in 2000.

     In an article first published in the Salvation Army's Warcry magazine, ANDREW STONE talks to the singing sisters that are Mary Mary...   | more...|

It started early this year when buses started appearing in London with advertisements plastered on the side telling people ‘There’s probably no God. So stop worrying and enjoy your life'.

     Welcomed by some Christians and condemned by others, the controversial campaign was sparked when comedy writer Ariane Sherine - reportedly annoyed by Christian ads on buses which included a warning that people who reject God will go to hell - wrote about wanting a countering ad on the side of a bus on an online forum.

     The idea was then taken up by the British Humanist Association and has received some high profile support, including from avowed atheist Richard Dawkins.

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

What's Cybermissions all about?
"Cybermissions uses computers and the internet to facilitate the Great Commission. We do online evangelism, and supply the body of Christ with online teaching. In particular we have a two-year Harvestime 'Bible college in a box' that people can download and run in their churches. About 20,000 students are in church-based Bible colleges using those modules at the moment. We have many online articles and ebooks at our main teaching website www.globalchristians.org and hope to include a lot more material about holistic ministry - for church leaders in the developing world. Newtestamentprayer.org is our prayer website and Cybermissions.Org deals with internet evangelism and the use of internet cafes as missions bases in unreached people groups."

     Originally from Brisbane, John Edmiston, 52, these days lives with his wife, Minda, in Los Angeles where he is chief executive of mission organisation, Cybermissions. He speaks with DAVID ADAMS about how he came to found the organisation and his new book aimed at missionaries, Biblical EQ...  | more...|

Australia should not be blindly following the lead of the US and allow aid dollars to be used to fund abortions, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.

     Overturning the Bush administration’s ban on the use of US foreign aid to promote abortion as a family planning option - known as the Mexico City Policy - was one of the first acts of the new Obama administration.
      That has led to calls for it to be abolished in Australia. Among those calling for its abolition are Senator Claire Moore, chair of the cross-party Parliamentary Group on Population & Development, who has reportedly said she intends bringing the issue up at the first Government caucus next week.

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

ESSAY: LIFE MEANS SOMETHING

Some things are difficult to forget. For me, one of those was the experience of driving through refugee camps in Rwanda and seeing the violent yet strangely dead eyes of both perpetrators and victims of the genocide there.

     I knew that for the perpetrators, it would be nothing for them to do it all again. They had, by their actions, created a new depraved benchmark where life meant nothing.

     I have similar memories from service with the UN in South Lebanon and briefly visiting Mogadishu during its crisis.

     You're left with the unshakable impression that a lack of respect for life is at the heart of not only individual atrocities, but the failure of civil society, which ultimately spurs and sustains violence on this scale.

    In an article first published at The Age online, Australian Christian Lobby managing director JIM WALLACE says foreign aid money should not be used to fund abortions...  | more...|

Prepare for some good news in 2009. Despite the terrible start in Gaza and other endemic conflicts, governments committed to shared security are set to reach an historic milestone this year. Specifically, the number of countries protected by nuclear-weapon-free zones is set to jump to 110 countries from 56 at present.

     The change will come from an African capital, like Windhoek or Bujumbura, as soon as two more governments ratify the treaty making Africa a nuclear-weapon-free zone. Churches are promoting the step, and linking Africa's action to the need for similar progress in the Middle East.

     "This will be good news on the nuclear front for Africa and the world," notes Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat, a senior African statesman. Kiplagat is leading a World Council of Churches (WCC) initiative to help bring the Africa Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty into force, with church action nationally to support an international goal.

     JONATHAN FRERICHS, of the World Council of Churches, reports...  | more...|

A group of researchers in the UK have been denied further funding for their stem cell research which involves the creation of human-animal "hybrid" clones. Funding bodies are refusing to underwrite the research, though they have not explicitly outlined the reasons for doing so.

     The stem cell researchers believe that certain factions within the decision-making bodies, which include fellow scientists, are refusing support on moral grounds.

     It is not the response of researchers that I find baffling here, but that of a mainstream newspaper. At least one British newspaper, The Independent, expresses incredulity, pointing out that refusing funding may cause Britain to lose her place as a world leader in stem cell research. I say, fine, let's lose our place if staying number one means crossing the line between expediency and wisdom.

     MAL FLETCHER says that providing funding for hybrid stem cell research goes too far and places too much power in the hands of scientists...  | more...|

CHRISTIANS DESCRIBE HORRIFIC CONDITIONS AS ISRAEL AND HAMAS IGNORE UN CALLS FOR AN IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE

Fighting in Gaza has entered it's 20th day with the death now nearing 1,000 and reports that fighting has also broken out along Israel's northern-border.

     Israeli ground and air forces continued their attacks on Gaza with reports of heavy clashes in the suburbs of Gaza City. There were reports that Israel had also fired artillery into southern Lebanon after a series of rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanese-based militants.

     Both Hamas and Israel continue to ignore a UN Security Council resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire.

     UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who has called upon both sides to put an end to violence and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory, arrives in Israel today.

     Meanwhile, Jeremy Reynolds of Assist News Service reports that an e-mail obtained by ANS from a Christian in Gaza - anonymous for security reasons - described to friends in America what it is like to live in the besieged area.

     DAVID ADAMS and JEREMY REYNOLDS, of Assist News Service, report...  | more...|

Christians from across the globe have appealed for an end to the conflict in Gaza as the Middle East crisis continues into its third week.

     Reports claim that at least 900 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,500 injured since Israel launched a military offensive on the Hamas-controlled territory in late December. Thirteen Israelis have also died.

     In a statement released Sunday 11th January, Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe, the international director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), and Reverend Harry Tees, the WEA’s Ambassador to the Holy Land, have called upon those in leadership on both sides of the conflict to “do their utmost to end all hostilities and consequent violence” and say the international community needs to respond carefully but resolutely to the crisis.

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

Mitsuo Fuchida led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941, an event that catapulted the United States into the Second World War. After the war, Fuchida turned to Christianity and became an evangelist. Fuchida's maternal grandmother was a nationalist from a samurai family who resisted attempts by Emperor Meiji to throw off feudalism. Now he is to feature in a Japanese animated film about the love of God and how mutual forgiveness is necessary in order to establish peace.

     The film, currently titled From Pearl Harbour to Golgotha, will tell the life story of Fuchida, who was born in 1902 and, despite being shot down during the war, lived until 1976.

     It will show Fuchida's post-war encounter with Jacob DeShazer, a former US soldier who had taken part in the first air raid on Japan during the war, and later in peacetime returned as a missionary.

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

ESSAY: A CHRISTMAS REFLECTION

I've been thinking about what Christmas holds in store this year - and by 'store' I don't mean Myers! But isn't that just what Christmas has become? Every year we hear the plea from those of us inclined to a religious/spiritual view of life to bring Christ back into Christmas. My hope is that this Christmas, as the world goes through financial turmoil, we may know again that what we celebrate does not have to be more presents, that life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions.

     This Christmas many people the world over are suffering, and this time it isn't just in the developing world. The global financial situation has meant that many will come to this Christmas having to tell their children that mum or dad no longer has a job and therefore we can't afford as many presents this year. If that is you, then this Christmas can be more meaningful than ever.

     Amid a global economic crisis and a world marked by ongoing poverty, disease, and war, NILS VON KALM reflects on the meaning of Christmas...  | more...|

AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN LEADERS' CHRISTMAS MESSAGES

"The message from our government and business community this Christmas is: 'Spend up big for the sake of the country'. Will we be rich or poor? This seems to be the ultimate economic question. No matter how well off we become we still fear losing it all. On the one hand we must save for the future. On the other we must spend as much as we can for the present, and Christmas is given as the reason. The message seems to be how we manage our economy and provide for ourselves. But that’s not the message. Christmas is about our God who is incredibly generous, loving, and unreasonably extravagant toward human beings. Christmas says ‘thank you’ for His astonishing daily gifts. God has spent up big on us, and He continues to spend up big."

      - Reverend John Henderson, General Secretary, National Council of Churches in Australia.

     Read the text of all the messages...  | more...|

A chance to take climate action has been missed.

     After two weeks spent in frantic negotiations over commas and semi-colons, the climate negotiations at Poznan have taken only the barest shuffle towards Copenhagen, and on some crucial issues - like the targets for developed countries - have actually retreated from Bali.

     Our Pacific Island neighbours made passionate pleas that their very survival was threatened by climate change unless the world responds.

     Tiny Tuvalu's Prime Minister, was fighting for his nation's life: "It is our belief that Tuvalu as a nation has a right to exist forever. We are not contemplating migration. We are a proud nation with a culture that cannot be relocated somewhere else. We want to survive as a nation and as a people and we will survive. Because it is our fundamental right."

     In an article first published in The Canberra Times, JULIE-ANNE RICHARDS, Oxfam Australia's climate change coordinator, reflects on the opportunity missed by the global community at the climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland...  | more...|

CLIMATE CHANGE: A CRY FROM PERU

A front-line worker tackling poverty in Peru has talked of his ‘sadness’ at the modest progress made in the past week at climate change talks in Brussels and Poznan, warning that without stronger action from the West ‘millions of poor people will be abandoned to the escalating ravages of an unpredictable climate.’

     Bruno Guemes, a skilled worker with the development charity Progressio, said that rich nations, which had caused most of the global warming through industrialisation, had a responsibility to protect the poorest communities of Peru and elsewhere around the world.

     He stated: “Here in Peru, climate change is already having a devastating impact on the natural environment. In the valley of Huaral where I work, one in three people relies on small-scale farming to make a living and feed their families. But glaciers and snowcaps are melting, rains are less frequent and water resources are running dry.

     Aid worker Bruno Guemes talks to Ekklesia about the effect of climate change in Peru...  | more...|

Was it always your aim to use your gifts in the business world?

"Absolutely. I haven't had many things from God be as clear as the fact that when I finished college I would be doing the 3 M's: Music, Marketing and Ministry to youth...His mission for me has grown from that time to expand beyond music and beyond youth, and now we serve just about every major organisation with a desire to reach the Christian consumer, but as I headed toward the completion of my Business Marketing degree, and prayed for how God wanted to use my skills, I just couldn't imagine doing something only for the salary; something that didn't involve passion."

     KRIS BATHER talks to US-based Christian entrepreneur Scott Shuford about how God uses him as a 'dot connector' and his role within the Christian Comics Arts Society...  | more...|

In Haitian Creole they are called "restaveks" (from French rester avec - to stay with) because they live with a family that is not their own. Rather than foster children, they are like slaves to their host families.

     Between 180,000 to 300,000 children in Haiti - the number varies with the source - work as domestic servants. Between eight and 10 per cent of Haitians under the age of 18 are in this situation which denies them basic rights.

     These children represent the most vulnerable social sector in a country plagued by dire poverty, huge ecological degradation, blatant corruption and recurrent political instability. Many of them are born to big and destitute families in the countryside, and their parents send them to a host family hoping they will be adequately fed and cared for.

     MANUEL QUINTERO, in an article first published on the World Council of Churches' website, writes about the restaveks of Haiti...  | more...|

Lifesavers are a heroic breed. Dedicated, fit, vigilant and brave, this army of (mostly) volunteer patrollers numbers more than 35,000 in Australia.

     Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) and its state centres provide patrol services on 400 beaches around Australia’s 36,735 km coastline.

     SLSA is Australia’s major water safety and rescue authority and one of the largest volunteer organisations in the country. Their mission: to provide a safe beach and aquatic environment throughout Australia.

     In meeting their mission, SLSA volunteers spend hours training in surf skills and first aid techniques, patrolling and educating the beach-going public, as they live up to the association’s motto of ‘vigilance and service’.

     In an article first published in The Salvation Army's Warcry magazine, ANDREA REDFORD talks to those serving on the frontline this summer...  | more...|

It's been said that the number of people dying of AIDS represents the equivalent of 20 fully loaded 747s crashing every single day for a year.

     At least 33 million people are alive with HIV and perhaps another 43 million have already perished from AIDS. AIDS is the biggest health problem the world has ever faced.

     Having just marked World AIDS Day once again, it's worth us each stopping to consider the scale of this tragic disease - and to consider what we as individuals might be able to do to alleviate the problem.

     But when the headlines reflect such a massive worldwide problem, it's easy to feel overwhelmed; it's easy to raise our hands in despair and say, "What can I possibly do to alleviate a problem that's become so huge?"

     The world recently paused to mark the 20th World AIDS Day. MAL FLETCHER takes a look at what we can do to help tackle what is a global tragedy...  | more...|

Christian Surfers has launched a new edition of it's Surfers Bible. Why is there is a need for a Surfers Bible and how does the new edition differ from the existing Surfers Bible?
      "We recognise that surfers are their own unique subculture, and a very strong and popular one. We wanted to provide God's word to that culture in a relevant way that broke some stereotypes and felt like it belonged to to them. The new version contains new testimonies and a surf DVD of a `faith in action’ trip we did with some of the surfers in the Bible doing aid work in Sumatra. We reckon is looks better as well and sadly people do judge a book by its cover."

      It contains surfer's testimonies. Is there one particular testimony which has really impacted you?
     "I think Bethany Hamilton’s story of recovering from her shark attack (Bethany had her arm bitten off) as a young teen and how God has grown her into one of the world's best know surfers, and Christian surfer, is amazing. It inspires me to know that despite what may happen in life, with Christ at the helm, there can be purposes achieved I would have never imagined. Interestingly, we have another shark attack victim Shannon Ainslie, and he was hit by two great whites and only has a small scar on his little finger!"

      Founded in Australia more than 30 years ago, Christian Surfers has grown to an international movement operating in 17 countries around the world. DAVID ADAMS speaks with Brett Davis, the organisation's international director, about Christian Surfers new Surfers Bible and their ongoing mission to "link the beach and the church"...  | more...|

The Victorian Parliament recently passed the most liberal abortion laws in Australia, rejecting all of the proposed amendments. I was there speaking with the parliamentarians at the time and encouraging a pro-life vote. It was obvious that the old arguments no longer carry weight in the political realm. For 50 years we have argued on the same premise.

     Those of us who are pro-life continue to think and pray that our arguments will win one day. Those who are pro-choice make sure those potential women members of parliament on the government side always belong to Emily's List. Everyone does, and they are all committed to a pro-choice position. The pro-life faction, therefore, can never win (under current circumstances).

     During the third US Presidential debate, both Obama and McCain used the old arguments, then started with some new ideas. The Republicans repeated that they think abortion should just be completely illegal; and the Democrats repeated their only mantra of a "woman's right to choose." And the number of abortions remain mostly unchanged.

