Forget the flowers or chocolates, Oxfam Australia is offering the chance to mark Valentine's Day this year with the gift of piglets or chickens.    

     The gifts cost between $35 and $38 and provide poor families with a source of income to help them escape the cycle of poverty. They come with limited edition cards (pictured left) which can be given to your loved one to mark the occasion.

     Noting that Australians have spent more than $800 million on Valentine's Day gifts in past years, Leigh Stewart, Oxfam Australia's fundraising manager, says the gifts offer a meaningful alternative for those wanting to avoid the consumerism typically associated with the day.

     The cards can be purchased at Oxfam shops or via the Oxfam Unwrapped website until 14th February.

Millie Campbell, 76 years old, is one of the people praying for New Orleans, a city still recovering from the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster and experiencing a murderous crime wave.

     A couple of times per week, Campbell and her companion Betty Minor, 69, drive slowly around assigned neighborhoods, praying for their city, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune via Religion News Service.

     On a recent trip, Campbell backed her blue Chevrolet away from her spotless brick home. "Oh God," she said, "we thank you for the blood of Jesus." Then she cranked the wheel straight, put the car into drive, and headed slowly up Frenchmen Street, one hand on the wheel, the other turned upward toward the heavens.

     "Touch this block in the name of Jesus," she continued. Also in the front seat, Minor filled in the gaps between Campbell's appeals: "Hallelujah...Glory, glory."

     BRUCE NOLAN reports for ENInews/RNS...  | more...|

Rev Dr Nyambura Njoroge is always reminding herself of the daily lives of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Their battle for dignity and enormous resilience keeps inspiring her while she coordinates World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative for Africa (EHAIA).

     Rev Dr Njoroge is a Presbyterian minister, a leading theologian and ecumenist from Kenya. She has been associated with EHAIA since 2002. This is a project which has accompanied churches in Africa in dealing with HIV through information, training, sharing of resources and networking.
     Amidst the looming challenges of reduced income for HIV work, Rev Dr Njoroge finds her strength from faith, saying that “God is faithful and God’s granary never depleted”. Yet she admits the significance of the challenge, which requires profound reflections.
     For her, the inspiration comes through the “life giving stories” of the people living with HIV, who she says, “manifest courage in the face of enormous challenges, difficulties, stubborn stigma and judgemental attitudes.”

     A report from the World Council of Churches...  | more...|

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has rejected an offer to be released from prison if he publicly acknowledges Islam's prophet Mohammed as "a messenger sent by God", well-informed Christians and rights activists said earlier this month.

      Iranian authorities reportedly summoned lawyers for Pastor Nadarkhani to his home city of Rasht on 30th December to explain the deal. Local officials indicated they would release the pastor if he agreed to make the statement about Mohammed, Christians with close knowledge about the situation explained.

     "However, Pastor Nadarkhani has refused to do so, and remains in prison awaiting a final decision on his case," confirmed advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

     Christians said the pastor has made clear that making the demanded statement about Muhammed would amount to abandoning his faith in Jesus Christ.

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

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IRAN: IMPRISONED PASTOR REJECTS RELEASE OFFER

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

PASTOR'S EXECUTION VERDICT EXPECTED MONDAY; RULING DELAYED

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

Following the devastating cyclone that wrecked havoc in India's southern Tamil Nadu state at yearend, church charities are getting aid to affected families.

     "People are still struggling without electricity, (with) roofless houses and roads blocked by fallen trees," said Florina Benoit, chief zonal officer of Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA). Benoit was speaking to ENInews on 16th January from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, after a weekend visit to the worst-hit remote villages around Cuddalore.

     "We have distributed emergency relief material in 40 villages. But the task is enormous," said Benoit.

     Cyclone Thane pummelled the east coast of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on 30th December, killing nearly 50 and damaging more than 350,000 houses, schools and roads.

    ANTO AKKARA, of ENInews, reports...  | more...|

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OPEN BOOK: TO THE GREATLY FAVORED WOMAN

As we carefully read, and closely attend to, John's first letter, we have confronted the writer's emphatic celebration of love. Agape is nothing less than the purpose of life. It is that which is found within the ever-widening household, a family circle which God is gathering as His own special place of dwelling.

     We have noted to our benefit that the letter informs us of the writer's developing self-understanding, having been conquered by this love, this perfected love (Agape) which banishes all fear (I John 4:18).

     John's letter and all that it contains, and all that it anticipates for the future, is inextricably bound up in the wonderful and life-changing events that he has recounted in his Gospel. He has recounted these things because they have burst in upon him, as the light which scatters the darkness that prevailed before the dawn! And now we read the first of two more personal letters, this one to a "much favoured woman". Such an ascription reminds us of the words of the angelic messenger uttered some decades earlier to the young woman who would give birth to Jesus: "Cast off all fear, Mary, for your are much favoured with God!" (Luke 1:14).

