Queensland Synod News

Pope Benedict XVI has joined German Christians of other denominations for a prayer service at Regensburg cathedral in Bavaria where he urged Christians not to hide their witness to God in a multi-religious age. "We know who God is through Jesus Christ," said Pope Benedict at the service on 12 September during a six-day visit to his native Bavaria in ...

The Taize community in eastern France has rejected claims reported in the French newspaper Le Monde that its Swiss-born Protestant founder, Brother Roger Schutz, who died last year, had a secret conversion to Roman Catholicism. "This article gave credence to and reproduced the claims of a small newsletter issued by Catholic traditionalist circles that misrepresents Brother Roger’s true intentions and ...

The Uniting Church Assembly Acting General Secretary Rev Glenda Blakefield has released a statement in response to requests from some members, congregations and presbyteries seeking Assembly comment about the proposed “Assembly of Confessing Congregations”. Assembly officers have welcomed the fact that the Steering Committee of the proposed Assembly of Confessing Congregations (ACC) has stated its desire to remain within the ...

The Uniting Church Assembly Standing Committee has rejected a request from the Reforming Alliance that it make a joint approach to a court for a determination on the validity of the decisions of the 10th and 11th Assemblies about sexuality and leadership. The legal advice given to the Assembly Standing Committee denied the validity of claims made by the Reforming ...

A coalition of Namibian church and non-governmental organizations is sticking to its campaign for the government to overturn its decision not to give an unconditional monthly grant of 100 Namibian dollars (US$14) to each citizen below retirement age. "Such a grant is necessary until the country’s high income disparities are addressed," said the Rev. Phillip Strydom, the general secretary of ...

The steady increase in the movement of people around the globe is one of the main features in today’s world and is having a deep impact on churches, the main governing body of the World Council of Churches has heard. "The Waldensian [Protestant] Church in Italy now has many more African members than Italian ones as a result of a ...

The Middle East is the most pressing global issue today, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, has told the organization’s main governing body, asserting that church and religious bodies can help attain a solution there. Kobia was speaking on the second day of the WCC’s central committee as it met to navigate policy ...

The Russian Orthodox Church has lauded members of the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church who say they will not recognise the female bishop elected to lead the US denomination, with which the Russian church broke off relations in 2003 over the consecration of an openly-gay bishop. The election of a woman to lead the denomination was a "crude violation of ancient ...

The new moderator of the World Council of Churches has warned that Christianity faces new divisions because of doctrinal and ethical differences, and he has urged a recommitment to the goal of full and visible unity among the churches. "Burning and divisive issues, both doctrinal and ethical, run to some considerable extent internally through many of our churches, resulting in ...

Australian churches have responded generously to many emergency situations throughout the world in 2006. Alistair Gee, Director of NCCA Christian World Service, urges concerned Australians to also remember the upcoming Christmas Bowl appeal. “Assistance in emergencies is a crucial part of the Christmas Bowl, but the Christmas Bowl is also committed to many other long-term development projects which are equally ...