North Queensland Presbytery Minister Rev Bruce Cornish recently attended the 20th Assembly of the United Church in Papua New Guinea at Lokea Village, West Gulf Region and found the experience of his first trip to Papua New Guinea challenging, encouraging, humbling and disturbing. This is an extract from his report to the Presbytery of North Queensland. I was there for ...

R&B/pop diva Stacie Orrico will become one of the biggest acts to perform on Main Stage at AGMF 07 next Easter (6-8 April 2007). At just 20 years, the honey voiced US singer is already an eight-year veteran of the music industry. She was discovered at 12, released a gold-selling record at 14, and traveled the globe to support her ...

There has been a mixed response from churches, politicians and educators to the Prime Minister’s announcement of the National School Chaplaincy Program offering $90 million over the next three years for government and non-government school communities to engage the services of a chaplain. The Federal Government has established the program to support the contributions that chaplains provide to the spiritual ...

DURING HIS 26 year reign as pontiff, John Paul II canonised 484 saints and beatified a further 1,338 individuals, thus placing them on the slow but sure road to sainthood. His intention, no doubt, was to remind an age now notorious for its moral bankruptcy and ethical amnesia of those beacons of virtue that have illuminated the Church’s path for ...

Spread over two weekends in two locations over a hundred excited children from across North Queensland attended this years Kids Camp Out in Townsville and Cairns. A non-stop program included crafts, playing games and rides with a special worship service organised and led by children on Sunday morning. Youth and Children’s Ministry Unit (YACMU) Regional Worker and Camp Out organiser ...

Head straight down the road for 200 kilometres, take the turn to the right just after you hit the gravel, follow the gravel road for about 300 kilometres and when you pass through the randomly placed tents and caravans, you’re at Birdsville. It sounds like something out of a bush ballad, but they were the directions given to Youth and ...

The band Soulframe has graced stages of numerous festivals (including the Australian Gospel Music Festival and the National Christian Youth Convention), won major song writing awards throughout Australia, have supported some of the big names in the international music industry, just released their second album and had their website declared the most visited band website in Australia (tipping Hi5 off ...

Randwick Racecourse has been chosen to host the largest gathering of people ever held in Sydney – the overnight Vigil and Final Mass to be celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI during World Youth Day in July 2008 World Youth Day is the largest youth event in the world. “We needed a site that could accommodate up to 600,000 people and ...

Every year millions of young people around the world spend time at Christian camps, festivals and conferences, taking part in a range of activities from extreme sports to bible studies, small group discussions to Christian rock concerts. But what happens to those young people when they return to their homes and the euphoria of a week spent in close-knit Christian ...

Parents, with one simple proposition in mind, make a move from home to Church. “We want our baby done”. The Church, a specialty business, acts with the facility of a convenience store. It is not a question of exploring needs, but a repetition of “I want”. No refusal, and no fee. Hundreds knock on church doors each year, a busy ...