      In his series on the epistles of John, BRUCE C WEARNE takes a look at II John...  | more... |

POSTCARDS: CHRISTIAN AND ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS JOIN TO ADVOCATE AGAINST COCKFIGHTING

A group of theologically conservative American Christian leaders is joining with animal rights defenders to advocate against cockfighting, calling the practice of watching and betting on roosters who fight to the death antithetical to Biblical values.

     "Christians should stand up and speak out against this barbaric practice which horrendously abuses God's creatures," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, in a 24th January statement.

     Concern about cockfighting is focused on the state of South Carolina, where critics of the practice are trying to strengthen the state's laws against it. Though cockfighting is illegal in all 50 US states, it remains a misdemeanor in 11 of them, including South Carolina.

     The Humane Society of the United States describes cockfighting as "a lucrative crime, with gambling winnings offsetting even the maximum misdemeanor fines," and is working with such groups as the South Carolina-based Palmetto Family Council, a Christian advocacy group with ties to national pro-family Christian organisations, to toughen legislation against what some describe as a "blood-sport."

     CHRIS HERLINGER, of ENInews, reports...  | more... |

SIGHT-SEEING: REBUILDING THE FRACTURED FAMILY

Our church has been conducting Good News Week. It runs every day with a wonderful children’s program. Meanwhile in the adult tent, a doctor, a psychologist, a minister and others speak to the hundreds of parents present on issues facing young couples. On my estimate of mothers and fathers attending (including the special men’s evening program) at least 300 couples have been learning in the most practical way how to improve their personal, family and spiritual lives.
      Brett and Kathy are a Sydney couple well known to me. I remember their wedding some years ago. We were all saddened when after three years their marriage ended. They had stopped talking to each other. They spoke at each other. Many had prayed for them and wanted to help.

     But they did not become one of the 39 per cent who end in divorce. They went to marriage counselling, learnt to listen to each other. As their listening skills improved so did their marriage.
      Then on the Nine Network’s A Current Affair they appeared speaking on how their marriage was saved. Brett said: "After 10 years of marriage, I am more in love with Kath than ever." Kathy said "I am more in love with Brett than ever." They committed to beginning again.

     Rev Dr GORDON MOYES looks at the issue of divorce...  | more... |

SIGHT-SEEING: A POST-CHRISTMAS REFLECTION

Perhaps it's just a sign of age, but every year I find the Christmas story more emotionally power-packed than the year before.

     Sure, its celebration has been grossly commercialised, cheapened by over-decoration, by slickly packaged for movies and TV, and even declared illegal in government buildings. And it's been badly eclipsed by the charming 19th century fairy story a New England father wrote for his children. But - so far, at least - it hasn't been completely stifled. Just when it seems about to be replaced by its own trappings, the real story shines through again: a section of The Messiah on the radio, the words of a carol in a shopping mall, a picture on a greeting card, or Linus' moving recital of Luke 2 in Charlie Brown's Christmas.

     What hit me this year harder than ever before was how the central characters of that story are such absolutely ordinary folk going about their everyday lives, and how its message is still for ordinary folk going about their everyday lives.

     Writing from the US, philosopher and author ROY CLOUSER reflects on the power of the Christmas story...  | more... |

WOW! A SNAPSHOT OF THE RICHNESS OF HUMAN LIFE

It took me a while to get around to watching Life in a Day even though I always suspected it would be a movie I should see. It didn’t disappoint.

     Life in a Day is the result of a project - a joint production effort between Ridley Scott’s production company and YouTube - in which people from around the world were invited to video a day in their life – the 24th July, 2010 - and then submit the results to create a documentary which would show life on earth for a single day.

     Some 80,000 clips were submitted and these were culled and collated to produce an hour–and-a-half of documentary footage which was then first aired at the Sundance Film Festival last January. As well as being released in cinemas and on DVD, it's now also available for download free-of-charge on its website.

     DAVID ADAMS is amazed with a unique documentary looking at life in a single day on earth... | more... |

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FILM: FINDING WISDOM AMIDST SUFFERING IN THE DESCENDANTS

In this movie set in the beautiful islands of Hawaii, George Clooney brilliantly plays the role of Matt King, a father who could probably relate a bit to the suffering of Job. His wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) has just had a boating accident, is in a coma and about to die. He then finds out that she had been having an affair. And to top it off, the guy she was having an affair with is about to make a bucketload of cash on a property sale that King is working out with his family.

     The Descendants portrays the dignified response of a man and his family who are experiencing immense suffering. Despite his impending loss and and recently exposed betrayal, King conducts himself with honour, confronting the man who was sleeping with his wife and allowing him to pay a last visit to her on her death bed. King could have punched his lights out, but he didn't.

     And, regarding the property deal, in the end he allows virtue to triumph over cold hard cash by scuttling the deal through his refusal to sign the relevant documents for the sale. King chooses the right way over the more tempting and exciting profitable way. He chooses to keep the property in the family, as the family's descendants would likely have wanted, much to the chagrin of his cousins who are gobsmacked at his seemingly irrational decision.

