9 August 2017
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“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]
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
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[1] Erskine Theological Seminary Announces Greenville, South Carolina Campus Expansion
[3] Operation Rescue’s Troy Newman Endorses Judge Roy Moore in U.S. Senate Special Election
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[1] Erskine Theological Seminary Announces Greenville, South Carolina Campus Expansion
Erskine Theological Seminary, a fully accredited seminary with 180 years of history in theological education, announces the expansion of its Greenville, South Carolina extension site.
Classes in theology, Bible, church history and practical ministry will be offered in the seminary’s newly renovated campus located at The ARP Center, 918 South Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, South Carolina 29607.
Three classes are being offered this fall 2017 semester:
- Systematic Theology I (ST 601), taught by R. J. Gore, DMin, PhD, on Thursdays (from 6-9 p.m.) beginning August 24.
- Introduction to Old Testament (OT 501), taught by George Schwab, PhD, on September 1-2 & 22-23, October 13-14, November 3-4 (Fridays 7-10PM, Saturdays 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
- Introduction to New Testament (NT 601), taught by Lloyd Melton, PhD, on September 16, October 7 & 28, November 18, December 9 (Saturdays 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.).
Classes can be audited or taken for credit towards three graduate-level degrees: Master of Divinity (MDiv), Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS), and Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry (MAPM).
Erskine Theological Seminary is the seminary of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Celebrating its 180th anniversary this year, Erskine Seminary is proud of its numerous alumni serving churches and ministries in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, throughout Upstate South Carolina and around the world. Students with Erskine’s accredited degrees have moved on to graduate work at many of the world’s leading academic institutions.
To learn more or register for a class, contact Robin Broome, Director of Recruitment and Enrollment: broome@erskine.edu, 864-379-6571
More information about Erskine Seminary can be found at seminary.erskine.edu.
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+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 918 South Pleasantburg Drive Suite 127, Greenville, South Carolina 29607, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
+ Erskine Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 800-770-6936
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The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) stands with transgender community members, affirms their sacredness – as they are created in the image of God – and asserts their deservedness of a dignified and respectful work environment. On Wednesday, [U.S.] President Trump issued a series of tweets that abruptly announced a ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military. It is particularly disappointing given that this proclamation falls on the anniversary of President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 that abolished racial discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces in 1948. This decision by President Trump reversed a gradual transformation under the Obama administration, which welcomed transgender people to serve openly. President Trump said, “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” Naming transgender people and their life-saving medical needs a “burden” is cruel, inaccurate, discriminatory, and serves to further push to the margins a population that experiences job discrimination, homelessness, suicide, and hate-motivated violence at devastating rates. As Micah stands firmly within the prophetic tradition that calls us to honor God’s image in one another, so should Presbyterians in this moment. God requires us “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor churches have explicitly affirmed the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people for almost forty years. A resolution passed by the 221st General Assembly (2014) entitled, On the Global Crisis for People Who Are LGBT and Their Families: A Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Response, “[encouraged] each Presbyterian to hold in prayer our LGBT sisters and brothers in the countries where they are vulnerable around the world” (Minutes, Part I, p.737). It is a painful reality that, indeed, our own country remains one of those where LGBT people, particularly transgender people, are vulnerable and explicitly targeted by our most powerful politician and the systems he influences.
According to the Williams Institute, there are an estimated 15,500 actively serving transgender members of the U.S. military. Thousands of transgender people have risked their lives in service to this country including the more than 134,000 transgender veterans who are alive today. Although the President alluded to exorbitant medical costs associated with transgender service members, the reality is that these costs amount to less than a thousandth of one percent of the Defense Department’s annual budget.
Historically, [the PCUSA] understand[s] inclusion in military service to be a bell tolling the advance of justice and an affirmation of citizenship and humanity for marginalized groups. This week we also saw the Department of Justice file court papers asserting that the law does not protect employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. These actions combined represent a clear effort to undermine the rights of LGBT people and to dampen the knell of freedom. We hold close our LGBT neighbors, even as the law of the land tries to push them away, and commit to stand with and defend them against bigotry, exclusion, and demonization.
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+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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[3] Operation Rescue’s Troy Newman Endorses Judge Roy Moore in U.S. Senate Special Election
MONTGOMERY, Alabama, Aug. 9, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ — Operation Rescue President Troy Newman has endorsed Judge Roy Moore to replace former Senator Jeff Sessions, who resigned earlier this year after being appointed to serve the Trump Administration as U.S. Attorney General.
Photo: Judge Roy Moore, left, with Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
Moore is the leading contender in the polls for the Special Election scheduled for August 15, 2017.
“I know Judge Roy Moore to be a dedicated Christian and social conservative who will not compromise on the matters of life. He is staunchly pro-life, and a true defender of religious freedom. I urge all the good people of Alabama to cast their votes for Judge Roy Moore for Senate on August 15,” said Troy Newman.
Newman helped lead a vigil in Montgomery, AL in 2003, in support of Moore’s position that a statue depicting the 10 Commandments should not be removed from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. The monument was removed over Judge Moore’s objections. Even though it cost him his position as Chief Justice, Judge Moore never wavered on his ruling that the law supported the display.
In 2012, Judge Moore was overwhelmingly re-elected by the people to his old position as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. But in 2016, Judge Moore once again was punished for his unwillingness to compromise the law when he was suspended for upholding the sanctity of marriage. He retired earlier this year to run for the Senate.
“Judge Moore is a man of faith that based his decisions on the court not on his opinions, but on the law of the land, even though it has cost him personally and professionally. It’s not often we find a political candidate that will do what is right, knowing that negative consequences will come. This is the kind of man of honor and principle we need in Washington, D.C.,” said Newman.
About Operation Rescue
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America.
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+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Operation Rescue, Post Office Box 782888, Wichita, Kansas 67278, 800-705-1175, Fax: 916-244-2636, info@operationrescue.org
+ Judge Roy Moore For Senate Committee, Post Office Box 5032, Montgomery, Alabama 36103, Contact Page
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