16 January 2013
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] The Church of Nigeria – Anglican Communion Responds to the Church of England Bishops and Civil Partnerships
[5] Headlines from Christian Concern
[6] Headlines from The Christian Institute
[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[8] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
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[1] The Church of Nigeria – Anglican Communion Responds to the Church of England Bishops and Civil Partnerships
1. The Bishops of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) meeting for their annual retreat held from Jan 7/11, 2013, at the Ibru Centre, Agbarha Otor, Delta State, Nigeria, heard with dismay the news of the recent action of the Church of England House of Bishops. The decision to permit homosexual clergy in civil partnerships to now be considered for the episcopacy is one step removed from the moral precipice that we have already witnessed in The Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada.
2. When the Church of England failed to exercise its legal and moral right to opt out of the civil partnerships legislation in 2005 warnings were given in England and around the Anglican Communion that this was a first step towards the recognition and institutionalization of behaviour contrary to the plain teaching of scripture and reaffirmed for all Anglicans by the 1998 Lambeth Conference in its Resolution 1.10. Sadly those warnings were ignored and we now face the next step in a process that could very well shatter whatever hopes we had for healing and reconciliation within our beloved Communion.
3. We are also grieved by the timing of this decision coming only days before the retirement of Archbishop Rowan Williams and before Bishop Justin Welby becomes the new Archbishop of Canterbury. We urge the House of Bishops to reconsider their decision so as to allow for a full, prayerful and sober reflection on the call on all clergy, especially bishops, to live holy lives and not encourage what are, at best, morally ambiguous partnerships that make it impossible for a bishop to be a wholesome example to the flock. Especially since the supposed assurances of celibacy, while perhaps well intentioned, are both unworkable and unenforceable.
4. As a House of Bishops, while we acknowledge that we all fall short of God’s call to holiness, we dare not compromise the clear teaching of our Lord on faithfulness within Holy Matrimony and chastity outside of it. Sadly we must also declare that if the Church of England continues in this contrary direction we must further separate ourselves from it and we are prepared to take the same actions as those prompted by the decisions of The Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada ten years ago.
5. In all of this we continue to give thanks for the mercy of God newly revealed to us in this season of The Epiphany and we are filled with gratitude for the millions of faithful Anglicans within the GAFCON/FCA community who have not ‘bowed the knee’ to the contemporary idols of secularism and moral expediency.
6. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
In Christ’s service,
The Most Rev. Nicholas D. Okoh, Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate
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+ Church of Nigeria – Anglican Communion, 24 Douala Street, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, Nigeria, 234-9-5236950, communicator1@anglican-nig.org
+ GAFCON, Post Office Box Q190, QVB Post Office, Sydney, New South Wales 1230, Australia, editor@gafcon.org
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[2] Dr. James Grier Goes Home
Dr. James Grier, who taught various courses at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (PRTS), including Apologetics, Philosophical Ethics, and Critical Thinking for Ministry, reached the Celestial City on 9 January 2013.
The editor commends to the reader Dr. Joel Beeke’s tribute and obituary for Dr. Grier at:
http://www.joelbeeke.org/2013/01/in-memoriam-dr-james-grier/
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+ Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, 2965 Leonard Street Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-977-0599, Fax: 616-285-3246, info@puritanseminary.org
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[3] In Wake of Hurricane Sandy, Church World Service Is Coordinating Recovery Training Sessions in New Jersey and New York
As part of its continuing recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy, global humanitarian agency Church World Service announced today that it is coordinating a series of long term recovery trainings in New Jersey and New York, scheduled later this month.
Presbyterian Disaster Response and local New York and New Jersey Presbyteries are helping facilitate and host several of the events.
The planned six workshops are designed to provide those working to help communities rebuild and recover “an overview of long term recovery and shares lessons learned and best practices gathered from decades of experience in large and small disasters,” said CWS staffer Barry Shade.
“Recovery from a disaster event requires a whole-community approach,” said Shade, CWS’s associate director for domestic emergency response.
Church World Service is working with a number of agencies in conducting the training. In addition to FEMA, these include the New Jersey Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster (VOAD), Lutheran Disaster Response, World Renew, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the New Jersey Emergency Management Agency, United Methodist Committee on Relief and the United Church of Christ.