      Rev GORDON MOYES says it's time for a new approach to the issue of abortion in Australia...  | more...|

In Sri Lanka, the conflict between the army and Tamil rebels has caught the civilian population between a rock and a hard place. Although the world turns a blind eye, Christian global advocates say churches should insist that attention be paid to victims caught in the violence.

     For several years, a civil war in Sri Lanka has placed in opposition a government dominated by the Sinhalese majority population and rebels who claim to defend the rights of the Tamil minority. Defenders of human rights protest that this war is being fought at the expense of the civilian population, with displaced people detained in camps that fail to provide for their basic needs, children abducted for recruitment as soldiers, and other inhabitants of combat zones being used as human shields by the rebels.

     Representatives of churches, ecumenical groupings and non-governmental organisations discussed Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict at a session of the 4th annual United Nations Advocacy Week sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), held in New York City on 16th to 21st November.

      In an article first published on the World Council of Churches website, ANNEGRET KAPP reports on a call for churches around the world to remember Sri Lanka's "forgotten" war...  | more...|

Kibati camp, on the outskirts of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo is crammed with people looking for shelter and food. There are new arrivals walking on the tarmac road, terrorised and distressed. They have fled fighting in their villages less than 50 kilometres away and they are looking for refuge from a war that has already displaced more than 1.4 million people. In the past month 250,000 more, many of them children and elderly have added to this number.

     A ceasefire month ago has failed. So has the peace agreement signed earlier this year by rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, Rebels have control of the surrounding mountains and their is gunfire in the distance. It is unnervingly close at times.

     Kibati is a scene of desperation and chaos. Before the recent fighting thousands of people already lived on the brink here, in crumbling overcrowded homes without running water or sanitation. About 65,000 people have arrived since last month. That's on top of the local population.

      World Vision's MICHELLE RICE reports from Rwanda on what she saw in the strife torn neighbouring nation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...  | more...|

His journey hasn't always been an easy one but it's that very fact which has helped Gavin Gardner to write songs that connect with people right where they're at.

     Hailing from Australia’s country music capital, Tamworth, he grew up in a Christian home but says that in his late teenage years he started drinking heavily and smoking marijuana.

     While Gardner says he felt guilt about his “slow slide of compromise” and kept telling himself he’ll “turn back one day, maybe when I’m a bit older”, he says that he “always believed that Jesus died for me".

     “I never let go my belief - I was just doing the prodigal son thing, I guess,” he says.

      DAVID ADAMS speaks to Gavin Gardner about the lead-up to the release of his debut EP, Time...  | more...|

ESSAY: WHAT THE NEW PRESIDENT MUST DO NEXT

Finally, after the longest pre-election race in US history, the world knows the identity of the next incumbent to the American presidency.

     Barack Obama will become the 44th US president and the first African-American to hold that high office. He is also, at the age of 47, the first member of the so-called Generation X to fill that role - but more on that shortly.

     President-elect Obama will take office at a time of great uncertainty in his nation. It faces a debt of something like one trillion dollars, is fighting a war on two fronts and is almost certainly approaching a recession.

     MAL FLETCHER on what US President-elect Barack Obama's priorities must be...  | more...|

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION COMMENT

"It is of course wonderful that African-Americans are able to see one of their own as President and proof positive that America has moved on from its divided and racist past. Christians, though, will be watching with both expectation and a little trepidation the “change” that Barack Obama will bring."

     JIM WALLACE, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, gives his thoughts on the US presidential election result...  | more...|

OBAMA ACHIEVES DECISIVE VICTORY

Senator Barack Obama has been elected president of the United States of America, the first African-American to hold the post. Celebrations have begun in the USA and across the world for what is seen as a moment of historic change.

     The victory became clear at 11pm US time (4am GMT), after projected victories in California and Washington State on the West Coast. A record national electoral turnout was achieved.

     The Rev Jesse Jackson joined civil rights campaigners in celebrating the advent of president-elect Obama, who claimed victory in Chicago while rival Republican candidate Senator John McCain conceded defeat in Phoenix, Arizona

      Ekklesia reports on Barack Obama's historic win in the US presidential election...  | more...|

YOUR SAY: What do you think of the US presidential election result? What will it mean for the US and for the world? Have Your Say here...

A year of events to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Protestant reformer Jean Calvin is being launched in Geneva, a cradle of the Protestant Reformation.

     "I hope the legacies of Jean Calvin will be a source of renewal and inspiration as churches increase their commitment to Christian unity and justice for all God’s people and for the environment," said the Rev Clifton Kirkpatrick, president of the International Patronage Committee of the Calvin Year and president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

     The Protestant reformer, often known in the anglophone world as John Calvin, was born on 10th July, 1509, in Noyon, northern France, but he is known worldwide for his role in the Protestant Reformation in Geneva, a once independent city-state which became part of Switzerland in 1815.

      STEPHEN BROWN, of Ecumenical News International, reports on plans to celebrate the life of Protestant reformer Jean (John) Calvin in 2009...  | more...|

It was during his first visit to Australia last year that Willie Dengler - a South African pastor who runs a prison ministry in the troubled nation - was approached by an elderly couple.

     Having come to Australia from South Africa, they related how their son, a maths teacher, had been murdered at the college in Johannesburg where he taught. It took three days for the body to be found and a year for the killer to be apprehended.

     The couple asked Pastor Dengler whether he ever visited a particular prison and when he said he could go there, they asked him to deliver a message to the man who had killed their son and who was incarcerated there.

     “They said we want you to take a message to tell him that we forgive him and that we would love him to come to Christ,” recalls Pastor Dengler.

      DAVID ADAMS speaks to South African pastor, Willie Dengler, about his ministry in the nation's jails...  | more...|

Twelve years ago, three Aussie nuns decided they were needed in the crowded slums of Lima.

     Tens of thousands of Peruvians had fled to their capital to escape the depredations of the Maoist Shining Path terrorist group, or simply to find work.

     The refugees were wary of one another and suspicious of strangers as they existed in desolate shanty towns like Cerro Candela (the Hill of Candles), and Cerro Choclo (Corn Hill).

     At an age when most Australian women are counting their super and looking forward to retirement, Sisters of Mercy Tricia McDermott, Joan Doyle and Jacqueline Ford are working on.

     Sister McDermott turned 64 last week, Sister Doyle, is 57 and Sister Ford will be 70 next month.

      In an article first published in The Age newspaper, BRENDAN NICHOLSON looks at how three Australian nuns are helping to transform lives in the slums of Peru...  | more...|

Last weekend my wife, Nell Potter, and I joined 230 other people in Canberra for the Micah Challenge annual 'Voices for Justice' conference. This was not just a conference but a demonstration of faith in action. Voices for Justice has two main aims; firstly to seek more of God's heart for the poor, and secondly, to lobby our political leaders to act more justly in their dealings with the poor.

     The main asks of Voices for Justice this year were for the Australian Government to increase its overseas aid giving to 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015, and to increase spending on child and maternal health. The Government has committed to spending 0.5 per cent of GNI on aid by 2015. This is a commendable move, but it is not enough to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which Australia, along with 190 other nations, has committed itself to.

      NILS VON KALM was among those who visited this year's 'Voices for Justice' conference in Canberra...  | more...|

Leaders of churches and related organizations have warned on World Food Day that the global financial crisis may have even more drastic consequences for the world's poorest people than for its major economic centres.

     "The global credit crisis will have dramatic consequences for the poorest, because those who fund them are hit by the breakdown," said John Nduna, director of Geneva-based ACT International, a faith-based global humanitarian alliance that is present in more than 75 countries.

     "A significant part of our funding comes from individuals through churches in Europe and North America," said Mr Nduna, a Zambian who has headed the agency since 2006. "They are hit by the financial crisis and that will affect their private budgets. Many struggle with loans, risk losing their jobs and small businesses might close down. Our contributors will have less to offer and our emergency work will be affected."

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

    See a gallery of the images of the devastation in Haiti here ...  | more...|

Already one of the poorest countries in the world, the Caribbean island nation of Haiti has this year been devastated not only by spiralling food prices but, in more recent times, the destructive force of a series of tropical storms and hurricanes which have torn through the island country.

     The UN special envoy to Haiti, Hedi Annabi, said last month that the country had been “overwhelmed” following hurricanes Gustav and Ike and the tropical storms Fay and Hanna, saying the disaster was beyond the capacity of the government and the UN mission to deal with and calling on international donors for help.

     Australian relief and development agencies are among those who have responded. 

     Paul O’Rourke, chief executive of child-development organisation Compassion Australia, describes the situation as “pretty desperate”.

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

ESSAY: FINANCIAL CRISIS - A TIME FOR CAUTION, NOT FEAR

This is undoubtedly a time for caution and reassessment; but it is not a time for crippling fear.

     The cover of this week's European edition of TIME screams 'London's Sinking', with a warning that the global economic crisis threatens to 'overwhelm' Europe's financial capital.

     Meanwhile, trillions (yes, trillions) of dollars have been wiped off the value of stocks and shares worldwide in the past week or so.

     One TV financial advisor says that we've seen two big emotions in all of this market turmoil, greed and fear. 'We've seen the greed over the past five years,' he adds, 'now we're seeing the fear - and the fear is much worse.'

MAL FLETCHER says that while it's wise to exercise caution in the current global financial crisis with many people facing significant financial losses, fear can be crippling and might even blind us to opportunities to improve our situation...  | more...|

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ESSAY: CREDIT CRUNCHES, GREED AND DISCONTENT - WHAT CAN WE LEARN?

Credit crunches and bank collapses - is there anything you and I can learn from the rapid downturn in Western economies?

     The British government this week announced that another UK bank will be nationalised in the face of growing pressure on international economies. The Bradford & Bingley bank becomes the second bank to be nationalised, after Northern Rock received similar treatment last year.

     Meanwhile, the US government has agreed on a $700 billion rescue package to prop up its ailing economy after the collapse of several major Wall St firms.

     Writing from London, MAL FLETCHER says the global economic crisis represents a chance for us all to reflect on our own priorities...  | more...|

Rev Heather Matthews reads Scripture at The Gateway, Wodonga, joined by Warwick Marsh and Pastor Peter Walker. It was one of 11 communities along the Murray River visited as part of the pilgrimage. PICTURE: Ramon Williams.

9th October, 2008

Scores of people turned out to pray and take communion in communities along the Murray River as Warwick Marsh, co-founder of Australia Heart Ministries, and Pastor Peter Walker, of Australian Indigenous Christian Ministries, made a "prayer pilgrimage" along the river earlier this month.

     The prayer pilgrimage, which also had the support of the Australian Prayer Network and the Australian Indigenous Prayer Network was aimed at rallying people together to pray for an end to the drought and, according to Mr Marsh, "for a flood of rain to fill the dams and clean out the Murray Darling River System and avert a human and ecological disaster".

     Mr Marsh described the pilgrimage as "both encouraging and humbling".

     "To listen to the prayers of the mums and dads, the ministers of many different denominations, the children, the politicians and community leaders and the older folk who supported the prayer gatherings was truly inspirational."

~ www.murraydarlingprayer.org.au

This week political leaders are meeting in New York to attempt to get the world’s assault on poverty back on track. No doubt few business leaders in Australia will pay much heed to the UN General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals. They should. The outcome of these goals will have a profound impact on corporate Australia.

     Amid the turmoil gripping world economic markets triggered by the credit crunch, it is very easy to miss the import of this event. But the fight against poverty has great implications for the future growth of the global economy and nowhere will the impact be felt more than in Asia.

     It is why Prime Minister Rudd is right to take a leadership role in attending the NY meeting and why those critical of his decision to miss parliament in order to attend are simply wrong.

      TIM COSTELLO, chief executive of World Vision Australia, explains why Australian business leaders should pay attention to this week's UN meeting...  | more...|

Motilal Pradhan and two of his younger brothers look fit enough to take on any challengers. Still, the three men, two of whom are soldiers in the Indian army, say they were able to do little to save their 35-year-old disabled youngest brother, whom, they assert, a Hindu mob burnt alive while they could only watch helplessly from a distance.

     When the 1000-strong crowd, armed with swords and other weapons, descended on the brothers' village of Gadragam on 24 August, in the troubled Kandhamal district of Orissa state, in eastern India, Christians in the village began running for their lives, Pradhan said.

     He added that his younger brother, paralysed due to a stroke eight years ago, could not flee and the mob caught hold of him.

      ANTO AKKARA reports for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

FOR PREVIOUS:

GOVERNMENT PRESSED FOR ACTION ON HORRIFIC ORISSA VIOLENCE

Following a series of horrific attacks in Orissa, Indian church and human rights organisations have been keeping up pressure on the government for decisive action against militants, and they are asking for world attention to the crisis.

      A report from Ekklesia on the latest outbreak of violence in India's Orissa state...  | more...|

“Everyone along the river is very, very aware of the need - a lot of farmers haven’t had irrigation and water for three years,” explains Warwick Marsh, recalling conversations he’s had with people along Australia’s Murray-Darling river system.

     “I talked to one man who had a beautiful dairy - it had been in his family for three generations and they’re farming on the river with irrigation...and they watched $300,000 worth of assets drop down to $30,000 over a three year period and that man had to sell that. It’s a pretty heartbreaking situation...

     “A lot of farmers are facing those situations and the sad thing, of course, is that many are committing suicide...and a lot of that is do with the drought and pressures being put on families.”

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to Warwick Marsh, of Australian Heart Ministries, about an upcoming pilgrimage along the Murray River aimed at inspiring people to pray for the stricken region...  | more...|

Behind the tough-guy, rock & roll image, and the tattoos, the former Korn guitarist reveals he has something more to say to today's youth with the release of his solo debut, Save Me From Myself, which was released by Driven Music Group in early September.

     If you've met Brian "Head" Welch, or talked to him recently, it's easy to pick up on his genuine, loving, and Christ-like spirit. Some of that same honesty and devotion to the truth is what listeners will find reflected in the songs on Save Me From Myself.

     Many of the songs, written over the past few years, are Welch's testimony - about his previous drug addiction, leaving Korn, and his radical faith in Jesus Christ.

     "A lot of the songs were written when I was going through different things, (such as dealing with a drug addiction)," Welch says. "I'm totally a new person today. I'm not that guy, but it's cool to be able to sing about the drug addiction, and the freedom, because I was bound by that stuff."

     GINNY McCABE reports for Assist News Service...  | more...|

'Unlocking the secrets to life in our universe?' Well, perhaps not...

