Carers responsible for aged and disabled family members are calling on the federal government to rethink a funding strategy that threatens to close nursing homes. The federal governments plan to link funding to new building requirements by 2008 has raised fears of a bed shortage with already stressed families.

A Rooty Hill woman is letting decades of experience teaching children the Gospel overflow on to the web and into Sydneys Sunday schools. Sandy Galea, a trained primary school teacher, is the driving force behind Kidswise, a web-based service offering 20 weeks of teaching programs and talks to time-strapped Bible teachers.

Two Sydney CMS workers are making significant inroads with Slovenias student population. ZVESh is the Slovenian national Christian student movement affiliated with IFES, and is working amongst Slovenias 43,000 university students. CMS missionaries Leon and Lee (surname deleted for security) are working alongside ZVESh, which is growing in maturity and self-sufficiency.

Animated films have taken out the top two prizes in the Ignite Film Festival, Sydneys premier Christian film competition. More than a thousand people packed Sydneys Town Hall to see the finalists in eight categories, including drama, science fiction, musical and documentary. Entrants were challenged to take one of Jesus parables and translate it to the big screen.

When a recent meeting took place between Indian Hindus in Fiji and eight Christians from Richmond, it was the start of an unlikely friendship built on a mutual love for Christ. In September a group from St Peters, Richmond embarked on a mission trip to Fiji to work with missionary couple Frank and Robyn Hawkes at an Indian Baptist church near the capital, Suva. The team shared the Matthias Media gospel presentation Two Ways to Live with the local Indian minority.

The following is a web-log contributed by Sarita England, a committed Christian heading off to Africa to get a first hand view of the Kingdom work being carried out in some of the most difficult conditions on earth.

An Illawarrra prayer group that began as a single-room affair is preparing to celebrate 21 years of sending financial and spiritual support to missionaries. Six Church Missionary Society supporters formed the core of the group in the early 1980s, starting their meeting in the Bishop of Wollongongs offices. The group has now grown to almost 60 people traveling from as far afield as Woonona in the north, to Gerringong in the south.

The New South Wales governor has cut the ribbon on a school facility that preserves Sydneys colonial past while providing Anglican students room to develop their future. Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir was special guest at the opening ceremony of Danebank Schools new technology and design centre, the Terraces.