29 October 2008

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Christian Observer Magazine Moves to the Web
[2] Dr. P. David Nicholas Installed as President of Knox Theological Seminary
[3] Diane Bish Dedicates New Organ at Lakeland, Florida’s Covenant Presbyterian Church
[4] Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama Announces $US26,000,000 Expansion
[5] Tulsa Church to Pay $US1,750,000 Settlement to PCUSA’s Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery to Keep Church Property
[6] More Light Presbyterians Names Marketing and Development Director
[7] Rev. Robert A. Schuller Removed as Senior Pastor of Crystal Cathedral by Rev. Robert H. Schuller
[8] Presbyterian Church in Taiwan General Assembly Executive Committee Meets
[9] Edinburgh’s Grassmarket and Covenanters Memorial Being Refurbished and Expanded
[10] Scotland to Get First Private Abortion Clinic

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[1] Christian Observer Magazine Moves to the Web

Friday, 31 October 2008, the monthly Christian Observer magazine will return to publication as an Internet website at www.christianobserver.org.

In addition to many of the monthly articles and features familiar to readers of the printed Christian Observer, a rich body of biblically solid Presbyterian, Reformed, and other applicable resources will begin being developed on the website, starting with commentaries and sermon notes on the Reformed Confessions and Catechisms.

Please check out the Christian Observer on Friday, Reformation Day 2008, which marks the 491^st anniversary of Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses.

+ Christian Observer, 9400 Fairview Avenue, Manassas, Virginia 20110, 703-335-2844, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
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[2] Dr. P. David Nicholas Installed as President of Knox Theological Seminary

At a convocation service 22 August 2008 to kick off its 20^th anniversary celebration, Knox Theological Seminary installed Dr. P. David Nicholas as President and Dr. Samuel Lamerson as Dean of Faculty.

Dr. Nicholas founded Spanish River Church (PCA) in Boca Raton, Florida in 1967, and under his leadership Spanish River has planted more than 200 self-supporting churches in the U.S., Canada, and around the world.

Knox Theological Seminary was founded in 1989 by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

+ Knox Theological Seminary, 5554 North Federal Highway Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33308, 954-771-0376, Fax: 954-351-3343, Administration@KnoxSeminary.edu

+ 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] Diane Bish Dedicates New Organ at Lakeland, Florida’s Covenant Presbyterian Church

Diane Bish, organist for twenty years at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was interviewed for a 17 October 2008 article in “The Ledger” of Lakeland, Florida while preparing for a recital at Lakeland’s Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) to dedicate their new three-manual, 80-stop Allen Organ Company Diane Bish Signature Series organ.

In addition to designing instruments with the Allen Organ Company, Bish has recorded more than 500 episodes of “The Joy of Music,” broadcast on PBS and some cable stations, and still tapes 15 to 20 new episodes per year.

+ The Ledger, 300 West Lime Street, Lakeland, Florida 33815, 863-802-7000, jerome.ferson@theledger.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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[4] Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama Announces $US26,000,000 Expansion

Briarwood Presbyterian Church (BPC) in Birmingham, Alabama has announced a $US26,000,000 expansion project that will include three new buildings, two new auditoriums, religious instruction classrooms, adult and children’s buildings, and a 385-space parking garage.

The 4100-member BPC describes itself as “the Flagship Church” of the PCA, and was the meeting place of the PCA’s First General Assembly on 4 December 1973.

+ The Birmingham News, 2201 Fourth Avenue North, Birmingham, Alabama 35203, 205-325-4444

+ 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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[5] Tulsa Church to Pay $US1,750,000 Settlement to PCUSA’s Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery to Keep Church Property

After a 9 September 2008 ruling by a Tulsa County (Oklahoma) District Court judge that the Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery is the rightful owner of church property under the PCUSA’s denominational constitution, a settlement was reached where Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church of Tulsa will pay the Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery $US1,750,000 in order to keep their church property.

In 2006, Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church voted to withdraw from the PCUSA and become affiliated with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) two months after the PCUSA’s 217^th General Assembly voted to relax the constitutional standards barring the ordination of homosexual clergy.

