This work is not being done in isolation. There are many millions of souls who are walking towards Zion. There are the existing public figures that we love and cherish, and countless "behind the scenes" quiet achievers whose contributions are not unnoticed in the heavenly realm.

Unfortunately it is not possible to point to one earthly individual, denomination or nation that has achieved a complete understanding of God's unfolding plan, and even if there has been significant insight this is often counterpointed with poor implementation. Therefore any and all links will be to something that anyone can find fault. However, the difficulty is that if we don't acknowledge that which is good we then are doomed to paralysis by analysis. That falls straight into the hands of the accuser who night and day whispers that we are not worthy of Zion and that God's vision is unattainable for humanity.

So by faith, we accept that God loves us and by faith we accept that where we walk in communion with God we will make the world a little bit better today than it was yesterday. These are links to websites that have helped with my own spiritual development at one time or another, I can not take responsbility for the content on the other sites nor guarantee that others will find them useful.

If you know of other websites that are updated fairly regularly with encouraging and inclusive content, then feel free to suggest its inclusion on this list by emailing wombat@wombatwonderings.org

Ekklesia is a "think-tank and news service that promotes radical theological ideas in public life". The site is usually updated daily (though there are exceptions): http://www.ekklesia.co.uk

Thinking Anglicans is useful for finding links or comments that cover a range of perspectives within the Anglican/Episcopal Communion (there are websites that only publish that which supports their personal agendas and try to suppress that which is different). The site is updated fairly regularly:  http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/ In the US there is Sojourners  http://www.sojo.net/  which is a progressive Christian site for commentary on faith, politics and culture.

There are a few interfaith websites developing of interest. Tikkun is a US network of  interfaith spiritual progressives that has recently added a discussion forum to their suite of strategies: http://www.tikkun.org/

It's always worth keeping an eye on what the Catholics are saying: http://www.catholicnews.com/

Three Jewish websites that I enjoy are: http://www.chabad.org/  http://www.torah.org and  http://www.algemeiner.com/ . The sites are updated fairly regularly and the content is generally in an accessible style. Christians might be surprised to see Jewish sites, but understanding Jewish interpretations of Torah often provides insights into Jesus' own teachings and choices (remember Jesus was born and bred a Jew).

I recently found an online Islamic website, which has an interfaith page, see http://www.islam-online.net/english/index.shtml

Many people underestimate the reasoning that enabled South Africa's people to end Apartheid and start their early tentative steps towards a more hopeful future. The core teachings continue in the mission of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre which is "to nurture peace by promoting ethical, visionary, and values-based human development". www.tutu.org

Another interesting website is Science and Theology News: www.stnews.org

Having computer access to the bible helps one to find the relevant passages more quickly or to do a word search to cover similar ground to get a more integrated understanding of God's vision e.g. do a word search on justice, alien, afflicted. If you do not yet have a computer bible, a good online bible website is http://www.biblegateway.com/ . The other particularly good thing about this site is that the different versions are available e.g. King James, New International Version.

This website is being included purely for sentimental reasons. Micah Challenge is a global Christian campaign working to be a prophetic and powerful voice for and with the poor and oppressed in communities around the world. Jesus and the Old Testament prophets spoke out for the poor. As followers of Jesus, we can work together to deepen our commitment to justice. The campaign takes its name from the prophet Micah, who wrote, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8. Micah Challenge aims firstly to deepen the commitment of Christians to the idea of an integrated gospel of good news – to proclaim and demonstrate the love of Jesus to a world in need. We want Christians from all backgrounds to show God’s kindness and justice, as a response to Micah’s words “to walk humbly with God”. Secondly, Micah Challenge aims to be a prophetic voice calling upon and influencing leaders around the world to maintain the “rights” of the poor and oppressed (Psalm 82). The campaign will urge decision makers to fulfill their promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals on global poverty by 2015. Micah Challenge Australia is a national campaign, giving local expression to the international movement. It is envisaged that at key times, all national campaigns will co-operate on a common strategies and that at all times groups will share resources, theological ideas and website information. See http://www.micahchallenge.org.au/