3 February 2010
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Christian Observer Highlights for February 2010
[2] PCA Central Carolina Presbytery Submits Overture to 2010 General Assembly to Amend Book of Church Order to Prohibit Deaconesses
[3] Westminster Assembly Project and Reformation Heritage Books to Publish Four Series of Books on the Westminster Assembly
[4] Christ URC of Santee, California, Ordains Italian Reformed Church Pastor to Establish a URCNA-Like Reformed Church Federation in Italy
[5] Church of Scotland Moderator Campaigns for Nuclear Disarmament
[6] CRC of Nigeria Provides Micro-Credit to Thirty-Five Church Members
[7] New Hampshire PCUSA Pastor and Wife Indicted for Embezzling US$137,000 from Congregation’s Bank Account
[8] Hungarian Reformed Church Aid Sends Medical Rescue Team to Haiti
[9] ARP World Witness Highlights Lumiere Medical Ministries for Haiti Earthquake Relief
[10] Crystal Cathedral Laying off Fifty Workers, Selling Surplus Property, and May Pull “Hour of Power” from Eight Markets
[11] Robert Morrison Project to Legally Translate and Publish Reformed Literature in China and Southeast Asia
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[1] Christian Observer Highlights for February 2010
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New Christian Observer articles for February 2010 include:
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— How (not) to be an American Missionary in Scotland by Free Church of Scotland pastor the Rev. David Robertson – practical wisdom for U.S. missionaries to Scotland, and for that matter – any Christian ministering to a different culture;
— Education in American History by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – discusses the changing perspectives about the Christian underpinnings of the American republic;
Plus, weekly Sabbath School lessons by Christian Observer Assistant Editor Dr. Robert LaMay, weekly Westminster Shorter Catechism studies by Dr. LaMay, and daily devotionals from T.M. Moore.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
A 26 July 2010 byFaith Magazine article by Melanie Benedict titled “Central Carolina Presbytery Overtures General Assembly to Prohibit Deaconesses” says that the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)’s Central Carolina Presbytery, at their 23 January 2010 stated meeting, voted to submit Overture 2 to the 2010 PCA General Assembly, which if passed would amend the PCA Book of Church Order section 9-7 allowing for women to “assist the deacons in caring for the sick, the widows, the orphans, the prisoners, and others who may be in any distress or need,” by adding: “These assistants to the deacons shall not be referred to as deacons or deaconesses, nor are they to be elected by the congregation nor formally commissioned, ordained, or installed as though they were office bearers in the church.”
An overture at the 2008 PCA General Assembly calling for a study committee on deaconesses, and two overtures at the 2009 PCA General Assembly calling for a study committee be formed to study women’s roles in PCA churches, were all rejected by the respective PCA General Assemblies.
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
+ Central Carolina Presbytery, 520 Willow Brook Drive, Matthews, North Carolina, 28105, 704-519-7076, clerk@cccpa.net
The Westminster Assembly Project and Reformation Heritage Books, beginning in March 2010, will begin publishing four series of books related to the Westminster Assembly including:
— Principal Documents of the Westminster Assembly
— Writings of the Westminster Divines
— Westminster Assembly Facsimiles
— Studies of the Westminster Assembly
+ Westminster Assembly Project, Wolfson College, Cambridge, England CB3 9BB, cbv20@cam.ac.uk
+ Reformation Heritage Books, 2965 Leonard Street Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-977-0599, orders@heritagebooks.org
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[4] Christ URC of Santee, California, Ordains Italian Reformed Church Pastor to Establish a URCNA-Like Reformed Church Federation in Italy
Christ United Reformed Church (CURC) (United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA)) of Santee, California, on 24 January 2010, ordained and installed the Rev. Andrea Ferrari as a missionary-pastor in the URCNA with the specific calling of establishing a federation of Reformed churches in Italy modeled after the URCNA.
Pastor Ferrari, a former Assemblies of God then Reformed Baptist minister, sustained a colloquium doctum on 19 January 2010, and is now an associate pastor of CURC with the specific calling of a missionary to the Filadelfia church in Milan, Italy, and to establish a federation of Reformed Churches in Italy.
Pastor Ferrari is additionally a writer of scholarly and pastoral articles, and is the author of John Diodoti’s Doctrine of Holy Scripture, published by Reformation Heritage Books, which examines the doctrine of John Diodoti, an Italian delegate to the Synod of Dort.
