Presbyterians Week Headlines

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[1] Erskine College and Theological Seminary Constituencies React to Synod Actions [Extended Article]
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[2] Nigerian Muslims Shoot, Burn, and Butcher Christians, Leaving 500 Dead

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[3] Reformed Baptist Founders Ministries Blog Exposes “How to Smoke Out a Calvinistic Pastor in your Church” Documents

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[4] Twenty-Year-Old Undergraduate Woman Called as Pastor of Alabama Cumberland Presbyterian Church

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[5] Louisiana Public School Industrial Arts Teacher Placed on Leave for Refusing to Allow Student to Build Wiccan Altar for Class Project

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[6] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Asante Presbytery Holds Workshop for Ministers, Presbyters, and Catechists

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[7] Springfield, Virginia, PCUSA Church Celebrates World Day of Prayer with Indoor Labyrinth

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[8] Yale University Press Publishes Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” A Casebook

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[9] Reformation Trust Publishes By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by the Rev. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
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[1] Erskine College and Theological Seminary Constituencies React to Synod Actions [Extended Article]
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The 2-3 March 2010 called meeting of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) General Synod (GS) at the Bonclarken Conference Center in East Flat Rock, North Carolina , voted to 1) restructure the Erskine College and Theological Seminary (ECTS) Board of Trustees (BOT) to be a smaller body of sixteen members plus the active Moderator of Synod, 2) appoint an interim board of sixteen plus four ex officio members, the first two items effectively removing all current ECTS-BOT members, and an amendment to the second commending the former BOT members and stating that “systemic problems,” not “personal failure[s]” are the reason for the removals, 3) modify the nomination process for ECTS-BOT members, and 4) modify the qualifications for ECTS-BOT members, including “subscrib[ing] to the mission of Erskine College and Seminary as set forth in its mission statements.” Following the called ARP-GS meeting, several reactions to the synod initiatives have been voiced by ECTS constituencies within and outside of the ARP Church.

An 8 March 2010 Inside Higher Ed article titled “Questions on Erskine’s Accreditation” states that Belle S. Wheelan, president of the regional accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS), is “concerned about key rules about institutional independence,” regarding the ARP-GS actions toward ECTS, and said that “there is a serious chance that the college could be in violation of at least two standards that are required for accreditation.” The same article states that ECTS outgoing president Randall T. Ruble says “that he too believes the ARP Church violated accrediting standards.”

An 8 March 2010 article in The Index-Journal by Scott J. Bryan titled “Erskine Dean Bashes ARP” reports that ECTS interim vice president and dean of the college W. Gid Alston “vehemently opposes” the ARP-GS actions, questions the motives and actions of the ARP-GS, and supports the ousted trustees. Alston said: “The thing I found most disturbing about the firing of the fourteen board members is that some of the most highly effective board members in Erskine’s history were among those fired….These people have given tirelessly of their time, talent, and funds to help Erskine grow and flourish, and their dismissal was one of the most unethical and un-Christian acts that I have ever witnessed.” Alston continued: “I assume that sense of ownership stems from the fact that the ARP Church founded Erskine College in 1839, but the synod failed to note that the vast majority of Erskine’s assets, including its endowment, have (come) from contributions from alumni and friends of the college….Only a small percentage of financial support has come from the ARP Church, and the rights and investments of all of our contributors must be protected. Bottom line — the ARP Church does not own Erskine College.”

A 4 March 2010 article in The Index-Journal by Felicia Kitzmiller titled “ARP Fires 14 Trustees on Erskine College Board” quotes several ECTS faculty members including English professor William Crenshaw who said: “It looks like they’re trying to take over the college and imprint the college with their own kind of narrow Christianity. That does not bode well for Erskine to continue as a liberal arts center….I try to teach critical thinking. Part of critical thinking is asking questions about everything. You don’t accept anything just because someone says it.” Retired thirty-four year faculty member Dick Haldeman said: “They have no regard for the tradition of academic excellence….These are very dangerous steps they have taken…. It’s a coup. Associate professor of psychology Robert J.F. Elsner said: “The only fear anyone really has about it is academic freedom. Academic freedom is paramount to a school built on academic success.” Commenting on the possibility of the ARP-GS requiring all ECTS faculty to be of the Reformed faith, Elsner said: “Blind faith is a weak faith. A faith untested is like a sword untempered; it breaks in the first battle….(Students) have to be able to function in the world so they have to be able to understand evolutionary perspective.”

Since the ARP-GS meeting, hundreds of wall posts and discussion posts, the overwhelming majority of which are critical of the ARP-GS, have been published on the “Alumni For Erskine – A Christian Liberal Arts College” Facebook group. Several regional alumni chapter meetings to discuss the ECTS changes are scheduled and listed in the same Facebook group.

ARP pastor the Rev. Tim Phillips’ Gairney Bridge Blog published an 8 March 2010 article titled “Reactions to Synod’s Actions,” where Phillips takes issue with several inaccuracies in reaction to the ARP-GS meeting, concluding “…that a failure to know adequate information leading to invalid logical conclusions is not sound critical thinking.”
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+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
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+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936, gaston@erskine.edu
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+ Inside Higher Ed, 1320 18th Street Northwest, 5th Floor, Washington DC 20036, 202-659-9208, Fax: 202-659-9381, editor@insidehighered.com
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+ The Index-Journal, 610 Phoenix Street, Greenwood, South Carolina 29646, 864-223-1411, jburns@indexjournal.com
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+ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033, 404-679-4500, Fax: 404-679-4558, questions@sacscoc.org

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[2] Nigerian Muslims Shoot, Burn, and Butcher Christians, Leaving 500 Dead

An 8 March 2010 article from Compass Direct News titled “Islamic Assailants Kill Hundreds of Christians Near Jos, Nigeria” describes how ethnic Fulani Muslims on the morning of 7 March 2010 killed 500 ethnic Berom Christian men, women, and children by gunfire, by burning seventy-five Berom houses, and then attacking those fleeing the fires with machetes.

A statement released by the Plateau State Elders Christian Fellowship said “…the Hausa Fulani Muslim militants were chanting ‘Allah Akbar,’ broke into houses, cutting human beings, including children and women with their knives and cutlasses.”

Dr. Abel Damina, youth president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria said: “Young men, Christians, were going to their farm to harvest their produce and the [Islamist] fundamentalists pounced on them,” he said. “They were called infidels. At the last conference, we received reports with photographs of the [Islamist] fundamentalists using AK-47 rifles to destroy our churches. Where did they get the arms from? We have reports of truck loads of arms that had been intercepted, and we did not hear anything about them.”
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+ Compass Direct News Service, Post Office Box 27250, Santa Ana, California 92799, 949-862-0304, Fax: 949-752-6536, info@compassdirect.org

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[3] Reformed Baptist Founders Ministries Blog Exposes “How to Smoke Out a Calvinistic Pastor in your Church” Documents

A 4 March 2010 article by Tom Ascol in the Reformed Baptist Founders Ministries Blog titled “Memo: How to Smoke Out a Calvinistic Pastor in your Church,” publicizes three unofficial documents circulating in some Southern Baptist churches in western Tennessee being “distributed at seminars being held for churches to teach “how to find out if any of your staff are Calvinists and how to get rid of them.”” The seminars are being conducted “by zealous people who view the doctrines of grace as heresy.”

The three documents are 1) “Reformed Red Flags” – containing “a list of sixteen “behaviors” to look for when seeking to smoke out Calvinistic pastors,” 2) “Theological differences between Traditional Southern Baptist and Extreme Calvinists,” and 3) A document for new church pastors and staff members to facilitate that “a pastor be forthcoming in doctrinal convictions.”

Ascol concludes the article by evaluating the appropriate response to the documents, concluding: “Let’s examine ourselves in the light of that Word and determine to live wholeheartedly for our crucified and risen Savior. Critics will come and critics will go. What ultimately matters faithfulness to our Lord expressed through obedience to His Word.”
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+ Founders Ministries, Post Office Box 150931, Cape Coral, Florida 33915, 239-772-1400, Contact Page

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[4] Twenty-Year-Old Undergraduate Woman Called as Pastor of Alabama Cumberland Presbyterian Church

A 7 March 2010 article in The Birmingham News by Greg Garrison titled “20-Year-Old Pastor Brings New Life to Aging Church” reports that twenty-year-old University of Alabama senior Micaiah Thomas was recently called to be the pastor of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Hueytown, Alabama.

Ms. Thomas is a candidate for ministry in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and wants to attend seminary after her December 2010 graduation, and possibly help manage an orphanage in a poor country sometime after seminary.

Ms. Thomas is the daughter of the Rev. Lynndon Thomas, director of Cross Culture Ministries for the Board of Missions of the Cordova, Tennessee-based Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Ms. Thomas was born and lived for ten years in Colombia in South America when her parents were on the mission field.

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+ The Birmingham News, 2201 Fourth Avenue North, Birmingham, Alabama 35203, 205-325-4444
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+ Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 8207 Traditional Place, Cordova, Tennessee 38016, 901-276-4572, Fax: 901-272-3913

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[5] Louisiana Public School Industrial Arts Teacher Placed on Leave for Refusing to Allow Student to Build Wiccan Altar for Class Project

A 2 March 2010 Des Moines Register article titled “Wiccan Altar Puts Teacher, Officials at Odds” reports that Guthrie (Iowa) Center High School Industrial Arts teacher Dale Halferty was put on paid leave 1 March 2010 after refusing to allow a student to build a Wiccan altar for a class project.

The student is a practicing witch, and had been bringing a book on witchcraft to class.

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+ Des Moines Register, 715 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309, 515-284-8000, publisher@dmreg.com

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[6] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Asante Presbytery Holds Workshop for Ministers, Presbyters, and Catechists

A 3 March 2010 article on the GhanaWeb website titled “Presbyterians Asked to be Committed to Ideals of the Church” describes a recent workshop for ministers, presbyters, and catechists held by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG)’s Asante Presbytery with the theme “Let us rise up and build – the way forward after eighteen decades of existence as a church.”

At the workshop, PCG Moderator of the General Assembly the Right Rev. Dr. Yaw Frimpong-Manso voiced concern about the lack of evangelism in the church, and said that church members are idle, undisciplined, and ignorant of the tenets of the faith. The moderator added that “it was important for Presbyterians to cherish selfless and dedicated service in the missionary work in order to transform society.” Additionally, the moderator advised church members to “shun activities and lifestyles that were not in conformity with the church’s beliefs and practices,” “to promote education, employable training and health outreach programs to enhance the physical well being of people,” and “to campaign vigorously to bring back “the Presbyterian discipline…”

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+ GhanaWeb, Poederooienstraat 66, 1106 CK Amsterdam, Netherlands, 31-207700126, Fax: 1-815-6429100, akoto@ghanaweb.com

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+ Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Post Office Box GP 1800, Accra, Ghana, 233-21-662511, Fax: 233-21-665594, pcghg@yahoo.com

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[7] Springfield, Virginia, PCUSA Church Celebrates World Day of Prayer with Indoor Labyrinth

The 4 March 2010 The Washington Post’s Fairfax County (Virginia) Religion Notes compiled by Jean Mack announced that the Kirkwood Presbyterian Church of Springfield, Virginia, held a celebration of the World Day of Prayer on 5 March 2010 that included a prayer walk on an indoor labyrinth.

A 6 December 2005 post on The Puritan Board by the Rev. Bruce Buchanan of the Chain-O-Lakes Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Central Lake, Michigan, describes the prayer labyrinth as “an occult path of the dead. Successful navigation of it led one to heaven; the lost wandered it forever in terror, ending up in the center pit from which there was no escape. Arcane knowledge (gnosis) of traversing it or a suitable guide, therefore, was [a] necessary part of pagan religion. In other incarnations, it serves a gnostic purpose of meditation…not the “inner-peace” type, but the “path”…to enlightenment.”

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+ The Washington Post, 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington DC 20071, 202-334-6000, Contact Form

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+ The Puritan Board, Contact Page

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+ The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 North Easton Road, Building E, Box P, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania 19090, 215-830-0900, Fax: 215-830-0350

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[8] Yale University Press Publishes Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” A Casebook

On 15 February 2010, Yale University Press published Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” A Casebook, edited by Wilson H. Kimnach, Caleb J. D. Maskell, and Kenneth P. Minkema.

The book “presents the accurate and definitive version of Sinners, accompanied by the tools necessary to study and teach this famous American sermon….[and] contains questions for in-class discussion, a chronology of Edwards’s life, and a glossary. In addition, curricular materials and video mini-presentations are available on a dedicated Web site.”

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+ Yale University Press, Post Office Box 209040, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, 203-432-0960, Fax: 203-432-0948, customer.care@triliteral.org

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[9] Reformation Trust Publishes By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by the Rev. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson

Reformation Trust Publishing on 26 February 2010 published By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by the Rev. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson.

In the book, “Dr. Ferguson laments that “we have lost the joy and energy that is experienced when grace seems truly ‘amazing.’” In an effort to restore the wonder of divine grace, he reflects on it from seven angles, each built around a stanza from a rich but little-known hymn, “O How the Grace of God Amazes Me,” written by Emmanuel T. Sibomana, a pastor in the African nation of Burundi. This book poses probing questions for today’s believer: “If I am not amazed by God’s grace, can I really be living in it? Can I really be tasting, and savoring, and delighting in it?” But those willing to delve into God’s Word with Dr. Ferguson will come away with a deeper astonishment at the depths of God’s grace.”

Dr. Ferguson is the Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church (Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church) in Columbia, South Carolina, and is Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

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+ Reformation Trust Publishing, c/o Ligonier Ministries, 400 Technology Park, Lake Mary, Florida 32746, 407-333-4244, Fax: 407-333-4233

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+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

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+ Westminster Theological Seminary, 2960 West Church Road, Glenside, Pennsylvania 19038, 215-887-5511, Fax: 215-887-5404, communications@wts.edu

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Presbyterians Week Headlines

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[1] Christian Observer Highlights for March 2010

[2] Erskine Theological Seminary Called Out by Former Trustee for Admitting Non-Christians to DMin Program (Extended Article)

[3] Syriac Catholic Church Patriarch Accuses Iraqi Government of Complicity in Recent Mosul, Iraq Murder of Ten Christians

[4] Family Research Council President Tony Perkins Disinvited to Speak at 25 February USAF Prayer Luncheon due to Perkins’ Criticism of Obama Efforts to End “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

[5] Seven Christians Arrested in Asmara, Eritrea, for Praying Together in a Private Home

[6] Botswana Dutch Reformed Church Woman Pastor Establishing New Church

[7] Traveler’s Journey Blog Article Highlights Dutch Reformed Church History in Sri Lanka and Features Photos of Historic Church in Galle

[8] Books on Atheism and Satanism Found in Raid on Texas Church Arson Suspect’s Home

[9] Presbyterian Church in Ireland Elects New Moderator

[10] Pulitzer Prize Winner and Calvinist Novelist Marilynne Robinson Interviewed in February 2010 Christianity Today
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[1] Christian Observer Highlights for March 2010

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New articles in the Christian Observer for March 2010 include:

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– Falling on Deaf Ears? — Why So Many Churches Hear So Little of the Bible – by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – writing about contemporary impatience with the Word of God leading to sermons that reflect congregational concerns rather than exposition of Scripture;

– Original Sin and Education – by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – how belief or unbelief in the doctrine of Original Sin influences educational philosophy; and,

– A Lunch Bag That Was Multiplied – by Karen Gonzalez of ASSIST News Service – how God used the death of a missionary couple’s son to launch a program that feeds malnourished children in Central and South America a nutritious lunch and the Word of God;

plus, regular features including weekly Sabbath School Lessons and weekly Westminster Shorter Catechism Lessons by Christian Observer Assistant Editor Dr. Robert LaMay, and Daily Devotionals from T.M Moore.

+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

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[2] Erskine Theological Seminary Called Out by Former Trustee for Admitting Non-Christians to DMin Program (Extended Article)

One of the factors likely being considered by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP)’s called synod meeting of 2-3 March 2010 (for the purpose of presenting and acting upon the recommendations of the ARP Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Seminary) is documented in an article by former Erskine Trustee, the Rev. Dr. Charles W. Wilson, published 26 February 2010 in Dr. Wilson’s ARPTalk Blog titled “Erskine Seminary Now Matriculating Jewish, Mormon, and Islamic Clerics into the DMin Program!,” in which Dr. Wilson takes the Erskine Board of Trustees and the senior administrators of Erskine Theological Seminary (ETS) to task for admitting non-Christian clerics to the ETS DMin Program.

Dr. Wilson begins by quoting the ETS mission statement, “The mission of Erskine Theological Seminary is to educate persons for service in the Christian Church,” asks “How does helping to advance the careers of Jewish, Mormon, and Muslim clerics work to advance the cause of the Christian Church?,” and concludes “[T]he administrative leaders of ETS have jettisoned the stated mission of ETS.”

