11 August 2010
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Taliban in Afghanistan Murder Ten Medical Missionaries
[3] Pregnant Afghan Widow Flogged over 200 Times, Then Shot Dead by Taliban for Sexual Misconduct
[6] South Carolina PCUSA Pastor Arrested for DUI and Child Endangerment
[7] Faith United Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) Dedicates Outdoor Labyrinth
[8] Renegade Golfers on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, Invade Golf Course Closed for the Sabbath
[10] Retired Geneva College Professor David Melville Carson Dies 5 August 2010
[11] August 2010 Reformation Voice Available for Download
[12] Reformation Translation Fellowship Changes Address for Contributions
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[1] Taliban in Afghanistan Murder Ten Medical Missionaries
A 7 August 2010 article Fox News article titled “US, British, German Aid Workers Killed By Taliban” reports that ten medical missionaries with International Assistance Mission were murdered in Afghanistan by Taliban forces who shot the missionaries as they tried to flee their captors. The ten included six from the U.S., one from Great Britain, one from Germany, and two Afghan translators.
The ten were a medical team providing eye care to Afghans located in remote areas of the country.
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+ Fox News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, 888-369-4762, Fax: 212-462-6127, yourquestions@foxnews.com
+ International Assistance Mission, hq@iamafg.org
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[2] First Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Schenectady, New York, a Sponsor of the Murdered International Assistance Mission Medical Team
A 7 August 2010 article by Jennifer Gish in the Times Union titled “Violent End to Life of Caring” reports that First Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)) in Schenectady, New York, was one of the churches that sponsored the International Assistance Mission ministry of Tom and Libby Little in Afghanistan. Tome was among the ten medical missionaries murdered by the Taliban.
Mrs. Little, who normally would have been part of the medical team, stayed behind in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan, because the Little’s were expecting their first grandchild in the fall of 2010.
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+ Times Union, Box 15000, News Plaza, Albany, New York 12212, 518-454-5694, ttyler@timesunion.com
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
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[3] Pregnant Afghan Widow Flogged over 200 Times, Then Shot Dead by Taliban for Sexual Misconduct
A 10 August 2010 article by Jerome Starkey in The Scotsman titled “Taleban Judges Condemn Pregnant Woman to be Flogged and Shot Dead” reports that a pregnant widow named Bibi Sanubar in the Badghis province of Afghanistan for sexual misconduct was recently sentenced by three Taliban mullahs to be publically flogged more than 200 times then shot to death. Sanubar’s and her unborn child’s bodies were then dumped in an area controlled by the Afghan government.
Sanubar’s sentence reflects the Sharia verdicts handed down by Taliban courts when they controlled much of Afghanistan.
Adulterers and runaways are usually jailed for two to three years by Afghan courts, or are returned to their families where the women often face “honor killings.” Rape victims are normally sentenced to prison for having non-marital sex.
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+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620
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[4] Ghanaian Vice-President Urges Presbyterian Church of Ghana General Assembly to Support and Teach Nation Building Skills to Youth
An 8 August 2010 GhanaWeb article titled “Vice President Urges Churches to Invest in the Youth” reports that the Tenth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) opened in Takoradi, Ghana, the weekend of 7 August 2010, and that a speech by Ghanaian Vice-President John Dramani Mahama was read to the assembly by Western Regional Minister Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo, where Mahama urged PCG churches in support of Ghana’s youths to establish income generating ventures such as rural banks; fruit processing companies; and the construction of guest houses, along with educational training centers where training on topical issues and social vices can be provided.
Vice-President Mahama additionally implored cooperation between all segments of Ghanaian society irrespective of political, religious, and ethnic differences, and the vice-president expressed concerns about undisciplined behavior, tribalism, lack of respect for political leadership and sabotage as problems adversely affecting the country.
Mahama concluded by urging Ghanaians to ensure that the Holy Spirit guided them to lead upright lives both outwardly and inwardly, to free from sins.
