Roundup: Tutu, Jan Sutch Pickard, coal seam gas, homeless shelter

Church releases CSG statement

The New England North West Presbytery of the Uniting Church in Australia this week issued a statement calling on the NSW Government to provide for greater protection for the farmlands and sensitive environments of the Liverpool Plains and North West Plains area.

Volunteers sought for church homeless shelter pilot

A pilot program to provide emergency shelter for the homeless by housing them in Canberra’s churches is looking for volunteers.

Forgiveness and the holy fool

Desmond Tutu has been garlanded with many laurels, including the Nobel Prize in 1984. This week, the former archbishop of Cape Town got an honour which in cash terms is worth even more: the Templeton Prize, amounting to £1.1m, which recognises people for “affirming life’s spiritual dimension”.

Spirituality, poetry and activism

Jan Sutch Pickard is a Scottish poet, storyteller, spiritual leader and activist. She’s spent a lot of time at the Iona Community in western Scotland, a centre which blends Benedictine-style spirituality with a focus on justice and peace.