Churches and prayer and mission ministries across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands are planning to come together in Perth from 3 to 6 October, in unprecedented unity that has not been seen for decades, with the vision ‘A New Wave of Glory to cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea’ (Habakkuk 2:14). We are invited to attend, to pray, to watch online, and / or to give. For those who are unable to travel there will be livestreams of the plenary sessions. More information, including how to donate to this vision, from the website.

Following last week’s article about Antarctica, a recent study has linked a world-record heatwave there to climate change. In March 2022 temperatures in an area of east Antarctica, known as ‘Dome C’, reached -10°C, 39°C above normal. It was the most intense heatwave ever recorded on the planet. The study identified a ‘highly unusual’ weather pattern that brought warm and moist air from Australia, intensifying the heatwave. Climate change made the heatwave 2°C worse. This event raises concerns that climate change is impacting Antarctica, which was once considered relatively shielded. Scientists say that these heatwaves, which occur naturally to some extent, will become even hotter due to climate change. They have also warned of rising sea levels and the potential for Antarctica to stop acting as a refrigerant for the planet and start ‘acting as a radiator’. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters.

After 19-year-old Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam title at the women’s tennis championship in the US Open on 9 September, she dropped to her knees, put her elbows on the bench, clasped her hands and brought them to her forehead with her eyes closed in prayer.Gauff said in an interview with NBC: ‘I was just saying thank you and I understood that all the tough times were just to make that moment even sweeter. I think if it came easy, I wouldn’t feel as appreciative as I did at that moment.’ Gauff has always been open about her Christian faith. Following her win in the Cincinnati Masters in August, she thanked her ‘Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ at the trophy ceremony. The men’s singles champion in the US Open, Serbian Novak Djokovic, is an Orthodox Christian who often wears a wooden cross around his neck and has been seen blessing himself during matches.

In an effort to protect survivors of bonded labour from further exploitation, the government in Tamil Nadu, India, has established an herb garden for families of the Irula tribal community. The garden provides ten survivor families and thirty other families with the opportunity to cultivate and sell a diverse range of herbs, medicinal plants and fruit-bearing trees. Having secure job opportunities will prevent them from obtaining loans from unscrupulous lenders who prey on their vulnerability. The herb garden is the result of a proposal which the Released Bonded Labourers Association (RBLA) had submitted with the help of IJM. It is part of many others that the government has been regularly creating, from helping survivors and other vulnerable families earn a stable income to establishing a first-of-its-kind, holistic community for survivors. The herb garden is significant as it preserves the knowledge of traditional medicinal herbs. Following the launch, an RBLA leader gave a tour of the herb garden and said, ‘I hope this will inspire other survivors to come forward and access government welfare measures’.