St Valentine's Day, 14 February, isn't quite as big a deal in Australia as it is in the United States; nonetheless, many romantics like to mark the day with a small token of affection to the one they love. In 2011, Australians were estimated to have spent about $285 million on Valentine's day chocolate and confectionary. But is that heart-shaped box really giving the right message?

I’m kind of over Christmas, and it’s only early November.

Church-goers who support this year's Christmas Bowl will be helping to lift farmers in Zimbabwe out of poverty, thanks to improved farming techniques which deliver greater crop yields.

"Conservation farming has changed many lives of the people living in our community," says Shanangurai Pedzisai, a farmer from the Mwenezi district of Zimbabwe. "I am getting enough food to feed my family and help other people. Now I am a better woman, because I can make some money to put my children through school."

The President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Rev. Alistair Macrae, has launched an Appeal to support a ministry of pastoral care and spiritual support for detainees and staff at Christmas Island Detention Centre.