Media Release

International Men’s Day 19th November 2010

Exciting Celebration – Our Future Our Children

‘Our Children Our Future’ is the theme for International Men’s Day on 19th November 2010. The future of our children depends on positive male role models. The theme ‘Our Children Our Future’ celebrates the 48 hour partnership that International Men’s Day has with Universal Children’s Day, which is celebrated on 20th November 2010 and endorsed by the United Nations.

The celebrations of International Men’s Day 2009 were the largest ever global collaboration of men and women to address the challenges and problems that men face. Ireland, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Australia, India, United States, Singapore, United Kingdom, Malta, South Africa, Georgia, New Zealand, Moldova, Germany, Holland and Brazil were a sample of the nations around the world that celebrated and honored the selfless sacrifices of Men and their invaluable contributions to families, communities and society. International Men’s Day 2009 was featured in newspaper headlines, TV stories, magazine articles, blogs, YouTube promos and websites the world over.

Warwick Marsh the Global Coordinator for International Men’s Day said, “International Men’s day is growing at an exponential rate around the world. We are getting enquires from all over the world. More and more people are celebrating the day.  Even in all this excitement the focus of International Men’s  Day remains the same:

· To promote positive male role models; not just movie stars and sports men but everyday, working class men who are living decent, honest lives.
· To celebrate men’s positive contributions to society, community, family, marriage, child care, and to the environment.
· To focus on men’s health and wellbeing; social, emotional, physical and spiritual.
· To highlight discrimination against men; in areas of social services, social attitudes and expectations, and law.
· To improve gender relations and promote gender equality.
· To create a safer, better world; where people can be safe and grow to reach their full potential.

The team at www.internationalmensday.com honour founder, Dr Jerome Teelucksingh from Trinidad who first called for the world wide celebration of International Men’s Day in 1999. We also appreciate the many other websites and people that are promoting International Men’s Day around the world because together we can make a difference.

Message from our Senior Pastor, Ps. Ben Irawan -

Excerpt from Canberra Declaration website below.

The Preamble to the Australian Constitution contains the words, ”Humbly relying on the blessings of Almighty God”. As Australian citizens we continue to declare that we too put our trust in Almighty God.

For centuries, to speak of Western civilisation was to speak of Christian civilisation. The two were in many ways synonymous. The values that we have cherished and sought to strengthen are in large measure founded on the Judeo-Christian belief system. The many freedoms, advantages, opportunities, values and liberties which characterise the West owe much to the growth of Christianity with its inherent belief in the dignity of the human person as created in the image of God and the code of behaviour that flows from this belief.

The Canberra Declaration follows on from the 2009 Manhattan Declaration and the 2010 Westminster Declaration. It declares that when Christian values are respected and allowed freedom of expression, not just confined to so-called sacred spaces but in the public arena as well, society is richer and healthier.

We wish to emphasise three areas that demand particular attention in our contemporary Australian society, namely religious freedom, marriage and the family, and the sanctity of human life. Were we to undermine any one of these values, the social fabric of our nation would be seriously weakened, to our personal and collective detriment.

Dear Friends

We invite you to join with us to call the Christian people of this nation to pray and fast for 40 days starting on Monday the 5^th July 2010 and finishing on the 13^th of August 2010 which is National Marriage Day. http://marriageday.family.org.au

The focus of our prayers over this 40 day period is for the healing of the land according to 2 Chronicles 7:14 and the restoration and protection of marriage and family in our nation. Marriage is the cornerstone of families and families are the cornerstone of the nation. When marriage and family suffer our children suffer too. The future of our children is the future of our nation.

Australia will soon be facing a Federal Election and the denigration of our nation’s Christian values is of concern to us all as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. The current political machinations of the past few weeks have been a catalyst for this Call to Prayer. Nevertheless these are not the only issues:

In Victoria, which is our new Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s home state, they can abort a baby up to birth. NSW is just as bad with high rates of abortion and the proposed Homosexual Adoption Bill which has been put forward by Clover Moore MP. Yet no state of Australia has a monopoly on vice as “all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

We, as the people of God, must accept responsibility and cry out to God for forgiveness on behalf of our land.  We must also pray for our leaders as in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 which includes our new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott. It is critical at this time that we pray for them.

The scriptural injunction for our prayers is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

In Joel 2:15-17 we read, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

Ezekiel 22: 30-31 says, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

The people of God have a responsibility to intercede for the nation just as Daniel did and say forgive us “our” sin. Daniel is one of the few men in the bible who had no sins recorded against his name but he still said forgive “us” Lord. Abraham did the same as he interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah. Fasting is all about humbling ourselves before God. The Hebrew word “Kana” for humbling is used in the same context to describe fasting. It is about denying ourselves as a prayer to God.

You don’t have to fast every day over the 40 day period. Miss a meal once a day or fast once a week. Miss out on your sweets, drop tea and coffee or conduct a Daniel fast and go vegetarian for 40 days. There are many ways to fast. Whichever way you pray and fast do it unto the Lord.

Please join in this Call to Prayer for our nation. It says in Proverbs, “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach for any people”. Please pass this information on to all individuals, churches and prayer groups interested in prayer so that as many as possible can join in this 40 Days of Prayer for our nation. Let us believe together for an outpouring of grace and healing from God for our nation.

Yours in His Service

Warwick & Alison Marsh

www.24-7prayer.org.au

www.christianvalues.org.au

Notes of further interest:

1. The 40 Day Call to Prayer 5 July – 13 August, (National Marriage Day 2010). All Australians everywhere are encouraged to celebrate National Marriage Day. www.marriageday.family.org.au
2. The Government of God Convocation will be held 21-24 July 2010 in the Parliamentary Theatrette, Parliament House, Canberra. www.reconciliationandpeace.org
3. Generation Fire National Gathering 6-8 August 2010 ‘It’s Time to Burn’, Canberra. www.generationfire.com.au
4. Australian Prayer Network will announce their prayer strategy campaign for the election on the announcement of the Federal election dates. www.ausprayernet.org.au
5. Marriage Week is celebrated 12-18 September 2010. All Australians are also encouraged to celebrate this week www.marriageweek.org.au

ACLC Spring Festival

The Spring Festival is a FREE community Festival organised by the Arncliffe Community Life Centre. It is open for public and specifically designed to serve, connect and reach out to Arncliffe and its surrounding community.

If you live around there, feel free to come – it will be fun.

Date: Saturday, 31st October 2009
Time: 10am – 4pm

Location: Arncliffe Community Life Centre
19 Dowling St. (corner of Kembla St & Hirst St)
Arncliffe

Further details can be found on LifeCentre main website:

http://www.lifecentre.org.au/events/index.html