28 May 2014

.
.

“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  [Ephesians 6:12]

.

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Presbyterian Church Nicaragua Legally Established 20 March 2014

[2] Church of Scotland General Assembly Votes to Send to Kirk Presbyteries Overture Allowing Homosexual Ministers

[3] Denial is Not a River in Egypt, Nor in Ulster for That Matter
.
—
.
[1] Presbyterian Church Nicaragua Legally Established 20 March 2014

The Presbyterian Church Nicaragua was legally established on 20 March 2014 with the signing of a Nicaragua Non-Profit document. The new denomination includes three churches in Esteli: Shalom Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church Saving Grace, and Presbyterian Church El Shaddai, with plans to plant ten more churches in the next five years.

For more information, please contact Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship Missionary Emerson Wilson at 352-301-5136 toll free or email peaceandchrist@gmail.com.

.
+ Presbyterian Church Nicaragua, c/o Emerson Wilson, Apartado 3, Esteli, Nicaragua

+ Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship, 425 State Street, Suite 312, Bristol, Virginia 24201, 276-591-5335, Fax: 276-591-5349, admin@pefministry.org
.
.
[2] Church of Scotland General Assembly Votes to Send to Kirk Presbyteries Overture Allowing Homosexual Ministers

A 21 May 2014 STV article titled “Church of Scotland Moves Closer to Ordination of Gay Ministers” reports that the Church of Scotland General Assembly on 21 May 2014 voted 369 for to 189 against sending an overture to the Kirk presbyteries allowing individual congregations to decide whether or not to have a homosexual minister who is in a civil partnership.

If a majority of the Kirk’s forty-six presbyteries vote in favor of the overture, the 2015 General Assembly will have the opportunity to vote upon whether or not the overture will become church law.

A 27 May 2014 The Scotsman article titled “Call for Unity in Kirk over Gay Marriage” reports that in a 23 May 2014 address to the Kirk General Assembly by moderator the Rt. Rev. John Chalmers, an appeal for unity was strongly urged, and those considering exiting the Kirk over the issue of homosexual clergy were told to rethink their position.

Chalmers continued:

“This Church of ours has to stop its navel-gazing, get out from under subjects that no-one is actually talking about and get out there and capitalise on the fact that people still want purpose and faith in their lives. They just need it to be accessible, relevant, generous, forgiving.”

Chalmers additionally addressed the shortage of Kirk clergy:

“A quarter of our charges do not have an inducted minister and we only have two ministers under the age of thirty: when I was inducted, there were seven of us in my presbytery. Four times the number of ministers will retire in the next six years than we are likely to recruit in the same time-frame.”
.

+ STV, Pacific Quay, Glasgow G51 1PQ, Scotland, 0141-300-3704, yourview@stv.tv

+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
.
.
[3] Denial is Not a River in Egypt, Nor in Ulster for That Matter

A 25 May 2014 BBC article titled “Presbyterian Moderator Condemns James McConnell’s Islam Remarks” reports that in the wake of a 25 May 2014 sermon by the Rev. James McConnell of Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle Church (Presbyterian Church in Ireland) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where McConnell described Islam as “heathen” and “satanic,” and said that “a new evil had arisen” and “there are cells of Muslims right throughout Britain,” the moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland the Rev. Dr. Rob Craig criticized McConnell’s remarks, saying:

“They are not consistent with the Gospel of Christ and the love of God.”

“I would be deeply offended if someone were to brand either all Presbyterians or all Christians with some extreme act by someone who claimed to do it in the name of Christ.

“I want to treat my neighbour as I would want to be treated myself.”

Police are investigating the content of Pastor McConnell’s sermon.
.

+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398

+ Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW, Northern Ireland, 028-9032-2284, Fax: 028-9041-7301, Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
.