+ Pilgrim People Blog, michaelbrown@christurc.org
+ Christ United Reformed Church, 10333 Mast Boulevard, Santee, California 92071, 619-258-8500, michaelbrown@christurc.org
+ Reformation Heritage Books, 2965 Leonard Street Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-977-0599, orders@heritagebooks.org
+ United Reformed Churches in North America, c/o Mr. Bill Konynenbelt, 5824 Bowwater Circle Northwest, Calgary, Alberta T3B 2E2, Canada, 403-286-0521, Fax: 403-286-0759, urcna@shaw.ca
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[5] Church of Scotland Moderator Campaigns for Nuclear Disarmament
A 27 January 2010 article by Jenna Lyle in Christian Today titled “Scottish Churches Campaign against Nuclear Weapons” reports that Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. Bill Hewitt, and other members of Scottish Clergy against Nuclear Armaments, on 26 January 2010, launched a new campaign to make nuclear weapons a central focus of the upcoming general election campaign, specifically plans to replace Vanguard Trident submarines with a new generation of nuclear missile carriers.
+ Christian Today, 200 Great Dover Street, London SE1 4YB, England, 020-7378-5705
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
+ Scottish Clergy against Nuclear Armaments, 501 Shields Road, Glasgow,
Scotland G41 2RF, 0141-420-3327, Contact Page
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[6] CRC of Nigeria Provides Micro-Credit to Thirty-Five Church Members
A 28 January 2010 article in AllAfrica.com titled “Nigeria: Church Gives Micro-Credit to 35 Members” reports that the South South Zone of the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria’s Integrated Development Programme has provided thirty-five church members with micro-credit loans of between NGN10,000 and NGN50,000 (equivalent to between US$67 and US$335) for small scale enterprises including environmental sanitation, agriculture and agro-feed processing, and other income generating projects.
The loan recipients are to be trained before receiving the loans to ensure prudent management and to guarantee repayment.
+ AllAfrica.com, 920 M Street Southeast, Washington DC 20003, 202- 546-0777, Fax: 202-546-0676
+ Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria, Post Office Box 31, Takum, Taraba State, Nigeria, 234-802-479-1381, Fax: 234-73-57719, crcnheadquarters@yahoo.com
A 29 January 2010 article in The Eagle Tribune by Yadira Betances titled “Pastor, Wife Accused of Embezzling from Church in Lawrence” reports that the pastor of Tabernaculo de Adoracion y Musica (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the Rev. Isaias Rivera and his wife Vivian Rivera have been arrested and arraigned on charges of embezzling almost US$137,000 by writing checks to themselves from the congregation bank account between 2004 and 2009. Church secretary Kizzella Rivera (no relation) has been charged with writing and cashing US$9500 in checks to herself from the congregation bank account.
After being told of irregularities in the church by youth minister and husband of Kizzella Rivera, Ricky Rivera, the Presbytery of Northern New England (PNNE) began investigating, and discovered the financial irregularities and that all of the information on the church computer had been deleted. The PNNE additionally found that church attendance had dwindled to only seventeen, and that church attendees were having to bundle up while attending services because the church was no longer being heated.
+ The Eagle Tribune, 100 Turnpike Street, Andover, Massachusetts, 978-946-2000, Fax: 978-687-6045, agetler@eagletribune.com
+ Presbytery of Northern New England, 126 Pillsbury Road, Londonderry, New Hampshire 03053, 603-216-1071, pnne@pnne.org
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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[8] Hungarian Reformed Church Aid Sends Medical Rescue Team to Haiti
The Embassy of Hungary announced 20 January 2010 that Hungarian Reformed Church Aid had sent a medical rescue team to Haiti to assist in the post-earthquake rescue efforts. Additional support for Haiti rescue and relief were provided by Hungarian Baptist Aid and Hungarian Interchurch Aid.
The MTI Hungarian News Agency announced on 24 January 2010 that Reformed Church in Hungary Bishop Gusztav Bolcskei reported 23 January 2010 that the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid rescue team had returned from Haiti to Hungary.
