Maroubra surfers have made headlines battling the council and the courts. Now a spiritual battle is making waves.

Sydney Anglican leaders say proposed changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act will be a significant threat to freedom of religion in NSW.

Southern Cross and Sydneyanglicans.net are pleased to make available some less traditional 'stocking stuffers' that may be of real use to family and friends this Christmas.

Read the letters to the editor from the December 2005 edition of Southern Cross.

It’s ‘all about equality’ according to the Rev Bart Vanden Hengel, the Rector of St John’s, Penshurst. The English and Mandarin congregations at St John’s have services running concurrently at 10:30am on Sundays. They share morning tea, have combined Sunday School classes and even share usage of the main church building.

AGNES WILSON finds out from local Anglicans what motivates them to knock on thousands of doors each Christmas.

The war in Iraq has created more harm than good, according to a key church leader in the Middle East.

Jessica Bales prays daily that her fiancé, Shani, will be safe as he works in the earthquake ravaged districts of northern Pakistan. Zeeshan Laal Din, or Shani as he is known to his friends, is working with Serving in Mission (SIM) as an aid worker in a team of about 14 medics.

St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Melbourne attracted a flurry of media attention last month amidst reports that it had been in negotiation with an advertising agency to sell advertising space on the newly erected scaffolding surrounding the Moorhouse Spire.

Most Australian churchgoers will take part in the National Church Life survey next year, despite reviews being undertaken in several Anglican dioceses, including Sydney.

While non-Western conservatives rebuke the Archbishop of Canterbury, England faces trouble from its own congregations.

Anglicare Australia’s history of failing to consult with Anglicare Sydney has forced the charity to cut membership ties with the national body, Anglicare Sydney said last month.

The Diocese is selling its fund management company, Glebe Asset Management (GAM), in the wake of heavy compliance burdens resulting from increasing regulation of the industry.

The next six months will be crucial for Blue Mountains-based Explorers Christian Church (ECC), as it seeks to employ a paid ‘leader’ for the first time in order to cope with growth over the past three years.

Our clergy are wonderfully unworldly in sinful Sydney

Last month’s SC front page revealed the risk home/work conflict poses to Sydney Anglicans’ spiritual and relational wellbeing. It sparked questions from a number of pastors. JEREMY HALCROW, co-author of the research paper, provides some more answers.

A campaign to highlight Aboriginal poverty needs to be well supported.

There has been much opposition to the sedition clause in the Howard Government’s new counter-terror legislation. But sedition was also in the air in Jesus’ day. Indeed, he was charged with being guilty of that crime, that is, of “agitation against the authority of a state”.

How can The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe help us to talk about the gospel with friends and family? GREG CLARKE, Director of New College’s apologetics centre, CASE, offers a few starters.

Matt Dalziel is a home grown evangelist. He was raised in the faith of Christ at South Turramurra Anglican (St Philip’s) and was confirmed, a convinced believer, at age 15.

CMS missionaries Malcolm and Elizabeth Richards share their adventures of teaching at a marriage seminar in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo, where polygamy and tradition make it difficult for Christian marriages to last.

The sight of Christmas decorations reminds us that it’s time to make our New Years’ Resolutions. What will you plan do differently in your youth ministry next year?

I hope we will be as generous to Global South Christians as they have been in standing for biblical truth.

The children’s fable about mass hysteria and foolish assumptions is almost entirely unrecognisable in this Disney animation. Set in a small town, this Chicken Little is a spoof on the cautionary tale but the laughs are painfully few.

The image of a faun carrying parcels in the snow was, for CS Lewis, the first glimpse of a world that would be Narnia. From this single mental picture he composed a magical land and a tale of suffering, forgiveness and redemption.

Truth is stranger than fiction. If the 1914 Christmas Day Truce were not a matter of historical fact you would suppose Hollywood dreamt it up. Although, by their reckoning, the truce would have ended the war with Tom Cruise/Hanks making a stirring speech after taking on the corrupt authorities.

It was always going to be a tough job. How could the director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy ever be known for anything else? In short, how could Peter Jackson hope to exceed a critically acclaimed, Oscar winning, box-office smashing epic?

Journalist and broadcaster Edward R Murrow was known as the ‘Jeremiah’ of the radio and television industry. Critical, earnest and determined, Murrow pioneered investigative journalism, taking on issues like racism, segregation and the exploitation of migrant workers. His work with CBS TV in the 1950s saw him confront Senator Joseph McCarthy exposing his dubious methods. However Murrow’s trademark integrity was not always appreciated.

Like seeing teenagers tease old people? You’ll love Speaking in tongues. John Safran’s new 12-part SBS series seeks to capitalise on the huge success of his last show, John Safran vs. God but it ends up being little more than a 21st century version of bear-baiting.

Children's literature has often strayed into dark realms. The tales of brothers Grimm and Grimm are notorious for their sinister edge. The events in the Lemony Snicket tales are frequently unfortunate, to say the least. Alongside the humour and whimsy in Roald Dahl's writing there was always a dose of the macabre. And so the increasingly menacing world of Harry Potter is hardly without precedent. So does that make the movie version of The Goblet of Fire suitable for children?