     There's no doubt that the Large Hadron Collider, which runs for 27 kms (17 miles) near the French/Swiss border and was fired up earlier this week, is a hugely impressive piece of machinery.

     I suppose it ought to be having cost £3 billion ($A6.56 billion). Physicists believe that this will eventually prove a wise investment. They're expecting all kinds of useful discoveries to emerge over the next months and years.

     The Collider's ultimate task is to recreate the conditions that followed the first one billionth of a second after the Big Bang, which scientists believe kicked off the universe.

MAL FLETCHER argues that spiritual questions - and the deepest mysteries of life in our universe - can't be answered by science...  | more...|

Thirty-one years ago, a 17-year-old woman went to have an abortion at a Los Angeles County abortion clinic after around seven-and-a-half months of carrying the baby.

     For 18 hours, the baby was burned in the womb by a saline solution but despite the saline treatment, survived and at around 6am on on 6th April, 1977, was delivered alive, weighing less than a kilogram.

     The abortionist was not yet on duty given the early hour (if they had been, it was then common practice to strangle or suffocate the baby), so an ambulance was called and the baby was transferred to a hospital and placed in an incubator.

     “They cared for me but they kept thinking that I would die,” the now 31-year-old Gianna Jessen recalls. “But to everyone’s great shock I kept living.”

     Given her remarkable story, it's not surprising that Ms Jessen, who now has mild cerebral palsy as a result of the abortion, calls herself the “human face” of the abortion debate.

      DAVID ADAMS speaks to abortion survivor Gianna Jessen...  | more...|

A Filipino army officer, who served in the line of fire in the fight against Muslim secessionist rebels in southern Philippines, says he realised that somehow the cycle of violence must end, so he helped pioneer Project I.S.L.A.M., or I Sincerely Love All Muslims.

     "I have seen how militarism has failed to address the armed conflict now raging again in southern Philippines," army Lt Col Johnny Macanas, a Roman Catholic, told Ecumenical News International. "And I have noted how prejudice and our lack of understanding about Islam have helped separate us from our Muslim brothers and sisters."

     This realisation prompted Lt Col Macanas to help pioneer Project I.S.L.A.M., which now encourages Muslim and non-Muslim young people to participate in workshops that promote mutual understanding and, eventually, mutual respect for each other's faith.

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

“The six weeks I spent as a volunteer with Mercy Ships in Liberia was I think my 18th trip away as a voluntary aid worker in the last three-and-a-half years,” says West Australian nurse Debbi Wilson.

     “As I am constantly reminded that the largest proportion of the world’s population lives in poverty, I recognise that I can help in some small way. I love doing it. Without doubt, how could I not do it!”

     Ms Wilson, a 51-year-old mother who lives in of Applecross, Western Australia, is a registered nurse and midwife and has served in a variety of capacities in operating rooms onboard the Africa Mercy, the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship owned by the global Christian charity Mercy Ships.

      AMOS BENNETT speaks to West Australian nurse Debbi Wilson about her time working with Mercy Ships in Liberia...  | more...|

They came in their tens of thousands from more than 160 nations over the world. For a week, the World Youth Day pilgrims turned Sydney upside-down, their enthusiasm on display as they attended public masses, teaching sessions, and scores of other events including a re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross.

     But what was it that led them to the harbour city? Just what were these pilgrims looking to get out of World Youth Day?

     The Australian Catholic University and Monash University have released the results of a survey conducted before World Youth Day which involved an online survey of 12,275 registered English-speaking pilgrims from 164 countries as well as some interviews and observations made at the event itself.

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

Joseph Francis, the National Director of Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), has said that Christian persecution and discrimination with minorities surged during former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's rule.

     Mr Francis said that the Christians of Pakistan suffered enormous injustices, discrimination and persecution during Mr Musharraf's rule.

     "Christians were not immune from persecution and raw treatment during the tenure of presidents that preceded Musharraf, but the scale of Christian persecution was worst during Musharraf's rule," he said.

      SHERAZ KHURRAM KHAN reports for Assist News Service...  | more...|

Robert, why don't you tell us a bit about your love affair with comics. I know you worked in mainstream comics and even owned a store at one point. Why have they always been a constant in your life, as opposed to other forms of entertainment?
     "It's not that other forms of entertainment haven't also been a constant - such as movies, TV, music, pro-sports - but I would guess most people leave their love of comics behind when they get to high school. For me the attraction went beyond mere entertainment. I was in love with the artform itself and its potential to combine the written and illustrated word to create a story more powerful than either forms on its own. It's that potential that I feel the industry is just now exploring by focusing attention on more than just the standard super-hero titles here in the US."

      KRIS BATHER says he was "blessed" to meet Robert Luedke (right) from Head Press Publishing at the recent San Diego Comic-Con where Luedke was unveiling the most recent release in his Eye Witness graphic novel series, Rise of the Apostle...  | more...|

CONTROVERSIAL AIDS ACTIVIST COULD BECOME 'A NEW APOSTLE PAUL', SAYS RICK WARREN

David Miller has long been one of the most controversial AIDS activists in the world, but now there has been an incredible turn-around in his life. He has found Jesus Christ as his personal savior.

     Mr Miller, who is HIV-positive himself, is one of the most arrested AIDS activists in the world, and has led many protests on behalf of those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

     But now, his life has been transformed after receiving Jesus Christ as his personal savior through the ministry of Rick Warren, founder of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and author of The Purpose Driven Life.

    David Miller, long time member of ACT UP NY, has become a Christian and was baptised at Saddleback Church. DAN WOODING, of Assist News Service, spoke to him at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City last week...  | more...|

UNAIDS DIRECTOR SALUTES THE WORK OF FAITH GROUPS

Dr Peter Piot, the executive director of the United Nations AIDS agency UNAIDS since its creation in 1995, has praised the work of faith-based organizations in the campaign against HIV/AIDS, and said his own attitude to religion has changed over the past 13 years.

     "When I started this job I saw religion as one of the biggest obstacles to our work, particularly in the area of prevention," Piot told a media conference at the 17th International AIDS Conference taking place in Mexico City last week.

     "But I've seen some great examples of treatment and care that came from the religious community, and lately in the area of prevention," he said.

    CHERYL HECKLER reports for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has accused the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of genocide in Darfur amongst other crimes. Which are the likely consequences of this?

"The consequences of this controversial move are still unclear, but it does change something in Sudan. Although everybody fears the worst, I think it is too early to judge. The Darfur peace process has not been in very good health for a long time anyway. Many peace advocates in Sudan, including international humanitarian organisations as well as churches and their partners in the Sudan Ecumenical Forum, need to properly evaluate possible scenarios and prefer to maintain a low public profile at this time. I think one should focus on the independence of justice. The judges of the ICC have to evaluate the evidence presented by the prosecutor and act according to their evaluation."

    More than 20 years of advocacy work for Sudan on behalf of the churches won Marina Peter, European coordinator of the Sudan Ecumenical Forum, a decoration from the German government and a deep sense of the complexities of a country whose size is almost that of Western Europe and has seen internal wars over the last 50 years. Only addressing Sudan "in its complexity and as a whole" will bring about peace, she says. Ms Peter speaks to JUAN MICHEL...  | more...|

Addressing more than 600 of the world's Anglican bishops, Britain's chief rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks has appealed to Jews and Christians to forge common cause and reach out to other people in a world dominated by politics and economics.
      "Though we do not share a faith, we surely share a fate," said Sir Jonathan in his speech on 28th July, on what is believed to be the first occasion a chief rabbi has addressed the once-every-10-years gathering of Anglican bishops called the Lambeth Conference. "Whatever our faith or lack of faith, hunger still hurts, disease still strikes, poverty still disfigures, and hate still kills," he told the bishops.
      Sir Jonathan said that faith brings a "covenantal relationship" of cooperation to a world governed by economics and politics, which were based, he believed, on a logic of competition.
     "If there is only competition and not co-operation, if there is only the State and the market and no covenantal relationships, society will not survive," he said. Still, he noted, "What is the face religion all too often shows to the world? Conflict between faiths, and sometimes within faiths."

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

Sport has always been an important part of your life, hasn’t it?
“Yeah. I started off in Little Athletics when I was about six or seven years old - that’s sort of how my career started. I started training for throwing events a little later on - when I was about 12, 13 or 14 - and got picked to go over to Holland to the ‘99 inaugural World Youth Championships and that’s where I got my first taste of international success: I came third in the world. Then, when I came back, I took up weightlifting so I could get stronger and be a better discus thrower and hammer thrower. And that’s how it started. So, yes, pretty much I’ve been doing sport for as long as I can remember.”

     What was it that led you to stay in weightlifting?
“Well, as I started to get better and better, I actually then got selected to go to the Commonwealth Games in 2002 for the weightlifting...so it was sort of that point that I decided to continue on with the weightlifting and see how far I could go. And when I came back with three silver medals from Manchester in 2002, that’s when I sort of realised that I probably had a bit of a talent for it and if I kept on going, I could get better and better.”

     Weightlifter Deborah Lovely, 25, won three silver medals at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 and then went on to win the gold at Melbourne in 2006. Having come 12th in her class at the Athens Olympics in 2004 as Australia's sole female weightlifter, she is now heading to Beijing to once again represent the nation on the Olympic stage and hopefully break a few Australian records. Ms Lovely spoke to DAVID ADAMS about her weightlifting and her Christian faith...  | more...|

What is it about superhero films, like the current blockbuster, The Dark Knight, that create such box office success? We know from industry reports that word of mouth is the main difference between a lackluster theatrical run and a smash hit. So the real question is this: why do superhero films engage our culture so much that viewers encourage their peers to also spend their hard-earned cash at the local cineplex?

     If all the top screenwriting gurus are correct, and stories are meant to help us learn how to live, what life lessons are resonating at the subconscious level of a film like the #1 weekend opener, The Dark Knight, and the previous record holder Spider-Man 3? Can we really learn how to live by watching a superhero film?

     Films, like all stories, are built around themes; some call it the 'Moral Premise' or the 'Big Question'. Well then, let's examine what questions drive superhero films. You may be surprised to learn that God has asked the same questions since He began His revelation to us.

     KEAN SALZER, of US-based inspirational film clips website, WingClips.com, takes a look at what superhero movies like The Dark Knight can teach us...  | more...|

The surfing hits, Wipe Out and Surfer Joe, are legendary in the annals of Southern California surf music, and now they have come back to life with a CD with Christian testimony called Wipe by the re-formed band, The Surfaris, led by Bob Berryhill, one of the originals.

     The Surfaris began their forty plus year career by composing and recording Wipe Out, one of the most popular songs recorded in a generation. Wipe Out, Surfer Joe and others captured the sound of the early 1960's.

     Initially catapulted by the California surf culture, The Surfaris transcended the local scene into international stardom. After touring with acts such as Roy Orbison and the Beach Boys, The Surfaris began to see there was much more to life than fame and fortune. The original band disbanded in 1966. In 1971, Bob Berryhill, original guitarist for the band, found hope beyond the accolades.

     DAN WOODING, of Assist News Service, reports...  | more...|

"DO NOT BE AFRAID TO SAY 'YES' TO JESUS" - POPE CELEBRATES FINAL MASS IN SYDNEY

The week long celebration known as World Youth Day came to an end Sunday as more than 400,000 pilgrims packed into Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse to see Pope Benedict XVI celebrate the event’s final Mass.

     It was the largest Catholic Mass ever held in Australia and, while initial expectations had been for 500,000 people, organisers said they were thrilled with the turnout with one church leader reportedly describing it as a “tsunami of faith and joy”.

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

GLOBAL TV AUDIENCE OF UP TO A BILLION PEOPLE JOIN WITH TENS OF THOUSANDS IN SYDNEY TO WATCH THE RE-ENACTMENT OF THE LAST DAYS OF JESUS CHRIST

About 80 performers took part in the three hour Stations of the Cross on Friday as part of the World Youth Day celebrations. See a gallery of images by RAMON WILLIAMS here... | more...|

Pope Benedict XVI makes his way across Sydney Harbour.

PICTURE: Ramon Williams

POPE BENEDICT'S FIRST MAJOR SPEECH IN AUSTRALIA

"Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division,of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. This is the work of the Holy Spirit! This is the hope held out by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to bear witness to this reality that you were created anew at Baptism and strengthened through the gifts of the Spirit at Confirmation. Let this be the message that you bring from Sydney to the world!"

     After crossing Sydney Harbour in a glittering boat-a-cade on Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his first major speech in Australia in which he tackled issues as diverse as the problems of relativism, environmental degradation, and the 'poisons' in modern life which threaten to corrode what is good. Read the full speech here (external link)...  | more...|

PREVIOUS GALLERIES:

WORLD YOUTH DAY: 150,000 PILGRIMS GATHER FOR OPENING MASS

Tens of thousands of pilgrims from more than 170 countries joined in celebration at sites centred on Barangaroo in Sydney to celebrate World Youth Day's Opening Mass earlier this week. RAMON WILLIAMS was there... | more...|

WORLD YOUTH DAY CROSS ARRIVES IN SYDNEY

RAMON WILLIAMS was present when the giant World Youth Day Cross arrived in Sydney on Monday. Crowds cheered, wept and sang as the Cross ended its year long journey through Australia. Follow the link for more images...  | more...|

STAGE IS SET AS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE DESCEND ON SYDNEY

Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Sydney and so have the tens of thousands of young people from around the world. The stage is set for World Youth Day - the largest gathering of young people in the world - which officially kicks off on 15th July and runs through until Sunday, culminating in a final mass at Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park where up to half a million people are expected.

     The idea of World Youth Day goes back 23 years to 1986, when, inspired by the massive gatherings of young people in Rome to celebrate the Youth Jubilee in 1984 and the United Nations International Year of Youth in 1985, Pope John Paul II called the youth of the world to gather with him to celebrate youth and faith. They have since been held in Rome and in other host cities around the world including Manila, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Denver, and most recently, in 2005, in Cologne, Germany.

     There are more than 400 free events - including a re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross, concerts, dramas, and art installations - scheduled for the six day event which is aimed at young people aged between 16 and 35-years-old.

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

Hardly a week goes by anywhere in the developed world without us reading in the press something or other about the forces of political correctness.

     In many places, just saying the words 'political correctness' can get you into some frightful debates, inspiring some really passionate reactions even from normally placid people!

     Nobody is too sure where the term "political correctness" came from, though there are versions of it in the early Communist rhetoric of both Russia and China. It referred to something that was politically "on message". Later it found its way into left-leaning publications in the West, particularly in the 1970s and 80s.

