If you listen to Bob Geldof and Rev. Tim Costello, they would have you believe that Australia’s commitment to foreign aide is embarrassingly stingy.
In an election campaign that is full of promises of tax cuts and bonuses of not seen before proportion, it is worth exploring our place in the international stage.
For those who follow Christ our call is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those who are in sick and the like.
Christian Today explores this issue in a little more detail …
Brides in Stockholm who want their fathers to walk them down the aisle are likely to be told it can’t be done, as some pastors are refusing to allow the practice they say is sexist.
“In Sweden we have worked hard in many different ways to eliminate everything that is unequal,” a Lutheran Church vicar in the Stockholm region, Yvonne Hallin, said.
The Rev John Thomas, president of the US United Church of Christ, has been arrested in a protest about the Iraq war outside the White House in Washington DC.
Wesley Mission has called for an end to discrimination in the workplace, more flexible employment opportunities and increased funding for community based care as part of a 21-point reform plan to address the major issues impacting people with mental illness.
While around 4 million people have fled Iraq in recent times, Sweden is making headlines for being possibly the only country in Europe that could be described as welcoming to those displaced from Iraq.
In particular, Sweden is taking care of teenagers who are alone and desperate, but still make the difficult journey to find sanctuary.
The Uniting Church in Australia has condemned the Commonwealth’s legislative response to child sex abuse in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities.
The church is calling for the Northern Territory Response Act, passed by the Federal Parliament in August, to be repealed.
The final Bethel Pastoral Centre workshop for this year will be held on Thursday October 25th in Balwyn North.
This half day workshop will be led by Dr Rachel McKenzie, Clinical Psychologist from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health. For more details and how to book, visit the Bethel website.
The Bethel Pastoral Centre is a Uniting Church initiative ‘Towards preventing & healing abuse of power within the church’. Bethel Pastoral Centre seeks to be a place where people can rediscover grace, becoming aware of God’s presence in their lives at times of alienation, and be assured of God’s faithfulness and dependability, no matter their state.