CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE

 

CHURCHES TAKE ON THE ROLE OF "HOLDING UP HOPE" AMIDST DEVASTATION

ChristChurch CathedralChristchurch church leaders are working closely to respond to the needs of both church congregations and the wider community after the devastating earthquake.

    Alan Jamieson, senior pastor at Spreydon Baptist Church, said members of the church have lost loved- ones and others were unable to be contacted in the days following the disaster.

     The official death toll from the disaster currently stands at 148 but the number of fatalities caused by the quake was expected to rise as rescuers continued to dig through the rubble.
      Mr Jamieson said the church campus, which was not badly affected by the 6.3 magnitude quake which struck near the city of Christchurch on 22nd February at 12.51pm, was focused on matching up volunteers with needs they have been made aware of.

     In an article first published in New Zealand's Challenge Weekly newspaper, AARON IRONSIDE talks to church leaders in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake...  | more...|

 

EARTHQUAKE MAY BE NEW ZEALAND'S WORST DISASTER

26th February, 2011

The death toll from Tuesday's 7.3 magnitude earthquake in the city of Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island has climbed to 145 with another 200 people still missing.

     Authorities, meanwhile, have said that as many as a third of buildings in the city were so badly damaged in the quake - which shook the city shortly after midday - may need to be demolished.

     Prime Minister John Key has said that the disaster may be New Zealand's worst to date. He's announced a rescue package for those 50,000 who will be left without work as a result of the quake and called for two minutes silence this Tuesday to remember the victims and those who have survived.

    It's believed that as many as 120 people may have died when the CTV building collapsed, including many international students attending a language school there.

     Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said after the quake that Australia would do everything it could to assist "our New Zealand family".

     The Salvation Army in New Zealand has mobilised hundreds of staff and volunteers in the wake of the tremor and is running an earthquake appeal. In Australia, The Salvation Army has also launched an appeal for the Christchurch Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund.

     “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of New Zealand at this time. We understand their needs are great and many are suffering the loss of loved ones,” said spokesman, Major Peter Sutcliffe.

~ www.salvationarmy.org.nz

~ www.redcross.org.nz

~ www.salvos.org.au

 

SHATTERED CHURCHES, GRIEVING PARISHIONERS

In a city named after a place of faith, churches shattered by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake were yielding up their dead on 25th February as clergy and parishioners grieved and searched for places to worship on Sunday.

     The overall death toll from the 22nd February quake reached 113 on 25th February, with more than 200 people missing and hundreds injured. About 600 search and rescue workers, who failed to find any survivors overnight, were working in shifts searching the central city, where several major office buildings were completely destroyed, according to media reports. Estimated damage is $10 billion.

     Rescue workers on 25th February began the grim task of removing bodies from the Anglican ChristChurch Cathedral as hopes of finding survivors faded, according to Anglican Taonga, a publication of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Polynesia, and press reports. Search and rescue experts lowered a camera into the damaged nave but found no signs of life. The cathedral's spire crumbled in the quake, collapsing into a stone tower.

     DAVID CRAMPTON, of ENInews, reports...  | more...|





 

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THEY SAID IT

 

 

"There will be no rush for the exits. Our goal, our strategy, our timetable remain unchanged."

 

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen speaking on 20th May, 2012, at a Nato Summit in Chicago about the proposed withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan (as quoted on www.bbc.co.uk on 21st May, 2012). For previous 'They said it'... | more... |

 

 

 

THIS WEEK ON THE WEB

 

 

6th May,2012

Saliba Sarsar writes in Lebanon's The Daily Star about the decline in the number of Christian Palestinians. You can read Sarsar's op-ed article  - 'Palestinian Christians are disappearing' - here...


For previous 'This week on the web'... | more... |

Sight now has a Pinterest page where you can see some of our images. To see it, head here...

 

 

 

MUSINGS

 

 

JESUS' SENSE OF HUMOUR?...

21st May, 2012

ALAN TAYLOR

Sometimes when I read the Gospels I wonder what it would have been like to travel around with Jesus. There is so much of his life that is not documented.

I wonder about his humour. He must have had a sense of humour. Walking around with a bunch of men all day would be pretty funny at times. Especially with Peter in the group.

Peter was known for speaking first and thinking later. I imagine there would have been laughter over some of the things Peter said. Jesus and Peter would have joined in the laughter too.

Musings is a regularly updated, column featuring short snippets reflecting on daily life from a Christian perspective...  | more... |

 

 

WORLDVIEW

 

 

UGANDAN FAITH LEADERS URGE TRANSPARENCY AFTER OIL DISCOVERY

In Uganda, faith leaders are joining citizens in demanding openness in the handling of recently-discovered crude oil, which is inspiring hope for a better future for the East African country.

