Friday, April 11, 2008

St Matthews Church was transformed into a giant-screen movie theatre to show the motion picture ‘The Mission’. The normal Saturday night crowd wandering along the Corso of Manly were intrigued by a sign hanging outside the church stating ‘Actions Can Transform’ and were enticed inside by the large screen showing pictures from the communities of Manly and Manado. A duo from Wesley College added to the contemplative atmosphere by providing a mix of contemporary songs as background music.

Movie goers were treated to a sneak peak at some of the photos Stu Harris, a Manly resident who has recently visited Manado, has taken for his picture book,, showing the transformation of Manado. To add to the cinema atmosphere, guests were treated to an ice cream and bag of sweets to enjoy in the recently refurbished church hall, including cinema-like seats. Guests were stirred to action by the injustices portrayed in ‘The Mission’, a movie based on events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750 where Portuguese colonials inflicted acts of cruelty on Guarani Indians whilst capturing them for slavery.

Tickets sales from the night will enable 3 families to receive micro loans through the partner organisation, Bridge of Hope.

 

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Despite the cooler weather, 45 people braved the cold to head out to St Matts Church on the Corso for another Cimena4Life event, held on Saturday 13th June 2009. Jimmy and the team from St Matts try to use this community event to impact our way of thinking towards everyday life through great films and the recent screening of Stranger than Fiction was no exception! $460 was raised on the night – a tremendous effort by all involved and just another example of how our community can band together to take action against poverty!