We’ve been spending some time trying to understand the recent events in Lebanon. We are certainly not experts on the Middle East; and like most situations of warfare, this one is shrouded in complexities that will only become clearer when hostilities have ceased. Nevertheless we thought it might be helpful to gather the facts as others have reported them, and then to offer a Christian evaluation.

On September 11, 2001 four American planes were hijacked over US airspace. Two were flown into the World Trade Center in New York. One was flown into the Pentagon in Washington. The fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. This was United Airlines flight 93.

From ancient Greek theatre, through the theatrical productions of the Elizabethan age and into the present, real life tragedy and disaster have played a part in the writing and performing of drama. In modern society the most common expression of such stories is through cinema – a medium associated with escapism and entertainment. Movie making is also a business involving millions of dollars. So is there an ethical dilemma in the turning of real life tragedy into a commercial venture? Is there a moral quandary in making entertainment out of another’s suffering?

A proposed Aboriginal school in Redfern is showing that Sydney Anglicans could help bridge the gap between the education ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. JEREMY HALCROW and MADELEINE COLLINS investigate the implications for how all Anglican schools are run.

Grief affects every church community but we could be better prepared. KYM FUHRMANN speaks to Sydney Anglicans whose lives have been touched by loss.

How God is working in our lives.

After reviewing their ‘life goals’ together, Paul and Suzanne Johnson decided long-term support for Moore College was a key part of defending and promoting the gospel.

I never tire of hearing the stories of what has led our students to come to study at Moore College. Within the huge variety of stories, three themes occur again and again.

My husband Marco had been ministering in the parish of St Luke’s Miranda for nine years when he died suddenly from a heart attack in the early hours of Monday, 29 November 1999. He was aged 44, I was 42 and our three children were in their middle teenage years.

Each month Southern Cross reports on the major decisions of the diocesan Standing Committee.

Lay people wanting to enter stipendiary ministry in Sydney Diocese will be required to answer a comprehensive series of questions about their lifestyle under new rules aimed at tightening child protection standards in churches.

Nine American dioceses have formally expressed displeasure with their own US Anglican branch over its advocacy of homosexuals in ministry, and are looking for a new way to stay in communion with the Anglican world.

Churches in Kerala are holding special prayers to protest a new bill by the Indian State’s Communist Government which restricts Christian instruction in schools. Communist student activists attacked and extensively vandalised several Christian-run colleges .

Lebanese Christians have expressed their distress at the reaction to their plight in the West.

There’s a lot going on about buildings in the South Sydney Region at the moment. A terrible fire at one church, a million dollar building project in another, and in a another parish (meeting in an inadequate hall) a long wait for the aircraft noise abatement people to rebuild the church. So what’s a building anyway? Just a building? Well, no actually.

A Moore College graduate is bringing a high church alive for a new generation, writes MADELEINE COLLINS.

Newtown parish faces massive heritage issues but is seizing the opportunities for ministry, writes NATASHA PERCY.

Two Victorian pastors convicted of vilifying Muslims at a church seminar in 2002 will take their appeal against the ruling to the Supreme Court on August 21. Danny Nalliah (right) and Daniel Scot allege the judgement of the Victorian Civil and Administration Tribunal against Catch the Fire ministries under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act was biased.

Widespread gang rape as part of the DRC’s civil war has intensified the AIDS pandemic and left the Anglican Church as the last hope.

Parishes and ministries across the Diocese can expect to be better equipped for their task than ever before, thanks to a new position aimed at promoting and resourcing the Mission.

Read this month's letters to the editor.

I thoroughly recommend An Enigmatic Life. Whether, like me, you knew and loved ‘DBK’ or whether you (surprisingly) have never heard of him until now, this book will richly repay careful reading.

Broughton Knox stands as one of the two most significant influences of all in the history of the Diocese of Sydney, writes MARCIA CAMERON.

In the 1960s the original town of Jindabyne was moved when the Snowy River was dammed. The old town remains submerged under Lake Jindabyne and when the lake levels are very low it is possible to see parts of what used to be. It's an apt setting for Ray Lawrence's moody and complex study of relationships under pressure.

Evangelical theologian NT WRIGHT calls for a more mature, biblical response to evil.