Queensland Synod News

THE UNITINGCARE Chair in Social Policy and Research established in partnership with The University of Queensland was launched on 3 June in Brisbane. This is the first time the University of Queensland’s School of Social Work and Applied Human Services has established a Joint Chair with a non-profit organisation. Chief Executive Officer of UnitingCare Queensland Anne Cross said that the ...

THE PUBLICATION Two Small Books on Lay People and the Church was always going to be controversial, and the controversy generated by the launch was no surprise to its author, Professor Emeritus Rod Jensen.  Kenmore Uniting Church Lay Minister Heather den Houting was uncompromising, describing herself as “angry, distressed, confused and irritated” by the book.Ms den Houting said Dr Jensen’s ...

Melbourne, Australia, 20 June (ENI) Not all wars and conflicts make the pages of newspapers, nor are all peace agreements the result of the high diplomacy of the United Nations, and that certainly includes those now being signed in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. After decades of ethnic and tribal violence in the southern highlands of New Guinea, thirty-two ...

ENI-08-0490 Chiang Mai, Thailand, 20 June (ENI)–Christian leaders in Asia have urged church groups around the world to support their campaign against accelerating land degradation caused by climate change or destructive methods of land use. "Desertification is not only one of the world’s greatest environmental challenges but also a major impediment in the way of ensuring basic human needs," the ...

The Romanian Orthodox Church has condemned the formation of a trade union among its clergy, and has said that priests should follow church procedures in making demands and airing grievances. "Certainly, some Orthodox priests have trouble making ends meet, especially those with families," said Constantin Stoica, a spokesperson for the Bucharest patriarchate, which governs the church, "but we have ways ...

Blue Care and the Port of Brisbane Corporation today launched a $60,000 plan to promote health and wellness among the Bayside community. Announcing the plan today, Port of Brisbane Corporation Chief Executive Officer Jeff Coleman said the Corporation would sponsor Blue Care $20,000 per year for the next three years to fund the health and wellness program. He said the ...

A Polish clothes company has been forced to withdraw a nationwide advertising campaign depicting teenagers in sexy poses with Roman Catholic rosaries after condemnation by the country’s advertising standards watchdog. "This was the most protested advert in recent years," Konrad Drozdowski, a deputy director of Poland’s Advertising Ethics Commission, told journalists in Warsaw on 9 June. "Apart from 280 official ...

Swiss soccer player Johan Vonlanthen says he has undergone phenomenal changes since he made his debut as an international soccer player – he has discovered that much of his success on the field is attributed to his Christian faith. "Before each match I give thanks to God and pray, on the pitch I find strength in him, faith has helped ...

The women from five different faiths launched an East African regional Mother’s Cry for a Healthy Africa campaign to empower women so they sang and danced – exhorting education for all girls. "This initiative could not have come at more opportune time than now when some countries in Africa are healing from political unrest," Esther Mathege, Kenya’s minister for gender ...

An investigation has been launched by the bishop of London into a ceremony in which two gay Anglican clerics in a civil partnership exchanged rings and vows and used a version of a Church of England marriage service. "Services of public blessing for civil partnerships are not authorised in the Church of England," said Bishop Richard Chartres after it emerged ...