The faith leaders, who are uniting under the Inter-religious Council of Uganda, are warning that the laws governing the sector are too weak to guarantee transparency and accountability.

With the government announcing that the oil is potentially worth $US13 billion, the council's chair, Roman Catholic Archbishop John Baptist Odama, said the group wanted a quick review of the laws governing the sector, in order to reflect the interest of citizens.

 FREDRICK NZWILI, of ENInews, reports...  |  more... |

 

 

 

THE WORD EXPLAINED

 

 Wordle

Creation theories - 6. Alternate day and age

Creation theories - 5. Universal flood

Creation theories - 4. Pictorial


| more... |

 

 

 

BLOGS

 



ARTIFACTS FOUND IN CITY DATING FROM KING DAVID'S TIME SUPPORT BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS...
Archaeologists say that artifacts found on a dig taking place at the site of what was a fortified city is Israel give strength to Biblical accounts of King David.

Recent excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, what was a fortified city located in Judah - about 30 kilometres south-west of Jerusalem, have unearthed pottery, stone and metal tools, art and objects used in worship as well as three large rooms which served as “cultic shrines”.

Professor Yosef Garfinkel, of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, says that the architecture of the rooms used for worship corresponds to descriptions of worship practices at the time of King David. In a statement, the university said the discovery “is extraordinary as it is the first time that shrines from the time of early biblical kings were uncovered”.

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

 

THE BURNT HOUSE - MEMORIAL OF JERUSALEM'S DESTRUCTION...
During the excavations that took place in the Jewish Quarter after the Six Day War in 1967, archaeologists discovered the ruins of a house that had collapsed and been burnt by a fierce fire.

Welcome to Beit Katros - the home of an important family of priests who served in the Second Temple and are mentioned in the Talmud. Visitors to the restored ancient site are in for a unique experience: a gripping multimedia, sound and light show dramatically recreates the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Second Temple against the backdrop of the social strife and fraternal division that undermined the foundations of the Jewish nation.

ARIEL BEN AMI, writing for Travelujah, pays a visit to Jerusalem's Burnt House...  | more... |


LOOK LIKE SUPERMAN; A PIZZA OR A CHEESE

-BURGER: AND, THE TWINNING OF DULL AND BORING...

Think you look like Superman? Or perhaps it’s Batman that you reckon you resemble? Whichever you choose, it’s now possible to create an action figure of your favorite superhero complete with your face. Online firm Firebox say they just require you to send through two photos of your face - one from the front and one from the side. They will then use these to create a custom made head bearing your face which can be put on top of your favorite action figure character - everyone from the Joker to Catwoman.

DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life... | more... |

 

OUT OF AFRICA: TAKING YOUR BLESSINGS FOR GRANTED...

I have been thinking a lot lately about how blessed I was living in Australia. Sadly much of that blessing was in a sense ‘lost on me’ because I didn’t see it for what it was. The longer I live here the more I realise the day-to-day difficulties people face in the majority of the world. I am amazed that people are able to keep their hope when so many things seem so difficult.

Things I have always taken for granted - access to water, nutritious food and good medical assistance - are, at times, just not available here. I am horrified at the number of times people come back from our local medical clinic saying that there is no medicine or even occasionally no doctor.

LENA JOHNSTONE's blog about life in Malawi, Africa, where she works with the Mphatso Children's Foundation... | more... |


THE BRAIN ON LOVE...

The New York Times recently had an insightful article on how love affects the brain. To me this is further evidence that we seem to be wired for love. Consider some of the quotes from the article:

• “What we pay the most attention to defines us. How you choose to spend the irreplaceable hours of your life literally transforms you.”

• “All relationships change the brain - but most important are the intimate bonds that foster or fail us, altering the delicate circuits that shape memories, emotions and that ultimate souvenir, the self.”

 NILS VON KALM'S blog on faith, life and how it all might fit together...  | more... |

 

THE STOREROOM: HOW TO ABOLISH SLAVERY? GUEST POST BY THE APOSTLE PAUL...
From Paul a servant of Christ Jesus, and Richard his brother.

So, as I wrote, my hope was that in the homes of the Church in Ephesus the relationships between slaves and masters would be transformed.

Also, I left Timothy in Ephesus and wrote this to him: “We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers – and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, which He entrusted to me.”

Emphasis is mine. Well, actually, the whole thing is mine.

RICHARD THOMAS' sometimes weird and sometimes wonderful 'storeroom' of ideas... | more... |

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