Excellent musical play.
Australia Day 2012
February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
January 26, 2012, Hyde Park Sydney
Neighbourhood Appreciation Day
September 24, 2011 By
Iglesia ni Cristo, Church of Christ, gives back to neighbours through community partnership event
Thank you is not enough. We want to show our appreciation to our neighbours.
Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) or Church of Christ, one of the fastest growing international Christian organisations, will thank residents of Sydney’s western suburbs on Saturday, Sept. 3 for their continuous support and hospitality throughout the growth of its local establishments, at an inaugural Neighbourhood Appreciation Day hosted at 27 Eskdale St. in Minchinbury from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Hundreds of community members are expected to receive FREE services for everyday living sponsored by the Iglesia ni Cristo, including health screenings, consultations and wellness education from licensed medical professionals; children’s center with games and crafts; food and live musical entertainment; and guided tours to welcome residents to the chapel in Minchinbury.
The very first of ongoing initiatives to reach communities across the country, the day of service is a global effort of the INC Giving Project, the organisation’s newly launched philanthropic program to help families and communities during challenging economic times, leveraging the skills and expertise of Church members to implement positive solutions and offer services for the basic needs of their neighbours.
“The services we’re offering our community partners are strategically aligned with the needs of the region to ensure we’re providing children and families everyday resources not often supplied free of cost.” said Iglesia ni Cristo District Minister of Australia-Oceania Emmanuel Era.
“More nonprofits are unfortunately closing their doors with the downturn of the economy, but even after nearly 100 years, the INC is still growing internationally. It’s our way of saying thank you to our neighbours and opening our doors to those who’ve welcomed us on their streets every week for the last 24 years.”
The first congregation of the Iglesia ni Cristo in Australia was formed in Sydney, now known as the establishment in Carlingford. The Minchinbury chapel located along the Great Western Highway, completed in 1996, is just one of nine congregations in the Metro Sydney area alone, and part of 57 congregations and regional extensions in the Australia-Oceania District that spans throughout Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Tonga.
Nonprofits and faith-based organisations have long helped fill the gap between those in need and what the government provides in benefits and social services, but the increased cut of programs and the impact of the recession is widening the gap. Studies are showing that cuts to social service programs mean charitable groups and faith-based organisations are expected to service more people with even greater needs.
“We don’t want to just say thank you to our neighbours, we want to show them our appreciation,” said Era.
“Our members are taking a multi-service approach to addressing the issues facing residents of the area while setting the tone for future initiatives that support family and neighbourhood development.”
The mission of the INC Giving Project is to extend the presence of the Iglesia ni Cristo members to its community partners by supporting their efforts to provide solutions to help families succeed and achieve. The Neighbourhood Appreciation Day in Western Sydney is part of a global initiative to share faith through acts of kindness by meeting people’s everyday needs, engaging thousands of members in supporting local neighbourhoods and strengthening the bond with their communities.
For more information on the Neighbourhood Appreciation Day or upcoming INC Giving projects in the region, call 0434 283 656 (Glenn David) or email info [at] incaustralia [dot] com. The Western Sydney local congregation house of worship is located at 27 Eskdale St. in Minchinbury.
Why use a special-purpose email address?
September 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This morning, I suddenly remembered an article I wrote about ten years ago and published in one of the local papers in Sydney. The article, now reloaded in this post, was titled “How to create a permanent email address.”
In my original article, I suggested ways to creating an email address using your favorite domain name or in fact, your own domain name, which you would like to be your permanent email address.
The suggested technique simply involved setting up a virtual (now called, forwarding) email account which you could fashion more aesthetically than the server-restricted, 6-character, and imagination-stretching username email address. Emails sent to a virtual email account were forwarded to a real email account like an email address issued by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) with a mailbox which held your incoming emails until these were downloaded to your local drive.
It was actually a very simple technique which utilized the forwarding capabilities of mail servers, with your “permanent email address” being no different from a postal office box. With prior arrangements with the postal office, your mails would follow you wherever you go or the postal office would hold your mails until you pick them up.
Today, this technique is still very much in use.