WHERE/WHEN:
NEW JERSEY:
Tuesday, January 15 – Margate Community Church, 8900 Ventnor Ave., Margate City, NJ 08402
Thursday, January 17 – Presbyterian Church of Toms River, 1070 Hooper Ave., Toms River, NJ 08753
Saturday, January 19 – Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church, 716 Watchung Ave., Plainfield, NJ 07060
NEW YORK:
Tuesday, January 22 — Stony Point Center (Hudson River Presbytery, Rockland County, NY) 17 Cricketown Rd Stony Point, NY 10980
Thursday, January 24 — Long Island Volunteer Center (in Long Island Presbytery, Nassau County, NY) 175 Central Avenue South Bethpage, NY 11714
Friday, January 25 — First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica (New York City Presbytery, Long Island County, NY) 89-60 164th Street Jamaica, NY 11432
All of the sessions will begin at 9 a.m. and run until 4:30 p.m.
WHO:
Among those urged to attend are those involved in long-term recovery leadership, faith based groups, religious leaders, community leaders, social service organizations, disaster case managers and other persons concerned about recovery.
Those interested in registering for the New Jersey trainings should email lois.patterson@fema.dhs.gov for the registration link.
Those interested in registering for the New York trainings should email Alisa.Brumfield@fema.dhs.gov.
CWS Emergency Response Specialists Joann Hale and Sandra Kennedy-Owes are helping coordinate the sessions.
Along with providing emergency relief supplies, CWS makes community level long-term recovery assistance a priority. In recent years, the agency has used training seminar formats to maximize sharing of its expertise, and has provided grants to startup groups.
Building grassroots recovery infrastructure to help the poorest – those who are uninsured, under-insured or yet unserved by other sources — is part of CWS’s emergency response work, and a cornerstone of CWS’s global focus on advance preparedness to reduce the risks of disasters.
Topics to be at the day-long seminars include: Long-term recovery issues; community needs assessment; construction volunteers and management; disaster case management; emotional and spiritual care; FEMA individual assistance; and the national donations management system.
There is no cost for the training, lunch or materials. The training is a gift of Church World Service and the faith groups providing leadership. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is supporting this training by providing travel and lodging expenses for the leaders.
Registration for the events is strongly recommended. Although people may come without registration, it will be helpful to have a good idea of the number of persons at each site to provide lunch, handouts and other materials. For more information contact Chris Herlinger, (212) 870-2068, cherlinger@churchworldservice.org.
Church World Service is a global relief, sustainable development and refugee assistance agency, addressing the root causes of poverty and hunger around the world. As part of its work, CWS has a domestic disaster response program.
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+ Church World Service, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 700, New York, New York 10115, 212-870-2061, Fax: 212-870-3523, info@churchworldservice.org
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[4] New Christian Observer Article – “In Public School, the Nurturing of Fear Stirs Thankfulness for Surveillance”
A new article by Christian Observer Contributing Editor David Tulis titled “In Public School, the Nurturing of Fear Stirs Thankfulness for Surveillance” has been published at:
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+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
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[5] Headlines from Christian Concern
Headlines of the past week from Christian Concern:
— Scottish Midwives’ Abortion Conscience Appeal May Go to U.K. Supreme Court
— European Court to Rule on Controversial Christian Freedom Cases
— Suspected Sex-Selective Abortions Taking Place in U.K.
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+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page
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[6] Headlines from The Christian Institute
Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:
— U.K. Public Order Law Reformed for Free Speech
— BBC Report: Kids Need to See More Gay People on TV
— Tunbridge Wells, England Residents Slam License Renewal of Sex Shop near Several Schools
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+ 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
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[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
— Estimated One Million-Plus March in Paris against Gay ‘Marriage’ Plans
— Facebook Allows Advertisers to Target Young Women with Abortion Ads
— Federal Funding of Embryonic Stem Cells to Continue after U.S. Supreme Court Declines Case
— Gallaudet University Reinstates Diversity Officer Suspended over Gay ‘Marriage’ Stance
— Belgian Doctors Euthanize Deaf Twins Who Were Afraid of Going Blind
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+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
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[8] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
— U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Illegal Human Experiments Could Break Nuremberg Code
