The World Communion of Reformed churches (WCR) representing about 80 million Christians signed a “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” with Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist leaders last week in Wittenberg, Germany. It was in Wittenberg in 1517 that Martin Luther unveiled the 95 Theses that launched the Reformation. Centuries of dispute followed about whether Read more
An inner-city parish has sent one of its pastors roaming the streets. Rob Ferguson joined the Durham St Methodist Mission in July and now spends 40 hours a week walking through Christchurch’s recovering CBD. In plain clothes and with just a tablet, cell phone and backpack, Ferguson’s mission is simple: Talk to people. Continue reading
New rules have been made for the way the Methodist, Anglican and Catholic Churches in New Zealand work towards Christian unity. Cardinal John Dew attended the Forum for National Dialogue for Christian Unity, where the rules were formally accepted. A celebration of prayer followed afterwards. Continue reading
A proposal by the Boy Scouts of America to reverse its ban on openly gay members is causing a dilemma for the Christian churches that sponsor almost 70 per cent of its troops. Of the 100,000 Scout units across the nation, 37,882 are Mormon, 11,078 are Methodist and 8570 are Catholic. And the organisation still Read more
The King of Tonga, Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u Tuku’aho are on their first official visit to New Zealand. On Sunday they attended a service at the Wesley Methodist Church on Taranaki St in Wellington Local pastor, Reverend Viliami Finau, said the children had been excited about the visit for weeks. “It is very exciting Read more
The bill to make same-sex marriage legal in Aotearoa New Zealand has prompted about 300 people belonging to Tongan churches in Auckland to join a protest march. Labour MP Louisa Wall’s same-sex marriage bill, aimed at legalising same-sex marriage, passed its first reading in Parliament during August. It is now being considered by a parliamentary Read more
Matt Tomlinson has been conducting research in Fiji since 1996. His area of investigation is the relationships between the indigenous chiefly system and the Methodist church, which had enormous influence on politics until the most recent coup in 2006. “What struck me during fieldwork was how the relationship between the chiefs and the church, that Read more