ACL says Gillard abandoning Christian constituency

SMH: The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) says the prime minister's decision to pull out of a speaking engagement to the group's supporters will be seen as an "abandonment of the Christian constituency".

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday withdrew from speaking at the ACL conference in Canberra on October 5 and 6, citing "offensive" comments about homosexuality made by its leader Jim Wallace, who compared smoking to same-sex marriage.

Ms Gillard, an atheist, was due to address the conference on religious freedom in a secular democracy and said the organisation was entitled to its views.

"To compare the health effects of smoking cigarettes with the many struggles gay and lesbian Australians endure in contemporary society is heartless and wrong," Ms Gillard said in a statement on Thursday.

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When is "bearing burdens" just another insurance plan?

When is a Christian ministry designed to "bear one another's burdens" really an insurance plan subject to corporate law? That's the question being considered in the US where an organisation Medi-Share is defending its operation in the state of Kentucky.

According to AP, Medi-Share members affirm a statement of Christian beliefs and pledge to follow a code that includes no tobacco or illegal drugs, no sex outside of marriage, and no abuse of alcohol or legal medications. 

Every month, members pay a fixed "share" to cover the medical expenses of members in need. The cost usually is less than private insurance. The organisation says it helps Christians pay medical bills based on a Bible verse that urges people to "carry each other's burdens." 

However the Kentucky Department of Insurance says that Medi-Share is an insurance plan and should be subject to the same, tighter regulation as that of secular insurance plans.

Read more here

Clubs NSW employs chaplains to patrol pokies

A trial of Salvation army uniformed chaplains patrolling poker machine areas is to begin in the NSW Central Coast Mingara Recreation Club.

The memorandum of understanding between Clubs NSW and the Salvos allows for a chaplain to walk around gaming rooms up to four days a week, being paid $20,000 annually for 15-hours work each week, which includes counselling and home visits as required.

Other arrangements between clubs and churches worth up to $1 million include clubs in north western NSW paying a levy to Anglicare for its counselling services.

Salvation Army Major Paul Moulds, well known for his work with homeless youth through Oasis, said many porblem gamblers already poured out their hearts to Salvation Army officers during their relgular visitors to pubs and clubs.

Not every one is happy though with Independent Andrew Wilkie saying enlisting chaplains was no more than "tinkering around the edges" in addressing problem gambling.

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Inmates help care for sick, dying prisoners

Health Focus

A prisoner serving as a palliative aide says he spends his time with the patients talking, studying the Bible, writing letters, playing chess, watching television and making sandwiches and coffee.

“From a moral and a kindness issue, the idea of being very sick in a corrections environment, being terminally ill in a corrections environment and dying in a corrections environment has got to be a very difficult situation,” said Dr. Carl Koenigsmann, deputy commissioner and chief medical officer of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the US. Read more:


Inmates help care for sick, dying prisoners

'We are all Egyptians, both Muslims and Christians': Mursi

Newly elected Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi has promised to lead on behalf of all Egyptians and called for "unification" in his nation so that together they could "reap the fruit of our sacrifice".

President Mursi said he would advocate for social justice, freedom and mutual respect and sought to placate Egypt's Christian minority who are concerned they will be discriminated against under the new leadership.

"We are all Egyptians, both Muslims and Christians, with great civilisations and that is how we will remain. We will fight all those who will try to interfere with our unity, we will have to show the world we will have a revolution of development, peace, and dignity for all Egyptians," President Mursi said.

He has resigned his membership of the Muslim Brotherhood. More at the World Today.

'Nagging prophets' prepare to gather again

At Voices for Justice 2010 gathering, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd referred to Micah Challenge supporters as “nagging prophets" for our persistent effort lobbying politicians to care about global poverty, and he urged us to continue.

Voices for Justice is your opportunity to raise your voice to influence government policy for the benefit of the world’s poorest people.

Join together with hundreds of Christians from all over the country as we pray, worship, learn and speak out for a world of justice and compassion.

This year’s event, September 15-18, will be the last Voices for Justice before the next federal election and will be the launch of our ‘Finish the Race’ campaign. Now is the time to act.

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The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins – preaching to converted?

The Guardian newspaper reviews Richard Dawkin's child-friendly science book The Magic of Reality and warns that it fails to acknowledge science and religion are often seeking to answer different questions.
Guardian.co.uk - The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins – review

Christians gather to discuss marriage

A Christian panel of experts will answer the big questions facing Australian contemporary society when it comes to marriage in a live discussion in front of a national webcast audience next Tuesday, June 26.

More from the Australian Christian Lobby

Formal apology for forced adoptions

THE federal government will make a formal apology to parents and children separated by forced adoption practices.

Between the 1950s and 1970s, about 150,000 unwed mothers had their babies taken against their will by churches and adoption agencies.

More details in the Sydney Morning Herald

Christian leaders unite in call for aid commitment

Christian leaders unite in call for aid commitment

Institution of marriage is linked to needs of children

The Committee for the Preservation for Marriage released this statement today. It contains some defences of 'no change' to marriage law and a list of influential clergy who have supported the statement on the importance of marriage:

In an extraordinary show of unity, more than fifty Australian national leaders of Christian Churches endorsed a document on the importance of marriage as a legal institution because it promotes and protects the identity of children and their internationally recognised right to know, have access to and be nurtured by both their mother and father.
The leaders note that the law has adapted in many ways to accommodate relationships other than marriage including making provisions for persons in de facto and same sex relationships to have access to the same services that are available to married couples. However marriage remains different and the legal recognition of marriage is needed for the purpose of securing that relationship and the children’s relationship within the family unit to both a mother and a father. Children have a right to the complementary experiences of mothering and fathering as far as possible.
They point out that marriage is found across all cultures and ages. Marriage pre-dates the State and does not require the State for its legitimacy. The pre-eminent reason for the State to be involved is to legally protect children and ensure that parents fulfil their obligation to care for and nurture them. Redefining marriage would seriously undermine it and the family unit.

52000 say 'I do' in support of current marriage law

A petition with 52,000 signatures supporting the retention of marriage as being between a man and a woman has been presented to Nationals Senator Ron Boswell and Labor Senator Helen Polley. Watch their media conference below.

How Jesus All About Life became successful

The Jesus All About Life promotional campaign has been recognised with the public relations company that managed it winning two awards.

Taurus Marketing received two awards for their successful campaign, developed on behalf of client the Bible Society NSW.

The campaign gained recognition from both the Public Relations Institute of Australia, and the Australian Marketing Institute, as well as being embraced by Churches throughout NSW.

Taurus CEO Sharon Williams said the win was a great achievement for the business, which took on the campaign with just three weeks notice and exceeded all expectations.

For an interesting account of how the campaign was developed and run, click here

Sudanese refugees sent to World Youth Day in Spain

While the nation focuses on asylum seekers being sent to Malysia, five Sudanese youth who came to Australia as refugees will be sent to Spain - to participate in the Catholic Chutch's World Youth Day Madrid, thanks to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

The five will, among other things, bring the story of the struggle in Sudan to this world stage.
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Church offers to care for young asylum seekers

Dale Stephenson, senior pastor  of one Australia's biggest churches, Crossway, has offered to care for unaccompanied minors who otherwise will be sent to Malyasia under the Australian goverment's asylum seeker swap.

"It's one thing to say we shouldn't [send them to Malaysia], but ultimately that still leaves the children behind barbed wire on Christmas Island. So I thought maybe the government needs some encouragement from the community sector."

Read more in Eternity newspaper

No decision yet on High Court chaplaincy challenge

The High Court has reserved its decision on whether the National School Chaplaincy Program is legal.
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Meanwhile, Scripture Union Queensland chief executive Tim Mander visited Canberra last week to deliver statements of support before the High Court Challenge got underway.

So far the group has more than 30,000 statements of support for the chaplains, whose funding is threatened by the court challenge of Toowoomba father Ron Williams.

Christian teacher and mum wins MasterChef

Kate Bracks, a Christian teacher and mum from Orange, is this year's winning MasterChef contestant.
Kate, with husband Luke and her three children by her side, went into the final dessert round of the three part grand final cook-off with a slender three point lead. She extended this to give her victory over second place Michael Weldon.
Several Christian communities around NSW with which Kate has connections have been cheering her on including Orange Evangelical Church, Darling Point Anglican in Lilyfield and Greenacre Baptist Christian Community School were she taught some years ago.
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God is Able number one on iTunes chart

Debuting 11.5% higher than the last acclaimed Hillsong album, A Beautiful Exchange, God is Able spent all of last week at number one on the iTunes Christian and Gospel Album Chart.

The live worship album recorded in Sydney peaked at number seven on the Top Albums Chart, spending most of the past week inside the top 10.
God is Able also hit number one on several retail sales charts, including the overall Christian, praise and worship and Christian/Gospel mainstream charts, as well as landing at number35 on the Billboard Top 200 this week.
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What we can learn from a 100-year-old monk

"See, death didn't touch me. I told the Lord I want to serve you, love you, be a good Christian and help others be good Christians."
So says a Trappist Monk, Rev. Luke Kot, who has lived his life by the ancient motto, ora et labora -
pray and work.
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Believers in benevolent God worry less

New research showing that views of God impact mental health has led researchers to call for a great integration of people's spiritual beliefs with their treatment of health concerns. The research was conducted by the Harvard University affiliated McLean Hospital in the US.
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