Thoughts on faith, culture, and public life.
Invocation + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Pause for reflection Good morning, heavenly Father.We worship you, the creator and sustainer of the universe. Good morning, Lord Jesus.We worship you, Saviour and Lord of the world. Good morning, Holy Spirit.We worship you, sanctifier of the people …
Continue reading "Morning prayer for Wednesday 29 July 2026"
EAPPI officers from sending countries visit a bedouin village in the Jordan Valley. Photo: Rod Benson, 2013. The history and achievement of EAPPI Rod Benson The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel is among the most sustained and distinctive human rights initiatives of the modern ecumenical movement. Established by the World Council of Churches …
The oldest existing structure in Lae, Papua New Guines is the St Andrew’s Lutheran Church in the suburb of Ampo, erected in 1933. Photo: Malum Nalu, 2021. Papua New Guinea (PNG) presents one of the world's most remarkable contexts for Christian ecumenism. Home to more than 800 living languages and immense cultural diversity, it is …
Continue reading "A history of ecumenism in Papua New Guinea"
Recent controversy surrounding Sydney’s Divine Playhouse has reopened an enduring and vexed question within liberal democracies: Should artistic freedom extend to the deliberate parody of religious symbols held sacred by millions of believers? Responding to performances and promotional material that appropriated Catholic imagery—including references to the Eucharist and the sacrament of confession—Archbishop Anthony Fisher argued …
Continue reading "Artistic freedom, religious freedom, and the sacred"
Tel Kedesh in Upper Galilee, thought by some to be the possible location of one of the cities of refuge mentioned in Joshua 20. My Uncle Bill McCrindle, who lived for many years at Beecroft, was a great storyteller. As a small child, I lived in Wollongong, then moved overseas, and returned to attend boarding …
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