WORLDWIDE PHOTOS LTD The Religious Media Agency

WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW

April 10, 2003

INDEX

AUSTRALIA: 1. GOOD FRIDAY OFFERING HELPS OTHERS (Crossover Australia) 2. THE DREAMER – AN EVANGELICAL MUSICAL (Wesley Mission) 3. REV FRED NILE OFF TO KOREA (CDP Press Release) 4. GOVERNMENT LISTENS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA (FOL-SA) 5. BISHOP PIPER OFF TO SABAH, MALAYSIA (Dios of Wollongong) 6. SUICIDE PREVENTION IN WESTERN SYDNEY (Wesley Mission)

OVERSEAS: 7. SLOW ADVANCE ON AID FRONT (Church Times) 8. FIND A WAY TO STOP WAR, SAY IRAQI CHRISTIANS (Church Times) 9. A PUBLIC DISPLAY – IN SACKCLOTH & ASHES (Methodist Recorder) 10. “FESTIVAL OF HOPE” IN MEXICO (BGEA) 11. PRAY FOR VIETNAM ON MAY 4 (Open Doors) 12. SAMARITAN’S AID WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED (Agape Press News) 13. HONG KONG CHURCHES ACT – DEADLY VIRUS (Council World Mission) 14. MISSIONARY KILLED IN ROBBERY ATTEMPT (EP News) 15. RIDE ‘EM COWBOY – IN MANCHESTER (Baptist Times)

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1. GOOD FRIDAY OFFERING HELPS OTHERS (Crossover Australia) Baptist Churches in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, have received copies of the Good Friday Offering brochure and appeal envelopes, which will raise financial support for the special “Crossover Australia” project. Over the past three years the money raised has enabled Crossover to allocate $59,000 to the States for their own ministry projects. Crossover has encouraged Baptist Churches to set aside one Sunday to specifically pray for the Nation as well as for suggested prayer points submitted by State Leaders. This year, the National Prayer Sunday is 27 April. Rev Norman Nix, Director of National Ministries, of the Baptist Churches Of Australia also announced that there is now an Evangelism Booklet on the Resurrection. This new booklet style publication is written by Rev. Dr. Ross Clifford, Principal of Morling Theological College and will be published late April.

2. THE DREAMER – AN EVANGELICAL MUSICAL (Wesley Mission) The Wesley Mission Church of Sydney will be producing the full-length evangelical musical, “The Dreamer”, by Cam Floria, on the 8th, 9th, and 10th May 2003, at Wesley Theatre, 220 Pitt Street, Sydney. Special guest speakers at the event will be The Rev The Hon Dr Gordon Moyes AC, MLC, Superintendent of Wesley Mission, and Rev Dr Barry Chant, Minister to the International Congregation at Wesley Mission. Matthew Chee, Executive Producer of The Dreamer, considers this musical to be important and timely, especially when there are so many problems in the world today. “We would like to let people know there is still someone who cares and this world is not spinning out of control,” said Matthew. “If God was faithful to help the world through the time of severe famine in Joseph’s time, then He will be faithful today to see us through our problems.”

3. REV FRED NILE OFF TO KOREA (CDP Press Release) The Rev. Fred Nile MLC, National President of the Christian Democratic Party, was invited to be a guest at the 35th Annual National Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday, this week (April 9), in Seoul, Korea. Mr Nile also addressed church services and meetings throughout Korea from April 3-10. He travelled to Korea with 20 Korean adoptees from Australia under the Overseas Korean Adoptees Programme. They expect to learn about Korean history, culture and traditions as well as learn about the development of Korea.

4. GOVERNMENT LISTENS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA (FOL-SA) The South Australian Attorney-General Hon Michael Atkinson has announced that the SA Labor government will not proceed with its proposal to introduce laws to ban religious discrimination and vilification. Mr Atkinson said that last year’s discussion paper had attracted over 3000 submissions, most urging the government to abandon the proposed new law, expressing fear that it “could be used against religion rather than protecting it. In particular, they feared that the new laws would prevent them from freely preaching and practising their religion and seeking to convert others.” Mr Atkinson said: “It is clear that most of the people intended to benefit from the new law not only do not want it but are ardently opposed to it. It is therefore not appropriate to proceed with the legislation. The government does not want to import the American experience of religious freedom… The public has expressed its views and the government is not afraid to listen and act accordingly.”

5. BISHOP PIPER OFF TO SABAH, MALAYSIA (Dios of Wollongong) Wollongong’s Bishop Reg Piper is to lead a ministry trip to Sabah, Malaysia in August. The trip is open to any member of the Anglican Church and aims not only strengthen links with the South East Asian Diocese, but to bring back ideas for reaching the Diocese’s 10 per cent ministry goal. “They have started churches in shop fronts with three hundred to four hundred people,” Bishop Piper said. Bishop Piper says he will include anyone prepared to be part of a team and involved in ministry: to preach, give testimonies or pray with others. The cost of the trip from August 20 until September 1 is $1250. An interest meeting will be held on April 12. Phone: (02) 4225 2800.

6. SUICIDE PREVENTION IN WESTERN SYDNEY (Wesley Mission) Two major workshops, which will help western Sydney communities prevent suicide, were held at Carlingford (April 8) and Penrith (April 10) this week. LifeForce workshops aim is to increase awareness of suicide in Australia by educating, empowering and resourcing community members to be aware of the many issues of suicide, equipping them with the resources to refer the person on to appropriate, qualified help. LifeForce workshops have educated over 10,000 people in NSW, Queensland and Victoria in suicide prevention over the past six years.

