You are invited to the launch of My Brother’s Shadows by Hayley Reynolds:

7 pm on Wednesday 12 June 2013,

Jack Brockoff Lecture Theatre,
Level 3,
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre,
St Andrew’s Place,
East Melbourne.

The launch will be followed by light refreshments.

Please RSVP by 10 June 2013 to Paul Arnott, parnott@acornpress.net.au

A book that explores the relationship between Islam and Christianity has just been launched in Melbourne.

Titled ‘Islam and Christianity on the Edge: Talking Points in Christian-Muslim Relations into the 21st Century‘, it contains a series of essays that explore these two great world faiths.

The book has been edited by two Christian scholars of Islam, one of whom, Professor Peter Riddell, teaches at the Melbourne School of Theology in Wantirna.

Topics address the theological foundations of both faiths, Islam’s encounter with the West and the varied relationships between Islam and Christianity.

Two of the essays explore Islamophobia in the West and Westophobia in the Islamic world.

Some may believe the fact that all contributors to the book are all Christians is a weakness. However, Peter Riddell said, ‘It is important that both Muslims and Christians discuss the relationship between the two faiths within their own communities.’

The book addresses key questions for the twenty-first century, a period when Christianity and Islam are destined to interact more closely than ever before in human history.

Contact Professor Peter Riddell on 03 9881 7800 for more details or interviews.

Bruce L. Park’s moving portrait of a father’s grief, available as an exclusive eBook from Acorn Press.

The Birthday Card has also just been reviewed by Lindy Mulherin for St Jude’s News:
“In his introduction to The Birthday Card, Bruce expresses his desire that the book will encourage others to ‘live our lives…knowing that our God is with us always.’ I believe that he achieves this because in the end we are comforted by that which comforts him—his conviction that ‘all will be well’ (T.S. Eliot), based on his gently expressed but unshakeable belief that ‘the cross is the cornerstone of our faith.”

The Australian Christian Book of the Year was announced on August 16  at the Australian Christian Literature Awards in Melbourne. Gumbuli of Ngukurr (Acorn Press) by Murray Seiffert emerged victorious from over forty entries submitted this year.

Acorn Press Ltd congratulates Murray Seiffert on his outstanding achievement in winning the 2012 Australian Christian Book of the Year and thanks SPCKA for its support and encouragement of Australian Christian writing. It is the second year in a row that an Acorn Press title has won the Christian Book of the Year top award.

What the judges had to say about Gumbuli:
‘Few indigenous Australians have been the subject of so rigorous a biography. This is a unique and timely contribution to the story of Aboriginal engagement with western culture and Christianity. Always informative it also, at times, makes for profoundly uncomfortable and provocative reading. This singular story of indigenous protagonism, self-determination and leadership in the face of overwhelming obstacles—hoostile opposition, blind ignorance and numbing indifference—maps a way forward for the peoples of this continent.’

More On Gumbuli of Ngukurr:
Whilst Gumbuli’s formal roles as minister and committee chairman were visible and highly significant, his informal influence was probably greater. We have seen something of his role as a peacemaker and campaigner against alcohol abuse, but his support and encouragement of Ngukurr people seems to have touched most families, if not all. Gumbuli himself said:
‘If you want to be a leader you must do your actions the right way, and through love. People are watching you and looking at the way you love them and support them. Your actions must come from deep in your heart.’

About the award:
The Australian Christian Book of the Year Award is given annually to an original book written by an Australian and published by an Australian publisher. The Award recognises and celebrates excellence in Australian Christian writing and carries a prize of $2,500.
Second prize was awarded to A Short History of Christianity (Viking) by Geoffrey Blainey.  Love, Tears and Autism: An Australian mother’s journey from heartbreak to hope (Ark House) by Cecily Paterson took third prize.