       NILS VON KALM recommends The Descendants...  | more...|

FILM: HUGO'S SEARCH FOR MEANING

Hugo is an adventure-drama for the family (in 3D), based on a 2007 novel written by Brian Selznick. The movie captivates the audience by its multifaceted themes and messages. The rich content and plot will not disappoint people who want to go beneath the surface of a story and explore the deeper meaning of life.

     Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is a 12-year-old orphan who has just lost his father. He has to live with his drunken uncle in the four walls of a train station in Paris in the 1930s. He continues to secretly run the clocks of the station after his uncle disappears. To survive he has to steal food and constantly hide from the station inspector.

     Life is difficult, but all that Hugo cares about is fixing a broken automaton, a mechanical man who is supposed to write a message with a pen. Hugo believes that the message from this automaton is, in fact, a message from his father.

       SIU FUNG WU enjoys Hugo...  | more...|

BOOKS: DISSIDENT'S BOOK REVEALS "SECRET HISTORY" OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA

Though Western companies, from American automakers to European luxury firms, have recently gained a foothold in China, Western religion has played a role there for much longer than General Motors or Hermes.

     Nonetheless, Christianity's presence in China has been "hidden from the West for many years," says Wenguang Huang in the introduction to his translation of God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China by Liao Yiwu, a dissident writer whose previous book landed him in jail.

     Wenguang reports there are about 70 million practicing Christians in China. "In a society tightly controlled by an atheist government, Christianity is China's largest formal religion," he says in the introduction. But for many years it was severely repressed by the Communist government. The book gives voice to numerous stories - from rural backwaters to big cities - of bravery and faith under extremely trying conditions.

    PAUL BENNETT, of ENInews, takes a look at God is Red...  | more... |

CASTING THE NET: TED

It's all about "Ideas Worth Spreading". Founded in 1984, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is centred on two annual conferences - one in Long Beach and Palm Springs and another in Edinburgh - which, along with a growing number of other initiatives coming under the TED banner, are aimed at bringing together the "world's most fascinating thinkers and doers". Each speaker at the conferences is given 18 minutes or less and challenged to give what organisers call the "talk of their lives". The result is a huge database of more than 900 talks all of which have been videoed and are available for you to watch via their website. It's an amazingly rich place to venture - the talks have long since roamed outside the realm of technology, entertainment and design and now cover an increasingly wide range of subjects

     DAVID ADAMS on a website bursting with inspirational speakers... | more... |

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TRENDSPOTTER: BLOCK YOUR EARS, THE SODCASTERS ARE AMONG US

Mobile phones have become ubiquitous in many parts of today's world and, alongside those who'll interrupt anyone to answer their phone at the drop of a hat, has come the appearance of those who like to broadcast their conversations - or their music - to the world. They're the people who, rather than keep their phone conversations to themselves, speak into their phone in a voice that makes eavesdropping a mandatory, if involuntary, act. Alongside these 'loudspeakers' are those who delight in using hands free phones while they walk, breaking out in sudden conversation in stentorious tones, with who appears to be no-one mid-stride. And then there's the group known as 'sodcasters', defined as people who play music through their tiny mobile phone speakers in a public place, usually being a bus or a plane.

     DAVID ADAMS looks at the rise of the sodcasters... | more...|

ORIGINS: THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST CELEBRATES ITS BIRTH

It’s 40 years this month that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) member states adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, aimed at protecting sites around the globe deemed of international importance.

     The convention was adopted at the 17th session of UNESCO’s general conference held in Paris on 16th November, 1972, and came into force in 1975.

     States who sign the convention – and 188 have, including Australia which was one of the first to sign – agree to identify, protect, conserve and present World Heritage sites.

    DAVID ADAMS looks at the origins of a scheme to protect sites of international significance...  | more...|

SIGNIFICANT SIGHTS: FINDING INSPIRATION IN CAMBODIA

I first visited Cambodia in 2008, travelling with a small group from Bible Society as we visited and I filmed a number of Bible Society projects. I’ve been making television programs and documentaries for more than 30 years and at the time, was communications manager for Bible Society NSW.

     I’ve just returned from my fourth filming visit to the country and I realise that despite the heat and humidity, something I loathe in Sydney, Cambodia holds a special place in my heart.  Each trip has started with a day visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in the heart of Phnom Penh and then the Killing Fields site at Choeung Ek, a few kilometres out of the city.

     Nothing can prepare you for the horror that both sites represent. Up to three million Cambodians were massacred during the Pol Pot era - almost a whole generation wiped out.

     Knowing the history of the country is important in helping the western visitor understand the country today. By wiping out a whole generation, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge army also wiped out the tradition and knowledge that that generation should have passed on to their children and grandchildren.

     MARTIN JOHNSON writes about why Cambodia holds a special place in his heart...  | more...|

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