On Wednesday night (24th August) a group of TEAR Fund supporters held a special screening of the 90 minute documentary Precious Life - an excellent film for people concerned with peace, justice and humanitarian issues.

In 1996 seven of the nine monks from the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria were abducted by rebels and killed, possibly during a rescue attempt by government soldiers. Ten years later, Etienne Comar began to turn their story into a film script – Of Gods and Men. A devout Catholic, Comar was fascinated, not by the execution of the monks, but by their decision to stand by the small, rural, Muslim community that they served [...]

We Kiwis have a real connection with farming.  It’s been the backbone of our economy from the start.  Many of us come from farms, have farming friends or family, or at least have stayed on a farm for a while. We’re not too happy when we see big chunks of our farmland being sold to overseas buyers but at least we’re sure the Kiwi land owner agreed to the sale and sold at a very [...]

A few weeks ago as I was paddling across Purakanui inlet in a kayak – which was rapidly trying to become a submarine -  I passed a pleasant dad in a dingy rowing his two little daughters by the old boat sheds.  We chatted a bit, there on the water and it turned out that “Brian” and his family were from Christchurch.  Their house had been rendered uninhabitable by the earthquakes.  Some kind soul had [...]

To use a very American expression – I feel conflicted about the USA. I have many American friends and most of the Americans I’ve met have been open hearted, charming people. The US keeps me entertained with movies, TV, books and music. I have America to thank for much of the technology I enjoy. And as kiwis we have to thank America’s involvement in WW2 for our existence as a free country.

This offensive question must be asked every time a natural disaster like the Christchurch earthquake, strikes and some thoughtless Christian states that God is punishing the city. A sweet little Christian girl happily claimed on the internet that the calamities in Japan were an answer to her prayers against Japanese atheists. Can she not see that if she were right, she would be an accessory to mass murder and her God – a baby killing [...]

It’s Ash Wednesday. It’s not an occasional for cards, cake and commercialism. It’s a time to remember that we are mortal, fragile that we will all die.

Xmasitis is an epidemic disease that hits our society once a year around the start of December. Strangely our health authorities offer no medical response or official warning even though Xmasitis causes the most stressful, dangerous time of the year. Therefore it’s vital that each one of us learns to recognize the symptoms and takes measures to minimize the effects. The first symptom is an increasing sense of pressure. At work you scramble to finish [...]

Sam Chapman talks about the World Christian Gathering on Indigenous People and what the conference in January has to offer.

The other day I was catching up with one of my favorite programmes on the internet – the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  Jon was interviewing the King of Jordan – Abdullah II – a highly intelligent, moderate and admirable leader. I must admit when I hear a name like King Abdullah I tend to have negative preconceptions of oil sheiks and extremists.  This is because the media so often focuses on the posturing and [...]