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+ GhanaWeb, Poederooienstraat 66, 1106 CK Amsterdam, Netherlands, 31-207700126, Fax: 1-815-6429100, akoto@ghanaweb.com
+ Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Post Office Box GP 1800, Accra, Ghana, 233-21-662511, Fax: 233-21-665594, pcghg@yahoo.com
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[5] Ghanaian First Lady Addresses Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana Women on the Empowerment of Women
An 8 August 2010 GhanaWeb article titled “Women Empowerment should Go beyond Slogans-Naadu Mills” reports that the First Lady of Ghana, Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills, addressed 36th Annual Conference of the West Volta Presbytery Women Class of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, the weekend of 7 August 2010, on the subject of empowering women.
Mrs. Naadu Mills said that the empowerment of women should go beyond slogans and advertisement, to daily participation in divine appraisal for women, so to enjoy natural and national benefits. The First Lady additionally decried the subjugation of women to mere menial and domestic tasks and said it was very important that the potential of every human was harnessed to the growth and development of communities and the nation.
The conference titled “Newness in Christ, the Ministry of Kindness and the Role of Women” is focusing on the role of women performing acts of kindness, to touch the lives of people, in bringing them to Christ or enriching their faith in Christ.
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+ GhanaWeb, Poederooienstraat 66, 1106 CK Amsterdam, Netherlands, 31-207700126, Fax: 1-815-6429100, akoto@ghanaweb.com
+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Post Office Box HP 18, Ho – Volta Region, Ghana, +233-91-26755, Fax: +233-91-28275, Epchurch@Ghana.Com
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[6] South Carolina PCUSA Pastor Arrested for DUI and Child Endangerment
A 9 August 2010 WSPA Channel 7 video segment titled “Pastor Charged in DUI” reports that the Rev. Jake Young, pastor of North Anderson Community Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) in Anderson, South Carolina, was arrested for DUI (Driving Under the Influence) and Child Endangerment early on 7 August 2010 when he was stopped by the South Carolina Highway Patrol while transporting his daughter. Pastor Young is currently out on bond.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol was conducting their Sober or Slammer campaign in the Anderson area where 131 violations were given out. The campaign goal is to reduce the number of summer highway deaths in South Carolina, half of which involve drunk drivers.
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+ WSPA Channel 7, 250 International Drive, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29303, 864-576-7777, Contact Page
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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[7] Faith United Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) Dedicates Outdoor Labyrinth
A 6 August 2010 article by Christie Campbell in the Observer-Reporter titled “Faith U.P. Members Dedicate Labyrinth Outside Church” reports that Faith United Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) of Washington, Pennsylvania, in early August 2010 dedicated a labyrinth outside the church for use in prayer and meditation.
More than sixty tons of stone, coarse gravel, and fine gravel were used in the construction of the labyrinth, and church members were asked to bring to the dedication a stone from their own property to add to the rock aggregate as a way of connecting with the labyrinth.
A 6 December 2005 post on The Puritan Board by the Rev. Bruce Buchanan of the Chain-O-Lakes Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Central Lake, Michigan, describes the prayer labyrinth as “an occult path of the dead. Successful navigation of it led one to heaven; the lost wandered it forever in terror, ending up in the center pit from which there was no escape. Arcane knowledge (gnosis) of traversing it or a suitable guide, therefore, was [a] necessary part of pagan religion. In other incarnations, it serves a gnostic purpose of meditation…not the “inner-peace” type, but the “path”…to enlightenment.”
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+ Observer-Reporter, 122 S. Main Street, Washington, Pennsylvania 15301, 724-222-2200, Fax: 724-225-2077, pburroughs@observer-reporter.com
+ The Puritan Board, Contact Page
+ The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 North Easton Road, Building E, Box P, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania 19090, 215-830-0900, Fax: 215-830-0350
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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[8] Renegade Golfers on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, Invade Golf Course Closed for the Sabbath
A 6 August 2010 article by David Sapsted in The National titled “Rebels without a Tee Time Take Over Church Course” reports that golfers on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, upset with the Sabbath closure of the Stornoway Golf Club have taken to illegally invading the golf course on Sundays and playing golf for free.