+ Embassy of Hungary, 3910 Shoemaker Street Northwest, Washington DC 20008, 202-362-6730, informacio.was@kum.hu
+ MTI Hungarian News Agency, H-1016 Naphegy tér 8.,Budapest, Hungary, 36-1-441-9000, Fax: 36-1-317-7577, mti@mti.hu
+ Reformed Church in Hungary, MRE Zsinata1146 Budapest, Abonyi u. 21., Hungary, 30-3361-666, info@reformatus.hu
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[9] ARP World Witness Highlights Lumiere Medical Ministries for Haiti Earthquake Relief
A 29 January 2010 email update from World Witness, the board of foreign missions of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, titled “Haiti Earthquake Update” by Dr. Robert Belding, reports on the medical care for earthquake victims provided by the undamaged Hopital Lumiere in southern Haiti in the wake of the disastrous 12 January 2010 earthquake, and announced that any funds sent to World Witness for Haiti earthquake relief will be given to Lumiere Medical Ministries to use in the work the organization established in Haiti in 1987.
Dr. Belding, an orthopedic surgeon, reports that his medical team treated 250 people in the week prior to writing the dispatch for World Witness. Dr. Belding has previously served as an ARP volunteer medical missionary to Pakistan, and has been involved with Lumiere Medical Ministries to Haiti since 1996. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Columbia, South Carolina.
Donations for Lumiere Medical Ministries can be made at the organization’s website – http://www.lumiereministries.com.
+ World Witness, One Cleveland St. Suite 220, Greenville, South Carolina 29601, 864-233-5226, Fax: 864-233-5326, Contact Page
+ Lumiere Medical Ministries, New Hope Small Business Center, 3816 South New Hope Road – Suite 20, Gastonia, North Carolina 28056, 704-823-0271, Fax: 704-749-8544, service@lumiereministries.com
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
A 30 January 2010 article by Margot Roosevelt in the Los Angeles Times titled “Crystal Cathedral is Laying Off Fifty Workers, Selling Surplus Property” reports that the Crystal Cathedral of Garden Grove, California, is laying off fifty workers, selling surplus property, and may remove the “Hour of Power” television broadcast from eight markets because of a twenty-seven percent decline in contributions from 2008 to 2009 and the anticipation of a further decline in 2010.
Further background information about recent developments at the Crystal Cathedral can be found in the Presbyterians Week 29 October 2008 issue, article [7] Rev. Robert A. Schuller Removed as Senior Pastor of Crystal Cathedral by Rev. Robert H. Schuller; the 17 June 2009 issue, article [7] Robert H. Schuller’s Daughter Sheila Schuller Coleman to Lead Crystal Cathedral Ministries; and the 9 December 2009 issue, article [13] Dan Wooding of ASSIST News Service Interviews Robert A. and Donna Schuller in “Leaning into God: When Life Is Pushing you Away”.
+ Los Angeles Times, 202 West 1st Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, 213-237-5000, Fax: 213-237-7679, Contact Page
+ Crystal Cathedral Ministries, 13280 Chapman Avenue, Garden Grove, California 92840, 714-971-4000, Contact Page
+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org
The Robert Morrison Project (RMP) is a new, 501(c)3 non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to legally translating and publishing reformed literature in China and other Southeast Asian countries. The chief objective of the RMP is to begin to lay the foundation for the long-term, legal presence of quality reformed literature in China and beyond.
Periodically, the Board of Directors of the RMP will select a number of titles that reflect the Puritan and Reformed tradition (as defined by confessions such as the 1689 London Baptist Confession and the Westminster Confession of Faith). Grants will then be given to various Christian publishing companies in China and Asia to legally publish these titles. The RMP has no aspirations of establishing a company of its own but rather seeks to partner with existing ones to facilitate the publication of reformed literature. RMP’s long-term goal is the establishment of financially independent, self-governing reformed publishing companies in Asia and will focus on regions where literature needs are greatest.
RMP’s Board of Directors includes Dr. Tom Nettles, Dr. Brian Vickers, and Dr. Michael Haykin of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and Dr. Joel Beeke, President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
RMP’s Advisory Board includes Dr. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. D. A. Carson, Professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and the Rev. Richard Owen Roberts of International Awakening Ministries in Wheaton, Illinois.
+ Robert Morrison Project, Post Office Box 51788, Durham, North Carolina 27717, Contact Page
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