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Christmas Bowl Launch

This year's Christmas Bowl seeks to help church partners assist over 1 million people in some of the world’s most war-torn communities and in resolving the conflicts they face.

Mr Alistair Gee, Executive Director of Act for Peace, said, “Christmas is a time for cherishing family, giving thanks and sharing with those less fortunate. The Christmas Bowl is an opportunity to help provide real peace and hope for war-torn communities in places such as Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The Christmas Bowl helps these amazingly resilient and resourceful communities to survive and rebuild their lives.”

The support of Australian churches last year made a real difference. Last year’s Christmas Bowl poster depicted six Sudanese girls with school materials running to a temporary school that had been established in the Deraige Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Darfur. The Christmas Bowl had helped to provide them with supplies and education. Fourteen-year-old student Izdihar's face lit up when she said, "The exercise books are precious and will help me with my studies… This will help our families to save up for other things that we need." Izdihar was driven from her home village four years ago by the ongoing conflict. In June 2009, the church partners supported by the Christmas Bowl finished building the girls’ new, permanent school which now provides education to 1256 students.

Updates, Declaration & Address and Links

There is a lot going on in the world at the moment, and it is hard not be moved and concerned by what is occurring in Sumatra, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga and the Phillipines. Typhoons, earthquakes and tsunamis over recent days are forecast to have claimed over 2000 lives, and to have injured and left homeless many more. COCOA (Churches of Christ Overseas Aid) has set up an appeal on the GMP website. If you have been moved to donate by the images on our screens at home, please click here and follow the prompts.

Amongst all of this, Churches of Christ are commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address. Various resources have been sent out to churches and ministers over the past few months. One of the latest ones was a DVD that contained a greeting from BJ Mpofu from Zimbabwe to the Australian churches. Zimbabwean and Australian churches have a very strong connection and BJ's message speaks of that sense of unity. Click here for that link.

Also, I interviewed BJ on his back porch in Bulawayo when I was there in mid June. That interview (which runs under 10 minutes) can be found here .

For all those Churches of Christ who are taking the time this weekend to remember our past and walk into our future, let me extend my encouragement. We live in a different world to Thomas Campbell, but the principles he writes of can still have relevance today. Unity, the centrality of Christ and the importance of the Scriptures in guiding us are well worth acknowledging and following.

May we, as a Movement, acknowledge our legacy and forge a new future that blesses others.

I would love to know how your church celebrated!

Craig Brown

Federal Coordinator

The Ministry of Presence: Amahoro Update #1

The Amahoro ("peace") Conference began on a chilly evening, about an hour out of Johannesburg, South Africa on Monday June 8th. The first speaker was Edward Simiyu, from Kenya. His was a seven minute slot but one that had incredible impact on many of us who had travelled from Western contexts. Why Western contexts (in a conference that was predominantly attended by South and East Africans)? To explain that you need to understand my state of mind at that moment.

That whole day I had been meeting and talking to people with an incredible passion for Africa, emergent church, mission and incarnating Christ in their communities. By Monday night, I was feeling a little deflated: "What am I doing here?", "What on earth do I have to contribute?" and "Am I simply taking up space or, worse, taking someone else's spot?" were thoughts that were merrily running through my head. Mind you, I wasn't about to confide to anyone that I was feeling this way...