Oceania

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• 2 min read

  

  Oceania Society & Culture

  Fiji Olympic athletes’ hymns captivate Olympic Village

  By CDI Staff

  The harmonic singing of hymns by Fiji's Olympic athletes, coaches, and staff during their worship gatherings in Paris' Olympic Village has captured hearts worldwide, going viral on social media. Australian water polo player Matilda Kearns, who was housed near the Oceania teams' building, shared the moving scenes on Instagram, showing the Fijian athletes gathered in worship on a Sunday afternoon.

• 6 min read

  

  Oceania Society & Culture Family & Children Church & Missions

  Abuse survivor rebukes New Zealand churches for failed apologies: must 'acknowledge evil done in God’s name'

  By Chris Eyte

  Following the publication of the Abuse in Care report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry, Frances Tagaloa has watched with painful interest as the news media put a spotlight on the stories of abuse and neglect suffered by countless vulnerable and children in care of state and faith-based institutions in New Zealand. Tagaloa is one of the many who suffered at the hands of Catholic clergy, sexually abused “multiple times” as a little girl. Her testimony is one of more than two thousand survivor's

• 4 min read

  

  Oceania Church & Missions

  Overcoming clash of cultures, ministry seeks to build bridges between Aboriginal churches and the wider Church in Australia

  By Chris Eyte

  Unlearn whatever preconceived ideas you have about Aboriginal people and their communities - and sit down with an Aboriginal or other First Nations church leader to spend time listening, absorbing and becoming culturally enlightened. That is the advice for non-indigenous evangelicals given by Sandra Dumas, Senior Pastor of Ganggalah Church and Training Centre with her husband Will, based in Tweed Heads South, Northern Rivers.

• 3 min read

  

  Oceania Society & Culture

  Māori-background contextual theologian Dr Jay Mātenga to head up CDI’s opinion section, ‘amplifying the perspectives of those previously unheard’

  By CDI Staff

  Christian Daily International (CDI), a global Christian news site with reporters and editors in different regions of the world, is pleased to welcome Dr Jay Mātenga as its Opinion Editor. Three decades of service to cross-cultural missions combined with his personal mixed background with Māori heritage, Mātenga is uniquely positioned to take charge of CDI’s opinion section, ensuring it will serve as a platform featuring biblical Christian voices from every part of the world.

• 9 min read

  

  Oceania Society & Culture Family & Children Church & Missions

  Church leaders respond to New Zealand Abuse in Care report, words alone cannot 'mend the wounds'

  By Chris Eyte

  Church leaders in New Zealand have been responding to the publication of a devastating Abuse in Care report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry recounting the abuse and neglect suffered by many thousands of vulnerable children and adults in the hands of church and state institutions from 1950 to1999. Entitled Whanaketia, meaning ‘Through pain and trauma, from darkness to light’, the report contained a challenge to faith leaders to apologize. 

• 2 min read

  

  Oceania Church & Missions

  Report shows hundreds of new churches planted in Australia since 2011

  By Chris Eyte

  Some 428 new churches have been planted in states and territories across Australia in the past 13 years, according to latest data figures from a nationwide survey - and 168 of those since 2021. National Church Life Survey (NCLS) Research published the results this month, July, following the “snapshot” from the New Churches Database taken on April 12 2024.