MAL FLETCHER takes a look at why legislating tolerance won't tackle many of the biggest problems society faces today ...  | more...|

They were one of those families who had it all. Ashley McDonald earned a six-figure salary as deputy harbour master at Fremantle, while his wife Alison worked as a speech pathologist in schools and health care centres. They enjoyed their friends, their house, and their bustling extra curricula activities.

     In January 2005, Captain McDonald received an invitation from OM International to serve as captain aboard MV Doulos, one of the organisation’s three ships. “I didn’t need to read it,” Ms McDonald says. “The look on Ashley’s face told me everything.”

     A year-and-a-half later, the McDonalds and their three daughters - Madeleine, eight, Hosanna, five, and Caitlin, two - left their home in Perth for a life at sea.

     ANDREA LAURITA talks to Ashley and Alison McDonald about their life aboard the OM ship, the MV Doulos...  | more...|

      The work of nineteenth century Australian photographer Charles Bayliss is celebrated in an exhibition at the National Library of Australia. A Modern Vision features portraits, architectural photography, spectacular panoramas and landscapes spanning the period from 1850 to 1897. Part of the inaugural Vivid: National Photography Festival, the exhibition is on at the National Library in Canberra until 26th October. Below are some selected images of Sydney and surrrounds taken by Bayliss... | more...|

The leaders of the G8 nations must take decisive action to halt spiralling rises in food and oil prices and to increase aid to developing nations.

     This is the message from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President, Robert Zoellick.

     The two men spoke at the end of the first full day of the G8 Summit in Japan that had focused on food and oil hikes as well as aid to Africa.

     “The world faces three simultaneous crises,” said the UN Secretary-General, “a food crisis, the fuel crisis and a development crisis.

     HAZEL SOUTHAM, of Ekklesia, reports...  | more...|

CHRISTIAN STUDENT LEADER CALLS FOR PEACE MONITORS

A leader of the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe has urged the international community to intervene in the southern African nation, following the decision of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to withdraw from the presidential runoff, citing escalating violence against his supporters.

     "We need peace monitors that make sure we have a stable environment to stop this violence and madness that [President Robert] Mugabe is orchestrating," Prosper Munatsi, general secretary of the SCMZ, said in a 23 June interview in Geneva.

     Munatsi was speaking before reports emerged from the Zimbabewan capital that Tsvangirai had sought refuge in the Dutch embassy in Harare, citing fears about his safety.

     STEPHEN BROWN and DAVID WANLESS report for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

NATIONAL CRISIS CONTINUES AS OPPOSITION LEADER MORGAN TSVANGIRAI PULLS OUT OF ELECTION

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader decided Sunday, 22nd June, to pull out of next week's presidential run-off after reports of intimidation and a ban on foreign aid groups which also impact thousands of Christians in the country.

     In a statement, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai decided there was no fair chance to stand against incumbent President Robert Mugabe as at least 70 opposition supporters have been killed in the run-up to the 27th June poll.

     Tsvangirai has been arrested five times in the past month and his lieutenant, Tendai Biti, is in police custody facing a treason charge that could carry a death sentence.

     STEFAN J. BOS of Bosnewslife, reports...  | more...|

They tackle everything from the abolition of slavery, the plight of children living in Colombia, and the global sex trade through to the inspiring story of South African farmer Angus Buchan and the Biblical stories of Moses and Esther.

     Such is the programme of the inaugural Faith On Film Festival, a joint initiative between national cinema chain Hoyts and film distributor Heritage HM.

     The festival, which kicks off in Sydney on 12th July, showcases nine films, all of which have an aspect of faith to them, and even includes two world premieres - The Disposable Ones, a documentary which follows former NRL star Jason Stevens as he travels with Christian child sponsorship ministry Compassion to Colombia to see first hand the plight of the nations children, and the I Heart Revolution, a documentary which follows the band Hillsong United as they tour the world over an 18 month period.

     DAVID ADAMS reports on the inaugural Faith on Film Festival which it is hoped will become an annual event ...  | more...|

Global refugee numbers have hit an historic high with the United Nations saying there were as as many as 11.4 million refugees worldwide and a further 26 million people displaced internally by conflict or persecution at the end of last year.

     Key factors have included the ongoing conflict in Iraq where the number of internally displaced people rose from 1.8 to 2.4 million over the course of the year and the ongoing concerns about climate change.

     Releasing the figures this week ahead of World Refugee Day (20th June), Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that the world continued to face a series of complex challenges that could force even more displacement of people.

     On this World Refugee Day, DAVID ADAMS reports on the world's growing refugee numbers...  | more...|

FOR PREVIOUS:

World Refugee Day to prick the conscience of the Christian church...  | more...|

The Zimbabwean woman who sat next to the general secretary of the World Council of Churches telling her story was quite blunt. "Please don't write my name - if it is known I will be killed," she said at the meeting moderated by the WCC general secretary, the Rev. Samual Kobia. The following day Zimbabwean women told the United Nations in Geneva they are watching a "silent genocide" unfurl in their country.

     "We, the Zimbabwean women and women worldwide, urgently call for an end to the violence in Zimbabwe and for the protection of women and girls in this post election catastrophe," they in a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council's June hearing, as their southern African country gears up for a presidential run-off on 27th June.

     "The violence persists and is real. No election observers are yet in the country, despite our calls, appeals, cries to the Southern Africa Development Community, the African Union, and to the United Nations," the women said on 12th June.

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

In Dublin between 19th and 30th May, 110 governments negotiated a new international treaty, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, that will ban cluster munitions that “cause unacceptable harm to civilians”. Australia was part of the negotiations.

     While not perfect, this treaty will help on the path to getting rid of a class of weapon that has resulted in thousands of civilians being killed and maimed. The next step will be to get as many countries to sign up to the treaty as soon as possible.

     The Rudd Government is to be commended for its support in developing the new international treaty. It is hoped the Australian Government will be amongst the first to sign the new treaty when it is opened for signature in December in Oslo.

     Dr MARK ZIRNSAK, national co-ordinator for the Australian Network to Ban Landmines and the director of the Justice and International Mission Unit, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, Uniting Church in Australia, examines what the new treaty means...  | more...|

World Environment Day this year should pierce the minds of more Australians than ever before. As we feel the pinch at the petrol pump our leaders are flinging solutions at us like tax cuts and biofuels. In the meantime, across the globe there is a massive food crisis brewing that is already threatening 100 million people.
      The two patterns are intimately linked. In our quest for fuel we are creating a global food shortage and driving the world's poorest towards a famine.
      It is incumbent on rich developed nations like ours to radically rethink the way we live on this planet. There is plenty for everyone, but we will not feed the poorest in the world if we do not change the way we act both globally and locally.

     On World Environment Day (June 5th), TIM COSTELLO, chief executive of World Vision Australia, says we must change the way we're using the planet's resources if we are to truly address the world's food crisis...  | more...|

Last month in Westminster Cathedral, I set out the purpose of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. It will concern itself with the six leading faiths: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jewish. Today we launch the first of a series of partnerships to give effect to that purpose.

     Let me describe the reason for this Foundation. The world is undergoing tumultuous change. Globalization, underpinned by technology, is driving much of it, breaking down boundaries, altering the composition of whole communities, even countries and creating circumstances in which new challenges arise that can only be met effectively together. Interdependence is now the recognised human condition.

     So, the characteristic of today's world is change. The consequence is a world opening up, and becoming interdependent. The conclusion is that we make sense of this interdependence through peaceful co-existence and working together to resolve common challenges.

     On 30th May, former British Prime Minister TONY BLAIR launched the Tony Blair Faith Foundation in New York. The Foundation aims to bring together people of different religious faiths to tackle global issues like poverty and conflict and promote respect and understanding between followers of major religions including Christianity. Here, in a speech Mr Blair gave at the launch, he outlines why he believes religious faith has a key role in changing the world for the better...  | more...|

More than 40 key leaders from around the globe will be traveling to Uganda - a refugee “hot spot” - to stand in solidarity with suffering refugees, and join together with the African church on World Refugee Sunday.

     World Refugee Sunday 2008 promoted by the Refugee Highway Partnership (RHP), will be held on Sunday, 22nd June, for the purpose of uniting the churches around the globe in prayer in an effort to remember the millions who have been displaced.

     Originally launched as a cooperative network within the World Evangelical Alliane (WEA) in 2001, the RHP is a unique blend of individuals, churches and organizations around the world who are working to assist refugees at diverse points along their journey. Through World Refugee Sunday, RHP seeks to engage people of faith on refugee issues.

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

NEW HOPE FOR AID DISTRIBUTION IN BURMA

Relief agencies have joined with governments around the world in cautiously welcomed news Burmese authorities have agreed to open up the nation to international aid assistance.

    Late last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the country’s leader, Senior General Than Shwe, had agreed to allow international aid workers into the worst affected areas within the country.

    “I am encouraged by my discussions with Myanmar’s leadership in recent days,” Mr Ki-moon said on Sunday. “They have agreed on the need to act urgently. I hope and believe that any hesitation the Government of Myanmar may have had about allowing international humanitarian groups to operate freely in the affected areas is now a thing of the past.”

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

SOUNDBITE: 22.5.08 - Phil Wilkerson, associate overseas program coordinator at TEAR Australia, was in Burma the week after the cyclone struck. He talks to DAVID ADAMS about the situation in the country then and now. Click here to download the MP3 file (17 mins/3.9 MB)... | more...|

FOR PREVIOUS COVERAGE OF THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN BURMA... | more...|

They’re not your average couple. Well, she routinely saws her husband in half using a chainsaw, for a start.

     Meet Tim Ellis, 45, and Sue-Anne Webster, 43, two of Australia’s most high profile performing magicians.

     Mr Ellis has been working in the industry for more than 30 years and his wife for more than 22. While their faces may be familiar to many thanks to their decades of work, not to mention Mr Ellis’ more than 80 TV appearances, what you may not know is that they are both committed Christians.

     Mr Ellis, who grew up in Melbourne, first encountered magic when he was about 10-years-old and his grandfather gave him a magic set.

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

Tetsuo Nakajima was once a powerful leader in Japan's yakuza, the country's organised crime syndicates. But now the former gangster is a pastor who tells his compatriots that anyone can kick a life of overindulgence and turn over a new leaf.

     "What matters in life is who you meet and what to believe in to live," said the Nakajima, the pastor of NAOS International Christ Church, an evangelical denomination, in Tokyo speaking to a group of mainly young people in the Japanese capital.

     He started going to church in 1988 for his marriage to a Korean Christian woman and later turned to Jesus. Ten years later, he was invited with another ex-yakuza pastor, the Rev Keisuke Suzuki, to the National Prayer Breakfast with then US president, Bill Clinton.

     HISASHI YUKIMOTO, of Ecumenical News International, reports...  | more...|

Religious believers in Turkmenistan don't have freedom. We can be raided as we meet for worship, and be stopped and searched anywhere. But one of the biggest problems we face is not being able to freely maintain public places of worship. You cannot build, buy, or securely rent such property, let alone put up a notice outside saying "This is a place of worship". Officials won't give a place of worship legal status as such - I don't know why. All kinds of obstructions are imposed, whether through rules or just in practice.

    Some places of worship do exist. Mosques and Russian Orthodox churches are usually reasonably visible and known as such. Within the capital Ashgabad [Ashgabat] the handful of registered non-Muslim and non-Orthodox religious communities are able to meet quietly for worship, however insecure their arrangements, though not in a formal place of worship. Other faiths - and those of us outside the capital - have it more difficult.

    In an essay first published on Forum 18 News, a Turkman Protestant writes about the lack of religious freedom in the Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan... ...  | more...|

More than 140 international Christian leaders signed a joint declaration on Israel's 60th anniversary calling for a just peace between Israeli and Palestinians. The declaration was released to the media to coincide with Israel's celebration of the anniversary on 8th May.

     "We urge all those working for peace and justice in Israel/Palestine to consider that any lasting solution must be built on the foundation of justice, which is rooted in the very character of God. After all, it is justice that 'will produce lasting peace and security'," they said, quoting from the prophet Isaiah (32:17) in the Bible.

     The Christian leaders called on all those working for peace to commit themselves to a "courageous settlement" which would honour both peoples' "shared love for the land, and protect the individual and collective rights of Jews and Palestinians in the Holy Land."

     JUDITH SUDILOVSKY, of Ecumenical News International, reports...  | more...|

It’s almost 10 years since OM’s mission ship, the MV Doulos, was in Australia. But later this year the ship - which, having been built two years after the Titanic, is the world’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship - will return to the land downunder in late July for a three month visit aimed at raising awareness about the work it’s involved in.

     “The purpose of the visit is to raise missionary awareness among the church’s young people: to let them know that the day of mission is not over; that they don’t just have to go on three week short-term missions but they can go longer,” says Sam Scott, director of recruitment and training at OM Australia.

     “We want to...preach the Gospel and raise awareness of OM throughout Australia because a lot of people have heard of the Doulos but they don’t know that the parent organisation is OM.”

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to OM's Sam Scott about the mission organisation and the return of the MV Doulos to Australia later this year...  | more...|

The National Day of Thanksgiving - officially held on 10th May - represents an opportunity for all Australians to give thanks - both to God and to their fellow citizens.

     Given it's followed by Mothers' Day this year, the day particularly celebrates the contribution of mothers and all those people throughout our respective communities who nurture, train, teach, mentor or care for babies, children and youth - workers and volunteers in babies and children's homes, foster carers, child care and pre-school staff , staff and volunteers working in youth shelters, school teachers and chaplains, youth workers, sporting team coaches and administrators.

      So, why not tell the world what you have to be thankful for?...  | more...|

Sight spoke to a couple of people who participated in last year's National Day of Thanksgiving...  | more...|

For more information on the National Day of Thanksgiving, visit www.thanksgiving.org.au.

Christian Surfers Australia held the Jesus Pro Am at Manly's Queenscliff Beach in early May with Maroubra surfer Blake Thornton taking our the honors in the Open Men's division and Yvonne Byron from Figtree in Wollongong winning back-to-back titles in the Open Women's...  | more...|

There is a “growing need” for the church in Zimbabwe “to speak and be heard” and give leadership to the people of the southern African nation, according to a new report from two international ecumenical bodies.

     The report, written by a delegation from the World Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches who spent a week in Zimbabwe to observe the 29th March elections - a process which was hampered by government limitations placed upon them, concludes that the 2008 elections were “far from being fair and free”.

