One aspect of our church gatherings that causes some division and confusion is the practice of clapping. It should come as no surprise that the current March 2009 edition of Southern Cross includes a letter to the Editor raising this very issue in relation to the Connect '09 Big Day In.

Across the United States mega-churches are melting as the global financial crisis applies a blowtorch to their business structures. Some of our best known local churches are also facing serious threats from the economic downturn. This week, Jeremy Halcrow asks the experts for their tips on how local ministry can thrive despite the budget blues.

Never shy of a challenge, Bishop Al Stewart has told Sydneyanglicans.net what he will be watching as he gears up for the Acts 29 network's church-planting conference this week.

Fundraising expert Nathan Brown says churches should remain optimistic about budget bottom lines. Read our tips from Nathan and other experts on raising funds in a recession.

Vampires that are courteous and kind and try to live like humans. A series of four books about teenage romance in which sex only occurs in the final book, after marriage! The Twilight series takes the vampire myth and carries it to a different dimension.

Join Archbishop Peter Jensen in a weekly online Bible Study series on The Essential Jesus (the gospel of Luke).

First came love, then came marriage, then came Bella with a baby carriage, or so the old nursery rhyme goes, rewritten of course for final book in Stephanie Meyers vampire quartet.

Hearts flutter as the door opens. In she walks, in her white tulle haze, towards the dewy-eyed groom waiting for her at the other end. But let me break this to you now – if you're after some wedding wonderment, Rachel Getting Married isn't the movie to see.