We use the technique, and have in fact extended its application to servicing special-purpose function or event. For example, our websites group has created an email address which identifies the department to which the message is addressed. The contact form in this site for example uses an email address which redirects the messages sent through it to my real email account. If the technique is used for a special-purpose event or function, the email address can be deleted once the event or function is completed. The email address can also be deleted without any hesitation if it is receiving a lot of spams.
A virtual or forwarding email address has so much flexibility that you can customize it to your personal preferences for a more aesthetically fashioned looking email address. Or it can be customized to cater to a specific business need.
And if you’re using it as a permanent email address, you have the flexibility to change ISP. No need to tell your contacts that you changed your email address because you changed ISP.
The facility to set up a virtual or forwarding email address has been around for as long as I remember. We wonder at times why we still see email accounts of website owners and managers being displayed on their web pages. Or, why we also see even writers (and bloggers, too!) of popular and large news sites displaying their email addresses on their posts.
Have they ever wondered why they are receiving a lot of spams in their mailbox.
I am thinking of writing another similar article like: Why you should not use a webmail?
What do you think? Share us your thoughts.
Reprinted from A Matter of Sharing
World’s largest domed arena to rise in the Philippines
August 22, 2011 By
Iglesia Ni Cristo Executive Minister Bro Eduardo Manalo (left) and Hanwha E&C vice chairman Kim Hyun-chung shake hands after the groundbreaking ceremony near Manila August 17. Photo: Hanwha E&C / Korea Herald
A Korean construction company started work last Thursday (August 18) to build in Bocaue, Bulacan a domed arena fitted with 50,000 seats and nearly 36,000 square metres domed roof, reported online news Korea Herald. Video – Ground breaking ceremony
The Korea Herald report, written by Choi He-suk, said the company, Hanwha Engineering and Construction Corp., signed last August 4 an agreement with project owner, Iglesia Ni Cristo. Representing their respective organisations were Hanwha E&C vice chairman Kim Hyun-chung and chief of Iglesia Ni Cristo Bro Eduardo Manalo.
The contract value of the project is placed at US$175 million, and work will be carried out over 30 months, Korea Herald said, adding that with its size, Hanwha E&C considers the structure, named Philippine Arena, to be the world’s largest domed arena.
The new domed arena’s 50,000 seating capacity will eclipse Araneta Coliseum’s 16,500 seats and Acer Arena’s (formerly Sydney SuperDome) 17,500 seats.
To date, Araneta Coliseum is considered the largest domed arena in Southeast Asia.
Consulate launches survey of Filipinos in New South Wales
August 18, 2011 By
Demographic data is very important in planning services including assistance in the event of an emergency or disaster, Consul General Anne Jalando-on Louis said in last night’s launch of Survey of Filipinos in New South Wales.
Consul General Louis announcing the start of the survey in last night’s first biannual meeting
The survey, an initiative of the Consulate to establish comprehensive baseline data on Filipinos in NSW, aims to gather baseline data to help generate general information on the number and location of Filipino migrants in NSW and their profile like age, gender, occupation. It will run until 31 December 2011, and will be conducted every two years.
Consul General encouraged “All Filipinos, temporary or permanent residents in Australia, holders of work or spouse visas, Filipinos who have become naturalised Australians, and Australians of Filipino ancestry… to participate in the survey.”
Consul Reyes walking the audience through the survey form
The survey form is available online at the Consulate’s website. Hardcopies of the survey form are also available from Philippine-related community organisations in NSW which are also subject of a separate part in the survey.
Consul General Louis said that the survey implements a Department of Foreign Affairs global campaign for Philippine overseas missions to have “updated and accurate data on Filipinos overseas for use in its disaster and emergency prepareness program.”
The launch was attended by sixty-five Filipino Australian community leaders, ten media representatives of Philippine media in NSW and several guests.
Some members of the Filipino community and guests before the presentation
Only a minute or two to complete the survey
Meantime, we tested the online survey and noted that it is actually very brief as Consul Reyes assured us last night. It took us only a little more than one minute to enter and submit the required information.
To participate in the survey, please click here.