Dr. Wilson next cites the academic requirements (p. 81 of ETS catalog) for the ETS DMin program, which include the prerequisite of an MDiv degree from an accredited seminary or equivalent, questions whether, e.g., Muslim Imam training meets the required prerequisites, expresses concern that ETS’s accreditation is being endangered, and concludes that “the mission and the academic standards and protocols that make for a viable and respectable seminary have been jettisoned by the very people who have been called to protect them.”

Dr. Wilson next recalls serving on the Erskine Board of Trustees in 1998 when the DMin program for U.S. Army chaplains (from which the non-Christian chaplain DMin candidates have come) was begun, stating that the original contract with the U.S. Army, “had specifications that protected the mission and academic requirements of ETS,” and that “[t]he Army personnel at Fort Jackson who met the purpose statement and the academic requirements of ETS were admitted into the program.”

Wilson next references several subsequent contracts signed with the U.S. Army and asks: “Were these documents seen and authorized by the Board? What were the specifications? Who signed the documents? Did someone act on his own initiative in disregard of Board oversight? Was the General Synod of the ARP Church made aware of the specifications of these contracts? Who authorized the signing of these contracts? Why were the ARP Church and the seminary of the ARP Church not protected? The current Executive Vice President of ETS [H. Neely Gaston] has often publicly claimed ownership of the MEDCOM program? What has he wrought?”

Dr. Wilson next states that “…the witness of the ARP Church has been put out for public ridicule,” describes the issue as “aiding and abetting the cause of false religions,” and concludes that “our brothers and sisters in our Reformed and evangelical community see this clearly and are dismayed at us. This is not engaging the culture! This is aiding the enemy!”

Dr. Wilson states that non-Christians have been admitted to the ETS DMin program as far back as 2005, asking why the trustees and the senior ETS administrators have done nothing about the issue. Wilson asks: “Why have the chief administrators of ETS done this thing? Is it because they are
theologically inept? No! Is it because they have knowingly and willfully betrayed the Christian faith? I hope not! Is it because they need a bag of money to support the institution? Yes! There it is! Money! They have sold the birthright of the ARP Church for a mess of pottage,” concluding that “…the educational services of Erskine Theological Seminary have been rented out to the highest bidder.”

Dr. Wilson asks several other pertinent questions including why sacrificial gifts to ETS given by Christians are being used in this way, why ETS is conforming itself to the inclusive policies of secular institutions, and whether this issue is honoring ETS, the ARP Church, and most of all Jesus Christ?

Dr. Wilson next recalls the orientation meeting of the Erskine Class of 2004 Board of Trustees, when in a condescending manner the board members were told by the Erskine President and Board chairman to not meddle in ETS details or the institution’s day-to-day affairs, but to stick to “big picture” matters. Wilson states that the Trustees have followed these directions for the past forty years to Erskine’s great detriment.

Dr. Wilson concludes the article by recalling the question asked throughout the article: “How do we respond to this?,” reminds the readers of the Apostle Paul’s righteous anger “…when the truth of the gospel and the saving uniqueness of Jesus Christ were being compromised or betrayed,” and prays for Godly wisdom and courage for the ARP Church when the time comes to address the subject issue.

Dr. Wilson then expresses “…an overwhelming sense of sadness over what ETS has become, and remorse over how we in the ARP Church have allowed this to happen,” and avers “Let us, in due time and with God’s help, do what needs to be done. But in the meantime, let us grieve and repent of our failure as a General Synod to oversee this once-proud seminary properly.” Wilson closes: “How should we respond? Weep.”

[Editor’s Note: A 2 March 2010 evening dispatch from ARP Synod delegate Don Clements published in the Aquila Report : http://theaquilareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:arp-called-synod-meeting-starts-in-a-snowstorm&catid=50:churches&Itemid=133 says that the major recommendation of the ARP Moderator’s Committee is to completely replace the current Erskine Board of Trustees with a smaller group of sixteen members, and that the bylaws be revised to contain “more effective policies to prevent further failures regarding financial integrity, conflicts of interest, integration of faith and learning, board training, and other issues identified by the commission. These policies must align with Synod’s Philosophy of Christian Higher Education and Erskine’s current mission statements. These revised bylaws shall be adopted by the full board at its May 2010 meeting, and subsequently presented to the Synod for adoption at its June 2010 meeting.”

Please read the referenced Aquila Report article, as this summary is quite brief and is missing many details due to publishing time constraints, and the Moderator’s Commission Report contained in the dispatch explains much more fully the recommended restructurings.]

+ ARPTalk Blog, wilson6114@bellsouth.net

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

+ The Aquila Report, c/o Metokos Press, 211 Main Street, Suite 108, Narrows, Virginia 24124, 540-726-8223

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[3] Syriac Catholic Church Patriarch Accuses Iraqi Government of Complicity in Recent Mosul, Iraq Murder of Ten Christians

A 27 February 2010 Assyrian International News Agency article titled “Iraqi Government Accused of Complicity in Christian Murders,” reports that Syriac Catholic Church patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan on 24 February 2010 sent a letter to the Iraqi prime minister accusing Iraqi government officials with complicity in the murder by Islamists of ten Christians in Mosul, Iraq, since 14 February 2010, including the killing of a Christian father and his two sons in front of his wife and daughter by an armed commando who came into their home.

Hundreds of the 15,000 remaining Christians in Mosul are fleeing the city for their lives.

As of 28 February 2010, United States military forces fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom have lost 4380 soldiers killed.

+ Assyrian International News Agency

+ Open Doors USA, Post Office Box 27001, Santa Ana, California 92799, 949-752-6600, Fax: 949-752-6442, usa@opendoors.org

+ Icasulties.org

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[4] Family Research Council President Tony Perkins Disinvited to Speak at 25 February USAF Prayer Luncheon due to Perkins’ Criticism of Obama Efforts to End “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

In a 26 February 2010 article titled “Air Force Retracted Invitation for Conservative Leader to Speak at Prayer Luncheon After He Criticized Obama’s Position on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’”, Cybercast News Service writer Peter Winn reports that the Chaplain’s Office at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George’s County, Maryland, retracted an invitation to Family Research Council President and former U.S. Marine Tony Perkins to speak at a 25 February 2010 Prayer Luncheon after Perkins criticized U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama’s efforts to end the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” military policy on homosexuality.

The Chaplain’s Office said Perkins’ comments made many who planned to attend the prayer luncheon uncomfortable, and that the Chaplain “wanted the luncheon to be inclusive for the entire base community.”

+ Cybercast News Service, 325 South Patrick, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 703-683-9733

+ Family Research Council, 801 G Street Northwest, Washington DC 20001, 202-393-2100, Fax: 202-393-2134, Contact Page

+ Andrews Air Force Base, 1535 Command Drive, Suite AB-210, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland 20762, 301-981-1110

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[5] Seven Christians Arrested in Asmara, Eritrea, for Praying Together in a Private Home

International Christian Concern (ICC) reported 23 February 2010 that Eritrean security officials on 18 February 2010 arrested seven Christians in the nation’s capitol of Asmara for praying in a private home, then took the seven to an unknown location.

ICC reports that the predominantly-Islamic country of Eritrea has imprisoned 3000 Christians for exercising their religious freedom, that the imprisoned Christians are kept in underground dungeons, metal shipping containers, and military barracks, and that several of the Christian prisoners have died due to torture and a lack of medical attention.

+ International Christian Concern, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest #941, Washington DC 20006, 800-422-5441, Fax: 301-989-1709, superadmin@persecution.org

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[6] Botswana Dutch Reformed Church Woman Pastor Establishing New Church

A 25 February 2010 Daily News article by Aron Moreeng titled “Reverend Kgosiemang Establishes Church” describes how the Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana (DRCB)’s first woman pastor, the Rev. Mmonie Kgosiemang, was dismissed in 2008 from the church she pastored after it was alleged that Kgosiemang was not cooperating with the church congregation.

A group of congregation members had previously and unsuccessfully fought in the courts for the pastor’s dismissal, maintaining that the DRCB constitution does not allow women to be ministers.

A classroom in the Isang Primary School in Mochudi, Botswana, is the current home of the seven-month old New Revelation Church (NRC), now led by Pastor Kgosiemang. A recent benefactor to NRC, Mrs. Baba Whisler, says that the classroom where NRC currently meets is not conducive for church services. Mrs. Whisler is working to raise funds for a new church building through her acquaintances in the United States.

+ Daily News, Department of Information Services, 37795 Wellie Seboni Drive, P/Bag BR 139, Gaborone, Botswana, 267-365-3500, dailynews@gov.bw

+ Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana, PO Box 853, Mochudi, Botswana, 267-57-77204, drcbadmin@botsnet.bw

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[7] Traveler’s Journey Blog Article Highlights Dutch Reformed Church History in Sri Lanka and Features Photos of Historic Church in Galle

A 17 February 2010 article in the Traveler’s Journey Blog titled “Dutch Reformed Church” provides a brief history of the Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka and features two photographs of the historic Dutch Reformed Church in Galle, Sri Lanka, which currently holds services in the Sinhala Tamil and English languages.

+ Traveler’s Journey Blog

+ Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka, 363 Galle Road, Wellawatte, Colombo 6, Sri Lanka, 94-1-236-0861, Fax: 94-1-258-2469, cnj@eureky.lk

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[8] Books on Atheism and Satanism Found in Raid on Texas Church Arson Suspect’s Home

A 1 March 2010 article in the Religion News Blog titled “Arson Suspects Grew Up Together in Texas Church” describes the two suspects arrested for a fire at Dover Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, and who are suspected in connection with nine other arson church fires and three attempted church break-ins in Texas since 1 January 2010.

Suspect Jason Robert Bourque, nineteen, was an Eagle Scout and high school debate champion. Police found weapons and books on atheism and Satanism when the home where Bourque was arrested on 21 February was searched. Suspect Daniel George McAllister, twenty-two, was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, on the same day.

The two men are childhood friends that attended First Baptist Church in Ben Wheeler, Texas. Both are charged so far with one count of felony arson, each is being held on US$10 million bond, and both face possible life terms in prison if convicted.

+ Religion News Blog, Contact Form

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[9] Presbyterian Church in Ireland Elects New Moderator

A 2 March 2010 BBC News article titled “Rev Norman Hamilton New Presbyterian Moderator” reports that the Rev. Norman Hamilton, pastor of the Ballysillan Presbyterian Church in north Belfast, Northern Ireland, was nominated 2 March 2010 by eleven of nineteen presbyteries to be the next moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and will assume the post on 7 June 2010 when the current moderator, the Rev. Dr. Stafford Carson, finishes his term.

The BBC describes Mr. Hamilton as “a well-known evangelical, considered by some to be on the progressive wing of evangelicalism,” who “became a significant public figure as a result of his mediation work in the Holy Cross dispute [2001-2002] in north Belfast.”

+ 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

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[10] Pulitzer Prize Winner and Calvinist Novelist Marilynne Robinson Interviewed in February 2010 Christianity Today

The February 2010 issue of Christianity Today includes an interview by Virginia Tech Professor of English Thomas Gardner titled “Marilynne Robinson, Narrative Calvinist,” which begins with Ms. Robinson describing her early-in-life strong sense of God’s presence and the people who taught her Presbyterianism in her childhood.

Gardner’s interview discusses several of Robinson’s books, including her 2006 publication of John Calvin: Steward of God’s Covenant, where Gardner writes that Robinson shows “…the Reformer has been hidden under a caricature, known only as “an apostle of gloom dominating a gloomy city,” his legacy one of “repression and persecution.” Robinson instead finds three liberating themes in Calvin’s thought, and in the preface and an earlier collection of essays, The Death of Adam (1998), she articulates how they impress upon her literary vision.”

Please read Gardner’s Christianity Today interview, and discover this remarkable author, Marilynne Robinson, and how her mature Reformed understanding of the Word of God is utilized in writing books from a perspective acknowledging a Sovereign God in every facet of one’s existence.

+ Christianity Today International, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, 630-260-6200, Fax: 630-260-0114, mwhite@christianitytoday.com

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Presbyterians Week Headlines

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[1] ARP Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Seminary Issues Preliminary Report Ahead of Called Synod Meeting 2-3 March 2010

[2] UK Parliament Committee Reports Government Failures in Presbyterian Mutual Society Insolvency.

[3] Covenant Presbyterian Church of Huntsville, Alabama, Hosts Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Response Team to Help People Cope with University Shootings

[4] Simon Wiesenthal Center Says PCUSA Ready to Declare War against Israel

[5] Union Theological Seminary Speaker for May 2010 Sprunt Lectures Favors Replacing Christian Symbol of Cross with Virgin Mary’s Lactating Breast

[6] PCUSA John Knox Presbytery, in Closed Meeting, Approves Ordination of Active Homosexual in Defiance of PCUSA Constitution

[7] Church of Scotland Ministers React to Elton John’s Claim that Jesus Christ was Homosexual

[8] Church of Scotland to Eliminate Twenty-Four of Forty-Four Jobs in Council of Mission and Discipleship

[9] Historical Marker to be Dedicated in August 2010 at Pennsylvania Site of First Covenanter Communion Service outside Great Britain in 1752

[10] PCA Evangel Presbytery Submits Overture to 38^th General Assembly to Study Biennial GA Meetings and Alternate Year Regional Meetings at Smaller and Less-Expensive Venues

[11] Dr. Philip Graham Ryken Appointed Eighth President of Wheaton College

[12] Presbyterian Church of Wales to Hold Youth and Children Workers and Leaders Training 6 March 2010 at Park End Church in Cardiff, Wales

[13] North Carolina Middle School Teacher Suspended after Accusing Students that Left Bible on Desk of a Hate Crime

[14] Food and Drug Administration Conducts Warrantless Raid on Pennsylvania Amish Farm Because Farm “Produce[s] Food for Human Consumption.”

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[1] ARP Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Seminary Issues Preliminary Report Ahead of Called Synod Meeting 2-3 March 2010

The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP)’s Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Seminary, on 19 February 2010, issued a preliminary report ahead of the called synod meeting at the Bonclarken Conference Center in East Flat Rock, North Carolina, on 2-3 March 2010. The stated purpose of the preliminary report is: “In order that voting delegates may have the opportunity to prepare for the presentation of [the Moderator’s Commission final] report.”

The preliminary report briefly summarizes the purpose and work of the commission, the history and context leading to appointment of the commission, a statement of the role of the ARP General Synod, ten preliminary conclusions, and an explanation for why the entire final report will be delivered at the called synod meeting and not released in advance.

The preliminary report “particularly commends Dr. Randall T. Ruble, President of Erskine College and Seminary, for his full cooperation…;” notes that both the preliminary and final reports are the unanimous decision of the Moderator’s Committee; admits the General Synod’s past negligence in its oversight of Erskine; addresses “irreconcilable and competing visions about the direction of the college and seminary among the members of the Erskine Board of Trustees” and “irreconcilable and competing visions about Erskine’s mission as a liberal arts college on the Erskine Board and within the Administration and faculty; notes the difficulties of the current presidential search for Erskine; notes the difficulties of the current size and organization of the Board of Trustees; notes the problems as a result of the ideological differences among the Board of Trustees; cites the Board of Trustees for being “negligent in its responsibility to hold the Administration accountable for the faculty it employs;” and concludes: “The so-called “culture of intimidation,” found by Second Presbytery’s Committee on the Minister and His Work several years ago, is still present on the campus. There is an atmosphere in some quarters of Erskine College and Seminary that is inimical to faithful implementation of the mission.”

The preliminary report addenda includes the “Report of the Special Committee on Christian Higher Education as Adopted by the General Synod Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church” dated 8 June 1977; the “Statement of the Philosophy of Christian Higher Education of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as Adopted by the General Synod” dated 8 June 1977 and 7 June 1978; and the “Report of the Vision Committee” appointed in the wake of the 2005 Meeting of General Synod.

A prayer request for the upcoming synod meeting was posted 23 February 2010 on several Internet email groups and blogs:

“Please be in prayer for wisdom by the commissioners in taking positive action that the APR [Church] may regain control of its college & seminary and integrate a Biblically Christian, Evangelical, & Reformed worldview into the philosophy of Christian Education practiced by the [Board of Trustees], Administration, Faculty, & that such may be integrated into both the Curricula and classroom teaching at both institutions.”

The prayer request message suggested studying the following resources:

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– “Looking for a Miracle: A Transformed Denomination Seeks to Transform its College and Seminary” in the 4 July 2009 World Magazine – http://www.worldmag.com/articles/15536

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– Background on the triumph of Inerrancy in the ARP Church and the identity crisis at its college and seminary is documented by The Christian Observer in “Five Out-of-Work Preachers” -
http://christianobserver.org/five-out-of-work-preachers/

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Additionally, Presbyterians Week for 2 September 2009 article “[12] ARP Synod Moderator Appoints Erskine College and Seminary Commission” provides further background on the ARP Moderator’s Commission.

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+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

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+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936, gaston@erskine.edu

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+ World Magazine, 85 Tunnel Road, Suite 12, Asheville, North Carolina 28805, 828-232-5415, Fax: 828-253-1556, mailbag@worldmag.com.