     The report says that although the 29th March was generally characterised by a "peaceful atmosphere" on the day itself, “violence, intimidation and outright confrontation” were all employed in the run-up to the election, food was used as  a "political tool" and media coverage was skewed in favor of the ruling party.

     DAVID ADAMS reports on international calls for an end to Zimbabwe's ongoing political impasse...  | more...|

It's an oft-cited reason why we shouldn’t give aid to poorer nations: that corruption in developing nations makes giving them foreign aid simply a waste of money.

    While previous reports have shown that foreign aid can be effective and corruption held in check if the correct checks and balances are in place when aid is given, a new report from the Uniting Church in Australia goes one step further in addressing the issue. It takes a look at what developed nations - and, in particular, Australia - is doing to help fight corruption on a global level and what improvements it needs to make.

    Dr Mark Zirnsak, director of the Justice and International Mission Unit at the Uniting Church's Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, was one of the co-authors of the report - From Corruption to Good Governance - which was produced with assistance from TEAR Australia and the Micah Challenge campaign.

     “We wanted to go a step further - we wanted to look at what role do developed countries play?...” he says. “Not just looking at the developing (country) side of it but giving recognition to the fact that it’s a global problem.”

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

     Having courted controversy around the world, the Olympic Torch Relay arrived briefly in the Australian capital of Canberra last week on its way to Beijing. RAMON WILLIAMS was on hand to record the day...  | more...|

The national day of commemoration of those who sacrificed in times of war immortalised on the 25th April each year - Anzac Day - has become much more than a symbol of a battle. The current generation of new adults has captured and taken ownership of it in a revived nationalism.

     There was a sentiment across Australia from the ‘60s and into the '80s that downgraded Anzac Day. Some have put this down to the anti-Vietnam sentiments, exacerbated by the feeling of abandonment by its veterans; but it began long before that when the post war baby-boomers, only ever experiencing affluence, disassociated themselves from their father's and grand father's war exploits.

    Their sentiments were often encouraged by the war veterans themselves, who ached for peace and who never spoke about their war experiences because they either wanted to forget, or they wanted to protect their own children from the horrifying aspects of anything to do with war.

     MARK TRONSON writes about how our perceptions of Anzac Day are changing...  | more...|

THE BIG PICTURE: AN ANZAC'S VIEW

     The National Archives of Australia have published on online exhibition of 41 photographs of Anzac Beach and its surrounds, taken in 1915 by  three young servicemen: George Downes, Arthur James Cook and Henry James Lowe. Here, we publish six of the images in the exhibition...   | more...|

A thousand people from the ranks of Australia’s “best and brightest” gathered in Canberra on the weekend and talked. And talked. And talked.

     And, at the end of it, the Government was given a list of “big ideas” which included everything from creating a ‘community corps’ to allow university students to reduce their HECS debts through voluntary work to developing a bionic eye, holding a comprehensive review of tax laws and becoming a republic.

    As the dust from the summit settles, the inevitable criticism has come - some delegates voice complaints about not having their ideas heard while senior Liberal figures dismiss the event as a stage-managed ‘Festival of Kevin’. Others, however, are united in seeing the experience as a worthwhile undertaking, not only for those who were at the summit but for the nation.

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

Migration is a fact of life. It is as much an instinct to survive as it is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. We can neither turn our backs on it, nor control it. It will have decisive consequences for the world as we know it and a massive impact on the church and the ecumenical movement both at the local, regional and global levels. We need not, however, react with hysteria and fear. Migration is as much a part of who we are as it is a part of the history that has shaped us.

     However, if states continue to speak only of ‘migration’ and not ‘migrants’, then migrants will continue to be exploited as nothing more than cheap labour for factories or slave labour for construction sites. If populist politicians and media outlets continue to brand migrants and refugees as ‘illegals’, ‘aliens’, ‘queue jumpers’ and ‘bogus’ asylum seekers, then migrants will continue to suffer from the racist, discriminatory and xenophobic undercurrents in every society. If we as churches only see migrants as victims, then we undermine their strengths and their resilience. If source countries only consider emigration as a loss - a brain drain - then migrants will be discouraged from returning and the potential ‘brain gain’ will be lost.

     From 14th to 16th April, the Middle East Council of Churches hosted a public hearing in Beirut, Lebanon, on the impact of migration. Below is the text of a statement released by the Middle East Council and the World Council of Churches following completion of the hearing, the first of eight to take place on the issue over the next few years...  | more...|

In March, the price of rice in the West African nation of Ivory Coast was more than double that of the same time last year. The situation was similar in Sri Lanka and worse in Bangladesh where they had increased by two thirds during the same period.

     From Uganda to Tajikstan, rising food prices are plunging the world’s poor into even greater desperation and have already resulted in riots in at least 10 countries in the past month - the most recent being in Haiti where five people have died and the prime minister was ousted.

     The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization have called for urgent measures to address the escalating situation, noting that there are now food crises in as many as 37 nations around the world.

     DAVID ADAMS reports on an issue of global concern...  | more...|

The Australian Christian Lobby is calling for a nationwide public campaign to promote marriage in its submissions to the upcoming national 2020 Summit.

     The ACL has also called for a range of policy actions to strengthen marriages including the introduction of free vouchers for marriage preparation courses and parenting courses, the remodelling of welfare and tax systems to eliminate disincentives to marriage and an increase in the support available through Family Relationship Centres.

     “People should be assisted to learn how to achieve lasting love and lifelong commitment in relationship through marriage, with more government support for marriage preparation, education and counselling,” the ACL says in its submission.

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

Dr Sylvia Collinson was only eight-years-old when her long association with Scripture Union began.

      “It began with reading Scripture Union notes at the age of eight...” the 62-year-old recalls. “We had a little mission sort of thing at Sunday school and you had to put up your hand if you were going to be a Christian and I did. I came home and my mother said 'Well now, if you are a Christian, you'll have to start reading the Bible for yourself. Here are some Scripture Union notes to get you started’. It was kind of a pattern in the family and we just realised we were old enough and that just become a pattern in our lives."

     The relationship has continued ever since - Dr Collinson went on to complete as many as 10 beach missions with the organisation and in more recent times has served on the boards of both South Australia (as vice chairperson) and Western Australia (as chairperson). Earlier this year, Dr Collinson, a former primary school teacher who these days lives in Baulkham Hills in Sydney, was appointed chairperson of Scripture Union Australia.

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to Scripture Union chairperson, Dr Sylvia Collinson, about her long involvement with the organisation... | more... |

ESSAY: MARTIN LUTHER KING - THE POWER OF PROMISE OVER REJECTION

As we mark the death and remember the work of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, it does us good to ask what it was about him that has made his legacy so enduring.

     This son and grandson of Baptist ministers became the pastor of a local church, little dreaming in his early pastoral days that he would soon be leading a movement of black Christian leaders - and later people of all races - who would inspire radical change to America's long-standing racial divide.

     Most people think of King as a great activist, a campaigner for  human rights. However, he was, by his own admission, first and foremost a man of God, a minister of the Christian Gospel.

     MAL FLETCHER reflects on the life of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr... | more... |

INSPIRING LIVES: MARTIN LUTHER KING - AN UNFORGETTABLE FIRE

On 4th April, many people around the world, and in the south of the United States in particular, will observe the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

   When I first began to explore Dr King’s life in my late teens, I saw a man whose passion, faith and conviction I wanted for myself. Here was a man who gave his life to the kingdom of God, who from the bottom of his heart was totally committed to what was right. In the spirit of Moses of old, he boldly confronted the powers that be with the cry ‘let my people go’.

     Dr King drew his inspiration from people like Gandhi, as well as from Jesus himself. His conviction that it was redemptive non-violence that would save his nation and bring justice to his people was what drove him to his dying day. That and his faith in the power of love, a love both inspired by the example of Jesus and driven by the power of the Spirit.

     In the first of a new column on inspirational people, NILS VON KALM reflects on the life of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, as the world marks the 40th anniversary of his death... | more... |

It’s the largest celebration of Easter in this country; it heralds a kaleidoscope of music, debate, art and extreme games in one destination, boasts it’s very own ‘canvas’ city, and has people from across this nation and around the globe flocking to southeast Queensland by the tens of thousands. In 2008, this event turned ten, embraced a new name and evolved....no longer just a festival at Easter; it’s a festival about Easter.

     For some, it was difficult to let go of ‘AGMF’ - the acronym affectionately pulled from the ‘Australian Gospel Music Festival’, as it was known until this year.

    “We thought it was great how people were so passionately supportive of the old ‘AGMF’ name – some even turning up this year in special t-shirts and with signs! It shows that people really have a commitment to this festival,” says Isaac Moody, CEO of the newly-named Easterfest.

     HAYLEY MILLER reports... | more...|

His African tales of Precious Ramotswe, the traditionally-built first lady of crime-stoppers and private detectives in Botswana, have been best sellers all around the globe.

     Sales of his No 1. Ladies' Detective Agency have exceeded 15 million and it has been published in 42 languages. Now the novel that made the Zimbabwe-born Scottish academic turned writer, Alexander McCall Smith, one of the world's most successful authors, reached a new audience last Easter Sunday when the story was shown to millions of BBC television viewers.

     The television version of his best-known book features not only the American R&B singer Jill Scott as Bataswana sleuth Precious but also the bishop of Botswana, the Rev. Musonda Trevor Selwyn Mwamba. The bishop plays a village priest enrolled by Precious to halt the spread of crime in diamond-rich Botswana, which neighbours South Africa.

    TREVOR GRUNDY, of Ecumenical News International, reports... | more...|

ESSAY: THE REAL JESUS OF EASTER

This week, the BBC began its long-awaited three part series called, simply, The Passion. It looks, from various perspectives, at some of the dramatic events during the last week of Jesus' life, leading up to his trial and crucifixion.

     The writer has taken some liberties along the way with regard to the story. There are clear departures from the narrative given in the Gospels, which are our major historical source for information about the man Jesus of Nazareth.

     However, I get the feeling from the one part of three that we've seen thus far, that the writer and director have tried at least to depict the humanity of Jesus - and what impending crucifixion must have meant for him. At least the story is being told.

     In an age of rampant secularism and religious plurality some would argue that poetic license with a story like this one is par for the course.

As Christians all around the globe prepare to celebrate Easter, MAL FLETCHER takes another look at Jesus' claims about who He was and what He'd come to achieve... | more...|

YOUTUBE: Watch Mal Fletcher talking about why

Jesus was unique HERE...

ESSAY: DON'T 'CRUCIFY'  VULNERABLE AUSTRALIANS
"As Easter approaches this year, Australian Christians and Australian churches will retell and reflect on the great Gospel events - the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As we look back on the Gospel story that, more than any other, gives meaning and purpose to all we do, it is important also to look to the present and future and to re-examine our motives and priorities in the light of the central Gospel event."

    Rev Dr Ross Clifford, president of the Baptist Union of Australia, says Easter represents an opportunity for political and church leaders to examine themselves... | more...|

AUSTRALIAN CHURCH LEADER'S EASTER MESSAGES

Easter messages from Australian church leaders... | more...|

Violence has escalated in the last few weeks. What is your response?

"We are very concerned about the escalating violence and any loss of life, whether that be the Palestinians who have been killed or the Jewish seminarians. It is deeply concerning and a great tragedy."

What kind of role do you see Evangelicals playing in the present crisis?
"We have to pressure everybody in the region to promote peaceful resolutions to the current crisis. Otherwise we could get into a new cycle of violence. Violence breeds violence so we need to find a way of stepping back from that and encouraging political and religious leaders to stand for peaceful resolutions."

Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of the World Evangelical Alliance, has returned from the Holy Land after a weeklong visit to give encouragement to Evangelicals and other Christian communities in the region, and promote peaceful resolutions to the conflict among Israeli and Palestinian political leaders. In an interview supplied by the WEA, he talks about his trip... | more...|

As we approach Easter and remember the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, we are reminded again of the consumerist madness of the sale of untold amounts of chocolate that we ‘must’ buy for our family and children. Whilst there is something I like about the idea of giving at times like Christmas and Easter, in these days when we are made more aware than ever of the consequences of our purchasing choices, we need also be aware of the power that we have to exercise our choices wisely, in ways that will benefit the most vulnerable people in the world.

     If we are going to buy Easter eggs this year, have a think about where the chocolate is coming from and what processes are performed to have that sweet tasting stuff in our hot little hands. Much of the chocolate that we eat is the result of trafficking and child labour in cocoa farming in West Africa. We are the grateful recipients of a long process that keeps thousands of the world’s poor in a state of helplessness and vulnerability.

     NILS VON KALM writes about a World Vision campaign to raise awareness about where our chocolate eggs will be coming from this Easter... | more...|

We are all guilty of collective punishment. This is a serious allegation, as collective punishment is condemned by the Fourth Geneva Convention, and classified as a war crime. Yet we are all complicit in it, either consciously or subconsciously, and all guilty of causing the dangerous consequences that it results in.

     In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the term ‘collective punishment’ is used quite frequently, so it is important to define it clearly. Collective punishment means punishing a whole group of people, for the actions of some of the members of the group, regardless of whether or not they are responsible for the offense. In a recent Haaretz article, Bradley Burston noted how both Israelis and Palestinians make use of collective punishment, and how the innocent residents of Gaza, and of cities like Sderot, are the ones who suffer as a result of it. For the majority of Gazans, living confined in squalid conditions, often without food, water, heating, and ever fearful of Israeli military strikes, it is clear that they are suffering because of the actions of others, such as Hamas attacks against Israel that they had no part in. Their situation was recently made far worse by the Israeli closure, or siege, that even further limited their access to the bare essentials needed to survive.

     JOSHUA KORN, publishing manager at Musalaha - a non-profit, Jerusalem-based organisation that promotes reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, writes that only by "tapping into God's love" can we reverse the trend of dehumanisation that occurs in contexts such as that now playing out in Middle East...  | more...|

Frances, a woman aged around 50 who lives in the West African nation of Sierra Leone, would barely say a word - and certainly not smile - when Australian surgeon Dr Judith Goh met her in 2004.

     Three decades ago she developed a genito-urinary fistula during a prolonged labour and, like many of the estimated 100,000 women who develop the problem around the world every year, found herself shunned by her family and friends, embarrassed by her subsequent incontinence. 

     Dr Goh, who was working with a surgical team at a permanent fistula hospita in the nation's capital of Freetown run by international charity Mercy Ships, says that the fistula was able to be closed during an operation.

    Dr Goh describes the transformation of this small, thin woman: “Frances was sent home with a new dress, as a symbol of a new start. The farewell ceremony involved dancing and singing with music, African-style. Frances danced and sang, and I felt privileged to have participated in her care."

