Giving seeds of hope this Christmas

Your gifts to the Christmas Bowl can help Zimbabwean families facing severe hunger

Beauty and her husband work all day under the boiling sun, but their backbreaking efforts just aren’t enough to feed their children. There are the occasional government food handouts, but there’s never enough to go around. By learning a new farming technique, they could change their lives forever.There are so many farmers like Beauty who are still using the old techniques and struggling to grow enough food to feed their children.

A new publication from The Uniting Church

Uniting Church in Australia has issued an extensive range of papers on Social Justice Issues over the last 40 years. This is the first time that all these papers, decisions and records of the Church over this time have been collected into one volume, from the Church’s first press release calling for a moratorium on uranium mining to current calls for more humane refugee policy.

Caritas State of the Environment Report for Oceania 2016

The latest State of the Environment Report for Oceania was produced in collaboration with Caritas Australia, Caritas Tonga and Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand. The report has found widespread hunger and thirst across the Pacific in 2015/2016. The report also shows that extreme weather events, combined with ongoing climatic changes, are contributing to a severe loss of food and water supplies in the region.

The President and Board of Directors of the National Council of Churches in Australia published a Media Release on 18 October 2016 asking for cooperation to settle the asylum seekers from Nauru and Manus Islands.  

The Media release states "The continuing reports out of both places are a source of deep concern." 

Dear friends

What a very full month this has been.

The visit of the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit was the first such visit since the WCC Assembly in Canberra in February 1991. Since taking up the role of General Secretary in January 2010, Dr Tveit  Accompanied by his wife< Anna, and Dr Katalina Tahaaafe Williams whose role embraces migration, indigenous and multicultural ministry, Dr Tveit included visits to Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide into the packed visit.

Christian Conference of Asia: Lahore – Pastoral/Solidarity Visit October 2 – 7, 2016

“Faithful, courageous, grateful and kind”.

These are the descriptive words which capture my experience of the people we have met. Faithful and courageous, for this is a place where faith is tested by circumstances beyond people’s control. But faithful they remain.

Like the staff in the Bible Society who keep reaching out with the precious Word of God. Their plans are for expansion: New translations, better distribution. Their office is remarkably unprotected in the business district. As is the National Council of Churches in Pakistan (NCCP) Hostel, the Churches and the other offices we visited. Sometimes a sleepy guard at a flimsy gate, if that.

The National Council of Churches writes to the Prime Minister and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

The President and Board of Directors of the National Council of Churches in Australia published a Media Release asking for cooperation to settle the asylum seekers from Nauru and Manus Islands.

The Media release states "The continuing reports out of both places are a source of deep concern." 

Jenny Johnston passed away at the Mater Hospital, Newcastle on Saturday 24 September after a long battle with cancer. The funeral service for Jenny was celebrated at St. Anne’s Anglican Church, Strathfield Thursday, 29th September 2016.

Jenny was an active and passionate ecumenist serving on the NSW Ecumenical Council for thirty years. Jenny had been integral to the frequent visits to Australia of Br Ghislain and members of the Taizé community.

A training day of learning and sharing, facilitated by Mr Budi Thajono, Asia Pacific Coordinator for Franciscans International.

Learn about the United Nations and how to engage with them on human rights.

Date:          Tuesday 8 November

Where:       Mary Mackillop Place 7-11 Mount Street, North Sydney