Queensland Synod News

The Right Reverend Richard Appleby, recently retired Assistant Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane, was last week elected President of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA). Bishop Appleby is the 4th President of the Council, following on from the Revd Professor James Haire of Canberra. The purpose of the Council is to promote Christian unity and help ...

The Christian population in Japan has remained at around one per cent of the country’s population since 1549, when Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived, says a professor of the sociology of religion at Tokyo’s Roman Catholic Sophia University. "But the young generation no longer has a negative image of Christianity, which was once stigmatised as heretical or a religion of ...

Ever been caught day dreaming what it would be like to be a Hollywood film maker, prize-winning photographer or international rock star? Well with a little help from one of the NCYC 2007 creative competitions your day dreams could become reality! Organisers of the National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC) 2007 believe all young people can make a difference. With this ...

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has voted to allow flexibility in deciding whether to ordain non-celibate homosexuals as clergy, something that was previously banned outright by the denomination. "With the vote today, we have not altered the fundamentals; we have the same standards as before," said the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the denomination’s stated clerk (chief executive), after the 20 June decision ...

Uniting Church agency and leading non-profit community health and aged care provider Blue Care will design a landmark integrated residential, health and aged care facility at the heart of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. The Blue Care Integrated Care Model will be the first Sunshine Coast development of its type. It will be realised on new land released by property developer Stockland ...

There are no plans for a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Moscow Patriarch Alexei II but neither church leader has ruled out such an encounter, a top Russian Orthodox church official has said. "Such a meeting is not yet on the agenda," said Metropolitan Kirill, head of the external relations department of the Moscow Patriarchate, at a 16 June ...

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has said the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as the first woman to lead the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church will "impact on the collegial life" of the world’s other Anglican leaders, but he has stopped short of congratulating her. "I send my greetings to Bishop Katharine and she has my prayers and good wishes ...

The Southern Baptist Convention, the biggest Protestant denomination in the United States, has said no one who drinks "alcoholic beverages" should belong to any denominational trustee board. "The use of alcohol as a beverage can and does impede our testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ," said Jim Richards, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, at the denomination’s ...

The US Episcopal (Anglican) Church has elected Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as its first female leader, a move seen as creating further strain in a denomination already divided over the consecration of an openly gay bishop. "I will bend over backward to build relationships with people who disagree with me," 52-year-old Jefferts Schori told reporters after her election on 18 ...

Journey, the Queensland Uniting Church Synod’s newspaper, has published another free set of studies in the July edition. The five studies, based on the Ephesians lectionary readings for July 16 – August 15, focus on the theme of Community in Christ and can be used at any time of year. The material has been prepared by the Queensland Synod Theology ...