Bishop John

 At the Annual Meeting of SPCKA, a Christian literature mission, held in Melbourne this week I was greatly encouraged to see and touch – there is something for us bibliophiles in the magic of holding a book in our hands, a moment of near ecstacy when the book being held is the Bible in two of the world’s great languages, Mandarin and English, and the book is a well bound hard cover of high quality gloss paper with fine graphics in 2 volumes. And The Big Picture Story Bible is the Book for the children that they might respond to the One who said, “Let the children come to me”.  

 The Big Picture Story Bible published in China

A bilingual edition of The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm has been published in China by SPCK Australia partner, ZDL Books, Beijing. A first edition of 10,000 copies was printed with the help of a  $20,000 SPCKA grant. Several thousand have already been distributed throughout China.

The government censor issued ISBNs which menas that the book can be distributed to children and their parents throughout the government commercial and church bookstores throughout China.

The Big Picture Story Bible presents the story of God’s love for the world. Simple words and striking illustrations unfold the biblical narrative from Genesis to Revelation. Despite its simplicity, this well-conceived children’s book preserves overarching biblical themes. The book accurately interrelates the Old and New Testaments by explaining, for instance how God’s saving of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt foreshadows our own salvation by Jesus from slavery to sin and his leading us to the promised land, heaven.

The Big Picture Story Bible helps meet a desperate need for Christian literature for children and families in China.

Our friends at ZDL Books write: ‘We are most grateful for your generous contribution toward this monumental book. It has been an amazing journey of faith  to see how God has provided for this project, and we are glad you can be part of it.’ 

From SPCKA Winter News 2009.  SPCKA, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Australia, supports Christain literature projects throughout the world. It supported CERTEZA the Spanish language publisher and bookshop ministry with whom my family worked in Argentina. Upon returning to Australia we joined SPCKA and I currently serve as its President: a privilege and a pleasure. 🙂   and it is always great to catch up with old mates – thanks SPCKA Team and Praise the Lord!  🙂 

A webpage has been set up, by the National School Chaplaincy Association, to support those who are lobbying the School Chaplaincy funding threat. By entering the site and typing in your postcode you will have access to an email template. Once filled in, an email will be forwarded on your behalf to the Federal Member of Parliament in your electorate.

I encourage you to support School Chaplaincy by accessing the website and following the prompts.

Pioneering Report on Disappearance, Forced Conversions and Forced Marriages of Egyptian  …

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Disappearance, Forced Conversions and Forced Marriages of Coptic Christian Women in Egypt – a pioneering report on human trafficking-was released today by Christian Solidarity International (CSI) and the Coptic Foundation for Human Rights.

Researched in Egypt by American anti-trafficking specialist Michele Clark and Egyptian women’s rights activist Nadia Ghaly, the report documents a criminal pattern involving deception, sexual violence, captivity, compulsion to convert to Islam and forced marriage. This disturbing phenomenon corresponds to internationally recognized definitions of human trafficking. . . .

Egypt’s prestigious Al-Ahram Weekly recently broke a longstanding taboo by acknowledging that allegations of widespread conversion and forced marriage of Coptic girls to Muslim men have brought relations between the country’s Christian community and the Islamic authorities to a boiling point. (Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 3-9 September 2009, no. 963)

Writing today to President Barack Obama, Dr. John Eibner of CSI urged the U.S. government “to encourage Egyptian President Mubarak to take credible measures to combat the trafficking of Christian women and girls.” Eibner furthermore stated “the unhindered and unpunished trafficking of Christian women and girls in Egypt is a litmus test for the true state of relations between Muslims and non-Muslim minorities.”

Last June in Cairo, President Obama addressed the Muslim world, calling for a new beginning in relations with the United States, and the need to uphold the rights of religious minorities and the rights of women.

The Clark-Ghaly report concludes by urging human rights institutions to undertake further research on this largely unexplored facet of human trafficking in Egypt.

Contact Elliott Daniels, (202) 544 7778 or (919) 440 9729, elliott.daniels@csi-usa.org.

To view or download the full report visit www.csi-int.org.

SOURCE Christian Solidarity International (CSI)

Copyright 2009 PR Newswire. All rights reserved and the full PR Newswire article here.

 Who presides at Holy Communion has become a legal issue in the Anglican Church of Australia. Traditionally those ordained priests and bishops have presided. Now the Diocese of Sydney has argued that deacons be allowed to preside. The Sydney decision has been challenged and the matter has gone before the Australian Anglican Church’s legal court, the Appellate Tribunal.

In my view, this is a sad situation because diaconal presidency at the Lord’s Table is not essential for the Gospel to be lived and proclaimed. This unnecessary and avoidable dispute diminishes our Christian unity and Gospel credibility, and diverts energy from the mission of the Church. A time of weeping.  

See article in SMH by Linda Morris Legal challenge brewing over Holy Communion row.

Federally funded chaplains in government schools are now an established part of the educational landscape. The report from a major national research study into the effectiveness of school chaplaincy services was released in Hobart this month.

The researchers found that chaplains were accessible and approachable, and dealt with many issues ranging from behaviour management, social and family relationship issues to social inclusion and racism – 98 per cent of the 688 school principals who participated in the national study agreed that chaplaincy in government schools is making a major contribution to school morale.

The principals agreed funding for the National School Chaplaincy Program should be continued when the three-year cycle of project funding ends in 2010. Principals said chaplains in their government schools helped build a sense of community, supported the school ethos and assisted integration of potentially at-risk students, including immigrants and Aboriginal students.

The study found that chaplains provide pastoral care that complemented what is being provided by other staff. The fact the chaplain is not a teacher or a psychologist, but a neutral person, was noted quite frequently in principals’ comments. Part of this neutrality relates to the fact that chaplains do not have a disciplinary responsibility and can listen non-judgmentally.

Chaplaincy in state schools is by no means a recent development. In some states it dates back to the middle of the 20th century. The injection of federal funds in 2007 recognised the value of the existing chaplaincy services and since has enabled more than 2000 state schools across the nation to benefit from having a chaplain on staff.

It is expected the Rudd Government will give serious consideration to renewing and even expanding funding.

Greg Foot, Scripture Union Chaplaincy Support Officer (Letters to the Editor, The Mercury, 3 November 2009)

See also School Chaplaincy Program – funding threat and petition.

Please pray for our school chaplains, Scripture Union and the many volunteers who have a passion to input into our children’s lives with pastoral care and guidance through this valuable program.