It was in Wittenberg in 1517 that Martin Luther unveiled the 95 Theses that launched the Reformation.

Centuries of dispute followed about whether eternal salvation comes from faith alone — the position of the new Protestant movement — or if it also requires good works on Earth as Catholics argued.

The Joint Declaration aims to "overcome divisions" from that time. It closes the centuries-old "faith versus works" debate by merging the Lutheran and Catholic views on salvation rather than setting them against each other.

It also promotes unity among the world's Christian Churches, stating "mutual condemnations pronounced by the two sides during the Reformation do not apply to their current teaching on justification".

The document the WRC signed says "We rejoice together that the historical doctrinal differences on the doctrine of justification no longer divide us."

It endorses the 1999 Catholic-Lutheran agreement on how Christians might be worthy of salvation in the eyes of God.

The World Methodist Council formally endorsed the Catholic-Lutheran Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 2006. The Anglican Communion is expected to do the same later this year.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Christian Post
• Image: Ad Verum

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

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

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 includes "my duty to God" in its oath.

The National Catholic Committee on Scouting has expressed its objections to the proposed change and urged Catholics who participate in Scouting to voice their opposition to local Scout councils.

According to Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention executive committee, the Scouts are "wilting under pressure from some of their corporate sponsors".

The Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy organisation, has warned corporate sponsors it would downgrade their "non-discrimination ratings" if they continued to give money to the Scouts.

Already some of the largest donors — Intel, Merck and UPS — have stopped giving.

The proposal, to be voted on in late May, would allow membership to openly gay youth, but retain the current national prohibition of openly gay men serving as adult troop leaders. Local units could set their own rules, but could face legal challenges.

In 2000 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Scouts could ban active homosexuals because their lifestyle conflicted with the core mission of the Scouts, which was imparting values.

Numerous pro-family groups, including Concerned Women for America, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute and Family Research Council, have urged the Scouts to continue their current policy. They argue that it helps to protect scouts from sexual abuse and aligns with the group's founding morals.

Last year, the Scouts were roiled by a sexual-abuse scandal following the revelation of secret files documenting the abuse of boys by their leaders between 1965 and 1985.

Sources:

Catholic News Agency

National Catholic Register

Christian Post

Image: Patheos

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 for the little ones. It's all they have been talking about," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen my grandchildren get up and ready for church so fast."

The service was attended by members from Tongan churches from around the region including Wellington, Tawa, Lower Hutt, Avalon and Upper Hutt.

Tupou VI, whose full name is Ahoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho Tupou VI; was born 12 July 1959

.He is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V. He was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Tongan throne, as his brother (a bachelor) had no legitimate children.

He served as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho became King of Tonga, with the regal name Tupou VI.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Wikipedia
• Image: Stuff.co.nz

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 select committee.

Starting with a prayer, the march took place last Saturday at the Tongan Methodist Church in Mangere. It was organised by leaders from more than 30 Tongan churches and was lead by brass bands, according to a Radio New Zealand report.

Those involved in the march wore red. The banners they carried said things such as "Marriage is a union between a man and a woman".

Filipo Motulalo, who was one of the organisers, said that the churches are not anti-gay but they were marching on behalf of families. For them, family means a man, a woman and children.

Mr Motulalo said that the protest was "about safeguarding marriage. This is about safeguarding family, the foundations of family," against the same-sex marriage bill.

Sources

• Radio New Zealand
• Image: PacificEyeWitness

"What struck me during fieldwork was how the relationship between the chiefs and the church, that is, between political and religious authorities—has generated a pervasive sense of loss," he says.

"People regularly compared the present negatively to the past, in which people were stronger, everyone worked together, customs were intact, and mana (effectiveness, often with a spiritual aspect) was present. I came to realize that these statements were not nostalgia, at least not in the usual sense: people were not just recalling the past fondly, but expressing persistent anxieties that lost power was a curse," says Tomlinson.

• Read Tomlinson's blog
• Image: Monash University

Matt Tomlinson is Lecturer in Anthropology at Monash University in Australia and co-editor of The Limits of Meaning: Case Studies in the Anthropology of Christianity. Tomlinson's latest book, In God's Image: The Metaculture of Fijian Christianity was published by UC Press in January 2009