Petersham Baptist Church: Current Social Issues...

The PBC Social Issues Group is no more...

2008-09-09T17:06:00.001-07:00

We will continue to pursue these issues as part of the main agenda of PBC.

Blessing on you all and your labours as we await the consummation of The Kingdom.

"He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.

He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (from Luke 4)

An Inconvenient Truth? DVD + Discussion evening

2007-10-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

An Inconvenient Truth - DVD + Relaxed Discussion Evening
Friday, 26 October 2007
7.45pm @ Morton House (Flo Harris Lodge)
Bring snacks/supper
All welcome!

Check out the trailer below:

Protests in Burma and Military Crackdown

2007-09-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

There have been massive protests against the ruling military junta in Burma. This is the same military rulers that this year was reported:

"The military regime in Burma is intent on wiping out Christianity in the
country, according to claims in a secret document believed to have been leaked
from a government ministry. Entitled "Programme to destroy the Christian
religion in Burma", the incendiary memo contains point by point instructions on
how to drive Christians out of the state.

The text, which opens with the line "There shall be no home where the
Christian religion is practised", calls for anyone caught evangelising to be
imprisoned. It advises: "The Christian religion is very gentle – identify and
utilise its weakness."

Its discovery follows widespread reports of religious persecution, with
churches burnt to the ground, Christians forced to convert to the state
religion, Buddhism, and their children barred from school." (from HERE)

The protests against the regime have gradually swelled, but the rulers of Burma have begun to react violently against the people...

"TROOPS cleared the streets in central Rangoon, reportedly shooting and killing
10 people after telling protesters they had 10 minutes to go home or be shot, as
the Burmese junta intensified its two-day crackdown on the largest uprising in
20 years." (Read about it HERE)

Please be in prayer for Burma (Myanmar) situation!

* For the people

* For the military rulers

* For the church in Burma

If anyone finds any recent updates, please inform us by adding the link in the comments section.

Too Young? 12 year-old chosen as face of fashion festival

2007-09-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

"QUEENSLAND fashion festival has been accused of child exploitation after choosing a 12-year-old girl as the face of the event.

The selection of Year 8 student Maddison Gabriel, pictured, as ambassador of the first Gold Coast Fashion Week has sparked condemnation from within and outside the modelling industry...

Mrs Gabriel said her daughter was mature for her age. She said Maddison, who turns 13 this weekend, had wanted to model for years but had been forced to wait until she was considered old enough.

"I'm very proud and excited for her," she said. "Some 12-year-olds are very young but I think Maddison is a woman in her own right."

Read about it HERE

Um....?!?!

Govt stands by 457 visa scheme despite deaths

2007-09-13T04:16:00.000-07:00

ABOVE: Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews

"Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews is standing by the 457 visa program after claims employer abuse of the scheme has led to the deaths of vulnerable foreign workers.

Unions ramped up criticism of the scheme and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd called for better monitoring after reports three 457 visa holders had died in the past five months.

Filipino farm supervisor Pedro Balading was thrown off the back of a truck and killed on a Northern Territory cattle station in June, not long after complaining he was being forced to do menial work in breach of his visa conditions. (Maria Balading, widow of Pedro Balading is pictured left)

Two days earlier, Chinese logger Guo Jian Dong died north of Brisbane when a dead tree fell and crushed him.

In the third death, in March, Filipino stonemason Wilfredo Navales was crushed by slabs of granite at his workplace north of Perth.

The 457 visa scheme allows employers to import temporary skilled foreign workers to perform jobs that cannot be filled locally."

Read about it HERE

Prayer for miners stuck in China

2007-08-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

More than 180 Chinese miners are trapped down flooded shafts of the Zhangzhuang mine in the eastern province of Shandong after the rain-swollen Wen River surged down the shaft on Friday. The men stuck in the shafts have little hope of survival, but officials said they would press on with rescue efforts after one of the country's worst mine disasters.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/little-hope-for-181-trapped-chinese-miners/2007/08/19/1187462088137.html

Lets reach out in prayer to our almighty saviour ...

Top suburbs costing the Earth

2007-08-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

SHOPPING has been exposed as the big culprit in rising water use and greenhouse gas emissions - and Sydney's most affluent suburbs are the worst offenders.

New data shows the electricity and water used to produce everything people buy - from food and clothing to CDs and electrical appliances - far outweighs any efforts to save water and power in the home, according to an extensive analysis by the Australian Conservation Foundation and the University of Sydney.

Read about it HERE

John Howard on the new workplace laws

2007-08-15T00:07:00.000-07:00

"NO issue will be more keenly argued in the federal election campaign than the fate of the Government's reforms to Australia's workplace system."

Read John Howard's article HERE

Thoughts?

Amazing Grace - the struggle behind the hymn

2007-08-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

Check out the trailer to Amazing Grace - The Movie below. The story of William Wilberforce and the Clapham sect.

Have you seen it? What do you think?

East Timor erupts into violence

2007-08-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

"Thousands of East Timorese have been driven from their homes by violence following the appointment of a new prime minister and are staying at police stations and churches, a police commander said." (SMH, 10/8/2007)

Read about it HERE

Howard, Rudd court Christian vote

2007-08-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Both John Howard and Kevin Rudd have courted the Christian vote in a webcast for up to 100,000 people gathered in churches across the country last night.

The prime minister and opposition leader each took turns to tell the audience how Christianity shaped their lives and their politics.

Read it HERE

First Post!

2007-06-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

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