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+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

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[2] UK Parliament Committee Reports Government Failures in Presbyterian Mutual Society Insolvency

An 18 February 2010 Belfast Telegraph article titled “MPs: Why did Officials not Spot Presbyterian Mutual Dangers?” reviews a report titled “The Failure of the Presbyterian Mutual Society” from the Treasury Committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons concluding that the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) had “access to all the relevant information” about the coming collapse of the Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS), but failed to take any action to prevent the financial catastrophe.

The report said that the DETI nor anyone else is responsible for regulating organizations like the PMS, but that it is surprising that no one had stepped in to address the regulatory gap. The report went on to warn the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), despite not being legally responsible, not to shirk their responsibility for helping the 9,500 PMS investors who lost their life savings, because PCI congregations were encouraged to invest by “pulpit calls.”

A PCI statement said: “Legally, it appears that the Church has no liability. However, the society was linked to the Church, its role was advertised at the General Assembly, it was the subject of pulpit calls and it was enthusiastically endorsed by many of its ministers. We consider that the Church cannot evade responsibility for what happened, and should consider whether it can help in any way.”

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+ Belfast Telegraph, 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1EB, Northern Ireland, 028-9026-4000, writeback@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

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

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[3] Covenant Presbyterian Church of Huntsville, Alabama, Hosts Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Response Team to Help People Cope with University Shootings

A 21 February 2010 article by Victoria Cumbow in The Huntsville Times titled “Church Speakers Tell Ways to Cope with Tragedy, Loss” reports on a 20 February 2010 meeting at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama, organized by the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s Presbytery of North Alabama where two members of the PCUSA’s Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Response Team (PDART), spoke to the assembled group about ways to help people recover from loss.

The meeting with PDART representatives comes in the wake of the 12 February 2010 shootings of six faculty colleagues by a University of Alabama in Huntsville professor that left three dead and three injured.

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+ The Huntsville Times, 2317 South Memorial Parkway, Huntsville, Alabama 35801, 256-532-4000, Fax: 256-532-4213, bob.ludwig@htimes.com

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+ Presbytery of North Alabama, 3330 L and North Drive Southwest, Huntsville, Alabama 35801, 256-883-0855, Fax: 256-883-8707, Contact Page

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

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[4] Simon Wiesenthal Center Says PCUSA Ready to Declare War against Israel

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) issued a 22 February 2010 news release warning that the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) committee appointed in 2008 to supposedly balance the PCUSA’s Middle East policies was in fact packed with seven activists holding anti-Israel beliefs and one pro-Israel member that quit the committee in protest once he discovered the committee’s radical agenda.

The committee’s recently leaked report:
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– calls for the US to withhold financial and military aid to Israel;
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– apologizes to Palestinians for even conceding that Israel has a right to exist;
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– declares that Israel, if defined as a Jewish State, must be inherently racist;
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– embraces the Kairos Palestine Document, produced by Palestinian Christians, calling for boycott and sanctions against Israel and endorses full Palestinian ‘right of return‘ to Israel which would lead to the demise of the Jewish democratic state;
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– and, denies any connection between biblical covenants and the Jewish people. Israel’s history, it claims, begins only with the Holocaust, a nation mistakenly created by Western powers at the expense of the Palestinian people to solve the ‘Jewish problem.’
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The SWC states that all of the initiatives in the report are those encouraged by the World Council of Churches, and states: “Adoption of this poisonous document by the Presbyterian Church will be nothing short of a declaration of war on Israel and her supporters.”

The SWC asks that the report be protested to PCUSA leadership, and that concerned PCUSA members ask other members to speak out against the report.
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+ Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1399 South Roxbury Drive, Los Angeles, California 90035, 310-553-9036, Fax: 310-553-4521,
information@wiesenthal.net
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+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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+ World Council of Churches, 150 route de Ferney, CH-1211, Geneva 2, Switzerland, 41-22-791-6111, Fax: 41-22-791-0361

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[5] Union Theological Seminary Speaker for May 2010 Sprunt Lectures Favors Replacing Christian Symbol of Cross with Virgin Mary’s Lactating Breast

Presbyterian Lay Committee Editor Emeritus the Rev. Parker Williamson reports in a 21 February article in The Layman Online titled “Breast Theology Uplifted at Union Seminary” that Union Theological Seminary’s May 2010 Sprunt Lectures will feature Margaret R. Miles, emerita professor of Historical Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkley, California, speaking on “Revisioning Historical Theology.”

Miles wrote an article for the January 2008 The Christian Century titled “God’s Love, Mother’s Milk,” where Miles posited that the use of the cross to symbolize God’s love replaced the earlier and better symbol of God’s love, which was the lactating breast of the Virgin Mary. Miles claims that this earlier symbol was replaced by the cross when patriarchal Western Europeans “secularized the breast.”

Miles considers the Christian cross to be an inappropriate symbol because “it presents a violent act as salvific.” Miles adds: “The equation of love with heroic violence and suffering is typically a male-centered perspective….[T]he value of the nursing breast as a symbol of God’s provision might need to be reconsidered in our own time….In societies in which violence is rampant on the street and in the media, the nursing virgin can perhaps communicate God’s love to people in a way that a violent image, the image of one more sacrificial victim, cannot.”
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+ Presbyterian Lay Committee, Post Office Box 2210, Lenoir, North Carolina 28645, 828-758-8716, Fax: 828-758-0920, laymanletters@layman.org
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+ Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education, 3401 Brook Road, Richmond, Virginia 23227, 804-355-0671, Fax: 804-355-3919
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+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005

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[6] PCUSA John Knox Presbytery, in Closed Meeting, Approves Ordination of Active Homosexual in Defiance of PCUSA Constitution

Lillian Kwon of The Christian Post, in a 22 February 2010 article titled “Wis[consin] Presbytery Approves Ordination of Openly Gay Man,” reports that the John Knox Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), in a closed meeting on 20 February 2010, approved the ordination of Scott D. Anderson who lives in an active homosexual relationship.

Anderson was ordained by the PCUSA in 1983, and served as a minister until 1990 when his homosexuality was made public and Anderson then set aside his ordination.

The PCUSA Constitution declares that ordained ministers must maintain “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between and a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.”
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+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com
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+ John Knox Presbytery, 1289 West Seminary Street, Richland Center, Wisconsin 53581, 608-647-8828, Fax: 608-647-3386, jkp@jknox.org
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+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005

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[7] Church of Scotland Ministers React to Elton John’s Claim that Jesus Christ was Homosexual

A 19 February 2010 article in the Daily Record by Iain Burchell titled “Chart Star Sir Elton John Sparks Row after Claiming Jesus was Gay” reports on the reactions of two Church of Scotland (COS) ministers to the claim by musician Elton John that Jesus Christ was homosexual.

Former member of the Steering Group for Forward Together, an evangelical group within the COS, the Rev. Ian Watson, said: “There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in what Elton John has said about Jesus being gay. Jesus was a Jew and Jewish law regards homosexual practices as a sin. When Jesus challenged his enemies to prove him guilty of sin, they couldn’t do it. Therefore, I have no doubt whatsoever that he was not a gay man.”

Chaplain the Rev. Lindsay Biddle of Affirmation Scotland, which seeks the affirmation and dignity of homosexuals within the COS, said: “I think it’s wonderful for anybody, including Elton John, to imagine Jesus as being like them. This is very common, and in the Western world we do it all the time, imagining Jesus to be white when, in fact, he was a man of colour.”
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+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
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+ Forward Together, 2 Lanark Road, Kirkmuirhill, Scotland ML11 9RB, 01555-892409, office@forwardtogether.org.uk
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+ Affirmation Scotland, 37 Main Street , Invergowrie, Scotland DD2 5AB, 0141-8837405, info@affirmationscotland.org.uk

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[8] Church of Scotland to Eliminate Twenty-Four of Forty-Four Jobs in Council of Mission and Discipleship

A 17 February 2010 article in The Herald by Brian Donnelly titled “Struggling Kirk Sheds Jobs” reports that the Church of Scotland, facing a UK£1.2 million deficit, will eliminate twenty-four of forty-four existing positions in the Council of Mission and Discipleship (CMD). The CMD is responsible for the COS magazine Life and Work, for publishing arm St. Andrew Press, and for the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
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+ The Herald, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Scotland G2 3QB, 0141- 302-7000, Fax: 0141-302-7117, On-lineEditor@theherald.co.uk
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+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722

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[9] Historical Marker to be Dedicated in August 2010 at Pennsylvania Site of First Covenanter Communion Service outside Great Britain in 1752

A 19 February 2010 article in The Patriot News by Mary Klaus titled “Group Works to Mark 1752 Religious Service” reports that a historical marker will be dedicated on 21 August 2010 by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission at the New Kingstown, Pennsylvania site of the first Covenanter communion service to be held outside of Great Britain, which occurred in August of 1752.

Ms. Klaus reports that 250 Reformed Presbyterian Church members gathered under a canopy of trees for the week long event that included a nine hour church service led by the Rev. John Cuthbertson, the first Covenanter minister in America and who subsequently travelled 70,000 miles over the next forty years conducting church services.

The August 1752 service became known as the Junkin Tent service because it was held on the property of Joseph and Elizabeth Junkin, whose son the Rev. George Junkin D. D., LL. D., served as president of what is now Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, from 1848 until 1861.

The younger Junkin left the then Washington College after the outbreak of the War between the States because he disapproved of secession, subsequently ministering to Union soldiers in camps and hospitals throughout the war.
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+ The Patriot News, 812 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101, 717-255-8100, jkirkpatrick@patriot-news.com
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+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861

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[10] PCA Evangel Presbytery Submits Overture to 38^th General Assembly to Study Biennial GA Meetings and Alternate Year Regional Meetings at Smaller and Less-Expensive Venues

An overture (Overture 6) has been submitted to the 38^th General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) by the Evangel Presbytery, asking that the GA Administrative Committee conduct a study of the feasibility of changing to a biennial GA meeting instead of the current annual GA meeting, and the feasibility of organizing alternate-year joint meetings of several days in length for geographically contiguous presbyteries at smaller and less expensive venues.
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+ 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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+ Evangel Presbytery, 560 Lake Crest Drive, Hoover, Alabama 35226, 205-982-2807, Fax: 205-982-0915

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[11] Dr. Philip Graham Ryken Appointed Eighth President of Wheaton College

The Board of Trustees of Wheaton College in has announced that Dr. Philip Graham Ryken has been appointed the eighth president of Wheaton College. He will assume the presidency 1 July 2010.

Dr. Ryken is a 1988 graduate of Wheaton College and is the senior minister at the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he has served since 1995. In addition to earning his Bachelor of Arts in English literature and philosophy from Wheaton College in 1988, Dr. Ryken additionally earned a Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, Pennsylvania, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in historical theology at Oxford University in Oxford, England.
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+ 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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+ Wheaton College, 501 College Avenue, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, 630- 752-5000, Duane.Litfin@wheaton.edu

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[12] Presbyterian Church of Wales to Hold Youth and Children Workers and Leaders Training 6 March 2010 at Park End Church in Cardiff, Wales

The Presbyterian Church of Wales (PCW) is conducting a training session for children, youth, and Sunday School leaders and workers called “Are We Doing It Right?” or “A Ydym Yn Gwneud Pethau’n Iawn?” in the mother tongue, on 6 March 2010 from 9:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the Park End Church in Cardiff, Wales.

Workshops and resources will be presented by Dave Fenton, Kim and Rory Bell, and Gwyn Rhydderch of the PCW. Admission is UK£3. Attendees are to bring their own lunch, with tea to be provided.
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+ Presbyterian Church of Wales, Tabernacle Chapel, 81 Merthyr Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 1DD, Wales, 44-0-29-20627465, swyddfa.office@ebcpcw.org.uk

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[13] North Carolina Middle School Teacher Suspended after Accusing Students that Left Bible on Desk of a Hate Crime

A 16 February 2010 article by T. Keung Hui in The News & Observer titled “Wake Teacher Suspended after Facebook Comments” reports that West Lake Middle School of Apex, North Carolina, teacher Melissa Hussain has been suspended after writing on her Facebook page that students that left a Bible on her desk had committed a “hate crime,” and how Hussain “was able to shame her kids” over the incident.

Comments left on Hussain’s Facebook page by Hussain’s friends said that the parents of Hussain’s students were “bigoted, stupid and uncaring.”
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+ The News & Observer, 215 South McDowell Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27602, 919-829-4500, Contact Page
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+ Wake County Public School System, 3600 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, North Carolina 27609, 919-850-1600, 919-850-1819, Contact Page

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[14] Food and Drug Administration Conducts Warrantless Raid on Pennsylvania Amish Farm Because Farm “Produce[s] Food for Human Consumption.”

The National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association reports that agents of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at 9:40 a.m. on 4 February 2010 ignored “No Trespassing” signs and drove up to a barn on Amish farmer Dan Allgyer’s property in Kinzers, Pennsylvania, near Lancaster, telling the farmer that they were there to conduct an investigation, as the agent told Mr. Allgyer, because “you produce food for human consumption.” Allgyer asked the agents why they believed that, to which they replied: “Well, you have cows. You cannot be consuming all the milk you produce….If you get a milk truck in to move all this milk you sell milk to the public, therefore we have jurisdiction.”

Mr. Allgyer called his attorney, who advised that the FDA agents should call him. The agents refused, and drove to a neighbor’s property where they continued to watch Mr. Allgyer. A visitor to the Allgyer farm soon left the farm in a truck, and the FDA agents followed the visitor forty to fifty miles before the visitor called 911.

Pennsylvania State Police pulled over the FDA agents and the farm visitor stopped to talk to the policemen, who told the farm visitor that the FDA agents thought he had human food products in the truck. The farm visitor showed the FDA agents that the truck was empty.

An FDA spokesman associated with the agents refused comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
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+ National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, Post Office Box 239, Bowie, Maryland 20719, info@nicfa.org
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+ U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue,
Silver Spring, Maryland 20993, 888-463-6332, Contact Page
.
+ Ministry of Silly Walks

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Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Christian Observer Highlights for Mid-February 2010

[2] Retired ARP World Witness Executive John Mariner Dies 12 February 2010 in Greenville, South Carolina

[3] Biblical Presbyterian Network of Evangelical and Reformed PCUSA Churches Forms Regional Network for Western Pennsylvania and Ohio

[4] First Presbyterian Church of Batavia, New York, to Hold Ash Wednesday Service with Ash Application to Attendees’ Foreheads

[5] Presbyterian Coalition Warns about Proposed New Form of Government to be Considered at 2010 PCUSA General Assembly

[6] Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Announces the Rev. David Fraser as Moderator Designate

[7] Two Richmond, California Teens Shot and Injured during Sabbath Services 14 February 2010

[8] Christians Targeted and Killed in Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday 16 February 2010

[9] Atheist Activist Website Teaches Bullying and Destruction as Tactics against Christians and Christian Symbols

[10] American Philosophical Association Stigmatizes Calvin College for Prohibition of Practicing Homosexuals

[11] British Tory MP Vows to Close Schools that Teach Biblical Creationism

[12] 150 Iowa Clergy Sign Letter to Iowa Lawmakers in Favor of Homosexual Marriage

[13] A Better Online Version of “The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland : its Origin and History, 1680-1876”

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[1] Christian Observer Highlights for Mid-February 2010

Two new articles were published on 15 February 2010 in the Christian Observer:

Hungarian Reformed Church of Johnstown-Windber [Pennsylvania] Elects the Rev. Albert W. Kovacs New Minister – by Ms. Tunde Garai, Editorial Assistant, Calvin Synod Herald – Amerikai Magyar Reformátusok Lapja – reports on the 31 January 2010 election of the Rev. Albert W. Kovacs as the new minister of the historic, 110 year-old Johnstown, Pennsylvania church that has served almost five generations of Reformed Hungarian-Americans; and,

2) Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters – a book review by Richard Eggum of the new Multnomah book by Joshua Harris, author of Why I Kissed Dating Goodbye, in which the author examines the major doctrines of Christian orthodoxy and how belief in these tenets of Christianity affect one’s life and one’s devotion to God.

+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

.

[2] Retired ARP World Witness Executive John Mariner Dies 12 February 2010 in Greenville, South Carolina

John E. Mariner of Greer, South Carolina, b. 1941, retired executive director of World Witness, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP)’s board of foreign missions, died 12 February 2010 at Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina, from complications resulting from endocarditis.

Mr. Mariner and his wife Sally served as missionaries in Pakistan from 1968-1976, John serving as Administrator of the Nancy Fulwood Hospital in Sahiwal, Pakistan, and along with Sally, bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Pakistani villages. Mr. Mariner was made the first full-time executive director of World Witness in 1975, and served in that capacity until retiring in 2005. During retirement Mr. Mariner was active in Good News Club (child evangelism), delivering Meals on Wheels, and as a ruling elder at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Greenville, South Carolina.

John Mariner is survived by his wife Sally, by three daughters and their husbands, eight grandchildren, a brother, and a sister. A funeral service was held 15 February 2010 at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church (ARP).

