15 July 2009
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
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[1] U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg Espouses Eugenics as the Goal of Abortion in 7 July 2009 New York Times Article
[2] Internal Revenue Service Demands Coalition for Life of Iowa Not Picket or Protest Against Planned Parenthood as Condition of Tax Exempt Status
[3] Prayer Vigil Held at U.S. Supreme Court 12 July 2009 on Eve of Confirmation Hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor
[4] Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Down Injunction Allowing Pharmacists Not to Dispense “Plan B” Abortion Pill
[5] Reformed Church in Zambia and Zambia Government Cooperate to Mitigate Global Economic Crisis
[6] Eleven Christians Murdered by Muslim Terrorists in Somalia and Iraq 10-12 July 2009
[7] TEC Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Says it is Heresy to Say Individuals Can Get Right with God
[8] TEC General Convention Deputies Repeal Ban on Ordination of Homosexual Bishops
[9] Burmese Christian Karen Tribal Group Suffering at the Hands of the Myanmar Military Regime
[10] Doctor Celebrates 100th Birthday by Giving US$100 Thousand to Bethany Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan
[11] First Reformed United Church of Christ of Kenton, Ohio, Celebrates 150th Anniversary at a 12 July 2009 Special Service
[12] Zion United Church of Christ of Hagerstown, Maryland, Played Role in Retreat from Gettysburg in July 1863
[13] Hungarian Freedom Fighter Joseph Szarka, 78, Dies 8 July 2009
[14] Oak Hill Christian School Offering Online High School Biology and Chemistry
[15] Answers in Genesis Offers Limited-Time Free Access to Digital Edition of April-June 2009 Answers Magazine
[16] PCA Historical Center Acquires Abraham Lance Lathem Papers
[17] Full Bible Publications Offers Two New Books
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In a 7 July 2009 New York Times article titled, “The Place of Women on the Court,” U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was asked several questions about the feminist agenda, and gave apparent support to eugenics by stating, “Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe[v. Wade 1973] was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.”
Approximately one in three pregnancies of black U.S. citizens is ended by surgical abortion.
+ New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, 212- 556-1234, executive-editor@nytimes.com
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), while evaluating the Coalition for Life of Iowa (CLI)’s application for tax exempt status, has questioned the educational nature of CLI’s materials, prayer meetings, talks, and other pro-life activities, and has demanded the CLI swear to limit its “picketing” and “protesting” of Planned Parenthood as a condition of CLI being given tax exempt status.
The Thomas More Society, which is defending the CLI, sent a letter to the IRS stating that the IRS’s unwarranted ultimatum reveals prejudice toward a pro-life organization and, by extension, the pro-life movement, and that such demands should never arise in the IRS’s decision-making process to grant tax-exempt status for any applicant non-profit organization.
Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S., was founded by eugenicist Margaret Sanger, of whom PP continues to lionize and honor abortion advocates in Sanger’s name. Sanger was an ardent advocate of abortion for what she considered to be lower classes of people, and Sanger cooperated with and supported other eugenicist activities around the world including the eugenics laws in several U.S. states that forced sterilization on people the state considered to be in lower segments of society, and the involuntary medical experimentation by Nazi Germany on people the Nazi’s considered to be in lower segments of society.
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Thomas More Law Center, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106, 734-827-2001, Fax: 734-930-7160, info@thomasmore.org
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The Christian Defense Coalition (CDC) held a prayer vigil at the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 July 2009 on the eve of confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
Reformed Presbyterian pastor and CDC Director the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney stated, “On [13 July 2009,] the confirmation hearings begin for Judge Sonia Sotomayor who is being considered for the next Supreme Court Justice. If confirmed, her decisions will impact generations to come. In response to this, we are gathering at the Supreme Court to pray that God will direct the hearings and guide the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. We will be praying that the truth will be brought out about the record of Judge Sotomayor. We will also be praying that if she is confirmed, God will direct her heart to embrace justice and our founding principles. These founding principles support a culture of life, family and freedom of religion.”
“We are asking Christians across the nation pray Proverbs 21:1, which proclaims that God can direct and guide those in power. The faith community is not powerless in this process and we believe that God can change and lead the heart of Sonia Sotomayor to make decisions that affirm justice and equality. Through prayer, Judge Sotomayor could be the vote that brings down Roe v. Wade. We will also be leaving roses to remember the over 50 million children that have died through abortion and call upon the Supreme Court to live up to the words etched on the outside of their building; ‘Equal Justice Under Law.'”
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Christian Defense Coalition, 540-538-4741
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From the same court that ruled the words “under God” in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance to be unconstitutional, and that declared the Christian cross monument on federal land in the Mohave Desert commemorating soldiers that died in World War I to be unconstitutional, comes an 8 July 2009 ruling striking down a temporary injunction granted by a lower court that put on hold a Washington State requirement that pharmacists dispense medications to which they are morally opposed such at the “Plan B” abortion pill.
The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) had filed an amicus brief in the case, urging the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to protect pharmacists’ rights of conscience. PJI President Brad Dacus commented, “Today’s [8 July 2009] ruling immediately endangers conscientious pharmacists in Washington State and also strikes a blow at medical professionals throughout the West Coast. The Ninth Circuit‘s reinstatement of these anti-conscience regulations, despite strong evidence that they targeted people of faith, renders the Free Exercise Clause [of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution] meaningless.”