The Sabbath-keeping Free Church of Scotland (FCS) is the dominent church on the Isle of Lewis. After a recent unsuccessful bid to have the golf course club house opened on Sundays to serve alcohol and host social events, FCS Presbytery Clerk Callum MacLean said: “Our primary concern is the desecration of the Sabbath Day, arising from a licence permitting the sale of alcohol.”
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+ The National, Post Office Box 111434, Abu Dhabi, 971-2-4145328, newsdesk@thenational.ae
+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk
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[9] Presbyterian Church in Canada Rebukes Church for Asking Lesbian Teen to Withdraw from Homosexual Pride Group
A 5 August 2010 article byJennifer Saltman in The Province titled “New West Church Bucked Policy by Asking Lesbian Teen to Leave Pride Group” reports that The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) has admonished the First Presbyterian Church in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, for violating the PCC Social Action Handbook policy saying: “…the church does not limit the roles of its members on the basis of their sexual orientation. These roles include church school teachers, musicians, youth leaders, ruling elders, teaching elders and members of the Order of Diaconal Ministries.”
The church minister in June 2010 suggested the teen leave the Royal City Pride Society after the teen was featured in a newspaper story about the homosexual pride group. The teen and her parents then left the church.
PCC Presbytery of Westminster Moderator the Rev. Jim Smith commented: The actions of First Presbyterian Church, as reported by The Province, seem contradictory to the decisions of the general assemblies as summarized in the Social Action Handbook. The [PCC] has never limited the activities of its members based on sexual orientation.”
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+ The Province, 200 Granville Street, Suite #1, Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 3N3, Canada, 604-605-2000, Fax: 604-605-2759, wmoriarty@theprovince.com
+ The Presbyterian Church in Canada, 50 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario M3C 1J7, 416-441-1111, Fax: 416-441-2825, skendall@presbyterian.ca
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[10] Retired Geneva College Professor David Melville Carson Dies 5 August 2010
Retired Geneva College professor Dr. David M. Carson passed away 5 August 2010.
Dr. Carson served as the Samuel A. Sterrett Professor of Political Philosophy at Geneva College. His first college service was as a part-time instructor in 1946 while serving as the pastor of the Eastvale Reformed Presbyterian Church. He was appointed to the full-time faculty in 1951 and served until his retirement in 1992. He was awarded Emeritus status on his retirement. He was a graduate of Yale University and the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. In 1964, he received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Carson is survived by his wife, Margaret, two daughters, Elizabeth “Betsy” Wilson and Christina Townsend and their husbands, three grandchildren, a brother, and a sister.
A memorial service for Dr. Carson was held on 9 August 2010 at in the John H. White Chapel on the Geneva College campus.
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+ Geneva College, 3200 College Avenue, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania 15010, 724-846-5100, Fax: 724.847.6696, pr@geneva.edu
+ Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 7418 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-8690, Fax: 412-731-4834, info@rpts.edu
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[11] August 2010 Reformation Voice Available for Download
The August 2010 Reformation Voice is available for download at the Heidelberg Reformation Association website.
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+ Heidelberg Reformation Association, Rev. Howard Sloan, Secretary, 5543 Business 220, Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522
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[12] Reformation Translation Fellowship Changes Address for Contributions
The Reformation Translation Fellowship mailing address for contributions is changing from its Bloomington, Indiana, address to the following address:
Reformation Translation Fellowship
PO Box 2345
Terre Haute, IN 47802-2345
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+ Reformation Translation Fellowship, Post Office Box 2345, Terra Haute, Indiana 47802, bill4rtf@gmail.com
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