+ Tributes, Inc., 280 Summer Street, Fourth Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, support@tributes.com

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

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[3] Biblical Presbyterian Network of Evangelical and Reformed PCUSA Churches Forms Regional Network for Western Pennsylvania and Ohio

The Biblical Presbyterian Network (BPN) is a new evangelical network of Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) churches, pastors, and elders whose purpose, as stated on the masthead, is “Connecting Presbyterians for the sake of the Gospel.” The BPN distinguishes itself from other evangelical renewal groups of PCUSA churches by urging churches, pastors, and elders to participate; by representative leadership elected by BPN members who will speak for BPN members, in contrast to organizations with “self-appointed boards;” by engaging the PCUSA with a faithful, Biblical witness, standing for orthodox, Biblical values, through common commitment to Christ and his Word and through the power of the Holy Spirit; by working through “grass-roots” efforts as opposed to hosting “big conferences with expensive speakers;” and by expecting BPN members to identify with the BPN, and then invest in the hard work of engaging each other in fellowship and being activists in the PCUSA.

The BPN’s first regional network, the Regional Network for Western Pennsylvania and Ohio (RNWPO), was formed 27 January 2010 at a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A future regional meeting for the RNWPO is currently being planned, with details to be announced later.

+ Biblical Presbyterian Network

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

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[4] First Presbyterian Church of Batavia, New York, to Hold Ash Wednesday Service with Ash Application to Attendees’ Foreheads

A 15 February 2010 notice by Daniel Crofts titled “Ash Wednesday Service to be Held at Batavia’s First Presbyterian Church” in The Batavian announces that the First Presbyterian Church of Batavia, New York, is holding an Ash Wednesday service on 17 February 2010 at 7:00 p.m., where ashes will be applied to attendees’ foreheads.

Crofts says that the Ash Wednesday service marks the first day of the forty-day season of Lent, “which is a time when many Christians dedicate themselves to fasting and prayer in preparation for Easter.” Crofts describes the forehead application of ashes as “a symbol of penitence and as a sign of Christians’ healing mission in the world.”

John Calvin considered Lent to be a “corruption” and an “absurdity” instituted by the Roman Catholic Church (Institutes I, p.138).

Chapter XXI.i. of the Westminster Confession of Faith states: “But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.” (Dt 12:32; Mt 15:9,10; Dt 15:1-20; Ex 20:4,5,6; Col 2:23)

+ The Batavian, Batavia, New York, 585-260-6970, howard@thebatavian.com

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

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[5] Presbyterian Coalition Warns about Proposed New Form of Government to be Considered at 2010 PCUSA General Assembly

An article in the February 2010 issue of Presbyterian Coalition News and Action by Terry Schlossberg titled “Seeing Through the New FOG” describes the new Form of Government (nFOG) to be considered at the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) 2010 General Assembly as being “little changed” from the nFOG considered and rejected at the 2008 General Assembly meeting.

Schlossberg summarizes the problems with 2010 nFOG as being: “[T]he degrading of Scripture, a radical, undefined inclusiveness without boundaries, loss of due-process protections for pastors and congregations, the disappearance of voluntary per capita, and a governance-by-manual that leaves vital details unspecified and eliminates rights now protected by the Constitution. It is a plan for a more hierarchical governance that moves the locus of power away from congregations and toward the higher governing bodies.”

The newsletter additionally includes summaries of the nFOG problems and longer articles that spell out the implications of the proposed changes, with citations from the document itself. A sample overture that PCUSA churches can use to send to the 2010 General Assembly is also included.

+ The Presbyterian Coalition, 4604 Grove Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23226, 804-615-3243, office@presbycoalition.org

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

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[6] Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Announces the Rev. David Fraser as Moderator Designate

The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (FCSC) announced 16 February 2010 that the Rev. David Fraser is the FCSC’s new Moderator-designate.

Pastor Fraser was ordained and inducted into the Mull Free Church (Free Church of Scotland (FCS)) in 1970, and served there seven years before going to South Africa as a missionary, serving Butterworth , Umtata, and Cape Town for about twenty-three years. While serving the Mull Free Church, Pastor Fraser married Marion, a nurse from Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland.

When the Free Church of Scotland divided in 2000, Pastor Fraser identified with the minority that then formed the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (FCSC), and went to work in Zambia with Frontline Fellowship, and was soon inducted by the FCSC as Missionary at Large to Zambia where he established Covenant College, a theological college for the training of ministers.

Upon the graduation of the first cohort of Covenant College students in October 2003, Mr. and Mrs. Fraser returned to Scotland, where he became the pastor of Shettleston FCSC, in the east end of Glasgow, where a thriving multinational and multi-ethnic congregation has developed under Pastor Fraser’s shepherding.

Pastor Fraser is an enthusiast for the singing of metrical Psalms in worship services, and is described by the FCSC as “a man of principle, conviction and enthusiasm.”

Mr. And Mrs. Fraser have six adult children and one grandchild.

+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev. John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org

+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk

+ Frontline Fellowship, Post Office Box 74, Newlands, 7725, South Africa, admin@frontline.org.za

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[7] Two Richmond, California Teens Shot and Injured during Sabbath Services 14 February 2010

Three hooded gunmen entered the New Gethsemane Church of God in Christ in Richmond, California, at about 12:30 p.m. during Sabbath services on 14 February 2010, then shot and injured two teens among the 100 people attending the service. The teens are expected to fully recover.

Police believe they have identified two of the three hooded suspects, and expect to make arrests in the near future.

In response to the Richmond, California shootings and to increasing instances of violence in places of worship, Sheepdog Ministries is offering a Church Safety and Security Seminar on “Keeping Your Congregation Safe in an Unsafe World” on Saturday 24 April 2010 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Emmanuel Faith Community Church, in Escondido, California.

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ CNN, One CNN Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, 404-878-2276, Fax: 404-827-1995

+ Sheepdog Ministries, Escondido, California, 760-215-2618, info@sheepdogministries.com

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[8] Christians Targeted and Killed in Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday 16 February 2010

Open Doors reported 16 February 2010 that several Christians in Mosul, Iraq, were targeted and killed the same day as the report.

An Open Doors staffer in the area reported: “Christians are being targeted inside their own homes and killed. Several have been killed in front of the last check point before leaving Mosul while the Kurdish and Arab security forces were watching.”

The Open Doors staffer additionally reports that Christian students at the university in Mosul, Iraq, are being pointed out by Muslim students, then taken away and killed, and that two more Christian students had been kidnapped on 16 February. The Open Doors staffer asks for prayer for the persecuted Christians in Mosul, Iraq.

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Open Doors USA, Post Office Box 27001, Santa Ana, California 92799, 949-752-6600, Fax: 949-752-6442, usa@opendoors.org

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[9] Atheist Activist Website Teaches Bullying and Destruction as Tactics against Christians and Christian Symbols

The Atheist Activist website stated purpose in the masthead is “Driving a Wedge Between Church & State,” and the home page reads: “AtheistActivist.org is designed as a tool for the atheist who wants to bring about change through activism to benefit the secular community.”
Among the directions for using the legal system to disrupt Christians in the public and private square, are a list of seventy-six suggested actions and accompanying instructions including:

– Scribble “GOD” off of Currency

– Gideon Bibles in Hotel Rooms – includes instructions on how to deface and hide Bibles, and to report the hotel to Remove That Bible!

– Remove Roadside Memorials – instructions on sawing down wooden memorials, and what kind of cordless angle grinder to use in felling metal memorials.

– Protest Voting in Churches – protest churches used for polling places.

– Advertise Your Favorite Bible Verses – ridicule Scripture via out-of-context word-play connotations.

– Oppose Directional Signs to Churches

– Inform Churches of the Dangers of ‘Voter Guides’

– Spy on Fundamentalists – spy and report on churches that teach biblical sexuality and God’s escape route from sexual sin, or enroll in a Christian college and blog or write a book about your experiences as an atheist.

– Change State Songs

– Secularize State Mottoes

– Defect From The Church – obtain a “de-baptism” certificate.

– Call God Toll-Free – waste Christian ministry resources by repeatedly calling toll-free lines and by ordering free material such as World Vision child sponsorship kits.

– Change the (State) Constitution

– Keep Creationism out of Schools

– Silence Church Bells

If one contacts Atheist Activist, and the organization deems the contact “hate mail,” “…it will be forwarded to the Anti-Discrimination Support Network to bolster our case against those who discriminate against us.”

The Anti-Discrimination Support Network is a committee of the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia [Pennsylvania].

+ Atheist Activist, Contact Page

+ Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia, Post Office Box 242,
Pocopson, Pennsylvania 19366, 610-793-2737, fsgp@freethought.org

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[10] American Philosophical Association Stigmatizes Calvin College for Prohibition of Practicing Homosexuals

A 10 February 2010 Inside Higher Ed article titled “Philosophers Push Campaign Against Limits on Hiring Gay Professors” describes the new rule of the American Philosophical Association (APA) that job announcements from any college that violates any part of the APA anti-bias policy will be flagged as a means of pressuring the offending school to change its policies.

Since Calvin College states that “sexual activity under church teachings is allowed only in heterosexual marriage,” the college is considered to run afoul of the APA anti-bias policy, and job announcements from Calvin College are being flagged as such.

Several philosophers have begun a petition aimed at compelling Calvin College to change its policies to be congruent with those of the APA.

+ Inside Higher Ed, 1320 18th Street Northwest, 5th Floor, Washington DC 20036, 202-659-9208, Fax: 202-659-9381, editor@insidehighered.com

+ Calvin College 3201 Burton Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546, 616-526-6000

+ American Philosophical Association, 104 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106, 215-440-3400, pmcpherson@amphilsoc.org

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

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[11] British Tory MP Vows to Close Schools that Teach Biblical Creationism

A 14 February 2010 Ekklesia article titled “Tories Say they would Close Down Creationist Schools” reported on a 14 February 2010 BBC1 television interview with Tory Michael Gove, Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath and “shadow” schools secretary, where Gove said that a Conservative government in Great Britain would not tolerate schools that teach biblical creationism as science.

Gove said: “To my mind you cannot have a school which teaches creationism. And one thing that we will make absolutely clear is that you can not have schools that are set up which teach people things which are clearly at variance with what we know to be scientific fact.”

Gove continued: “”We do have some schools at the moment – independent schools – that have been set up by religious groups. You mentioned Islamic groups. Let’s be clear, there are other fundamentalist groups as well which have schools in the private sector. If those schools are properly regulated and inspected then we can ensure that anyone who teaches in a way that undermines our democratic values can be brought to public light, challenged, and if necessary, closed down.”

Gove’s comments were made during a debate in honor of Darwin Day, marking the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, author of “Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.”

+ Ekklesia, 2nd Floor, 145-157 St. John Street, London EC1V 4PY, England, 0845 056 5445, press@ekklesia.co.uk

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

+ The Conservative Party (Tories), 30 Millbank, London SW1P 4DP, England, Contact Page

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[12] 150 Iowa Clergy Sign Letter to Iowa Lawmakers in Favor of Homosexual Marriage

The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Politics Insider Blog published a 16 February 2010 letter supporting homosexual marriage addressed to Iowa’s state senators and representatives.

Presbyterian and Reformed clergy signing the letter included:

– Rev. Dr. Rich Pleva; Iowa Conference Minister; United Church of Christ

– The Rev. Dr. James Altenbaumer; United Church of Christ; Cedar Falls

– Rev. Nancy L. Anderson; Zion United Church of Christ; Hubbard

– Rev. Stephen L. Bowie; Member, Presbytery of Des Moines; Bloomfield

– Pastor Brad Braley; First Presbyterian Church; Cedar Falls

– Barbara Bullock; United Church of Christ (retired); Ankeny

– Rev. Christopher C. Burtnett; Schleswig United Church of Christ; Schleswig

– The Rev. Dr. Robert A. Butterfield; Urbandale United Church of Christ; Urbandale

– Pastor John Chaplin; Licensed Pastor; Central Association of the Iowa Conference of the United Church of Christ; Des Moines

– Rev. Elizabeth Colton; United Church of Christ; Oskaloosa

– Dr. Rev. Robert Cook; Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. (retired); Des Moines

– Pastor Michael Dack; United Church of Christ; Newton

– Rev. D. Mark Davis; Pastor, Heartland Presbyterian Church; Clive

– Rev. Jeffrey E. Filkins; Trinity United Church of Christ; Hartley

– Rev. Dr. Barbara Gaddis; Collegiate Presbyterian Church; Ames

– Rev. Bob Hamilton; United Church of Christ (retired); Davenport

– Rev. Richard W. Harbart; United Church of Christ; Clive

– Rev. Nicole Havelka; Iowa Conference United Church of Christ; Des Moines

– Rev. Eric Johnson; Reformed Church in America; Des Moines

– The Rev. Robert Keefer, PhD; Presbyterian; Clarinda

– Rev. Bruce Kittle; Faith United Church of Christ; Iowa City

– Rev. Whit Malone; Collegiate Presbyterian Church; Ames

– Pastor Sam Massey; First Presbyterian Church; Iowa City

– Rev. Fritz Mellberg; United Church of Christ; Hiawatha

– Rev. Allen Mothershed; United Church of Christ; Davenport

– Rev. Amy E. E. Murray, BCC; Urbandale United Church of Christ; Urbandale

– Rev. Gus Nelson; Presbyterian (retired); Des Moines

– Rev. Barbara Nish; Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.; Des Moines

– The Rev. Julia Rendon; Crossroads United Church of Christ; Indianola

– Rev. Janette Scott; Presbyterian; Des Moines

– Rev. Gayle V. Strickler, Jr.; Adjunct Minister for Community Concerns, Urbandale United Church of Christ; Urbandale

– Rev. Dr. James L. Wallace; Central Presbyterian Church; Des Moines

– Pastor Barbara Weier; Zion United Church of Christ; Hartley

– Rev. Dr. Susan K. Weier; United Church of Christ; Grinnell

– Rev. Jane A. Willan; Zion United Church of Christ; Burlington

– Rev. Angie Witmer; Minister to Young Adults & Youth, Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ; Des Moines

– Rev. Bob Wollenberg; United Presbyterian Church; Washington

+ Des Moines Register, 715 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309, 515-284-8000, publisher@dmreg.com

+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org

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

+ The Presbytery of Des Moines, 2400 86th Street, Suite 20, Urbandale, Iowa 50322, 515-276-4991, Fax: 515-276-7596, pbydesmoines@presbyteryofdesmoines.org

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

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[13] A Better Online Version of “The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland : its Origin and History, 1680-1876”

Christian Observer Assistant Editor, the Rev. Dr. Robert LaMay, pointed out that the Google Books version of “The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland : its Origin and History, 1680-1876” linked to in the 10 February 2010 Presbyterians Week was of poor readability and was not well-indexed for text searches. Dr. LaMay instead recommended the Internet Archive version available at:

http://www.archive.org/details/reformpresbyter00hutcuoft

+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

+ Internet Archive, 116 Sheridan Avenue, The Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94129, 415-561-6767
Fax: 415-840-0391, info@archive.org

+ Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@google.com

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Presbyterians Week Headlines

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[1] Naval Leadership throughout U.S. History

[2] Two Christians in Boynton Beach, Florida, Murdered for Sharing the Gospel

[3] Protestant Church of the Netherlands Retains Atheist Minister Due to Similarity in Views with Liberal Theologians in Denomination

[4] Roman Catholic Pontiff Admonished by Church of Scotland Leaders for Remarks Made in Advance of September 2010 Visit to Scotland

[5] Open for Business Investigates Peacemaker Ministries and the Modern-Day Diotrephes

[6] Cumberland Presbyterian Church Celebrates 200^th Anniversary

[7] Presbyterian Church of Nigeria Leader Lauds Nigerian Vice-President for Deploying Military to Resolve Jos Crisis

[8] Monrovia, Liberia Presbyterian Church Conflict Settled by Departure of Pastor

[9] Christian Defense Coalition Reminds Washington DC and Haiti of Several Inconvenient Truths about Arrested Missionaries

[10] Calvin Synod Central Classis Meeting Postponed until 13 March 2010

[11] February 2010 Reformation Voice Available for Download

[12] Mid-America Reformed Seminary to Hold Spring Conference ‘Shepherds and Sheep in Communion with God’ 16 March 2010

[13] Reformed Congregational Fellowship to Hold 2010 Confessional Conference 13-15 April 2010 in Sharon, Massachusetts

[14] Google Books Digitizes The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland 1680-1876 by the Rev. Matthew Hutchison (1893)

[15] Excellent Historical Essay on 18^th Century Dutch Reformed Pastor Theodorus Frelinghuysen on ‘DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed Blog

[16] Association for Church Renewal to Hold “Answering the Call: New Life in the Mainline Church” Conference in Chicago, Illinois, 5-8 August 2010

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[1] Naval Leadership throughout U.S. History

[Note: The editor sometimes tries to deal with the incredulities of the present culture by putting the subject irony into historical perspective – either that or by writing a song parody…]

Captain John Paul Jones – “I have not yet begun to fight.”