     Marking International Women's Day on 8th March, DAVID ADAMS speaks to Queensland's Dr Judith Goh about her work in tackling the problem of obstetric fistula among Africa's women...  | more...|

It’s more than five months since tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Burmese cities and the nation’s military regime responded with a bloody crackdown which left an official death toll of 10, although sources within Burma put the actual figure at many times that number.

     While there remains hope that the so-called 'Saffron Revolution' heralds the start of a journey toward a new era for Burma, London-based human rights organisation Christian Solidarity Worldwide says in a recent report that the nation continues to “deteriorate into further political, human rights and humanitarian crises”.

     In particular, the report, which follows a recent two week fact-finding visit to the Thai-Burma border region and Malaysia by CSW members, cites the assassination of 14th February of the general secretary of the Karen National Union, Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, as a “major setback” for the Karen people and the entire movement for democracy in Burma.

     As Christians all around the world mark the Global Day of Prayer for Burma on 9th March, DAVID ADAMS speaks to Christian Solidarity Worldwide's Benedict Rogers about what's been happening since last year's violent crackdown ...  | more...|

HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

Want to see change in Burma? Help build international pressure for change by having Your Say HERE...

Church leaders in Kenya have welcomed the announcement of a power-sharing agreement between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga as an important step to ending a two-month political crisis in the east African country.

     "It is good news for Kenya," the Rev. Peter Karanja, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, told Ecumenical News International on 28th February.

     "Any agreement signed between the top two portends good and peace for the country. It is a framework for starting the work on the real issues," Karanja said.

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

FOR MORE ON KENYA:

INTERNATIONAL CHURCH DELEGATION URGES COMPROMISE

A top level international ecumenical delegation has met with key figures in the Kenyan crisis, asking them to move on from their dispute over the 27th December presidential election and seek out a compromise solution.

    The seven member delegation - sent by the World Council of Churches - visited the strife-affected East African nation for five days in late January and early February.

    DAVID ADAMS reports on the recent visit of a World Council of Churches delegation to Kenya...  | more...|

VIOLENCE LEAVES NATION REELING

More than 700 people dead and countless injured in what can only be described as horrific attacks. More than 250,000 people displaced from their homes.

     The toll in terms of lives and properties damaged or destroyed in the violence that swept across the Kenya following a presidential election in late December is staggering and has led many observers around the world to wonder what it will mean for the East African nation in the long-term.

    DAVID ADAMS speaks to Kenyan Emily Kagiri, director of Compassion International's Child Survival Program, about the recent violence...  | more...|

Ten per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds in Australia - 168,000 young people - are binge drinking every week.

     That’s among among a bevy of startling findings released at an Australian National Council on Drugs national press conference held in Sydney earlier this week.

     The council, which is calling for more support for families coping with Australia’s burgeoning drug problem following a new report looking at the issue, says that as well as binge drinking, one in seven secondary school children have used cannabis in the past year and one in 25 have used amphetamines.

     It also says latest estimates show that at least 451,000 children are living in a household where they are at risk of exposure to binge drinking by an adult and that 78,000 children live in households with at least one daily user of cannabis.

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

Larry Norman, the original “Jesus Freak”, died in Salem, Oregon, early on Sunday morning after a long battle with heart problems.

     With his long blonde flowing hair, Norman was a true pioneer of Christian rock music with hits like Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music and I Wish We'd All Been Ready.

     For years, he was a permanent fixture on Hollywood Boulevard, where, despite being a star with Capital Records, he would spend his days and nights sharing one-on-on with the lost youth of Hollywood about the love of Jesus Christ.

     He is also credited with inventing the "One Way To Jesus" finger-pointing sign.

     But in recent years, Larry was battling serious health problems and he finally passed away on Sunday morning, 25th February.

    DAN WOODING, of Assist News Service, reports...  | more...|

“I’ve learnt to accept the impossible from God.”

     That’s how David Bussau, co-founder of micro-enterprise development organisation, Opportunity International, answers when asked how he responds to the countless amazing stories he's heard of how micro-enterprise development is transforming the lives of people living in poor communities all around the world.

     Stories about families who have been able to buy their children out of bondage thanks to a job created by a growing enterprise or who have been able to hold a wedding ceremony they’ve never been able to afford thanks to a small loan. Or like that of a Ghanian man, who borrowed money to start a poultry farm and who, now the largest poultry producer in the nation with a staff of 4,000 people, recently stood for the position of the nation’s president.

     “(I)t doesn’t surprise me when these outcomes happen,” the 67-year-old says. "I get joy out of seeing it happen but I’m not really surprised by it...You can look at the spectacular and you can look at the normal and they’re both significant from God’s perspective.”

    DAVID ADAMS speaks to 2008's Senior Australian of the Year, David Bussau...  | more...|

On 7th February, the day after the Christian penitential season of Lent began, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, took up his cross in a new and unforeseen way.

     Just when many thought his greatest challenge and burden in the first part of 2008 was the fragmentation besetting the world-wide Anglican Communion, a firestorm has erupted in Britain itself over his comments in a lecture at the Royal Courts of Justice and a related BBC interview concerning possible application of Sharia, the Muslim legal tradition.

     The reactions of the British press and public to his reflections have pushed gay American bishops and strident African fundamentalists well onto the backburner.

    In an article first published on the ABC Unleashed website, ANDREW McGOWAN takes a look at the controversy surrounding the recent comments made by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, concerning Sharia law...  | more...|

ESSAY: AUSTRALIA, ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES. NOW THE REAL WORK BEGINS

It is a rare sight to see the Australian people - and, with some exceptions, the Australian Parliament - so united. But this is an issue that will not go away; an issue that Australia as a nation must - must - address.

     Wednesday morning’s apology was a watershed moment in Australia: for the first time we had a Prime Minister apologise to the stolen generations for the injustices they, and the indigenous people of Australia as a whole, have suffered.

     “To the stolen generations, I say the following: as Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry,” Mr Rudd said in his speech. “On behalf of the Government of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the Parliament of Australia, I am sorry. I offer you this apology without qualification.”          

     DAVID ADAMS reflects on this week's apology... | more...|

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO SAY SORRY? REACTIONS AND COMMENTS...

“It is a day that Australia has an opportunity to come of age. Symbolic reparation is important in dealing with the past. A formal apology which recognises and expresses sorrow for the deep pain and hurt of Indigenous children who were removed from their families, and for the anguish of families and communities who were traumatised by the removal of their children, provides the opportunity for a process of genuine healing to begin."
      - Dr Philip Freier, Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne.

We asked a range of prominent Christians why it's important to say sorry. Here's their responses and some more general reaction to the national apology... | more...|

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE APOLOGY AND SPEECHES BY PRIME MINISTER KEVIN RUDD AND OPPOSITION LEADER BRENDAN NELSON? HAVE YOUR SAY HERE...

THE NATIONAL APOLOGY

"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

     "We reflect on their past mistreatment.

     "We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

     "The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

     Read the full text of the historic national apology read in the Australian Parliament on 13th February plus links to both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader's speeches... | more...|

HOPES THAT SAYING SORRY TO THE STOLEN GENERATIONS IS 'JUST THE FIRST STEP'

“An awakening of the Australian conscience.”

     That’s how Graeme Mundine, executive secretary of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) - the peak ecumenical indigenous body in Australia, characterises the national apology to the stolen generations that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd read in the nation’s Parliament House last week.

     “It’s something that’s been long overdue. It’s an awakening of the Australian conscience about what took place for Aboriginal people - specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of the stolen generation; that these things did take place and that Australia is beginning to recognise and accept that wrongs were committed in the past.”

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to Graeme Mundine, executive secretary of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC), about what the national apology to the stolen generations means...  | more...|

FOR MORE ON THE NATIONAL APOLOGY TO THE STOLEN GENERATIONS...

ESSAY: THE HEARING OF 'SORRY'
It is now ten years since the release of Bringing Them Home, the report of the national inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. Prime Minister Rudd now intends to apologise to members of the Stolen Generation, in contrast to former Prime Minister John Howard’s response, which the Labor Party has always considered to be inadequate.

    In a paper written for the Social Issues Executive at the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, ANDREW CAMERON, ANDREW FORD and LISA WATTS examine why it seems so important for ‘sorry’ to be heard from the lips of the nation’s leader, and what the sticking-points against saying it are...  | more...|

Gustavo Cabezas has a novel, perhaps revolutionary, idea. He is working to start a gang in one of San José's poorest areas - a gang for Jesus.

      “There are many reasons that a kid joins a gang,” Mr Cabezas says as he shows a visitor around the New Horizon’s center in the La Carpio area. “Most are the product of a disintegrating family. Others come because they think that there are no opportunities for them in the community, And, studies show that six out of ten kids join a gang to pass the time.”

     To address these needs and prevent gangs from growing in this low-income community made up primarily of poor immigrants from Nicaragua, Mr Cabezas and the team from Christ for the City International have established the New Horizons center on the edge of town.

    In an article first published by Assist News Service, KENNETH D. MacHARG reports on a mission which is transforming lives in the central American nation of Costa Rica...  | more...|

Celebrating a 60th birthday for some is a milestone marked by visions of retirement - celebrating achievements and dreaming of new endeavours. The World Council of Churches (WCC), however, on its 60th "birthday" in 2008 does not want to rest on past feats as it looks ahead to the challenges of the 21st century. The largest, most inclusive fellowship of churches in the world, and the pre-eminent face of 20th century ecumenism, is grappling with a very different world today - politically, economically, religiously - than the one it faced following the Second World War.

     The WCC came into formal existence on 23rd August, 1948, in Amsterdam, where the delegates of 147 churches from 44 countries met to participate in the first and founding assembly. While the gathering was impressive for its unprecedented diversity, with representatives from Anglican, Old Catholic, many Orthodox and nearly all Protestant churches, the inauguration was also notable for the absence of the world's two largest churches, the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church.

    SARA SPEICHER reports...  | more...|

The natural historian Sir David Attenborough this week explained why he does not mention God in his award-winning TV programmes.

     The revered presenter of such groundbreaking series as The Living Planet and producer of the classic Life on Earth, told The Times: "I tend to think of an innocent little child sitting on the bank of a river in Africa, who's got a worm boring through his eye that can render him blind.

     "Now, presumably you think this Lord created this worm, just as he created the hummingbird. I find that rather tricky."

     Attenborough has, of course, touched on one of the great dilemmas facing people who believe in God - and perhaps particularly Christians, who believe that God is love.

     How can a wise, just and above all compassionate God allow a situation in which such injustice can occur?

     There are no easy answers to this conundrum. However, it is worth noting that atheism offers us no explanation for the presence of evil in the world or any hope for the eventual redemption and restoration of the natural order - both of which Christianity does.

    MAL FLETCHER says that while people have grown up believing science to be the "bastion of atheism and naturalism", for a sizeable number of scientists today, the complexity of our universe is pointing to a "creator of some kind"...  | more...|

What's your main reason for writing Journey of a Princess? Is there a particular event which inspired you to write it? 

     "So many of our heroes are based on their Hollywood status; the dress size they squeeze into; their lip size; the brand of hand bag they carry - and there are so many amazing heroes all around us who are incredibly inspiring and are doing things that impact our world and are changing the course of history - but if we don't know about them, how can we be inspired by them? Journey of a Princess is a book that I wanted to read but couldn't find on the book shelves. There are some great books out there but I wanted a book on girls who had done and were doing things that I could relate to; not necessarily a girl who grew up wanting to be the prom queen or the college cheer leader."

     Australian Carolyn Donovan is an internationally known model, writer and speaker. Released last year, her book, Journey of a Princess, features a range of women - including Olympic swimmer Jessicah Schipper, performers Marina Prior and Darlene Zschech, surfer Tara Ryan and the indigenous art world’s Heather Blacklock - sharing where they find inspiration and how they have achieved success. She speaks with CHARLOTTE DURUT...  | more...|

NASA's Messenger spacecraft provided a new view of Mercury, the closest planet to our sun, this week when it flew past and snapped some images of previously unmapped portions of the planet. Here are some of the stunning images Messenger captured during the flight...   | more...|

Pastor Sidheswar Digal was making Christmas preparations on 24th December when he heard a mob howling anti-Christian slogans outside his house.

     "When I came out, I saw our people running away into the jungle. They urged me, 'run', and I joined them," said Pastor Digal. He said his Assembly of God church was destroyed by a 600-strong mob which destroyed all three churches in Pobingia, his, a Baptist and a Roman Catholic place of worship.

     In the Orissa state capital of Bhubaneswar on 10th January almost 10,000 people protested against the Christmas attacks on Christians. Rally speakers called on the Orissa state government to stop making allegations purporting that Christians are linked to an outlawed Maoist rebel movement. They also demanded that Christian churches and groups be allowed to provide direct relief to victims.

    ANKO AKKARA reports for Ecumenical News International...   | more...|

IMAGE: ANN WOJCZUK

CHRISTMAS MESSAGES FROM AUSTRALIAN CHURCH LEADERS... | more...|

PHOTO ESSAY: CHRISTMAS IN SYDNEY

RAMON WILLIAMS takes a look at Sydney during the festive season ... | more...|

THE (BRIEF) SIGHT GUIDE TO CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS

Tired of giving gifts that end up in a cupboard forgotten about or on a shelf gathering dust? Here’s our guide to some of the options now available for people who want to give a gift with a difference...  | more...|

MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS PAST

A WHITE CHRISTMAS IN IRELAND

There was a year in southern Ireland when the snow had fallen so thick that the landscape seemed dusted with icing for weeks. I love the snow and would stand out in the flurry for hours until my hat and gloves would go damp with settling flakes. Bare skin would prickle madly and the cold of the hundredth snowball would eventually nip its way through the knitting turning my fingers zombie sallow.

     The fir trees that lined the border of our home quickly donned majestic caps of white powder and the golf course across the drive way made great sledging grounds for make shift sleighs and toboggans. Sentinels of snowmen would eerily sprout to the surface and stay their glistening watch at the centre of every field and yard. Mallow, county Cork, was the one horse town that was home to my family for four years, and every December the tinsel and wreaths would be aired, smothering what there was of the shoebox hamlet in shiny flecks of green and red, silver and gold.

    We've asked a number of Sight's regular contributors to tell us about their favorite memories of past Christmases. CHOE BRERETON recalls Christmas in Ireland...   | more...|

SHARING LIVES TOGETHER IN SUBURBAN MELBOURNE

Growing up a child of German immigrants, we used to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. As I think back to those days growing up in south-eastern suburbia in Melbourne, memories are rekindled of good times with family (as well as a little disillusionment!).

