Peace talks to begin Dec 12

No. 2 of 47. First published 29 Nov 2007. Surprising progress was made at yesterday's Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, where Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert (pictured, at right, with US President George W. Bush) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (pictured, at left) agreed to begin formal talks next month and pledged to "make …

Australian Christian leaders to visit Palestine

No. 1 of 47. First published 28 Nov 2007 In December 2007, an official delegation of Australian Christian leaders will visit Israel and Palestine. The purpose of the delegationโ€™s visit is to meet with and express friendship and prayerful support for its Christian counterparts in Palestine and Israel. During the visit the delegation will also …

Statement by Australian Church leaders on Israel

Archbishop Phillip Aspinall addresses the Heads of Jerusalem Churches at a dinner in Jerusalem, 6 Dec 2007. Photo credit: Rod Benson In December 2007, a delegation of nine Australian Church leaders visited Jerusalem and the Holy Land. I was one of the nine. Seventeen years on, so little has changed. So many have died, and …

Listen to the prophets

โ€œWhen the cause is just, nothing other than the inflated rhetoric of the prophets, it seems, can shock us out of our complacency and shove before our eyes in all their starkness the alternatives we need to face. It forces us to confront them and to take a stand one way or the other, no …

Praying when life is unfair

A sermon by Rod Benson Luke 18:1-8 Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat. He had an important meeting to attend, and he was running late, and he was having great difficulty finding a parking spot. Looking up to heaven, he said, โ€œLord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking …