When 500 women gathered for the first time since the launch of the Diocesan Mission to find fresh ways to reach their unbelieving Sydney sisters with the gospel, the challenge was to come to grips with a female population gripped by the ‘new spirituality', soaring depression levels and ‘time-poor lifestyles'.

The notion of forking out fourteen dollars to see a film based on a Fun Park ride seems like a dubious investment. What's next? A movie version of Dodgem Cars? To compound the problem, the film in question is a pirate flick – a genre whose recent offerings have been resounding disasters. However Pirates of the Caribbean is rescued from certain ignominy by a cracker script (from the writers of Shrek), swashbuckling action and a riotous performance by Johnny Depp.

The House of Welcome is an initiative of the NSW Ecumenical Council. It offers service provision for refugees and asylum seekers who are released from detention and do not have adequate support to settle into the Australian community.

The largest church in the Diocese of Sydney, St Matthias', Centennial Park has undergone major changes over the past year that have seen the parish embarkon a significant rethink of its mission to the city's eastern suburbs.

There are two immediate issues that come from the furore over the 'gay bishops' controversy last month. One is about the Bible and the other about the hidden dangers of homophobia. First, it's clear that in our society 'the Bible says' doesn't have any traction anymore. The reactions to comments about the Bible show that in these days our society has no real idea about what we evangelicals mean.

There are two immediate issues that come from the furore over the 'gay bishops' controversy last month. One is about the Bible and the other about the hidden dangers of homophobia. First, it's clear that in our society 'the Bible says' doesn't have any traction anymore. The reactions to comments about the Bible show that in these days our society has no real idea about what we evangelicals mean.

Newly released evidence from the National Church Life Survey (NCLS) that caring for outsiders, particularly migrants, improves a church's ability to win converts is set to inform church planting strategies in South Sydney.

The 'James Ossuary', originally hailed as a remarkable find last year, is now being widely reported as a forgery.