— Orwellian Thought-Crime Muzzling Great Britain
— Placerville, California City Council Tries to Shut Down Church for Homeless
— Obama’s Gun Task Force Member Has Son Convicted of Planning School Mass Murder
— U.S. Marines Say Social groups Must Allow ‘Gay’ Spouses
— I.R.S. Code Longer Than Bible … Without Good News
— Lynden’s Soda Fountain in St. Paul, Minnesota Fined for Selling Candy Cigarettes
— Hungarian Prosecutor Dismisses Complaint Filed Against Politician Who Wanted to Make List of Jews
— Colorado Introduces Civil Union, Same-Sex Marriage Legislation
— As Illinois Sate Senator, Barack Hussein Obama Opposed Gun Ban Exception to Defend One’s Home
— MSNBC Host Lawrence O’Donnell Says Get Rid of the Bible on Inauguration Day
— Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell Says “The Good Thing about Newtown Is, It Was So Horrific”
— Cheltenham, Pennsylvania Blocks Korean Church from Establishing Seminary and Church
— Massive French Gay-Marriage Protest Converges on Eiffel Tower
— Lawyer Blames Victim in New Delhi Rape, Murder Case
— Pro-Abortion Association Director Caught in Child-Sex Sting
— MIT Linguistics Professor Noam Chomsky Says Obama Is Running a ‘Global Assassination Campaign’
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+ The Washington Times, 3600 New York Avenue Northeast, Washington DC 20002, 202-636-3205
+ Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, New York 10017, 212-599-7000, Fax: 212-599-3494, hmartone@manhattan-institute.org
+ Pacific Justice Institute, Post Office Box 276600, Sacramento, California 95827, 916-857-6900 Fax: 916-857-6902, pji@pacificjustice.org
+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 N Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ International Business Times, 7 Hanover Square, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10004, 646-867-7100, info@ibtimes.com
+ The Algemeiner Journal, Post Office Box 250746, Brooklyn, New York 11225, 718-771-0400, Fax: 718-771-0308, Contact Page
+ Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995, 800-232-6459
+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org
+ White House Dossier, Post Office Box 27202, Washington DC 20038, Contact Page
+ Pacific Justice Institute, Post Office Box 276600, Sacramento, California 95827, 916-857-6900 Fax: 916-857-6902, pji@pacificjustice.org
+ Daily News, 4 New York Plaza, New York, New York 10004, 212-210-2100, voicers@edit.nydailynews.com
+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, Fax: 616-942-7328, Contact Page
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
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[9] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
— A Letter from the Depths of an Iranian Prison from a U.S. Minister
— Boko Haram Continues Bloody Path to Dominance in Nigeria
— Jihadist Threatens ‘Jihad’ Bombing on Chicago Bus
— Uproar in Republic of Georgia over U.S. Ambassador’s Pro-Palestinian Maneuvering
— Brooklyn, New York Muslim Gets Fifteen Years for Jihad
— Growing Persecution of Coptic Christians under Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood
— On-Base Muslim Imam in Afghanistan Murders British Soldier
— Indian Muslim Lawmaker Held for Saying ‘We Will Finish Off One Billion Hindus’
— Grappling with Muslim Sex Gangs in Great Britain
— The Formidable Islamist Minority in America
— Libyan Gun Control Policies Left Guards Unarmed at U.S. Compound in Benghazi
— CIA Head Nominee John Brennan: Don’t Use ‘Jihad’ to Describe Terrorists
— U.S. Secretary of Defense Nominee Chuck Hagel: Terrorists Attack Because They Lack Hope
— Israeli Officials Say Terrorists Restocking Arsenal to Pre-Operation “Pillar of Defense” Levels
— Twin Suicide Bombings kill 115 people in Pakistan
— Egyptian Cleric Warns Christian Women: If You Don’t Wear a Veil You’ll Be Raped
— American Pastor Jailed in Iran Reports Beatings, Death Threats
— Violent Muslims Aiming for Takeover of Mali?
— French Air Strikes Help Malian Army Beat Back Islamic Supremacist Pro-Sharia Rebels
— Australia Makes Plans for Muslim-Only Housing Enclave
— Taliban Commanders Discuss Jihad against America and the “Crusader-Zionist Alliance”
— Criticizing Islam in Spain Considered National Security Threat
— Sudan Cracks Down on South Sudanese Christians
— Huffington Post Touts “Connection” between “Prophet Muhammad” and George Washington
— Muslims in Paris Harass, Attack Christian and Jewish Neighbors, Police Refuse to Help
— French Airstrikes in Mali Deter Islamist Rebels
— ‘Many Deaths’ as Malians, French, Fight Islamists
— Harvard Dhimmis Submit, Post Quran Verse at Faculty of Law
— Egypt’s Coptic Christians Fleeing Country after Islamist Takeover
— Obama Interested in Texas ‘Allah-is-God’ Curriculum
— Rape in Syria Is Driving Women to Leave
— Norway’s Happy Lies on Muslim Immigration
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+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, Fax: 616-942-7328, Contact Page
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ Assyrian International News Agency
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ The Algemeiner Journal, Post Office Box 250746, Brooklyn, New York 11225, 718-771-0400, Fax: 718-771-0308, Contact Page
+ New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, 212- 556-1234, executive-editor@nytimes.com
+ National Public Radio, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20001, 202-513-3232, Contact Page
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