Micah Challenge - Offering Letters
August 4, 2008
An Offering of Letters
Micah Challenge is calling Christians all over Australia to pick up their pens to fight poverty. The “Offering of Letters” campaign asks churches and other Christian groups to prayerfully write a letter to the Prime Minister calling for compassion, generosity and justice for 1.2 billion people who live in extreme poverty. The letters will be delivered to Mr Rudd during the Micah Challenge National Gathering, Voices for Justice, in October.
In 2006, more than 1300 letters were sent to local MPs and they had a big impact. This year, we are encouraging Christians to write to the Prime Minister urging him to turn his words of support for the Millennium Development Goals into tangible action. It should take about 15 minutes to construct a hand-written letter letting him know that Christians care about poverty and injustice.
“The Offering of Letters can have a powerful and positive impact”, said Micah Challenge National Coordinator, Amanda Jackson. “We want every church, home group, theological college and school in Australia to be involved”.
The Chair of the Micah Challenge Steering Committee, Rev Paul Perini, is also urging Christians to make an Offering of Letters. “We can help save lives and offer hope to thousands of families if we take the time to write letters. I think God would want us to act”, he said.
The Offering of Letters kit for 2008 can be downloaded now at www.micahchallenge.org.au . It includes all the information you need to write a letter to the Prime Minister, as well as a sample letter and responsive prayer you can use with your group. You can also download a PowerPoint presentation that can be utilised to explain the campaign.
“Just as we offer our money and our time to God, we can also offer our voices on behalf of the voiceless” said Amanda Jackson. “This is part of our worship, and gives us the opportunity to ‘do justice and love kindness’ and take up the challenge of Micah 6:8”.
MPH -Internship
June 4, 2008
Got this in an email today…
For the first time, Make Poverty History is offering enthusiastic supporters the opportunity to work as interns on the Make Poverty History campaign.
You will gain professional campaigning experience, work with like-minded people and have an even greater impact on making poverty history.
The program will provide you with the opportunity to focus on a specific role, lead a group of volunteers and provide assistance to the Campaign Co-ordinators and specialist campaign teams (for example Climate Change and Maternal and Child Health).
The internships are six months in length from June to December 2008.
The placement would be ideal for university students but all applications are welcome and will be considered. All internships are based in Melbourne.
What are you waiting for? Applications close on 11 June.
Aid budget in a nutshell
May 14, 2008
The budget has been handed down – an expression, incidentally, that I love. It’s a bit Charlton Heston as Moses in The Ten Commandments really. Well, if Moses had begun each commandment with “Mister Speaker, in order to support working families…”
I’ll leave it for others to opine on how Swan and/or the Rudd Government have passed their “first big test” with the budget overall. I don’t do tax cuts or infrastructure funds or baby bonuses, just the aid budget… In a nutshell:
- Aid increases to $3.66 billion in 2008/09 – up $505 million from the 2007/08 budget (an increase of 9% in real terms)
- $238 million of this increase is accounted for by the Government cancelling the final tranche of debt owed to us by Iraq
- So, not counting Iraq debt, the real increase is 4.9% on last year’s budget
- Aid will reach 0.32% of Gross National Income (a level it was last at in 1995/96) – up from 0.3% GNI last year, but still less than half the internationally-agreed aid target of 0.7% GNI Australia has committed to
- The budget begins to deliver on the Government’s pre-election commitments to increase funding to water and sanitation ($300 million over 3 years), eliminating avoidable blindness in the region ($45 million over 2 years), and establishing Pacific partnerships for development ($127 million over 4 years for a regional infrastructure facility and $54 million over 4 years for a Pacific Land Program to address land reform challenges)
- There are some further, modest increases in funding for UN agencies and other multilateral bodies
continue reading “It’s an aid budget - the headlines
Jubilee Sunday
May 10, 2008
| May 18, 2008 |
This is part of the on-going campaign by Jubilee Australia for the cancellation of the unpayable component of developing country debts. For a congregation to become a Jubilee Congregation go to http://jubilee.worldsecuresystems.com/church_resources There are also prayer and liturgy materials on the website under ‘Get Active’. To participate in an action for World Debt Day to lobby the Australian Government for policies that promote global justice please go to the website http://www.jubileeaustralia.org
It’s Fairtrade Fortnight!
May 8, 2008
So, this month we are taking action about the unfair conditions of workers around the world who produce our daily (or more!) cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Workers who produce for FAIRTRADE label products receive much better conditions and pay… but the majority of products for sale in the Australian market are not under the FAIRTRADE label.
Find out more about how you can make a difference at www.justact.org.au – check out the Actions…
Enjoy Fairtrade Fortnight and make sure your next cuppa is fair!
Tess and Antony
Honour Amos, Jeremiah, Jesus and Jameson – use FAIRTRADE products
April 17, 2008
Rev Jameson Mabviko is a member of the Kasinthula Cane Growers (KCG) in
TEAR - Political Alerts
February 8, 2008
Hi Guys here is info & link to TEARS new alert/response system it sounds like it works simliarly to the ACOSS one.
We invite you to sign up for our powerful new online and email advocacy tool: Changemakers Political Alerts. This email and web interface will put you directly in touch with your own MP or Senator when they speak about the issues that TEAR Australia tracks. Backbenchers and Senators make speeches or comment about issues of global poverty in Parliament, or even in local media, and it is often little reported. Indeed, politicians expect to receive little or no feedback from their electorate about these issues. Global poverty and justice, it seems, hardly rate at all compared to petrol prices, graffiti, and noisy neighbours. Letters about these topics regularly fill the in-trays of federal MPs!
Through Changemakers Political Alerts, when your own MP or Senator speaks about global poverty, the Millennium Development Goals, poor-country debt, refugees and asylum-seekers or the development impacts of climate change, we will track it through Hansard and other news alerts and send an email to every Changemaker in the electorate, asking you to respond. A one-click response will allow you to personalise a pre-generated email reply which is ready to go directly from you to your MP. Direct, relational, representative democracy in action.
To sign up for this system, please follow this link http://changemakers.tear.org.au and confirm your details.
Together we can continue to make change, encourage our elected representatives to focus on issues of global poverty and justice, and hold them accountable to the commitments they make.
Prayer 4 issues of global poverty
November 12, 2007
Sorry about the late posting… this email was buried in my inbox calling for people pray for issues of global poverty - last Sunday. Luckily I believe God is not constrained by time and space 
This has been initiated by the Heads of Churches throughout Australia.
“There has been some discussion over the last week about what level of overseas aid is appropriate for Australians to contribute to our neighbours in need. The UCA, along with many other Churches, supports the UN Millenial Development Goals through the Micah Challenge and other groups. On Wednesday a meeting of national “Heads of Churches” met in Sydney and has asked that Australia take a bi-partisan approach and act in accordance with its commitment to these UN Millenial Development Goals. In the case of overseas aid this is 0.7% of Gross National Income.
The sixteen “Heads of Churches” signed this statement and, in doing so, asked Christians to pray this Sunday for issues related to world poverty. This email is to bring this request to your attention and to ask you to add your prayers to those of other Christians in Australia on this continuing and pressing human need.”
MPH-Meet your Ministers (Monash electorate)
September 11, 2007
| September 26, 2007 | ||
| 7:30 pm | to | 8:30 pm |
Every day 30,000 children die from poverty-related causes. As a nation, Australians do care. We are among the most generous givers to overseas aid in the world. But are our political leaders doing enough in the fight against global poverty? 2007 marks the half way point to meet the commitment of halving absolute poverty by 2015. It is also an election year. You can help Australia meet its commitments!
Come and meet party representatives who are shaping Australia’s response to the issue of global poverty. Be part of this unique opportunity to share your thoughts and challenge our leaders about Australia’s support for people living in poverty.
Download a flyer 5285-mph-forum-invite-vic-final.pdf
Date: Wednesday 26 September 2007
Time: 7:30-8:30pm
Location: Wesley College Cato Hall, 620 High Street Road
Glen Waverley, Victoria Enter via Gate 3 & 4
Speakers:
Mr Bob McMullan MP, Labor Party
Shadow Minister for International Development Assistance
The Hon Greg Hunt MP, Liberal Party
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs
RSVP:
Jane McGeough from TEAR Australia on
janemc@tear.org.au
Make Poverty History and Micah Challenge are a coalition of more than 60 aid agencies,community groups and religious organisations.
Australians are struggling to access dental care
August 3, 2007
Australians are struggling to access dental care
Australia Fair
New research by Australia Fair, to be released tomorrow (Friday), shows that many Australians are struggling to access dental care.
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