Queensland Synod News

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, hopes that by the middle of the 21st century Christians will have reached a level of unity so that they can share Holy Communion together. Kobia said this in a front page interview published in the official Vatican daily newspaper l’Osservatore Romano dated 25 January, the day ...

International organizations representing young people from all main Christian traditions say they are anguished at not being able to share in the Lord’s Supper together. "Many of us feel pain when we are not able to celebrate the Eucharist together and be united at the Lord’s Table," the groups said in a joint statement to mark the 100th anniversary of ...

Outdated language used to justify corporal punishment of children is set to be removed from new translations of the Bible in Norway. Church leaders have given the green light to the proposal, put forward by the Norwegian Ombudsman for Children, to replace the word “chastisement” with more appropriate language reflecting its original and intended meaning. Ombudsman Reidar Hjermann found that ...

The scruffy, tattooed skateboarders performing high, 360-degree turns and flying through U-shaped ramps are accustomed to stares from parents who don’t know an ollie from a hippie jump. "The way we look – the tattoos, the earrings – people automatically think, ‘Who are these guys?’" says Darren Wells, cofounder of King of Kings Skateboard Ministry, part of a growing attempt ...

The popularity of chapel weddings in Japan does not translate into an actual commitment to faith and Christian affiliation, a sociologist of religion at a Tokyo university says. "It would appear that brief encounters with religious professionals (and strangers) at wedding chapels – that is, anonymous individuals outside of such established relationships – are unlikely to have a long term ...

Pope Benedict XVI and the Rev. Samuel Kobia, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, will meet in Rome on 25 January, at a ceremony to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The WCC said in a statement on 21 January that Kobia will meet the Pope in a private audience along ...

Young American evangelist and activist Shane Claiborne is one of the key speakers at NCYC 09, from 3-9 January 2009 in Melbourne. “Shane is excited to be part of NCYC09, and we’re delighted that Shane is excited!” said an obviously excited Rohan Pryor, NCYC09 Convention Coordinator. Shane is a compelling Christian speaker in demand around the world, author of “The ...

There has been nothing like it since the 1980s as 300 young people and leaders from 30 youth groups across Queensland came together at Alexandra Headland for a weekend of Summer Madness. Billed primarily as a spiritual growth opportunity with great teaching, discipleship development and worship, Summer Madness was a cooperative venture between Queensland Uniting Church Youth Workers and lay ...

US presidential candidates locked in often bitter struggles for their party nominations have been urged not to make religious capital out of politics and political capital out of religion as the campaign trail hots up. Recently, Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama attacked each other over the legacy of Martin Luther King Junior, though they have since withdrawn media-stoked ...

Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, who has been stripped of his credentials to function as a priest by the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA), has formed his own church, the Anglican Province of Zimbabwe. The bishop, a staunch ally of President Robert Mugabe, used the full force of the Zimbabwean police to disrupt several Anglican Sunday church services ...