Admiral David Farragut – “[%$&#] the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!”

Admiral Bull Halsey – “There are no great men. Just great challenges which ordinary men, out of necessity, are forced by circumstance to meet.”

Admiral Chester Nimitz – “God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless.”

Admiral Raymond Spruance – “A man’s judgment is best when he can forget himself and any reputation he may have acquired and can concentrate wholly on making the right decisions.”

Admiral Hyman Rickover – “Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience.”

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen – 2 February 2010 – “No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”

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+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

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[2] Two Christians in Boynton Beach, Florida, Murdered for Sharing the Gospel

Steven Ocean, Tite Sifra, and another young Christian man went onto the streets of Boynton Beach, Florida on 30 January 2010 to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Ocean and Sifra were following the call of God to minister to troubled youth in the same city where the two themselves had experienced prior run-ins with the law.

The three men shared the Gospel with Jeriah Woody for about fifteen minutes, then began to walk away from Woody. Woody then ran after the trio, pulled a gun, and shot Ocean and Sifra dead. The third evangelist fled to safety. Woody was arrested and has confessed to killing the two evangelists.

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+ Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, Post Office Box 1115, Vista, California 92085, 866-508-2232, Fax: 760-630-2232, contact@christianadc.org

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[3] Protestant Church of the Netherlands Retains Atheist Minister Due to Similarity in Views with Liberal Theologians in Denomination

A 5 February 2010 Radio Netherlands Worldwide article titled “Dutch Church Retains “Atheist” Preacher” reports that a regional church assembly of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PCN) in Zierikzee, The Netherlands, has decided to retain atheist preacher Klaas Hendrikse because the atheist minister’s views do not differ fundamentally from liberal theologians in the PCN.

The PCN was created in 2004 by a merger of Reformed Churches, the Dutch-Reformed Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

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+ Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Box 222, 1200 JG Hilversum, The Netherlands, 31-35-6724211, Fax: 31-35-6724239, letters@rnw.nl

+ Protestant Church in the Netherlands, Postbus 8504, 3503 Utrecht, Netherlands, 880-18-80, 880-18-80, info@pkn.nl

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[4] Roman Catholic Pontiff Admonished by Church of Scotland Leaders for Remarks Made in Advance of September 2010 Visit to Scotland

A 7 February 2010 article by Tom Peterkin in The Scotsman titled “Kirk Disputes Pope’s View of The Past,” describes reaction within the Church of Scotland to an early February 2010 statement by Roman Catholic Pontiff Pope Benedict XVI that characterizes the Protestant Reformation as a “great rupture” that has resulted in religious intolerance.

Church of Scotland leaders characterize the pope’s remarks as “unhelpful” and as a boost to those against official recognition in 2010 of the 450^th anniversary of the Scottish Reformation.

Former Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Andrew MacLellan, while welcoming the Pope’s September 2010 visit, disagrees with Benedict XVI’s characterization of the Protestant Reformation, describing the Scottish Reformation as “the great renewal of Scotland’s Christian past.”

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+ 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

+ The Vatican, Città del Vaticano, Rome, Italy, 39-6-69-88-35-11, Fax: 39-6-69-88-54-47, Contact Page

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[5] Open for Business Investigates Peacemaker Ministries and the Modern-Day Diotrephes

Two recent articles in Open for Business (OFB) examine what OFB writers see as problems associated with church discipline, and suggest remedies for the problems.

Timothy R. Butler’s 9 January 2010 article titled “The Hidden Danger of Peacemakers” details Peacemaker Ministries (PM) and what Butler sees, beneath the stated goal of bringing more individual accountability to church members for their behavior, as PM programs giving too much power to church leaders, facilitating a presumption of guilt upon the person being prosecuted, and providing that person “little room for fair appeals or due process.”

Eduardo Sánchez’s 3 February 2010 article titled “Stopping Jerks from Abusing the Church,” examines the modern-day Diotrephes (3 John) who Sánchez dubs a “jerk,” defined as “someone inclined to grab power at organizations with no regard to the cost meted out to other people.”

Sánchez similarly says that programs from groups like Peacemaker Ministries “espouse granting power to [church] leaders but few protections to members under the justification that somehow this is “biblical,”” then suggests that churches studying church discipline go first to Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians, then examine the Manual of Church Discipline by 19^th century Reformed Baptist pastor the Rev. Rev. Eleazer Savage, and the 1619 Church Order of Dordrecht, the 17^th century concord of ecclesiastic community of the Reformed Churches in the

Netherlands, of which Sánchez affirms as providing a more balanced approach to church discipline.

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+ Open for Business, St. Louis, Missouri

+ Peacemaker Ministries, 2590 Holman Ave Suite A, Billings, Montana 59102, 406-256-1583, Fax: 406-256-0001, Mail@Peacemaker.net

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[6] Cumberland Presbyterian Church Celebrates 200^th Anniversary

A 2 February 2010 article in The Tennessean by Chris Gadd and Lindsay Melvin titled “Cumberland Presbyterian Denomination to Celebrate 200 Years” reports that members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (CPC) gathered 4 February 2010 at the Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, Tennessee, and 7 February 2010 at CPC churches to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, on 4 February at a site in the park which is now marked by a chapel and a replica of the home of denomination co-founder Samuel McAdow.

McAdow and two other Presbyterian ministers previously suspended for their support of The Great Revival met at McAdow’s cabin to form a new denomination with less formal education required for clergy in a region of harsh conditions and limited education.

The CPC today has 50,000 members in 730 churches. CPC General Assembly Stated Clerk Robert Rush describes CPC theology as a mixture of Reformed and Evangelical Christianity.

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+ The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee 37203, 615-259-8000, Fax: 615-726-5921, feedback@tennessean.com

+ Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 8207 Traditional Place, Cordova, Tennessee 38016, 901-276-4572, Fax: 901-272-3913

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[7] Presbyterian Church of Nigeria Leader Lauds Nigerian Vice-President for Deploying Military to Resolve Jos Crisis

A 6 February 2010 article in ThisDayOnline titled “Presbyterian Church Lauds Jonathan” reports that the Rev. Ndukwe Nwachukwu Eme, Abia Principal Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN), commended Nigeria’s Vice President Goodluck Jonathan for taking action in Jos to stop the latest rioting by Muslims and Christian gangs that have killed 200 people, seen the burning of houses, churches, and mosques, and forced thousands of residents to flee the city that is located in central Nigeria.

Erne additionally commended Vice President Jonathan’s promise to bring the rioters to justice, which would help to curb religious disturbances in the country. Riots in Jos in 2008 killed 200 people, and in 2001 killed 1000 people, with the rioters never being brought to justice.

The PCN has directed its churches nationwide to raise funds for the relief of those in Jos affected by the rioting, emphasizing that the relief effort is part of the Church’s social responsibility in line with Jesus’ teaching for assistance to the needy.

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+ ThisDayOnline, 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria, 234-8022924721-2, Fax: 234-1-4600276, info@thisdayonline.com

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

+ Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, 26 Ehere Road, Post Office Box 2635, Aba, Abia, Nigeria, 082-234-780

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[8] Monrovia, Liberia Presbyterian Church Conflict Settled by Departure of Pastor

A 7 February 2010 article in the Daily Observer titled “Presbyterian Church Conflict Resolved,” by Joaquin Sendolo reports that in October 2009, several members of the Presbyterian Church on Broad and Johnson Streets (Presbyterian Church of Liberia (PCL)) in Monrovia, Liberia, protested the leadership of church Pastor Lawrence Bayusie on the grounds that Bayusie was allegedly carrying on satanic practices in the church. The protesters demanded Bayusie’s departure or else the protesters would leave the church themselves.

Bayusie was alleged to have buried ‘juju’ in the church compound – an amulet or fetish superstitiously venerated by some West African tribes.

Moderator-elect of the PCL, the Rev. Sando E. Townsend, reported that church members who had left the church because of the allegations about Bayusie have begun to return, and said that the damage caused to the church since October 2009 will take some time to heal. Townsend additionally reported that Bayusie has been transferred to another PCL church that Townsend would not identify.

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+ Daily Observer, Post Office Box 1858, Monrovia, Liberia, editor@liberianobserver.com

+ Presbyterian Church of Liberia, Broad and Johnson Street, Post Office Box 10-3350, Monrovia 10 1000, Liberia, 231-227012, Fax: 231-227047,  ocean@awli.net.lr

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[9] Christian Defense Coalition Reminds Washington DC and Haiti of Several Inconvenient Truths about Arrested Missionaries

Reformed Presbyterian pastor and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition (CDC) the Rev. Pat Mahoney is working to free the American missionaries jailed in Haiti on kidnapping and human trafficking charges, and has reminded Washington DC and Haiti of several inconvenient truths about the missionaries and various government responses to the situation.

A CDC 4 February 2010 press release says that “The Obama Administration’s silence on this issue has slowed efforts to free these Christian missionaries,” and reveals that the missionaries “…attempted to comply with local Haitian law, to the best of their ability, as they reached out to these thirty-three children. They were actually arrested as they were returning back to Port-Au-Prince [Haiti] to secure the necessary paper work for their charitable mission.”

A CDC 6 February 2010 press release “…calls for the Obama Administration to treat the American missionaries jailed in Haiti with the same commitment they are treating the three American hikers jailed in Iran,” as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for the release of the Americans held in Iran, but has washed her hands of the American missionaries, saying the missionaries fate is “…a matter for the Haitian judicial system.”

A CDC 8 February 2009 press release reminds:

– The Obama Administration gave attempted underwear bomber Abdulmutallab his Miranda rights hours after he tried to kill hundreds of Americans, yet Obama has not demanded the release of ten American missionaries jailed in Haiti.

– The jailed missionaries’ Haitian lawyer, Edwin Coq, was fired because he tried to extort a US$60,000 bribe to obtain their release.

– The Haitian Prime Minister called them “kidnappers” even before any formal charges were filed.

– Haitian officials publicly stated they “wanted to make an example” out of the missionaries even before they were charged.

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+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DCnewsdesk@christiannewswire.com 20006, 202-546-0054

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+ Christian Defense Coalition, Post Office Box 77168, Washington DC 20013,  202-547-1735, ChristianDefense@gmail.com

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[10] Calvin Synod Central Classis Meeting Postponed until 13 March 2010

Due to an overabundance of snow and a weather forecast for more of the same, the Calvin Synod Central Classis Meeting originally scheduled for 12 February 2010 at the First Hungarian Reformed Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been postponed until 13 March 2010.

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+ Calvin Synod, C/O Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop, 7319 Tapper Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46324, 219-931-4321, kkludwig@aol.com

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[11] February 2010 Reformation Voice Available for Download

The February 2010 Reformation Voice is available for download at the Heidelberg Reformation Association website.

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+ Heidelberg Reformation Association, Rev. Howard Sloan, Secretary, 5543 Business 220, Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522

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[12] Mid-America Reformed Seminary to Hold Spring Conference ‘Shepherds and Sheep in Communion with God’ 16 March 2010

Mid-America Reformed Seminary will hold its Spring Conference 2010 on 16 March 2010 beginning at 2:00 p.m. at the First Reformed Church (Reformed Church in America (RCA)) of Lansing, Illinois, with the topic ‘Shepherds and Sheep in Communion with God.’

Speakers will be the Rev. Mike Pitsenberger, pastor of Christ Memorial Reformed Church (RCA) in Holland, Michigan, and the Rev. Jacques Roets, pastor of Redeemer United Reformed Church (United Reformed Churches in North America) in Dyer, Indiana.

Admission is free.

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+ Mid-America Reformed Seminary, 229 Seminary Drive, Dyer, Indiana 46311, 219-864-2400, Fax: 219-864-2410, cvenema@midamerica.edu

+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.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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[13] Reformed Congregational Fellowship to Hold 2010 Confessional Conference 13-15 April 2010 in Sharon, Massachusetts

The Reformed Congregational Fellowship will hold its 2010 Confessional Conference 13-15 April 2010 at the Wonderland Conference Center in Sharon, Massachusetts. A conference brochure is available for download at the RCF website – http://www.reformedcongregational.org/.

The conference themes are ‘Saving Faith’ and ‘Repentance Unto Life and Salvation’ as they are found in chapters fourteen and fifteen of the Savoy Declaration of Faith.

The RCF is a fellowship of officers and members of churches in the Congregational tradition committed to advancing the doctrine of the Savoy Declaration and the polity of the Cambridge Platform.

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+ Reformed Congregational Fellowship

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[14] Google Books Digitizes The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland 1680-1876 by the Rev. Matthew Hutchison (1893)

Google Books has digitized the 1893 history by the Rev. Matthew Hutchison titled The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland: Its Origin and History: 1680-1876, which is available for download in PDF and EPUB format at:

http://books.google.com/books?id=oehDAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Matthew+Hutchison&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

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+ Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@google.com

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[15] Excellent Historical Essay on 18^th Century Dutch Reformed Pastor Theodorus Frelinghuysen on ‘DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed Blog’

Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor at University Reformed Church (Reformed Church in America) in East Lansing, Michigan, on 9 February 2010, published an article on the DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed Blog titled “A Forgotten Voice,” which is a historical essay about 18^th century Dutch Reformed minister Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, who left the Netherlands at age twenty-eight to be a pastor in the Raritan Valley of New Jersey.

DeYoung writes of Frelinghuysen: “He preached emotional sermons, prayed free prayers, practiced church discipline, and aimed squarely at the conversion of sinners. His messages were experiential, fruitful, and popular. He could also be an irascible fellow.” Frelinghuysen was lauded by both Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield, and had great influence upon the ministry of Gilbert Tennent.

DeYoung concludes the essay with seven lessons from the life and ministry of Frelinghuysen that impart much valuable wisdom about the characteristics of a true minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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+ DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed Blog, c/o The Gospel Coalition, 2065 Half Day Road, Deerfield, Illinois 60015, contact@thegospelcoalition.org

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

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[16] Association for Church Renewal to Hold “Answering the Call: New Life in the Mainline Church” Conference in Chicago, Illinois, 5-8 August 2010

The Association For Church Renewal is sponsoring the “Answering the Call: New Life in the Mainline Church” Conference, 5-8 August 2010, at

Elmhurst College in Chicago, Illinois, in order to issue the call for a new generation of ECOT (evangelical, conservative, orthodox, traditional) pastors and leaders in the historic mainline churches.

Conference speakers include John Armstrong, Carmen Fowler, Jim Harrell, David Runnion-Bareford,  Bob Thompson, Jim Tomberlin, and David Runnion-Bareford.

Registration and information about meals and accommodations are available at:

http://mainlinecall.org/registration/

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+ Association For Church Renewal, Post Office Box 102, 182 High Street, Candia, New Hampshire 03034, 603-867-7711, Renewall.acr@gmail.com

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[Correction]

Contrary to the headline, and in agreement with the body of the 3 February 2010 Presbyterians Week article [7] New Hampshire PCUSA Pastor and Wife Indicted for Embezzling US$137,000 from Congregation’s Bank Account, the headline’s subject state should have been “Massachusetts” instead of “New Hampshire.”

The editor sends many thanks to the long-time New Hampshire resident reader who so graciously brought this error to the editor’s attention, and beyond that did not disparage the obvious lack of proofreading prowess leading to the headline’s “altered state.”

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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

——————–

[1] Christian Observer Highlights for February 2010

.

New Christian Observer articles for February 2010 include:

.
– 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

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[2] PCA Central Carolina Presbytery Submits Overture to 2010 General Assembly to Amend Book of Church Order to Prohibit Deaconesses

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

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[3] Westminster Assembly Project and Reformation Heritage Books to Publish Four Series of Books on the Westminster Assembly

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

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[7] New Hampshire PCUSA Pastor and Wife Indicted for Embezzling US$137,000 from Congregation’s Bank Account

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

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[10] Crystal Cathedral Laying off Fifty Workers, Selling Surplus Property, and May Pull “Hour of Power” from Eight Markets

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

.
[11] Robert Morrison Project to Legally Translate and Publish Reformed Literature in China and Southeast Asia

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

.

[1] Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church August 2009 Expulsion of Six Dissident Members Ruled Improper by PCA Presbytery of South Florida

[2] Presbyterian and Reformed Ministries Helping Earthquake Victims in Haiti

[3] Willow Grove Presbyterian Church to Hold Mardi Gras Jazz Worship Service 14 February 2010

[4] Canadian Immigration Minister Labels Eleven Denominations as Anti-Semitic

[5] Counterpoint Press Publishes Memoir of Son Who Assisted Parents’ Suicide

[6] Life Bible Presbyterian Church Sues to Expel Far Eastern Bible College from Singapore Premises Shared for Forty Years

[7] Hungarian Reformed – Ulster Connection Remembered on Impala Publishers Blog Page

[8] Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and Roman Catholics Hold 17 January 2010 Joint Prayer Session

[9] Four White Zimbabwean Farmers Given Twenty-Four Hours to Vacate Farms by Magistrate Court

.

.

