Anglicans in Sydney have criticised remarks by Christian Democrat leader, the Rev Fred Nile, that the chador ‘worn only by Islamic extremists' should be banned in public places for security reasons.

It may have taken eleven tiring years, but the Rev George Gayagay is ‘overjoyed' that his congregation of Filipino Anglicans has been officially accepted into the Diocese of Sydney. “This offer came out of the blue,” he said “It's a great joy we have become part of the established Anglican Church otherwise we are just nomads.”

Holy Trinity, Millers Point is one of Sydney's most unique churches. The ‘Garrison Church'has a long-standing link with Australia's defence forces, and its picturesque location makes it a sought-after wedding venue.

After three years of waiting, hoping and praying, an indigenous congregation at Minto has finally found a pastor to help them take the next step in their ministry.

The day after Ivan Lee was announced as the new Bishop of Sydney's Western Region, his phone ran hot. On the phone, members of the media sought interviews, well-organised groups from his new region began filling his 2003 diary, and friends congratulated him on his ‘promotion'. But Mr Lee says he has never seen his new position as a step up the ladder. “I see this as a ministry position, not as a stepping stone or anything like that,” he said. “I'm honoured, and it shows a trust that people have in me, and I can't despise that. But I hardly think of it as a promotion.”

It is not often you have the opportunity to review a book that effectively calls you a heretic. That is the charge Kevin Giles makes in his new book against the authors of the Sydney Diocesan Doctrine Commission report The Doctrine of the Trinity and its bearing on the relationship of men and women , of which I am one. According to Giles they, or rather we, ‘have in fact departed from orthodoxy at the most fundamental level'.

Child survivors of the Holocaust. Many are now sharing their life stories and memories of that brutal page in the last century's history. This is one woman's story that may at first seem an unusual book to recommend for holiday reading.

The government's jingoistic appeal to unity will not help Australians defend themselves against Islamicism.