Queensland Synod News

Seven hundred kilometres is a long way to fly just to get to theology classes. That is what Mornington Island Uniting Church and community elder Ellen Roughsey did every time that she attended her Theology studies at Wontulp B-Buya College in Cairns. In March Ellen received her Certificate III in Theology. “There came times I thought I’d quit, but when we ...

Roman Catholic nuns in Poland are preparing anti-prostitution leaflets to be circulated during the soccer World Cup in Germany, after warnings that the month-long tournament could promote the trafficking of women to serve as prostitutes. "Over 800 000 people are sold into sex slavery each year," said Jolanta Olech, president of Poland’s Conference of Female Superiors. "In beautiful, democratic Europe, ...

Three Irish Roman Catholic priests have apologised for concelebrating Mass with an Anglican cleric to mark the 90th anniversary of Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising, when Irish nationalists proclaimed independence from Britain. The Mass took place on Easter Sunday, 16 April, at the Augustinian Priory in Drogheda in County Louth, north of Dublin. The short-lived Easter Rising 90 years earlier was ...

Pope Benedict VXI has called on churches to build closer ties with one another through joint charitable initiatives, as well as by fostering inter-denominational marriages and families. "Despite all the differences that need to be overcome in inter-denominational dialogue, it is legitimate to attribute charitable engagement to the ecumenical community of Christ’s disciples in search of full unity," the pope ...

Bibles are, and always have been, readily available to patients at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital Chaplaincy Department Chairperson Reverend Iris Carden said a recent news item in the Sunday Mail about the availability Bibles in the Hospital was “regrettably inaccurate,” . “The current system for making Bibles available to patients has been in place for ...

A coalition of leaders from some Christian, Jewish and Sikh groups is opposing an amendment to the US constitution that is under consideration, prohibiting same-sex marriage. The Clergy for Fairness has launched an Internet petition campaign due to the "Federal Marriage Amendment" expected to come before the US Senate early in June. The proposed change has the support of a ...

Clerics have not been spared in Malawi’s spiralling of armed robberies and the situation is so severe the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) says it will allow some clerics to own at least one firearm for personal protection. Central Malawi Nkhoma Synod’s Church and Society Programme director, Allan Chiphiko, told journalists on 18 May so many criminals have terrorised ...

Uniting Church Moderator Steve Orme from the Northern Synod, Anglican for the Northern Territory Bishop Philip Freier and Darwin’s Catholic Bishop Ted Collins, Roman have issued a joint statement regarding the current media attention to conditions in Aboriginal communities. "We speak as the leaders of three churches with a long relationship with the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory. Between ...

The World Council of Churches’ executive committee has urged Israelis and Palestinians not to waste any more time and to take substantial steps towards ending their conflict and making peace. "Peace must come soon or it may not come to either people for a long time," the World Council of Churches said in a statement on 22 May following its ...

Band FAQ has completed filming a video clip for their new single the gospel inspired Piece of Dirt. The clip was filmed in Wesley Kangaroo Point Uniting Church and features around twenty of the band’s friends in full choir robes. The only thing missing was streamers on the tambourine. FAQ will launch their Testify EP at the Zoo on June ...