[1] Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church August 2009 Expulsion of Six Dissident Members Ruled Improper by PCA Presbytery of South Florida

A 21 January 2010 Sun Sentinel article by James D. Davis titled “Denomination Sides with Six Dissidents Banned from Coral Ridge,” reports that the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)’s Presbytery of South Florida (PSF) has ruled that in the August 2009 expulsion from the property of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (CRPC) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, of six dissident church members, CRPC had “acted impulsively, improperly, prematurely, and without warrant,” and thus the expulsion order was reversed by PSF.

The six dissident church members, in July 2009, mailed 1600 petitions to CRPC members calling for the Rev. W. Tullian Tchividjian’s ouster as CRPC senior pastor. The constitutionally required number of petition signatures was obtained, and a subsequent CRPC congregational meeting voted to retain Tchividjian as senior pastor.

New Presbyterian Church (NPC) of Pompano Beach, Florida, is attended by 700 people that formerly attended CRPC, most of whom remain CRPC members in good standing. Among the NPC staff is Minister of Congregational Life the Rev. Dr. James M. Garretson, an ordained PCA teaching elder and member of PSF.

The NPC pulpit is being supplied by speakers including Dr. Peter Lillback, President and Professor of Historical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, Pennsylvania, scheduled for 28 February 2010; and the Rev. Dr. Michael A. Milton, President and Professor of Practical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary Charlotte, in Charlotte, North Carolina, scheduled for 7 March 2010 and 30 May 2010.

Please read Presbyterians Week for 12 August 2009 and 30 September 2009 for further background information.

.

+ Sun Sentinel, 200 East Las Olas Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33301, 954-356-4000, afins@sun-sentinel.com

+ New Presbyterian Church, 1000 West McNab Road, Suite 201, Pompano Beach, Florida 33069, 954-946-4380, Fax: 954-333-3690, Contact Page

+ Presbytery of South Florida, 305-323-7495, sfpresbytery@gmail.com

+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org

+ Westminster Theological Seminary, 2960 West Church Road, Glenside, Pennsylvania 19038, 215-887-5511, Fax: 215-887-5404, communications@wts.edu

+ Reformed Theological Seminary Charlotte, 2101 Carmel Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28226, 704-366-5066, Fax: 704-366-9295, rts.charlotte@rts.edu

[2] Presbyterian and Reformed Ministries Helping Earthquake Victims in Haiti

In addition to the Presbyterian and Reformed organizations assisting the earthquake victims in Haiti listed in Presbyterians Week for 20 January 2010, are the following agencies:

– Ministries in Action – contributions designated for Haiti earthquake relief can be made at: http://www.mia.org/GatewayTest/donate.php

– Double Harvest – contributions designated for Haiti earthquake relief can be made at: http://www.doubleharvest.org/contact/donate.html

– Word and Deed North America – contributions designated for Haiti earthquake relief can be made at: http://wdhome.blogspot.com/

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+ Miami International Seminary, 14401 Old Cutler Road, Miami, Florida 33158, 786-573-7000, Fax: 305-238-2045, mints@ocpc.org

[3] Willow Grove Presbyterian Church to Hold Mardi Gras Jazz Worship Service 14 February 2010

A 25 January 2010 NJToday.net article titled “Church To Reclaim The Spiritual Roots Of Mardi Gras” reports that Willow Grove Presbyterian Church (WGPC) (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, on 14 February 2010, will hold its forth annual Mardi Gras Jazz Worship Service beginning at 10:00 a.m.

WGPC pastor the Rev. Cynthia Cochran-Carney described the service, saying: “Although the current traditions of Mardi Gras in New Orleans [Louisiana] seem far from a Christian celebration of God’s love for humanity in Jesus Christ, we can reclaim those religious roots and enjoy the rich musical traditions of jazz, gospel and spirituals that give voice to our faith.”

The service will be followed by a light brunch featuring “Kings Cakes,” which honor the three wise men or Magi. A small doll is inserted into the cake to symbolize the baby Jesus, and a prize is awarded if the doll in the cake is found.

The History Channel describes the pre-Lenten Mardi Gras celebration originating “as one of the series of carnival days held in all Roman Catholic countries between Twelfth Night, or Epiphany, and Ash Wednesday; these carnivals had their origin in pre-Christian spring fertility rites.”

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+ CMD Media Editorial Office, 1139 East Jersey Street, Suite 503, Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201, 908-352-3100

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

+ A&E Television Networks, 235 East 45th Street, New York, New York 10017, 212-210-1400, Contact Page

+ The Vatican

[4] Canadian Immigration Minister Labels Eleven Denominations as Anti-Semitic

Campbell Webster’s 22 January 2010 And Another Thing column titled “It Seems Most Islanders are Anti-Semites” in The Guardian of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, describes how Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, in a mid-December 2009 speech at an Israeli anti-Semitism conference, announced that Canada has a zero-tolerance policy toward anti-Semitism, and thus the human rights organization KAIROS, a coalition of eleven Christian denominations, would no longer receive partnership funding from the Canadian International Development Agency because of KAIROS being “a leader in boycotting, disinvesting, and sanctioning Israel.”

Webster said in response: “This is completely false, of course, and, in fact, KAIROS is on record as being against the promotion of such an idea,” and described KAIROS as “a human rights champion, dedicated to the agenda of the poor, and to eradicating poverty amongst the world’s marginalized peoples. They are, simply put, akin to liberation theologists: complex, compassionate thinkers and actors in pursuit of social justice.”

Webster additionally cited the KAIROS website as saying: “KAIROS seeks to promote a peace that is just for both Palestinians and Israelis and for people of all religions, particularly Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.”

Presbyterian and Reformed-related denominations in Canada belonging to KAIROS include The Christian Reformed Church in North America, The Presbyterian Church in Canada, and the United Church of Canada.

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+ The Guardian, 165 Prince Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada C1A 4R7, 902-629-6000, 902-629-6061, d.brander@theguardian.pe.ca

+ Canadian International Development Agency, 200 Promenade du Portage, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada K1A 0G4, 819-997-5006, Fax: 819-953-6088, info@acdi-cida.gc.ca

+ KAIROS Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, 310 Dupont Street Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R 1V9, 416-463-5312, Fax: 416-463-5569, mcorkery@kairoscanada.org

+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org

+ The Presbyterian Church in Canada, 50 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3C 1J7, 416-441-1111, Fax: 416-441-2825, Contact Page

+ United Church of Canada, 3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 300, Toronto, Ontario M8X 2Y4, Canada, 416-231-5931, Fax: 416-231-3103, info@united-church.ca

[5] Counterpoint Press Publishes Memoir of Son Who Assisted Parents’ Suicide

Counterpoint Press, on 10 January 2010, published The Last Goodnights — John West’s memoir of assisting his elderly parents, psychiatrist Louis Jolyon West, MD, age seventy-four, and clinical psychologist Kathryn West, PhD, age seventy-five, to commit suicide.

John West is quoted as saying “”I respected my father and mother, and I loved them. And I believe, as they did, in freedom of choice, the right to personal privacy and self-determination . . . the right to choose death with dignity.”

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+ Counterpoint Press, 2117 Fourth Street, Suite D, Berkeley, California 94710, 510-704-0230, Fax: 510-704-0268, publicity@counterpointpress.com

[6] Life Bible Presbyterian Church Sues to Expel Far Eastern Bible College from Singapore Premises Shared for Forty Years

A 26 January 2010 article by Zul Othman of ChannelNewsAsia.com titled “Church Seeks to Expel Bible College from Premises,” describes how Singapore’s Life Bible Presbyterian Church (LBPC) and Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC) have shared the same premises for the past forty years, but that due to a doctrinal disagreement between the two bodies, LBPC has sued FEBC in Singapore’s High Court seeking to have FEBC expelled from their heretofore shared property.

Othman describes the doctrinal dispute as dating from 2002 when FEBC began promulgating a doctrine called Verbal Plenary Inspiration (VPI) “which sought to limit the veracity of the Bible to certain Hebrew and Greek sources.” The effect of the doctrine is to deny the validity of Chinese and Indonesian translations of the King James Version of the Bible.

LBPC rejected the VPI doctrine “because there is no scriptural or other basis for the assertion”. FEBC subsequently formed a breakaway group and a new church called the True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church.

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+ ChannelNewsAsia.com, Caldecott Broadcast Centre, Andrew Road, Singapore 299939, 65-6333-3888, Fax: 65-6252-6987, newseditor@channelnewsasia.com

+ Life Bible Presbyterian Church, 9A Gilstead Road, Singapore 309063, 65-6594-9399; Fax: 65-6250-6955, Contact Page

+ Far Eastern Bible College, 9A Gilstead Road, Singapore 309063, 65-6256-9256, Fax: 65-6251-3891, febc@pacific.net.sg

+ True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church, Post Office Box 141, Newton Post Office, Singapore 912205, 65-6254-1287, febc@pacific.net.sg

[7] Hungarian Reformed – Ulster Connection Remembered on Impala Publishers Blog Page

A 25 January 2010 article titled “Hungarian Connection” by James O’Fee on the Impala Publishers Blog Page describes O’Fee’s 22 January 2010 visit to the North Down Museum in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, where O’Fee described a pair of plaques, in Hungarian and English, upon which the Hungarians thank the people of Northern Ireland for welcoming refugees fleeing the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

O’Fee references another of his articles titled “Hungarian Refugees,” from 26 September 2007, where the Hungarian émigrés to Northern Ireland are discussed in more detail.

O’Fee additionally relates that Union College in Belfast, Northern Ireland, hosts two students each year from the Reformed Church in Hungary, and explains how a relationship between Bangor First Presbyterian Church (BFPC) and Telkibánya, Hungary, developed when a Union College Hungarian exchange student was posted at BFPC and later became a pastor in Telkibánya.

.

+ Impala Publishers, 30 Old Burlington Street, London W1S 3NL, England, office@impalapublications.com

+ Reformed Church in Hungary, MRE Zsinata1146 Budapest, Abonyi u. 21., Hungary, 30-3361-666, info@reformatus.hu

+ Union Theological College, 108 Botanic Avenue, Belfast BT7 1JT, Northern Ireland, 028-9020-5080, Fax: 028-9020-5099, admin@union.ac.uk

[8] Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and Roman Catholics Hold 17 January 2010 Joint Prayer Session

Lydia Ma and Lin Yi-ying report in the 18-24 January 2010 Taiwan Church News that a 17 January 2010 joint prayer session was conducted by church leaders including Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) General Assembly Moderator Leonard Lin and Roman Catholic Archbishop John Hung.

PCT Moderator Lin said “All Christians in the world have the same master and it is the same with all Taiwanese churches. We have one Lord,” and went on to say that God desired to see His children loving one another and brought to unity. He emphasized that Taiwanese churches had long been waiting for a spiritual revival to sweep across the nation, but this would only come through unity, worship, thanksgiving, and confession.

Archbishop Hung said that with more interaction, Roman Catholics and Protestants would get to know each other, opening the way for more opportunities to cooperate and pray for unity. However, Hung was also well aware that four hundred years of division or conflict among Roman Catholics and Protestants wouldn’t be resolved in a day, and said that without conscious effort, there will never be reconciliation or ecumenism among Christians either.

At the end of this prayer meeting, Hung, Lin and the congregation recited the Lord’s Prayer together before a closing prayer. Lin and Hung then embraced each other, and Roman Catholic and Protestant leaders shook hands as a gesture of unity and reconciliation among churches.

+ Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, 334 Youth Road, Tainan City, 70144 Taiwan, 886-6-235-6277, Fax: 886-6-237-8882, enews@pctpress.org

+ The Vatican

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[9] Four White Zimbabwean Farmers Given Twenty-Four Hours to Vacate Farms by Magistrate Court

ZimOnline reports in a 27 January 2010 article titled “Zim Court Gives White Farmers [Twenty-Four Hours] to Vacate Land,” that a Zimbabwean magistrates court in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 27 January 2010, gave four white farmers twenty-four hours to vacate their farms, else be jailed for two years. The farmers additionally were fined $US800 each after being convicted of “refusing to vacate their properties.”

The farmers being evicted have been moving their property, as best they can, to a local Dutch Reformed Church.

The vacated farms are taken over by officials of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, which include police and judicial officers charged with enforcing laws that are supposed to protect the farmers from confiscation of their land.

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+ ZimOnline, Contact Page

+ Reformed Church in Zimbabwe

[1] Called Meeting of ARP Synod 2-3 March 2010 to Receive and Act on the Findings and Recommendations of the Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Theological Seminary

[2] Death of Erskine Theological Seminary Professor of Christian Education Emerita Dr. Mary-Ruth Marshall 12 January 2010

[3] byFaith Magazine Publishes Testimonial Article for Recently-Deceased Korea Missionary Dwight Linton

[4] United Kingdom Treasury Committee Visits Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Investigate Presbyterian Mutual Society Financial Collapse

[5] Jihad Watch Director Reports on Unsuccessful Court Appeal by Seven Texas-Based Islamic Organizations Trying to Silence FrontPage Magazine Writer Joe Kaufman

[6] Minority of PCUSA Pastors, Elders, and Members Believe Salvation Exclusively through Jesus Christ

[7] Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches Acknowledges Persecuted Christians, Welcomes a New Denomination, and Endorses Women’s Ordination to Ministry in Member Churches

[8] Ponds Reformed Church of Oakland, New Jersey, Celebrates Tercentenary

[9] Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando, Florida, Campus Appoints the Rev. Dr. Don Sweeting as President and Church History Professor beginning 1 June 2010

[10] EPC Small Church Leaders Conference 3-5 March 2010 in Lakewood, Colorado

[11] U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama’s TSA Head Nominee Says “Anti-Abortion” Groups and Groups with a “Christian Identity Oriented” are Domestic Security Threats

[12] Presbyterian and Reformed Communities Providing Disaster Relief to Haiti

[1] Called Meeting of ARP Synod 2-3 March 2010 to Receive and Act on the Findings and Recommendations of the Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Theological Seminary

Moderator of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) General Synod the Rev. John R. de Witt, Th.D., D.D., and several ARP presbyteries have called a special meeting of General Synod 2-3 March 2010, beginning at 4:30 p.m. on 2 March, with an expected conclusion at 3:00 p.m. on 3 March, at the Bonclarken Conference Center in East Flat Rock, North Carolina, to receive and act on the findings and recommendations of the Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Theological Seminary.

The ARP Form of Government, Chapter XIII: “Concerning The General Synod,” C. “Its Composition and Organization,” 3. [p. 235], specifies: “A special meeting of the General Synod may be called only at a time of emergency…,” and lists the additional requirements and procedures for said meeting.

Background information about the ARP Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Theological Seminary can be found in the Minutes of the 205th Annual Meeting of the [ARP] General Synod [pdf p.47, minutes p. 44], article “ [12] ARP Synod Moderator Appoints Erskine College and Seminary Commission” in the 2 September 2009 Presbyterians Week, and in several articles on the ARPTalk blog, including article 26.5, “Called Meeting of Synod” in ARPTalk Issue 26 dated 14 January 2010.

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

[2] Death of Erskine Theological Seminary Professor of Christian Education Emerita Dr. Mary-Ruth Marshall 12 January 2010

Professor of Christian Education Emerita at Erskine Theological Seminary Dr. Mary-Ruth Marshall, 76, died 12 January 2010 at the Self Regional Hospital in Greenwood, South Carolina. A funeral for Dr. Marshall was held at the Greenville Presbyterian Church in Donalds, South Carolina, on 15 January 2010.

Dr. Marshall received a BA in English and Music from Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina in 1954, an MRE from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (PSCE) in Richmond, Virginia in 1958, and a PhD from PSCE, upon which Dr. Marshall began studies in 1984.

Dr. Marshall served as the Director of Christian Education at churches in Birmingham, Alabama, and Lynchburg, Virginia, and in several capacities for the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand and the Joint Board of Christian Education of Australia and New Zealand.

After several years of teaching at PSCE, Union Theological Seminary, and School of Theology of Virginia Union University, Dr. Marshall came to Erskine Theological Seminary in 1988 where Dr. Marshall taught courses in Christian Education and developed the Master of Arts in Christian Education degree program. Dr. Marshall retired from teaching in 2003, and thereafter served in several administrative roles for Erskine College and Theological Seminary.

Dr. Marshall was a member of the Greenville Presbyterian Church in Donalds, South Carolina, and taught the Seekers Adult Sunday School Class.

Dr. Marshall is survived by two sisters, a brother, two nieces, and one nephew.

+ Erskine Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936, gaston@erskine.edu

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

[3] byFaith Magazine Publishes Testimonial Article for Recently-Deceased Korea Missionary Dwight Linton

Richard Doster of byFaith Magazine has published a testimonial article dated January 2010 for the recently-deceased Korea missionary Dwight Linton at:

http://byfaithonline.com/page/pca-people/dwight-linton-had-a-place-in-his-heart-for-the-korean-people

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+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org

[4] United Kingdom Treasury Committee Visits Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Investigate Presbyterian Mutual Society Financial Collapse

Francess McDonnell writes in a 19 January 2010 article in the Irish Times titled “Treasury Visit over Presbyterian Scheme,” about the 18 January 2010 visit of a United Kingdom financial committee chaired by former Northern Ireland minister John McFall to Belfast, Northern Ireland, to enquire of several current ministers as to why a solution to the crisis caused by the financial collapse of the Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS) had not been found.

