12 December 2012

Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 0:00

This news item was posted in Presbyterians Week category.

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] On Behalf of the Kirk, Law Officers Invade Prayer Meeting in St. George’s Tron, Glasgow, Scotland to Demand Return of Bibles, Hymn Books, and an Organ

[2] PCUSA Church Organist Shot and Killed by Ex-Husband during 2 December 2012 Church Service

[3] CRCNA to Cut Publishing Staff

[4] New Website and New Offerings from Inheritance Publications

[5] Headlines from Christian Concern

[6] Headlines from The Christian Institute

[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com

[8] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

[9] The Religion of Peace

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[1] On Behalf of the Kirk, Law Officers Invade Prayer Meeting in St. George’s Tron, Glasgow, Scotland to Demand Return of Bibles, Hymn Books, and an Organ

A 7 December 2012 The Herald article by Brian Donnelly titled “Kirk under Fire as Court Officers Disrupt Prayers reports that law officers acting on behalf of the Church of Scotland (CoS) entered a prayer meeting at St. George’s Tron, Glasgow, Scotland to serve papers demanding the return of Bibles, hymn books, and an organ. The CoS had previously threatened the congregation with eviction from the premises after it split from the CoS in opposition to the ordination of homosexual ministers.

St. George’s Tron pastor the Rev. Dr. William Philip commented: “To disrupt a prayer meeting in that way and demand the organ and other key items that were gifted to the congregation, just weeks before Christmas, truly beggars belief.

“Not content to evict us, it seems they are determined to publicly humiliate our leaders and frighten our members, some of whom are vulnerable people.

“It is shameful. Having law officers disrupt a church meeting and intimidate a church is something we associate with China or former Soviet dictatorships but is the last thing we expected from the so-called national Church.”

“We have sought to avoid going to the courts at every opportunity which is why we took the decision to vacate the building rather than fight for it, trusting God as we enter this new phase of ministry to which he has called us. But to do this we need resources like our hymn books, organ and bibles, so we have been left with no other option but to contest this petty and ridiculous action.”

+ The Herald, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Scotland G2 3QB, 0141- 302-7000, Fax: 0141-302-7117, On-lineEditor@theherald.co.uk

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722

[2] PCUSA Church Organist Shot and Killed by Ex-Husband during 2 December 2012 Church Service

Darlene Sitler, choir director and organist at First United Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed by her ex-husband Gregory Eldred during the 2 December 2012 church service.

Eldred was reported to have entered the church, pointed the gun and fired at Ms. Sitler, left the church, and returned five minutes later saying he wanted to finish the job, whereupon Eldred shot Ms. Sitler two more times before being subdued by congregation members.

Eldred was subsequently arrested and charged with murder.

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005

[3] CRCNA to Cut Publishing Staff

A 6 December 2012 Michigan Live article by Matt Vande Bunte titled “Christian Reformed Church to Cut Publishing Staff” reported that the Christian Reformed Church in North America will cut by eighteen percent the staff of the denomination’s publishing arm Faith Alive Christian Resources due to lagging revenues and increasing costs.

+ Michigan Live LLC, 339 East Liberty Street, Suite 210, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104, feedback@mlive.com

+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org

[4] New Website and New Offerings from Inheritance Publications

Inheritance Publications has a new website at:

http://www.inhpubl.net/

Due to increasing costs of production, prices on the new website are higher than on the old, but through 31 December 2012, savings of ten to twenty-five percent below prices on the new website will remain in effect. The old website is at:

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/inhpubl/webip/ip.htm

The new English translation of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh: Daily Meditations on the Bible for Reformation of Family, Church, and State by Klaas Schilder is now available for the special pre-publication price of US$29.95 plus shipping. Schilder, who dedicated his whole life to the service of the Lord and to the ongoing reformation of His Church, reveals in this book the importance of ongoing regeneration in the life of a Christian as well.

One new book has been published in 2012, Little Yellow Farm House in Iowa: A Fictionalized Biography of Katherine Vastenhout by Carol Brands. This book is in the series “Precious Memories: Book 2: Years Eleven through Seventeen: World War II Years.”

When the Kroontje family moved into their second tiny house, they had no idea that within months of their move that Uncle Bill Tilstra would be assigned to the U.S.S. Arizona, the first ship Japan bombed in Pearl Harbor. Nor did they know that three of Uncle Bill’s ships would be destroyed – but that he would be spared from death in ways that were clearly God’s providential care…yet so horrific that he hated talking about the war.

While war loomed in the background, with Uncle Bill always on the family’s mind, Katherine’s farm life continued with a mixture of stories – some humorous, some serious, some full of neighborliness, some with tragedy.

Join the Kroontje family — living daily life on an Iowa farm even while World War II is being fought across the oceans.

Little Yellow Farm House in Iowa is available for US$11.95 plus shipping.

+ Inheritance Publications, Box 154, Neerlandia, Alberta T0G 1R0, Canada, 780-674-3949, Fax: 775-890-9118

[5] Headlines from Christian Concern

Headlines of the past week from Christian Concern:

— Nationwide Prayer for Repentance, Revival and Reformation in Great Britain Scheduled 12 December 2012

— Application for Mega-Mosque in London Rejected by Newham Council

— U.K. Boy Scouts Consider Removing ‘God’ from Promise

— Complaint against Judge for Support of Traditional Marriage Dismissed

— South African Christian Provincial MP Accused of Hate Speech for Views on Homosexuality

+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page

[6] Headlines from The Christian Institute

Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:

— U.K. Government Goes Back on Word over Gay Marriage in Church

— Christian Bed and Breakfast: Wilkinsons to Appeal Case

+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk

[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com

Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:

— American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Promote Dangerous Abortifacients, Plan B to Teens

— Oklahoma Supreme Court Strikes Down Abortion Restrictions as ‘Unconstitutional’

— The Future Is Now: Whole-Genome Sequencing and Eugenics

— Obama Administration Investigating Sergeant Who Said the Bible Condemns Homosexuality

— Mexican Supreme Court Declares Heterosexual Marriage Law “Unconstitutional”

— Pro-life Activist Fined US$5,000 for ‘Trespassing’ on Public Sidewalk

— University of Saskatchewan Issues Campus Safety Alert over ‘Truth about Homosexuality’ Pamphlets

— Nigeria to Western nations: We’d Sooner Refuse Aid than Legalize Same-Sex “Marriage”

+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page

[8] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining