16+ hour, 26+ min ago (343+ words) With the coming of Advent, the Western Christian church begins the first season of its liturgical year. Advent starts on the Sunday closest to November 30 " today " and concludes on Christmas Eve. It's a time of preparation for the birth of Christ. This ancient season's name derives from the Latin word adventus, meaning arrival, approach or coming. While the community becomes increasingly louder and happily engaged with festivities, the church quietens and readies itself to welcome the long-awaited Christ. As one seasonal bidding prayer puts it: "to prepare ourselves to hear again the message of the angels, and in heart and mind to go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, and the Babe lying in the manger. Advent, the time of year preparing for Christmas, is yet another period commandeered and commercialised by capitalism. Like…...

2+ day, 1+ hour ago (19+ words) A Queensland church community is picking up the pieces after its warehouse full of donations went up in flames....

2+ day, 16+ hour ago (16+ words) Pope Leo's has arrived in Turkey on his first trip overseas amid heightened Middle East tensions....

1+ week, 16+ hour ago (338+ words) A couple of decades ago, young American Bobby Gruenewald standing in an airport security queue wondered whether technology could help him read the Bible more consistently. He launched a website, then in 2008 an app for mobile phones. This week, that free Bible app, YouVersion " now offering more than 3500 translations in 2300 languages, including 89 in English " was downloaded for the billionth time, an extraordinary figure, even if many people have downloaded it more than once. In Australia, it has been downloaded 7.4million times, half a million so far this year. The Bible " there's an app for that.Credit: AP According to YouVersion, the app is opened a billion times around the world every 39 days and daily engagement is up 14 per cent this year. What does this thirst for the Bible signify? Above all, it seems to me, it is a search for meaning,…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (1753+ words) Leaked recordings reveal the church's leadership swinging back at the Prime Minister labelling it a cult and how it plans to deal with a tax office probe. Exclusive Brethren gather at a Universal Fellowship meeting in Ermington, NSW, in April, 2024. Credit: Rhett Wyman The leaders of extremist religious sect the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church this week tightened their grip over every aspect of their members' lives and finances, while rejecting the prime minister's accusation that they're a cult. Leaked audio from the church's annual conference, Strive 26, held on Monday and obtained by this masthead, features Dean and Charles Hales " two of the ultra-wealthy sons of the "Man of God, Bruce Hales " pressuring the Brethren "saints to give more money and to hand over more financial information to centrally controlled companies. The church is facing an ongoing Australian Taxation Office investigation,…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (18+ words) The King and Prince William have laid wreaths in a touching Remembrance service at the Cenotaph in London....

3+ week, 16+ hour ago (43+ words) Free weekly forecast in life, love and career from renowned astrologer, Hedy Damari. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Free weekly forecast in life, love and career from renowned astrologer, Hedy Damari....