7. SLOW ADVANCE ON AID FRONT (Church Times) Distributing the aid supplies that have arrived in port in Iraq has proved difficult this week. Relief agencies have also expressed concerns about the involvement of the military in the process. The HMS Sir Galahad, a British naval supply ship with 200 tonnes of aid, including fresh water, arrived at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr last Friday. But it would take an average of 32 shipments every day to reactivate the pre-war programme, Christian Aid said on Tuesday. The head of emergencies for Christian Aid, Nick Guttmann, said that aid must be distributed according to need, “not to control or coerce civilians”. Aid workers had been trained to do this, but not the military, he said. Alex Renton of Oxfam, speaking from Jordan, said that: “One of the problems facing aid agencies was that the predicted flood of refugees to the borders had not yet happened, as many were frightened to move.”

8. FIND A WAY TO STOP WAR, SAY IRAQI CHRISTIANS (Church Times) World leaders should “stop this war immediately and achieve everlasting peace”, says a statement issued by Iraqi Christian leaders last week. The statement, dated 26 March, is signed simply “the leaders of the Christian communities in Iraq”. It argues that God directs his people to live in peace, “and that they should not be the instruments of destruction and bloodshed, which would increase the number of orphans, handicapped and widows”. It goes on: “Let those who have the power and the decision to put a stop to this aggression on the Iraqi people listen to the crying children, the wailing mothers, the suffering fathers, the depressed daughters and desperate women.”

9. A PUBLIC DISPLAY – IN SACKCLOTH & ASHES (Methodist Recorder) The minister of the Pilgrims Way church in East Ham, London, has made a very public demonstration of his disapproval of the war in Iraq. The Rev Dr Paul Charman spent two hours in sackcloth and ashes – the traditional sign of Christian penance – as part of a protest held outside his combined Methodist/Congregational church in the London Mission (Newham) circuit. Dr Charman said he felt it was important to stand up and make a statement in this way and he also invited people of all faiths to light a candle and pray for peace and justice. “Jesus said you should talk to enemies, not kill them,” he said.

10. “FESTIVAL OF HOPE” IN MEXICO (BGEA) The “Festival of Hope” with Franklin Graham will be held in the Luis “Pirata” Fuente Stadium, Veracruz, Mexico, April 10-12, 2003. Franklin Graham will be the guest speaker each night and on Saturday, April 12 there will be a “Festival for Children” in the Evening. Special guests during the Crusade will include Marcos Vidal, a Latin gospel musician; Dennis Agajanian who is an alumnus of the “Guinness Book of World Records” as the world’s fastest “flat picking” guitar player and Tommy Coomes’ Praise Band which has become well-known all over the world ministering with Billy Graham and Franklin Graham.

11. PRAY FOR VIETNAM ON MAY 4 (Open Doors) The organisation “Open Doors” is encouraging Christians worldwide to remember the church in Vietnam on May 4. This special Sunday has been designated as the International Day of Prayer for Vietnam by several organisations concerned about the situation in this Southeast Asian nation. “We have a very simple theology,” a leading Vietnamese pastor said. “If you have problems — pray. If you have more problems — pray more!” For further information on how you can help, contact Open Doors, PO Box 53, Seaforth NSW 2092, phone 02 9949 7777; e-mail

12. SAMARITAN’S AID WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED (Agape Press News) Rev. Franklin Graham says any relief that his Samaritan’s Purse ministry offers to Muslims in Iraq will have “no strings attached.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations charges that Graham, who has been critical of Islam, will use aid as bait to try to convert Muslims to Christianity. But in an opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times, Graham writes: “We don’t have to preach in order to be a Christian relief organisation. Sometimes the best preaching we can do is simply being there with a cup of cold water, exhibiting Christ’s spirit of serving others.” Samaritan’s Purse says it is prepared to provide drinking water for up to 20,000 Iraqi families and build temporary shelters for thousands more.

13. HONG KONG CHURCHES ACT – DEADLY VIRUS (Council World Mission) A Council for World Mission-member church in Hong Kong has closed its schools and advised congregations to cut back on activities due to the outbreak of the alarming pneumonia-like virus SARS, writes Rebecca Beard of CWM News. Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China has closed its 60 schools until 22 April following the infection of two students with SARS – Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The Council has suggested its churches only gather for Sunday services and prayer meetings. None of the Church’s ministers or office workers are infected but at its United Christian Hospital, 12 medical staff caring for infected patients have caught the virus.

14. MISSIONARY KILLED IN ROBBERY ATTEMPT (EP News) Todd Fields, a missionary with Global Outreach International, was killed on March 28 during a robbery attempt in Guatemala. Fields was driving a van on the Pan-American Highway that was carrying high school students to a retreat when it was approached by another van. According to reports, the robbers inside the other van shot Fields and then took the students and adults from the van, robbed them and fled. Fields has been a missionary in Honduras for 13 years with wife Lynnell and two teenage daughters.

15. RIDE ‘EM COWBOY – IN MANCHESTER (Baptist Times) Two Bible-toting Texans moseyed into Manchester and Merseyside to crack the whip, hog tie the Devil and set a Bible on fire in an eye-popping show for the whole family. Randall Hamilton explained: “When kids arrive at our events they get excited about the big Western scene onstage.” He pops the whip then “warms things up by roping a few volunteers and playing a rodeo game.” This week (April 8-13) Randall and his wife LaDonna, of the World Harvest Church, were part of a special Disney Week, featuring six puppets and some cowboy poems. For 25 years the couple have been teaching and performing before thousands, throughout the United States, but this is their first trip to the United Kingdom. Randall said: “I was once a cattleman and God uses our Wild West Roundup to reach children and families with the Good News.” (The Lord works in mysterious ways!)

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