Ms. McDonnell further described how McFall “demanded to know from the moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr. Stafford Carson, if it felt any responsibility to the 10,000 savers left unable to access their funds by the sudden failure of the [PMS] scheme.” Dr. Carson answered in the affirmative, and two of the current ministers “told the treasury committee that they both were determined to find a solution that would be in the best interests of all concerned.”

Presbyterians Week for 19 November 2008 article “[1] Presbyterian Church in Ireland Publishes Insolvency Statement from the Directors of the Presbyterian Mutual Society” and 3 June 2009 article “[13] Presbyterian Mutual Society Losses to be Main Topic at Presbyterian Church in Ireland General Assembly” provide further information about this issue.

+ The Irish Times Limited, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, Irish Republic, 353-1-675-8000, newsdesk@irishtimes.com

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

[5] Jihad Watch Director Reports on Unsuccessful Court Appeal by Seven Texas-Based Islamic Organizations Trying to Silence FrontPage Magazine Writer Joe Kaufman

In an 18 January 2010 article on FrontPageMag.com, Jihad Watch director and Islamic scholar Robert Spencer reports that the Texas Supreme Court has denied the appeal by seven Texas-based Islamist groups seeking to silence FrontPage Magazine writer Joe Kaufman from publishing truths about Islam, of which the Islamic groups would prefer non-Muslims not be made aware.

Spencer writes: “The Islamic groups’ suit against Kaufman is a cynical attempt to silence him and prevent his dissemination of truths about them that they would prefer unwary Infidels didn’t know – specifically, the terror ties of Islamic groups in the U.S….Leftists and their Islamic supremacist allies, unable to refute the evidence and arguments their opponents present, are resorting to intimidation both legal and physical.

“Both of these forms of intimidation are being directed now at Geert Wilders, the Dutch Parliamentarian who produced the film Fitna, which shows how Islamic jihadists use violent passages of the Qur’an to justify violence and supremacism. For this and other alleged acts of “hate speech,” Wilders goes on trial in the Netherlands on January 20, for charges including having “intentionally offended a group of people, i.e. Muslims, based on their religion….””

Spencer concludes: “Joe Kaufman has won another victory this week, but the Islamic supremacist machine in the United States has by no means given up its larger jihad against free speech and free thought. Those who are determined not to be silenced must settle in for a long, hard fight.”

+ FrontPage Magazine, Post Office Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, California 91499, Contact Page

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[6] Minority of PCUSA Pastors, Elders, and Members Believe Salvation Exclusively through Jesus Christ

The Presbyterian Panel of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) has published “A Presbyterian Panel – Snapshot Characteristics of Presbyterians 2008,” which shows that only thirty-nine percent of PCUSA members agree or strongly agree that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. Forty-five percent of elders, thirty-five percent of pastors, and twenty-two percent of specialized clergy agree or strongly agree that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

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

[7] Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches Acknowledges Persecuted Christians, Welcomes a New Denomination, and Endorses Women’s Ordination to Ministry in Member Churches

The Sixth General Assembly of the Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC), a consortium of Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed Churches, met in Bethanya, Harissa – Lebanon, 11-13 January 2010.

The assembly opened with expressions of concern for and honor being given to the victims of Muslim persecution of Christians in the Middle Eastern countries of Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, and the Sudan.

The assembly voted to welcome the Presbyterian Synod of Iraq as a new member in the FMEEC.

The assembly additionally approved a recommendation to member churches in support of ordination of women to ministry, and called on member churches to ascertain the full role of women in the ministry in church and society.

Presbyterian and Reformed members of FMEEC include the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Egypt Synod of the Nile, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Iran, the Presbyterian Church of the Sudan, the Protestant Church of Algeria, and National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon.

+ Community of Protestant Churches in Europe – Leuenberg Church Fellowship, Severin-Schreiber-Gasse 3, 1180 Vienna, Austria, 4791523-900, Fax: 4791523-110, office@leuenberg.eu

+ World Council of Churches, 150 route de Ferney, CH-1211, Geneva 2, Switzerland, 41-22-791-6111, Fax: 41-22-791-0361

[8] Ponds Reformed Church of Oakland, New Jersey, Celebrates Tercentenary

Ponds Reformed Church (PRC) (Reformed Church in America) of Oakland, New Jersey, began its 300^th anniversary celebration on 17 January 2010 with a colonial-style worship service, historical reenactments, and a concert by the Ramapo Valley Chamber Ensemble.

PRC will continue their Tercentenary celebration 13-14 March 2010 with an encampment on the church grounds demonstrating 18^th century commerce, industry, cooking, and weaponry.

PRC was founded in 1710, and during its history has established five daughter churches, built a social hall for Oakland, New Jersey, and worked to racially integrate Oakland in the 1960s.

+ Ponds Reformed Church, 341 Ramapo Valley Rd, Oakland, New Jersey 07436, 201-337-6744, Fax: 201-337-7255, Contact Page

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

[9] Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando, Florida, Campus Appoints the Rev. Dr. Don Sweeting as President and Church History Professor beginning 1 June 2010

Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) has announced the appointment of the Rev. Dr. Don Sweeting as president and professor of church history at the RTS Orlando, Florida campus, beginning 1 June 2010.

Dr. Sweeting is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and has been the senior pastor of Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church in Englewood, Colorado since 1998. Dr. Sweeting previously served as a church planter and senior pastor of Chain of Lakes Community Bible Church in Lake Villa, Illinois for eleven years.

Dr. Sweeting holds a B.A. in history from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, an M.A. from Oxford University in Oxford, England, studied at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, and received a doctorate in church history from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.

+ Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando, 1231 Reformation Drive, Oviedo, Florida 32765, 407-366-9493, Fax: 407-366-9425

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

[10] EPC Small Church Leaders Conference 3-5 March 2010 in Lakewood, Colorado

The 2010 Evangelical Presbyterian Church Small Church Leaders Conference with the theme “Small Church, Significant Ministry” is scheduled for 3-5 March 2010 at the Bear Creek Church in Lakewood, Colorado. The cost of the conference, including three meals and refreshments, will be US$50.00. Registration details will be provided later.

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

[11] U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama’s TSA Head Nominee Says “Anti-Abortion” Groups and Groups with a “Christian Identity Oriented” are Domestic Security Threats

Erroll Southers, nominated by U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama to head the Transportation Security Administration, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, has lumped “anti-abortion” groups and groups that are “Christian-identity oriented,” into the same category as white supremacist groups and other racial-supremacist groups such as prison gangs, describing them all as domestic security threats. Southers believes that the most dangerous groups are the white supremacist groups, which Southers describes as “anti-government and in most cases anti-abortion.”

Southers’ linkage of white supremacist groups with the anti-abortion movement is disingenuous at best, as about one-in-three black American pregnancies are ended by surgical abortion, the highest percentage of any racial group; and Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S., was a eugenicist who worked to eliminate what Sanger considered to be the inferior races, which in Sanger’s racist mindset included black Americans.

Planned Parenthood is getting ready to open its largest abortion clinic ever built, 78,000 square feet, in the predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhood of southeast Houston, Texas.

+ Cybercast News Service, 325 South Patrick, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 703-683-9733

+ Transportation Security Administration, 601 South 12th Street,

Arlington, Virginia 20598, 866-289-9673, TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov

+ Fox News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, 888-369 4762, Fax: 212 462 6127, yourquestions@foxnews.com

+ Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 434 West 33rd Street, New York, New York 10001, 212-541-7800, Fax: 212-245-1845

[12] Presbyterian and Reformed Communities Providing Disaster Relief to Haiti

Many efforts are being undertaken within Presbyterian and Reformed communities to provide relief to the earthquake-ravaged people of Haiti.

The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s Presbyterian Global Fellowship (PGF) says that volunteer teams cannot currently travel to Haiti, but will be needed for future rebuilding and relief efforts. Potential volunteer teams can get information here:

https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:1403964.6581392758/rid:20f26c27e75b8434a101f9e58d995bab

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PGF additionally has provided links for contributions for Haiti earthquake relief:

– Medical Benevolence Foundation

– Presbyterian Disaster Assistance DR000064 Fund for Haiti

– The Outreach Foundation of the PCUSA

The Presbyterian Church in America’s Mission North America (MNA) is determining what type of disaster response will be needed for Haiti, and is asking potential volunteer teams to register here:

http://processor.pcanet.org/mna/events/signin.cfm?eventid=2

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Additionally, MNA is asking that contributions to be designated for Haiti 2010 Earthquake Relief be given through:

https://processor.pcanet.org/mna/donationsII/donation.cfm?MinistryTypeID=48

.

Photos and dispatches about the earthquake aftermath from a Canadian Reformed mission in Haiti are available on the Haiti – Coram Deo blog at:

http://haiticoramdeo.blogspot.com/

.

and contributions designated “Haitieen Project Coram Deo” can be made at:

http://www.missionoftears.ca

.

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

+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org

+ Mission of T.E.A.R.S., 50 Gervais Drive Suite 504, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3C 1Z3, 416-449-0018, Fax: 416-449-0243, Contact Page

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Compass Direct News Posts Top Ten News Stories of 2009 from the Frontlines of Christian Persecution around the World

[2] New Book “Lords or Servants” Argues that Corporate Structure Spells Death to Modern-Day Church

[3] Malawi Presbyterian Synod Dispute Postpones Church of Central Africa – Presbyterian General Assembly

[4] Church of Scotland Minister and Council Convener Lauds Sabbath Business Closings

[5] Dozens of Church of Scotland Ministers Contact Unite Labor Union Bullying Hotline to Report Abuse from Parishioners

[6] South African Christian Democratic Party Leader Expresses Disappointment at Wedding of Polygamist President Jacob Zuma to 5^th Wife

[7] Ian Paisley Furious over Alleged Financial Improprieties and Wife’s Adulteries of Democratic Unionist Party Leader

[8] Struthers Presbyterian Church of Struthers, Ohio, on 10 January 2010, Votes Ninety-Seven Percent to Three Percent to Disaffiliate from PCUSA

[9] Visalia, California, PCUSA Pastor to Become Professor of Systematic Theology in Ethiopian Seminary

[10] Calvin Synod Lakeside Classis Spring 2010 Meeting Scheduled 6 February 2010 at the Hungarian Reformed Church of Lorain in Lorain, Ohio

[11] 1908 Geneva College History Book Available at Google Books

[12]  Slavic Reformation Society Intensive Classes for Elders and Ministers Scheduled in St. Petersburg, Russia, 1-14 March 2010

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[1] Compass Direct News Posts Top Ten News Stories of 2009 from the Frontlines of Christian Persecution around the World

The top ten news stories of 2009 from the frontlines of Christian persecution around the world from Compass Direct News Service are:

1)   Islamic Extremists in Somalia Hunt Down Christians

2)   Islamists Assault Christian Colony in Pakistan with Impunity

3)   Four Eritrean Christians Die in Prison for their Faith

4)   Iran Detains Two Christian Women amid Historical Crackdown

5)   China Again Tortures Key Christian Human Rights Attorney

6)   Egyptian Muslims Mount Brazen, Large-Scale Attacks on Christians

7)   Islamic Sect in Nigeria Mounts Sharia Offensive

8)   U.S. Christian Assassinated in Mauritania

9)   Intimidation Tactics Eclipse Justice following Violence in India

10)   Mexican Supreme Court Frees 29 Accused in Acteal Massacre

+ Compass Direct News Service, Post Office Box 27250, Santa Ana, California 92799, 949-862-0304, Fax: 949-752-6536, info@compassdirect.org

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[2] New Book “Lords or Servants” Argues that Corporate Structure Spells Death to Modern-Day Church

A new book titled “Lords or Servants,” by oil and gas businessman and lay minister Jim Reeves has been published by NewBookPublishing.com, which argues that the corporate structure prevalent in the modern-day church is in fact killing the church.

Reeves argues that the “Jesus model” is leadership through service rather than authority, and that grasping this key concept will solve most of the problems facing the modern church. The author demonstrates that leadership, like respect, cannot be granted by appointment; it must be earned by a life of service to others.

Reeves examines the difference between what was required of leaders in the first-century church and those of today, and shows that the church is the body of Christ, a living body, and not a corporate entity or an organization.

“Lords or Servants” retails for US$10.95, and is available at:  http://www.newbookpublishing.com/lords-or-servants.html.

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ NewBookPublishing.com, 2395 Apopka Boulevard #200, Apopka, Florida 32703, 877-311-5100, Fax: 407-884-0291, Contact Page

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[3] Malawi Presbyterian Synod Dispute Postpones Church of Central Africa – Presbyterian General Assembly

The Malawi Synods of Nkhoma and Livingstonia of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP), represent churches of different people groups and political leanings in Malawi, and for more than ten years the ongoing migration of these people groups within the others’ traditional territory has led to conflict between the two synods as the synods have investigated establishing churches in what was formerly the exclusive territory of the other synod.

After several years of meetings and committee work, the 2007 CCAP General Assembly (GA), which additionally includes the Harare Synod and Zambia Synods from Zimbabwe and Zambia respectively, and the Synod of Blantyre in southern Malawi, established borders between the synods.

Since the 2007 CCAP GA, the Livingstonia Synod has begun developing churches within what has traditionally been the borders of the Nkhoma Synod in central Malawi, so the Nkhoma Synod proposed that there should be no borders between any of the four CCAP synods, and the Nkhoma Synod additionally attached a number of proposed regulations about how ministers and elders were ordained and how ministers and elders could transfer from one synod to another. As a result, the Livingstonia Synod has requested a postponement of the General Assembly previously scheduled for December 2009 in light of what they called the “new option” from Nkhoma Synod.

The Nkhoma Synod has observed their own sense of shame that the dispute between the two Malawian synods has brought on the “prophetic voice of the Church Universal to the world in general and to the Malawi nation in particular.”

+ Reformed Ecumenical Council, 2050 Breton Road Southeast, Suite 102, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546, 616-949-2910, rvh@recweb.org

+ Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, General Synod, Post Office Box 30398, Capital City, Lilongwe 3, Malawi, 265-796064, ccapgeneral@africa-online.net

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[4] Church of Scotland Minister and Council Convener Lauds Sabbath Business Closings

Church of Scotland (COS) minister and Convener of the COS Church and Society Council the Rev. Ian Galloway, in an 11 January 2009 blog article titled “The Sabbath,” lauds automobile dealer Peter Vardy for closing all of his six auto showrooms on Sundays so that employees can spend more time with their families.

Galloway defines one manifestation of poverty as being “the lack of time spent with friends, family, and others you could be with,” and concludes: “It’s time to be with those we care about and reclaim the Sabbath for what it is.”

In a reminder of Olympics runner Eric Liddell’s refusal to run in the 100 meter race scheduled on a Sunday in 1924, in December 2009, Scots rugby player Euan Murray announced that he would not play in the Sunday, 7 February 2010, Six Nations match against France nor in any subsequent rugby matches scheduled on Sundays because of Murray’s religious view of the Sabbath.

The answer to Question Sixty of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is: “The sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days  [Leviticus 23:3, Exodus 16:25-29, Jeremiah 17:21-22]; and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God’s worship [Psalm 92:1-2, Luke 4:16, Isaiah 58:13, Acts 20:7], except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy [Matthew 12:11-12].”

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

+ Press and Journal, Lang Stracht, Mastrick, Aberdeen AB15 6DF, Scotland, 01224-343311, pj.newsdesk@ajl.co.uk

+ Peter Vardy, The Wright Business Centre, 1 Lonmay Road, Queenslie, Glasgow G33 4EL, Scotland, 0141-773-6236, Fax: 0141-773-6238, Contact Page

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[5] Dozens of Church of Scotland Ministers Contact Unite Labor Union Bullying Hotline to Report Abuse from Parishioners

A 10 January 2010 Scotsman article by Mark Smith titled: “Union Sets Up Hotline to Help Church Ministers who are Victims of Bullying,” reports that dozens of Church of Scotland (COS) ministers have contacted a hotline set up by the Unite labor union to report abuse received from parishioners.

Unite has additionally implemented anti-bullying classes for COS senior staff, where the staffers learn from union experts how to spot bullying.

+ 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

+ Unite, 35 King Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8JG, England, 020- 7420-8900, Fax: 020- 7420-8998, Contact Form

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[6] South African Christian Democratic Party Leader Expresses Disappointment at Wedding of Polygamist President Jacob Zuma to 5^th Wife

A 5 January 2010 statement by African Christian Democratic Party leader the Rev. Kenneth R.J. Meshoe titled: “The President has Set a Bad Example for Men,” was posted in reaction to polygamist South African President Jacob Zuma being married to his 5^th wife, and said:

“The ACDP is very disappointed by the President’s marriage to [a] 5th wife, particularly because this act is against Biblical teaching and also against [the] government’s AIDS Programme that encourages peoples to sleep with only one partner. We believe [the president] has set a bad example for men in the country who might want to emulate what the Head of State is doing.