     Each year throughout my childhood, my brothers and I would leave letters for Santa asking what we would like for Christmas, being sure to convince him that we had indeed been good boys throughout that year.

    NILS VON KALM talks about precious times spent with family...   | more...|

YOUR SAY: What are your favorite Christmas memories? Have Your Say HERE...

“For me, architecture and music are sort of intertwined together a little bit. They’re both creative passions where you dream up something that doesn’t exist and then you go about a disciplined process of making it real and sharing it with other people and having it hopefully evoke an emotional response with people.”

    Such is the view of Edwin Derricutt, a New Zealand architect who has also forged a career as a musician and singer-songwriter, recently releasing his debut solo album, Symmetry, to the Australian market.

     He explains further: “Whether you’re standing in an amazing house or an amazing room and the architecture makes you feel a certain way or whether you’re listening to a song that I’ve created and that affects you and gives you an emotional response and helps you think about things - they’re both things that excite me and so I’ve never been able to completely put either one of them down. I think they complement each other.”

    DAVID ADAMS speaks to New Zealand artist Edwin Derricutt...   | more...|

One of the criticisms commonly levelled against Answers in Genesis is that the organisation simply picks and choses from science what supports its worldview and ignores that which doesn’t. What’s your response to that?
“When people say that to me, I say ‘OK, let’s first of all define what you mean by science?‘ because when people use that word, what do they actually mean? If you look up a dictionary...the root word for science is knowledge, having knowledge, and what we’ve got to understand is that there is a big difference between knowledge gained by observation using our five senses...(and) knowledge concerning the past.

      In part two of the interview, Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham talks to DAVID ADAMS about the definitions of science, the origins of Answers in Genesis and future plans for the museum...  | more...|

"The purpose of the Creation Museum is basically to uphold the authority of the Word of God and to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And the way in which we do that is geared towards this age - answering the sceptical questions of this age that cause people to question...the Bible’s authority. So what we’re really doing is helping people understand the history in the Bible is true, particularly in Genesis 1 to 11 but really all the way through the Bible...(I)t’s more than just a museum about creation or evolution, it’s really a whole walk through Biblical history...”

    In late May, US-based Biblical apologetics group Answers in Genesis opened the doors of its $US27 million Creation Museum in St Petersburg, Kentucky. Now six months on, in the first of a two part interview DAVID ADAMS speaks with the group's Australian founder, Ken Ham, about the museum and his views on creationism, evolution and intelligent design...   | more...|

Global warming and associated climate change has been referred to as an environmental challenge, and an economic challenge. Before it is either of those things, though, it is a moral challenge.

     The poorest countries and communities - who have done least to cause the problem of climate change - will suffer its effects earliest and worst, while the wealthiest countries - who are largely responsible for the problem through 150 years of carbon-intensive development - will be shielded from these effects by virtue of their wealth. And because climate change will become increasingly severe as the temperature gets warmer, then the longer we go without taking strong, cooperative action, the greater the risk that we will condemn generations as yet unborn to pay the social, ecological and economic debt on the tab we are now so recklessly running up.

    Writing from the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, BEN THURLEY, national advocacy coordinator at TEAR Australia argues that signing the Kyoto Protocol is just a first step in addressing climate change...   | more...|

Australian youth rate concerns about body image as their biggest worry in welfare charity Mission Australia’s annual national survey young people’s attitudes.

     Almost 29,000 males and females aged between 11 and 24 took part in the online survey - Mission Australia’s sixth - with 95.5 per cent of them aged between 11 and 19.
     Asked to rank 14 issues with regard to the level of concern they felt for each, 32.3 per cent of respondents - both males and females - rank body image in their top three, followed by family conflict (29.3 per cent) and coping with stress (26.9 per cent).

    DAVID ADAMS reports on the findings of the latest Mission Australia survey of young Australians...   | more...|

ESSAY: FEDERAL ELECTION '07 RESULTS - WHAT DO THEY MEAN FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE?

When voters went to the ballot box on Saturday, 24th November, it marked the end of an era of Australian political history, with the nation’s second longest serving Prime Minister forced to bow out. Labor’s decisive win over the Coalition will have a significant effect on the future of our nation. As would be expected, the result has sparked a great deal of election analysis. But what does the outcome signify from a Christian perspective?

     To begin with, it is important to congratulate Kevin Rudd and his ALP team on their election victory and to recognise that Labor’s decisive win has given the party a clear mandate to govern. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) hopes that the injection of new talent that the election brings to all sides of politics will be good for the country. We are also thankful that a number of Christians have been elected or re-elected as new ALP MPs or senators.

     JIM WALLACE, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, reflects on the weekend's election results ...  | more...|

ELECTION RESULT: YOUR SAY SPECIAL

Following the election of Labor's Kevin Rudd as Australia's 26th Prime Minister after more than 11 years under a Coalition Government led by Prime Minister John Howard, we've created a space for you to have your say on the election and its result, HERE

FOR SIGHT'S PRE-ELECTION COVERAGE, CLICK HERE...

When police caught up with Isaiah (not his real name), the young Wellington, New Zealand, gang leader had a six month history of robberies and burglaries. Although only 15, he headed a youth gang with 150 members, had an established criminal career and was prison-bound.

     While facing his court case, his aunt called him. “As a last hope, they wanted me to join this choir with my sister and my brother,” he said.
      Meeting Kotuku Choir director Sharon Thorburn at an audition was the turning point in his life.

     “She asked me a simple question: ‘Who are you?’.

     In an article first published in New Zealand's Challenge Weekly, JOHN McNEIL speaks with Sharon Thorburn of the Kotuku Choir...  | more...|

It was trip to the East African nation of Uganda almost two years ago that proved a key turning point for Levi McGrath, opening him up to the power of music in a way he’d never seen before.

     Mr McGrath, who has recently released his debut album Move, is a 21-year-old musician and singer from Victoria. He had been performing and writing music for years before he and his then girlfriend (and now wife) Megan, driven by a desire to help address the injustices they saw in Africa, spent three months in Uganda over from late 2005 as part of an African trip that also took them to Kenya and Rwanda.

     Working with a non-government organisation based just outside the capital city of Kampala, the couple were involved in teaching kids such things as computer and soccer skills and putting on concerts in local villages where Mr McGrath would play his guitar and they’d tell the children Bible stories using pictures they'd made.

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to Levi McGrath...  | more...|

"Church unity is like riding a bicycle. We will fall unless we go forward." This affirmation was posed as a challenge by Korean missiologist Wonsuk Ma to participants at the Global Christian Forum taking place in Limuru, near Nairobi, Kenya.
      In a keynote address delivered on the second day of the forum, Ma analysed Christian developments in unity and mission over the last century. He affirmed that in Christian mission, the seemingly contradictory emphases on "life before death" and on "life after death" - which have separated "mainline" and "evangelical" Christians for decades - are actually complementary and in need of each other.
     Ma's presentation was considered both provocative and stimulating by many at the forum, which included some 240 church leaders from Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical, and Pentecostal and other churches and interchurch organizations from around the world. The event, which took place from 6th to 9th November, is being described as one of the most inclusive Christian gatherings ever to advance Christian unity and explore common challenges.

     JUAN MICHEL reports from last week's Global Christian Forum in Nairobi, Africa...  | more...|

Having recently celebrated the life and work of William Wilberforce, some religious leaders have called abortion-on-demand the 'new slavery'; the human rights issue that will define our generation's place in history.

     It is 40 years since abortion became legal in Britain.

     The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, warns that abortion is increasingly being seen as the easy option for women, perhaps just another form of contraception. In the process, he says, British people risk losing sight of the sanctity of life.

     Australia, where there are believed to be up to 100,000 abortions a year, is not the only nation facing what has locally been called an "epidemic" of abortions.  Writing from London, MAL FLETCHER takes a look at the worrying trend for abortion-on-demand...  | more...|

Singer Steve Grace writes of a trip he made to Solomon Islands where God taught him about what it means to worship in the midst of great hardship. Rebecca St James writes about how time she spent in Rwanda opened her eyes to what it really means to forgive. Angela Saleh, one of the owners of the Gloria Jeans Coffee franchise, speaks of the time she was filled with joy when visiting some of her sponsor children in Brazil.

     Their stories about how God used an encounter with the poor to transform their lives are just some of 48 accounts contained in a new book, Blessings of the Poor: 48 Stories of Faith, Hope and Joy, produced by Christian child development organisation Compassion Australia.

     Featuring contributions from Compassion workers including international chief executive Wess Stafford as well as high profile Christians such as singer UK-based singer- songwriter Graham Kendrick, evangelist J. John and US musician Phil Keaggy as well as Hillsong identities Darlene Zschech and Bobbie Houston, the book is organised into categories with stories grouped according to what the incident related teaches about helping the poor - from love and faith through to worship, hope and forgiveness.

     DAVID ADAMS talks to Compassion Australia chief executive Paul O'Rourke about a new book celebrating lessons the poor can teach us...  | more...|

A film documenting the Apollo moon project using rare footage from NASA contains numerous spiritual references pointing to the existence of God.

      In the Shadow of the Moon opened in the US on 7th September to positive reviews, including a 'Critic’s Choice' designation by the L.A. Times and an award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

     “It’s a film about the experience of going to the moon told by the people who went - in their own words,” says David Sington, who directed the film.

    One of Sington’s associates got acquainted with Dave Scott, commander of Apollo 15 and the first man to drive on the moon. “They wanted to organise a reunion of moonwalkers,” Sington says. “That grew into an idea of doing a reunion on film.”

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

At the core of both Christianity and Islam is the double command to love God and neighbour. Earlier this month, 138 Islamic leaders wrote to the Pope and "leaders of Christian churches everywhere" saying world peace depended on recognising that.

     The letter, which some scholars hailed as unprecedented, was signed by Grand Muftis, theologians and academics from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Europe and the US, representing Islam's Sunni, Shiite and Sufi traditions - and scores of millions of followers.

     Written to build bridges and defuse tensions, the letter was sent at a highly symbolic time, the Eid festival that celebrated the end of Ramadan last weekend. Titled A Common Word Between Us and You, it says: "Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world's population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world.

     In an article first published in The Age newspaper, religion editor BARNEY ZWARTZ says a letter from Muslim leaders to Christian ones can be a start for dialogue...  | more...|

Matt Madigan confesses to be an ordinary man spurred beyond normality into extraordinary circumstances by a God-inspired 40 day fast. He also confesses that he is no writer.

    “I have never written anything over 3,000 words before,” he admits. So when he felt God speak to him about writing his new book This Chosen Fast - a 200 page account of the gripping and inspiring journey he experienced over 40 days of fasting, he never dreamt that the outcome would cause countless lives to be irreversibly transformed.

     The story began at ‘The Call - New York’. The prayer and fasting gathering held on the 29th June, 2002, in New York’s Flushing Meadow saw 100,000 people gather in the 37 degree heat of peak summer and crying out en masse to God for the city and the American nation. Among the multitudes were Mr. Madigan and his family who, stirred to go by God in November 2001, had made their way to the Big Apple.

     CHOE BRERETON speaks to author Matt Madigan about how a 40 day fast led to him write a book to inspire others ...  | more...|

REVIEW: PUTTING FASTING IN A "WHOLE NEW LIGHT"

For anyone who has never fully grasped the purpose of prayer and fasting or the highly understated benefits that it can bring, This Chosen Fast is guaranteed to set even the most seasoned of sceptics straight. The book, written by Matt Madigan is the result of a personal and unexpected life-changing journey brought about through forty intense and compelling days of fasting.
       CHOE BRERETON reviews Matt Madigan's book, This Chosen Fast... | more... |

A coalition of 68 human rights, welfare and aid organisations have signed an open letter to the Australian people in which they urge people to “stand up in support of African refugees who have resettled in Australia”.

     The letter, which was published as a half page advertisement in The Australian newspaper this week, calls on Australians to support the further resettlement of refugees from Africa and their reunification with family members and for the strengthening of services to ease their transition to Australia.

     “We celebrate the positive contribution African refugees make to Australia - to our communities, our workplaces, our economy, our culture and our society,” the letter says.

   It goes on to say that it’s Australia’s responsibility “to provide protection to refugees regardless of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, political opinion and despite limited previous access to education.”

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

It is easy to be overwhelmed by despair when we witness scenes of violence against unarmed, peaceful protestors such as have been beamed out of Myanmar over the last week.

    Much has been made of the technological revolution that has meant that while a 1988 crackdown unfolded behind a curtain of secrecy, today's events are leaking out of the country and into the hands of the world's media.

    Brave demonstrators have been joined by savvy bloggers and amateur cameramen, some just using mobile phones, to report on events as they unfold.

   Yet frustratingly the technological revolution hasn't been enough to avert the violence. Indeed despite international criticism of the violence there is still yet to be a peaceful resolution.

    The United Nation's envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, has held talks with Myanmar's military leaders but as yet there is still no word of a breakthrough.

  So is this the extent of the impact of our global interconnectedness? Is it only able to highlight events as they unfold but not affect them? Is it only good for beaming images from across the globe of violence and injustice but it has no power to end them?

    TIM COSTELLO, chief executive of World Vision Australia, writes of his "sincere hope" that the globalisation of today's marketplaces will lead to improvements in human rights...  | more...|

Garry Hardingham loves a sunburnt country. And he knows it with the depth of one who's seen crows flying backwards.

     Rev Hardingham, you see, is the latest in a long line of outback padres established in Cloncurry by the Reverend John Flynn.

     Flynn of the Inland rode camels so he could not have imagined the scene by the road near Boulia last month where Rev Hardingham boiled the billy for a couple of elderly tourists from Melbourne.

   They had seen his land and parked their new four-wheel drive and caravan for a natter. What did these good folk want to talk about in the midst of that dusty plain - a place that hasn’t been soaked in about eight years?

    The drought, of course.

     PHIL SMITH speaks with Queensland's 'flying padre' Garry Hardingham...  | more...|

UPDATE: CHRISTIAN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP WELCOMES EU SANCTIONS

The European Union has agreed to impose targeted sanctions against Burma’s military regime following the recent crackdown on protesters in the Asian nation.

     The measures include a ban on investment in and imports of Burmese timber, metals and gems.

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

Christian leaders and agencies have joined with world leaders in calling on the international community to ensure that the push for political reform continues in the Asian nation, following a violent crackdown on recent mass anti-government protests in Burma.