+ The Oklahoman, 9000 North Broadway, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73114, 405-475-3311

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

+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 17197 North Laurel Park Drive Suite 567, Livonia, Michigan 48152, 734-742-2020, Fax: 734-742-2033, webmaster@epc.org

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[6] More Light Presbyterians Names Marketing and Development Director

Toby Rogers has been named Associate Director for Marketing and Development for More Light Presbyterians (MLP). MLP describes itself as an organization dedicated to the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered PCUSA members in the full life of the church, including service as ordained elders, deacons and ministers.

Rogers’ new position was created through a grant from The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund in San Francisco, California and several other MLP supporters.

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

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[7] Rev. Robert A. Schuller Removed as Senior Pastor of Crystal Cathedral by Rev. Robert H. Schuller

Former “Hour of Power” preacher the Rev. Robert H. Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral (RCA) in Garden Grove, California on 25 October 2008 announced that he was removing his son the Rev. Robert A. Schuller as the current “Hour of Power” preacher, a position to which the elder Schuller appointed his son three years ago.

The elder Schuller built his ministry on the psychology of positive thinking and appealing to people who, in his view, were turned off by the formality of traditional faiths. In contrast, the younger Schuller’s sermons have been full of direct scriptural references.

In his message Sunday 27 October, the elder Schuller illustrated his and the younger Schuller’s theological differences by saying, “I was called to start a mission, not a church…You don’t try to preach…what is sin and what isn’t sin. A mission is a place where you ask nonbelievers to come and find faith and hope and feel love.”

One church member said that she preferred the younger Schuller’s Scripture-laden sermons, but because she felt called of God to attend the Crystal Cathedral, that she would go along with whatever the church decides.

+ Los Angeles Times, 202 West First Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, 213-237-5000, Fax: 213-237-7679, readers.rep@latimes.com

+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org

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[8] Presbyterian Church in Taiwan General Assembly Executive Committee Meets

The 13-19 October 2008 issue of the Taiwan Church News reports on the fourth session of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the General Assembly Executive Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) where several important resolutions were passed.

A “National and Human Rights Prayer Meeting” was tentatively scheduled for 6 December 2008 in the Democracy Plaza across from the Formosa Boulevard station of Kaohsiung’s Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT) system at the site where the Kaohsiung Incident occurred on 10 December 1979.

The executive committee also voted to create a committee headed by the PCT General Assembly focusing on national concerns including the Taiwan government’s current negotiations with the Peoples Republic of China, and concerns that these negotiations could result in Taiwan coming under PRC governance as has happened in Hong Kong.

+ National Council of Churches, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 880, New York, New York 10115

+ Presbyterian Church in Taiwan

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[9] Edinburgh’s Grassmarket and Covenanters Memorial Being Refurbished and Expanded

Edinburgh, Scotland’s Grassmarket, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, until 1784 was the site of hundreds of executions including those of 100 Covenanters killed between 1661 and 1688 because of their religious convictions.

The Edinburgh City Council is planning a restoration of this historic place to better reflect the history of the executions that took place there. One of the restoration goals is to improve the visibility of the Covenanters’ Memorial.

The Covenanters were Scots who signed the National Covenant in 1638, confirming their opposition to the Stuart kings’ claims of divinely appointed authority over the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Covenanters recognized only Jesus Christ as head of the church.

Ministers with Covenanting sympathies were “outed” from their churches by the authorities and had to leave their parishes. Many of these ministers continued to preach and received the death penalty for doing so.

+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 8AS, 0131-620-8620

+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England

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

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[10] Scotland to Get First Private Abortion Clinic

Glasgow or a location in central Scotland will be the site of Scotland’s first private abortion clinic, this one specializing in late term abortions.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service is establishing the clinic to carry out abortions right up to the legal limit of 24 weeks of pregnancy on the hundreds of women annually in Scotland and Northern Ireland that have to travel long distances for late term abortions.

A spokeswoman for the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child commented: “Instead of such clinics being opened, would it not be preferable to concentrate on helping women in crisis pregnancies address their fears in a way that allows their child to be born?”

+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 8AS, 0131-620-8620

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