While polygamy has been practiced widely in African culture for centuries, it is now [no] longer relevant in democratic societies…. Polygamy promotes manipulation, jealousy, strife, and unhealthy competition among wives to attract the attention of their husband. It causes unhappiness among some because of neglect and unmet needs….

….

We question why some who claim to believe in democratic rights to equality can at the same time talk about the right of a man to marry more than one wife, while they will not agree when a woman wants to marry more than one husband. This, we believe, is nothing but an attempt to legitimize the lust of men.

The ACDP calls on men throughout the country not to follow the President’s bad example and choose to remain faithful and committed to one wife.”

+ African Christian Democratic Party, First Floor, Stats Building, 2 Fore Street, Alberton 1450, South Africa, 011-869-3941, Fax: 011-869-3942,  office@acdp.org.za

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[7] Ian Paisley Furious over Alleged Financial Improprieties and Wife’s Adulteries of Democratic Unionist Party Leader

A 10 January 2010 article in The Sunday Tribune by Suzanne Breen titled “Paisley ‘Beyond Fury’ over Robinson Sleaze” describes how Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster minister and former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Dr. Ian Paisley has expressed disgust at the recent revelations about several adulteries of Iris Robinson, wife of DUP leader Peter Robinson, and related questionable financial dealings of the Robinsons with real estate developers. Paisley has called for Robinson’s resignation as soon as possible in advance of May 2010 elections.

Paisley additionally is disturbed that Mrs. Robinson lectured against homosexuality for religious reasons while simultaneously carrying on adulterous affairs including one with the nineteen year old son of a deceased man – with whom Mrs. Robinson had previously carried on an adulterous affair – and for whom Mrs. Robinson secured UK£50,000 from other businessmen. Mrs. Robinson additionally carried on an adulterous affair in the 1980’s with a fellow DUP member.

+ The Sunday Tribune, 27-32 Talbot Street, Dublin 1, Irish Republic, 01-6314300, nhegarty@tribune.ie

+ Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, info@freepres.org

+ Democratic Unionist Party, 91 Dundela Avenue, Belfast BT4 3BU,  Northern Ireland, 028-9047-1155, Fax: 028-9052-1289, info@dup.org.uk

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[8] Struthers Presbyterian Church of Struthers, Ohio, on 10 January 2010, Votes Ninety-Seven Percent to Three Percent to Disaffiliate from PCUSA

An 11 January 2010 article in The Vindicator by Linda Linonis titled “Struthers Church Secedes from Presbytery,” describes the 10 January 2010 congregational meeting at Struthers Presbyterian Church (SPC) (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) where the congregation voted ninety-seven percent to three percent to disaffiliate with the PCUSA and the Eastminster Presbytery (EP) “for theological reasons of conscience.”

On 5 January 2010, SPC received a temporary restraining order against the EP, forbidding any efforts to take control of church funds, property, and related matters. SPC holds the church deed in the name of the church and in 1983 disavowed any trust interest in the church property.

+ The Vindicator, 107 Vindicator Square, Youngstown, Ohio 44503, 330-747-1471, Contact Page

+ Eastminster Presbytery, 3833 Main Street, Mineral Ridge, Ohio 44440,  330-505-2167, Fax: 330-505-1545, info@faithfulness.com

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

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[9] Visalia, California, PCUSA Pastor to Become Professor of Systematic Theology in Ethiopian Seminary

Pastor Rich Hanson of First Presbyterian Church (FPC) (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) in Visalia, California, has announced that he and his wife Marylyn Hanson are to become PCUSA missionaries in Ethiopia, Dr. Hanson is to become Professor of Systematic Theology at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Hanson’s will leave FPC at the end of May 2010 and begin preparations for the move to Ethiopia scheduled for August 2010.

+ First Presbyterian Church, 215 North Locust, Visalia, California 93291,  559-732-8627, Fax: 559-732-8339, julie@firstpresvisalia.org

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

+ Ethiopia Graduate School of Theology, Post Office Box 24934, Code 1000, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 251-11-371-5588, egst@ethionet.et

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[10] Calvin Synod Lakeside Classis Spring 2010 Meeting Scheduled 6 February 2010 at the Hungarian Reformed Church of Lorain in Lorain, Ohio

The Lakeside Classis of the Calvin Synod has scheduled their Spring 2010 meeting for 6 February 2010 beginning with lunch at noon at the Hungarian Reformed Church of Lorain in Lorain, Ohio.

Information is available from the Rev. Péter Tóth by telephone at 440-277-8177.

+ Calvin Synod, C/O Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop, 7319 Tapper Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46324, 219-931-4321, kkludwig@aol.com

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[11] 1908 Geneva College History Book Available at Google Books

Google Books has made available “The Geneva Book” by William Melancthon Glasgow D.D., published in 1908 by Westbrook Publishing Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is a history of Geneva College and contains biographies of students and alumni.

+ Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@google.com

+ Geneva College, 3200 College Avenue, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania 15010, 724-846-5100, Fax: 724.847.6696, pr@geneva.edu

+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861

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[12]  Slavic Reformation Society Intensive Classes for Elders and Ministers Scheduled in St. Petersburg, Russia, 1-14 March 2010

The Slavic Reformation Society (SRS), which exists to plant Reformed churches and to train pastors to serve Christ in the former Soviet Union, has scheduled two weeks of intensive classes for pastors to be held 1-14 March 2010 in the Biblical Theological Seminary in St. Petersburg, Russia.

SRS needs to raise US$10,000 by 1 February 2010 in order to commit to holding the St. Petersburg classes. Donations can be made to the address listed below.

+ Slavic Reformation Society, Post Office Box 794, Louisville, Mississippi 39339, 662-779-0519, mforster@internetcapital.com

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Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Christian Observer Highlights for January 2010

[2] Death of Centenarian the Rev. Samson Kilolo in Mwingi, Kenya

[3] ARP Missionary to Pakistan Sarah Hunter Pressly, 88, Dies 31 December 2009

[4] Poverty Drives 225,000 Haitian Children into Slavery

[5] Mugabe Government Deploys Army to Begin Evicting Remaining 300 White Zimbabwean Farmers from their Property

[6] Predominantly White PCUSA Church in Springfield, Ohio, Calls a Black Pastor

[7] Christian Anti-Defamation Commission Reports Top Ten Anti-Christian Attacks in 2009

[8] Calvin College Hosts Post-Reformation Digital Library

[9] Reformation Heritage Books Publishes “Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation, Volume 1: 1523-1552”

[10] Geneva Psalter in Spanish Available in May 2010

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[1] Christian Observer Highlights for January 2010

New articles in the Christian Observer for January 2010 include:

– The Difference Between Christian Conservation and Environmental Terrorism – by Dr. Grady S. McMurtry of Creation Worldview Ministries –  compares and contrasts God’s directives for stewardship of his creation with God-less environmentalism;

– An Interesting Parallel – by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – examines parallels between the decline of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) and the public school system as both entities have moved their emphasis to social activism and have eschewed their biblical foundations;

– Looking Up – transcript of the New Year’s message from Dr. Joe Renfro’s “Christ Over All” Sabbath radio program, discussing the biblical perspective on the victorious life of the Christian;

– Two Godly Men for Our Season – five links have been added to the list of Internet resources in the article which celebrates the December 2009 twentieth anniversary of freedom for the people of Romania; and,

– Regular features including weekly Sabbath School Lessons by Christian Observer Assistant Editor Dr. Robert LaMay, and daily devotionals by T.M. Moore.

+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

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[2] Death of Centenarian the Rev. Samson Kilolo in Mwingi, Kenya

Howard Carlson reports that centenarian the Rev. Samson Kilolo, a founder of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Kenya (IPC), has died in Mwingi, Kenya, and was buried 2 January 2010.

Carlson describes Kilolo as a man of great energy, who in the 1950s was imprisoned for two years on suspicion of aiding the Mau Mau movement. When Kilolo entered prison, there were no Christians among the prisoners, but when Kilolo was absolved and released, almost all of the prisoners were now believers in Christ. At the prisoners’ request, Kilolo stayed an extra two weeks in prison to prepare leaders for the Christian movement there.

Kilolo suggested to the early Bible Presbyterian Church (BPC) missionaries that Kilolo’s young nephew Solomon Muthukya be appointed to assist BPC missionary Victor Hall. Mr. Hall discipled Solomon Muthukya well, and through Victor Hall and Muthukya Solomon, the IPC was born; but the energy and influence of Samson Kilolo laboring in the background is what gave the IPC its strength.

Samson Kilolo was a great lover of truth. When an issue over pagan tribal practice (concubines) entered the IPC through one of its leaders and the sin was not disciplined, Kilolo wept in Synod. Carlson relates that he was present at the IPC Synod meeting to hear Kilolo tearfully mourn that this leader, whom Kilolo had helped nurture and had blessed as the young man departed for theological studies, had now unrepentantly turned away from the pure walk of the Christian. Kilolo then suspended his own relationships with the IPC Synod as long as the unrepentant man should serve in high office in the IPC.

Carlson concludes: “Kilolo was a true son of the Reformation. He would have stood out in any church body. His family, church, and we, have lost a great warrior-friend.”

+ Bible Presbyterian Church

+ Independent Presbyterian Church of Kenya, Post Office Box 37, Mwingi,  Kenya, 254-1-42-22-035

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[3] ARP Missionary to Pakistan Sarah Hunter Pressly, 88, Dies 31 December 2009

The Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) magazine reports that Sarah Hunter Pressly, 88, of Due West, South Carolina, widow of Dr. Francis Young Pressly, died at her home on 31 December 2009.

Dr. and Mrs. Pressly in 1947 became missionaries to Pakistan, and Mrs. Pressly continued serving in Pakistan after Dr. Pressly’s death until her retirement in 1987.

Mrs. Pressly is survived by a daughter and her husband, a son, a brother, two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

A funeral service was held 5 January 2010 at the Due West ARP Church, and Mrs. Pressly was buried in the church cemetery.

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

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[4] Poverty Drives 225,000 Haitian Children into Slavery

Mission Network News in a 4 January 2010 article titled “Poverty Forces Kids into Slavery,” describes how 225,000 children in Haiti from families suffering from poverty and starvation are being sold by parents to wealthier families that take the children into their home where they perform unpaid domestic work in exchange for being raised in the wealthier circumstances. Most of the sold children, called “restaveks”  are girls, and many of them are subjected to physical and sexual abuse in their new homes.

In the article, Eva DeHart of the ministry For Haiti With Love (FHWL) describes how several hurricanes and a cycle of floods and draughts have exacerbated poverty in the normally-impoverished nation of Haiti, and how FHWL seeks to provide for the physical needs of the poorest people and to bring to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which provides an alternative to the culturally-entrenched voodoo that the Haitians so readily turn towards in times of trouble.

Voodoo reflects French and African cultural influences, and is a religion that is a satanic amalgam of African animist tradition and Roman Catholic tradition, practiced in Haiti for the past three centuries that became an official religion in Haiti in 2003, just ahead of Haiti’s bicentennial as an independent nation.

+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, Fax: 616-942-7328

+ For Haiti with Love, P.O. Box 1017, Palm Harbor, Florida 34682, 727-938-3245, Fax: 727-942-6945, forhaiti@aol.com

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[5] Mugabe Government Deploys Army to Begin Evicting Remaining 300 White Zimbabwean Farmers from their Property

Voice of America reporter Blessing Zulu reports in a 31 December 2009 article titled “Zimbabwe Military Deploys to Remove Country’s Remaining White Farmers” that the government of communist dictator Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe has deployed the Zimbabwe National Army to immediately evict 152 of the remaining 300 white commercial farmers in Zimbabwe from their property so that the farms can be turned over to politicians of the former ruling Zanu-PF party. Zulu’s sources report that all remaining white Zimbabwean commercial farmers are to eventually be evicted.

A Christian Observer correspondent reports that the affected Zimbabwean farm families are packing whatever belongings can be fit into their vehicles in preparation for vacating their farms, and requests prayer for the families.

+ Voice of America, 330 Independence Avenue Southwest, Washington DC 20237, 202-203-4959, 202-203-4960, askvoa@voanews.com

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[6] Predominantly White PCUSA Church in Springfield, Ohio, Calls a Black Pastor

Staff Writer Bridgette Outten of the Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun writes in an 1 January 2010 article titled “Predominately White Oakland Presbyterian Church Appoints its First Black Pastor,” about the predominantly white congregation of Oakland (Ohio) Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) of Springfield, Ohio, having been without a permanent pastor for the past two years until recently calling twenty-nine year old the Rev. Derrick Weston, who in addition to being several decades younger than the congregants, most of whom are over sixty-five, is black, and is the church’s first minority pastor in its nearly ninety years of existence.

Pastor search committee chairman David Hartley explained Weston’s call, saying: “It wasn’t about race at all. [Weston] was the best candidate for the job. We believe the Holy Spirit led him to us.”

Pastor Weston preached his first sermon for his new congregation on 3 January 2010.

+ Springfield News-Sun, 202 North Limestone Street, Springfield, Ohio 45503, 937-328-0300, Contact Form

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

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[7] Christian Anti-Defamation Commission Reports Top Ten Anti-Christian Attacks in 2009

10. Pro-life Pastor Reverend Walter Hoye of Oakland, California, was jailed for exercising peaceful, pro-life speech.

9. Rev. Fred Winters was murdered while preaching in his pulpit in Maryville, Illinois.

8. Home Box Office’s program “Curb Your Enthusiasm” aired an episode where the main actor urinates on painting of Jesus.

7. The overt homosexual participation in Obama’s presidential inaugural events by “Bishop” Vickie Eugene Robinson, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC, and a homosexual marching band.

6. Police called to East Jessamine Middle School in Lexington, Kentucky, to stop eighth graders from praying during their lunch break for a student whose mother was tragically killed.

5. Pro-life activist Jim Pullion was murdered in front of his granddaughter’s high school for showing the truth about abortion.

4. An activist judge ordered a mother in New Hampshire to stop home schooling her daughter because the little girl “reflected too strongly” her mother’s Christian faith.

3. The Federal Department of Homeland Security issued a report entitled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate” that labeled conservative Christians as extremists and potential terrorists.

2. President Obama’s appointment of radical anti-Christians like homosexual activist Kevin Jennings as the “safe school czar;” pro-abortion advocate Kathleen Seblius made Secretary of Human and Health Services, and Chai Feldblum, pro-homosexual and anti-religious liberty judge nominated for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

1. The Federal Hate Crimes Bill that attacks religious liberty and freedom of speech. For the first time in U.S. history, ministers are vulnerable to investigation and prosecution for telling the truth about homosexuality.

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, Post Office Box 1115, Vista, California 92085, 866-508-2232, Fax: 760-630-2232, contact@christianadc.org

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[8] Calvin College Hosts Post-Reformation Digital Library

The H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies at Calvin College now hosts the Post-Reformation Digital Library (PRDL), a collection of resources relating to the development of theology during the Post-Reformation/early modern era of the 16th–18th centuries.

The PRDL is a select bibliography focusing on primary source documents on early modern theology and philosophy, spanning publicly-accessible collections from major research libraries, independent scholarly initiatives, and corporate documentation projects.

The core of the PRDL project involves the organization of thousands of documents available in digital form from sources including Google Books and the Internet Archive. Also included are the offerings of select digital libraries from Europe and North America, which are beginning to make digitized forms of their holdings available to the public. The project covers the work of hundreds of authors from a wide variety of theological, philosophical, and ecclesiastical traditions.

+ Calvin College 3201 Burton Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546, 616-526-6000

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[9] Reformation Heritage Books Publishes “Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation, Volume 1: 1523-1552”

Reformation Heritage Books has published “Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation, Volume 1: 1523-1552,” the first of a projected three volume set, which compiles numerous Reformed confessions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries translated into English. For many of these texts, this is their debut in the Anglo-Saxon vernacular. It provides the English-speaking world a richer and more comprehensive view of the emergence and maturation of Reformed theology in these foundational centuries for Reformed thought and foundational summaries of Reformed doctrine for these centuries. Each confessional statement is preceded by a brief introduction containing necessary historical and bibliographical background. The confessions are arranged chronologically, with this first volume presenting thirty-three documents covering the years 1523-1552.

+ Reformation Heritage Books, 2965 Leonard Street Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-977-0599, orders@heritagebooks.org

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[10] Geneva Psalter in Spanish Available in May 2010

Publicaciones Faro de Gracia, a reformed Spanish literature ministry has contracted the publication of the Geneva Psalter in Spanish, slated for release in May 2010.  This ministry also ships sets of ten puritan titles in Spanish, sponsored at US$30.00 apiece, to hundreds of Hispanic pastors throughout the Latin world to help them build a pastor’s library.

Donations and sponsorships may be made to www.farodegracia.org, or by writing to oficina@farodegracia.org.

+ Publicaciones Faro de Gracia, Post Office Box 1043, Graham, North Carolina 27253, 336-792-2690, oficina@farodegracia.org

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