     At least nine people have reportedly been killed - including a Japanese photographer - and hundreds arrested as Burmese security forces sought to end protests, involving thousands of Buddhist monks, in Rangoon and other cities in a move which has prompted a chorus of condemnation from nations around the world.

    The US has responded by strengthening existing sanctions while the Australian Government has flagged the introduction of targeted sanctions which would freeze the Australian-held assets of members of the Burmese regime and ban officials and supporters from using Australian financial institutions - moves Prime Minister John Howard says are aimed at underlining Australia’s “dismay” concerning the violent crackdown.

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

SIGHT-SEEING: REMEMBERING BURMA

The human hunch is a powerful indicator that things are not right. And so it was when our group stepped across the border from Thailand into Burma. It was my first trip overseas and I had been confronted with HIV, leprosy and poverty in Thailand along with the exuberant smiles and graceful hospitality of the Thai people.

     ADAM KELSALL finds memories of a trip to Burma several years ago have come flooding back... | more... |

From the farms and rolling hills of Pennsylvania’s serene Amish countryside where five young schoolgirls were killed a year ago, to an immersion into the inner-city violence of Philadelphia, a World Council of Churches Living Letters delegation learned first-hand of the profound tragedy that can suddenly impact everyday life. But they also saw “rays of light” where forgiveness and reconciliation are helping to create a more humane society.

     Members of the team, on a nine-day visit in September to meet with US church and community leaders in several cities, include a South African ecumenical leader, a public health specialist from Lebanon, a Brazilian ecumenist and a human rights lawyer from Pakistan. At each place they visit they talk about the violence experienced in their own countries and listen to stories of those who work for peace and justice in the United States.
       The visit of the four-member team, called “Living Letters,” is part of an initiative by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to mobilise churches around the world to seek peaceful alternatives to violence. The WCC’s Decade to Overcome Violence will culminate with an International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in 2011.

     JERRY HAMES reports on a bid to mobilise the peace-makers...  | more...|

While you’re hearing stories of persecution, you’re also hearing stories of the miraculous ways in which God is moving around the world which must be encouraging?
“That is encouraging and there are many things that I don’t understand. I’m an engineer and all I can say is that God’s ways are so much higher than my ways. What I‘ve found in speaking with pastors, even those who been tortured, is that they’ll say ‘Yes, it was painful, yes, it was terrible, but Jesus was with me; the presence of God’. Somehow God gives that supernatural strength, that anointing, that enables them to survive and brings them through. We cannot estimate the power of prayer. I heard a Russian, Alexander, who wanted me to thank all our supporters for praying for him. Now he spent 10 years in a Siberian jail and, as you can imagine, it’s very cold in Siberia. He said ‘I knew when Christians were praying for me, I could feel the warmth of their prayers. Your prayers kept me warm in that cold jail’. He said: ‘Thankyou for your prayers that I survived and thankyou for your prayers, that I am free. And thank you for prayers’ - because we had a seven year prayer campaign for communist Russia at the time that finished in 1989 when the wall came down - ‘thankyou that because of your prayers, there’s no more communism - the Iron Curtain has come down’. And that’s the power of prayer.”

     In part two of the interview, DAVID ADAMS talks with Pastor John Jones, Sydney-based director of Open Doors Australia, about how the role of the organisation is evolving, how people can become involved with its work and the power of prayer... | more...|

PART ONE OF THE INTERVIEW...

    DAVID ADAMS speaks to Pastor John Jones, director of Open Doors Australia, about the persecution of Christians around the world and how the organisation is helping to support them...  | more...|

Australia has a “shameful” record when it comes to policies on prostitution and is breaching its obligations under international conventions, according to Gunilla Ekberg, a world expert on prostitution and the trafficking of women.

     Ms Ekberg, a former adviser to the Swedish Government and now the Brussells-based co-executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International, says Australia is “seen as one of the shameful countries when it comes to prostitution”.

     She says the decriminalisation of prostitution in Australian states such as Victoria and New South Wales means it is in breach of it’s human rights obligations under international agreements such as the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women which says nations have to work against trafficking in prostitution.
      In Australia this week at the invitation of the Prostitution Law Amendment Working Committee - a coalition of groups fighting against a bid to decriminalise brothels in Western Australia, Ms Ekberg advocates against decriminalisation of the industry and for the adoption of measures to combat prostitution such as those which have proved successful in Sweden - measures which she played a key role in seeing introduced in the Scandinavian nation in the late Nineties.

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

"Manners matter and character counts!" That's the message of Judi, The Manners Lady, the award-winning entertainer who is sweeping North America and capturing childrens' hearts with her exciting music and vital message of kindness and respect - especially this September as families, schools, churches and communities in Canada celebrate National Manners Month.

      "Just imagine what America, or what Britain or Canada could look like, if for one month we were intentional about focusing on manners, respect, integrity and thankfulness in our families, business dealings, school life, athletics, and in our churches?" challenges The Manners Lady.

     "Marriages could be healed as husbands feel respected and wives feel appreciated. Family tensions eased as children express gratitude to their parents rather than whining and complaining. Road rage would disappear. Employee relationships would be smoother and clients would love the great customer service. Athletes would play fairly and the school yard bully could be won over by kindness."

    MICHAEL IRELAND, of Assist News Service, speaks to Judi, The Manners Lady...  | more...|

UPDATE: TAKING "BABY STEPS" TOWARDS HELPING THE POOR

The APEC leaders’ meeting finished with statements on a number of economic issues which will affect the poor. The statements had some positive aspects but were long on aspirational goals and short on actual targets.

     The official communiqué called for a revival of the Doha round of trade negotiations designed to lower barriers to trade. This round of talks, begun six years ago, would have benefits for poor agricultural nations which at present must compete with produce from heavily subsidised farmers in some rich nations.

   AMANDA JACKSON, national coordinator of Micah Challenge Australia, reflects on the outcomes of last weekend's APEC meeting...  | more...|

Amid all the hoopla in Sydney surrounding this weekend’s APEC meeting, some 50 Christian leaders have called on Asian Pacific leaders not to forget about “the poorest and most vulnerable” within their region.

     In a statement to APEC leaders - who include US president George W. Bush, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Hu Jintao, the ‘Micah Challenge Australia Panel of Reference’ urged them to “measure the success” of their deliberations and the effectiveness of any policies they adopt “by the benefit they bring to the poorest and most vulnerable within (and without) the borders of the 21 APEC countries”.

     “We believe that every APEC initiative should be assessed against this standard,” they write. “Economic growth and free trade are not ends in themselves, but merely servants in the task of reducing poverty and achieving sustainable and equitable human development”.

    DAVID ADAMS reports on calls for the APEC leaders to remember the least fortunate...  | more...|

“This album is accessible to people. It is a blue-collar Christian album. It is not something where you have to be a highbrow person." So says David Bellamy of The Bellamy Brothers’ new CD, Jesus Is Coming.

     The duo, David and Howard, first splashed the charts in 1976 with the pop song, Let Your Love Flow, a tune that occupied the number one spot on charts in the United States, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Germany. David then wrote Spiders And Snakes, another mega hit, only this time recorded by Jim Stafford. It was followed by the number one hit, If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body (Would You Hold it Against Me?). The Grammy Award-winning Bellamy Brothers are in that elite group of artists whose music is just as popular in Europe and North America and their popularity has not waned despite the fact they are now in their fourth decade of recording and performing.

      JOE MONTAGUE speaks to David and Howard Bellamy about their most recent album, Jesus is Coming...  | more...|

REVIEW:

The Bellamy brothers, Howard and David have gone from writing the Jim Stafford hit song Spiders And Snakes, to the dogs. Well, sort of. The chart-stopping duo whose signature song Let Your Love Flow, went all the way to number one in 1976 has recorded songs with titles like Lord Help Me Be The Kind Of Person (My Dog Thinks I Am), Old Hippie III (Saved) and Drug Problem on their debut Gospel album Jesus Is Coming.
JOE MONTAGUE reviews Jesus Is Coming... | more...|

For Brendan Wade, Queensland state livestock manager for Landmark - one of Australia’s largest sellers and suppliers of livestock, the reason for the company’s support for the Stock Up for Hope Charity Drove is clear. It’s all about helping young people.

      “Landmark’s business is rurally based and we have 400 branches spread across remote areas, areas where we have younger people who have some adjustment issues,” says Mr Wade, whose managerial territory canvases Queensland and the Northern Territory.

     “Getting involved with the Stock Up for Hope Charity Drove is our way of contributing towards putting chaplains in rural areas and supporting the advocacy of the organisers for helping people. ”

      CHOECHOE BRERETON reports on the Stock Up for Hope Charity Drove...  | more...|

'All in all it seems to go, but you don't know what you got till it's gone', first sung by Joni Mitchell in 1970 could well be the theme song of Sonora Dodd, the founder of Father's Day.

     The US-born Sonora Louise Smart Dodd was 16 years of age when her mother died in childbirth with her sixth child. Sonora was her mother's only daughter and shared the burden with her father William in the raising of her five younger brothers. Sonora was so inspired by her father's sacrificial love for his children that she held him in great esteem.

    When she heard a church sermon about the newly recognised Mother's Day, Sonora felt inspired to give fatherhood recognition as well. She approached the Spokane Ministerial Alliance and suggested that her own father's birthday, Sunday 5th June, be the day to honour fathers. The Alliance chose the third Sunday in June instead and the first Father's Day in the world was celebrated on 19th June 1910 in Spokane.

      With Australia preparing to celebrate Father's Day this Sunday, WARWICK MARSH, founder of the Fatherhood Foundation, argues that the notion of fatherhood is being reclaimed in Australia...  | more...|

WARWICK MARSH gives his tips on better communication for fathers...  | more...|

YOUR SAY: How do you celebrate Father's Day and why?...  | more...|

The recent media expose of Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and his “error of judgment” highlights the fickle nature of both politics and public opinion. I have been staggered to read and hear that most Australians aren’t bothered by Rudd’s escapades of some four years ago, noting that it makes him seem more like a normal guy. Others say it was four years ago and is no longer relevant or important. Was he not a senior politician at the time? Am I the only one bothered by his actions in going drunk to a strip club? Have our standards slipped so far that this is regarded as normal? If so, I am clearly way out of touch.

     And yet, at the same time I am reminded that as a Christian, even as a human being, there is a need to be forgiving and gracious. An attitude that embraces the understanding that all of us as humans are prone to error, none of us are above or beyond personal failings, and as such, there must be a willingness to forgive, a willingness to avoid mere judgmentalism, lest we also be judged as we judge others. There is a very real tension that exists between acknowledging failures and their consequences, and simply ignoring personal issues based on the “we all make mistakes” perspective.

      RUSSELL STUBBINGS writes of the tensions between acknowledging failure and offering forgiveness in the wake of the recent media storm surrounding Kevin Rudd's behaviour in New York four years ago...  | more...|

The 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley gives the world again an opportunity to reflect on the challenges and dangers of celebrity.

     The son of poor parents in America's segregated South, Elvis began to experiment with new forms of musical expression - new, at least, for a white boy - at a time when a global phenomenon was being born. For the first time in history, teenagers, particularly those in America, had disposable income to spend as they wished. Weary of war and upheaval, their parents wanted for them a quality of life they themselves had not enjoyed as young people.

     Wherever there is money, there are creative marketers to help people spend it. In the Fifties, young people were invited to spend their money on 'teenage' movies, pastimes and all manner of new toys, such as the roller skate, the surfboard and so on.

    MAL FLETCHER reflects on the life of Elvis...  | more...|

What happens when God speaks to a teenager who listens, and says, “Yes”?

     This is not an Old Testament quiz about Samuel or David. It’s not a reflection on the Gospel accounts of Mary. Nor is it a present day hypothetical. This is the story of a young man with a big plan for the Brisbane River Stage in October this year.

     James Hempenstall is 14-years-old, often limited to his wheel chair and feeling the effects of an inoperable brain tumour. His eyesight is now impaired as a result of chemotherapy, but his hearing is sharp. Wheeling himself around school last year he felt God’s presence like a gentle pressure his chest.

     “I heard a voice”, says James. “It was Jesus. He said he had a mission for me and asked if I’d take it on.”

     Perhaps it’s significant that James said “Yes” before he asked what the task was.

     James’s mission is to support the Starlight Children’s Foundation in its work helping seriously ill and disabled children.

    PHIL SMITH reports on James Hempenstall's efforts to make the world a better place...  | more...|

No date has yet been set for the upcoming federal election. But you could have been excused for thinking you were in the middle of a campaign this week.

     Addressing a room filled with Christian leaders from across the nation on Thursday night, both the Prime Minister, John Howard, and Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd, were in spruiking mode - Mr Howard telling of the Government’s achievements and Mr Rudd explaining how a Labor government would change the way the nation is run.

     The men were speaking at a special event convened by the Australian Christian Lobby at the National Press Club in Canberra. Between 80,000 and 100,000 Christians were estimated to be watching their speeches in more than 700 locations around the nation via a webcast.

     Mr Howard took the opportunity to announce some of the details of his Government’s $189 million plan to protect children online. Under an expanded ‘NetAlert’ package, the Government would provide free internet filters to every family as well as public libraries in Australia to reduce the threat of exploitation of children online and the risk of exposure to inappropriate material.

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

FOR MORE:

Forum indicative of importance of Christian constituency, says Australian Christian Lobby head...  | more...|

YOUR SAY: Did you watch the forum webcast from a church or community centre? What did you think? Have your say here...  | more...

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is today found within the narrow streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, surrounded by the current walls of the city which are only about 500 years old. The church itself is fairly unimpressive, often crowded and dark and full of pilgrims from all parts of the world. The church is run by six denominations that have had, at times, a volatile relationship. It is claimed that this church is built on the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and the tomb where He was placed prior to His resurrection. But is this so? Let’s examine the evidence.

     There has been a Christian church on the site since the time of the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. The first church was erected as result of a visit to the ‘Holy Land’ by Constantine’s mother Helena in 325 AD after the site was made known to her by Eusebius. Eusebius was the bishop of the coastal city of Caesarea, some 90 kilometres away.

      As controversy continues over James Cameron’s documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus , ALVIN JOHNSON takes a look at the evidence behind the long-held view that Christ’s tomb was, in fact, located on what is now the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem...  | more...|

FOR MORE ON THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS:

The Lost Tomb of Jesus: Titanic director courts controversy with claims Christ's tomb may have been found...  | more...|

Essay: The Jesus family tomb - a faith-growing opportunity?...  | more...|