+ Pacific Justice Institute, Post Office Box 276600, Sacramento, California 95827, 916-857-6900 Fax: 916-857-6902, pji@pacificjustice.org
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[5] Reformed Church in Zambia and Zambia Government Cooperate to Mitigate Global Economic Crisis
At a recent fund raising tea sponsored by the Reformed Church in Zambia (RCZ), in a speech read by Lusaka (Zambia) Province Deputy Permanent Secretary Chinjili Zulu on behalf of Lusaka Province Minister Lameck Mangani, Province Minister Mangani shared that there was need for the Zambian Government and the RCZ to work together in finding solutions to the global economic crisis saying: “…The Church, therefore, has an enormous role to play in these hard economic times.” Mangani additionally said the Zambian Government was happy there was unity among members of the RCZ, and said that the spirit of oneness among believers should be promoted. Mangani implored congregants to donate generously towards the intended purpose of the fund raising tea—a resource center for orphans and vulnerable children in society.
At the same fund raising tea, RCZ Charlestone (Zambia) minister-in-charge the Rev. Madalitso Banda said the aim of the fundraising party was to raise funds for the establishment of a resource center for the benefit of vulnerable children surrounding Charlestone. Banda pledged the RCZ‘s continued support to the Zambian Government in its efforts to mitigate the impact of the economic problems, and said the RCZ would in whatever way possible, assist in helping the vulnerable in society.
+ AllAfrica.com, 920 M Street Southeast, Washington DC 20003, 202- 546-0777, Fax: 202-546-0676
+ Reformed Church in Zambia, Post Office Box 38255, Olympia Park, Lusaka, Zambia, 260-211-295369, info@rczsynod.co.zm
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[6] Eleven Christians Murdered by Muslim Terrorists in Somalia and Iraq 10-12 July 2009
Somalia Muslim Al-Shabaab terrorists in the south-central town of Baidoa, Somalia, beheaded seven Somalis for being “Christians” and “spies” on 10 July 2009.
Muslim terrorists in Baghdad, Iraq, exploded a car bomb outside a church during the weekend of 11-12 July 2009, killing four and wounding at least another sixteen. Five other bombs were exploded outside Baghdad, Iraq churches during the same period.
+ 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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[7] TEC Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Says it is Heresy to Say Individuals Can Get Right with God
At the triennial meeting of the Episcopal Church (TEC) in Anaheim, California, on 8 July 2009, TEC Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told the assembled delegates a “great Western heresy” is the evangelical notion “…that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God,” and that this “heresy” is behind many problems facing the church and the wider society.
Schori continued, “It’s caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus. That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy, at the center of existence, as the ground of being.”
Schori continued, saying that countering individualistic faith was one reason the theme chosen for the meeting was “Ubuntu,” an African word that describes humaneness, caring, sharing and being in harmony with all of creation. Schori elaborated, “Ubuntu doesn’t have any ‘I’s in it,” she said. “The ‘I’ only emerges as we connect — and that is really what the word means: I am because we are, and I can only become a whole person in relationship with others. There is no ‘I’ without ‘you,’ and in our context, you and I are known only as we reflect the image of the One who created us.”
Schori said that “heretical and individualistic understanding” contributes to problems like neglect for the environment and the current worldwide economic recession.
+ Associated Baptist Press, 200 Maryland Ave Northeast, Washington DC 20002, 202-548-5244, david@abpnews.com
+ Episcopal Church Center 815 Second Avenue New York, New York 10017, 800-334-7626, cdawkins@episcopalchurch.org
[8] TEC General Convention Deputies Repeal Ban on Ordination of Homosexual Bishops
At the triennial meeting of the Episcopal Church (TEC) in Anaheim, California, on 14 July 2009, TEC General Convention deputies passed, by a seventy-two percent margin, a resolution that effectively repeals the 2006 resolution placing a moratorium on the ordination of homosexual bishops.
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Institute on Religion and Democracy, 1023 15th Street Northwest, Suite 601, Washington DC 20005-2601, 202-682-4131, Fax: 202-682-4136, info@theird.org
+ Episcopal Church Center 815 Second Avenue New York, New York 10017, 800-334-7626, cdawkins@episcopalchurch.org
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[9] Burmese Christian Karen Tribal Group Suffering at the Hands of the Myanmar Military Regime
The Karen tribal group of rural eastern Myanmar is suffering extensively because of fighting between Karen National Union and the Myanmar military regime. Thousands of Karen refugees have crossed into Thailand to escape the fighting, and another half-million persons in eastern Myanmar have been displaced and have suffered atrocities committed by the Myanmar military regime.
Vision Beyond Borders President Patrick Klein elaborated: “Villages are being surrounded, and rockets are lobbed in. The Myanmar regime then goes in with machine guns and mows down whoever is still alive, and then the evidence is burned. There are reports they’re also blockading villages so the people can’t go out and get food; it is also reported that women are being raped and men are being set on fire while they’re alive. And, they’re actually poisoning the water supplies now. We’re hearing reports they’re even lobbing rockets across the Thai border into the refugee camps, and Thailand is doing nothing to stop it.”
Klein continued: “When God’s people pray, things begin to happen. So we’d like to call people to pray, and to get involved. [Americans] can contact their congressmen and let them know we know what’s going on in Burma, and we would like to see this stopped. People are coming to know the Lord, but I know they’re really struggling in Burma. The church is struggling inside Burma. People have felt like they’re forgotten. But as Christians pray, the Christians in Burma will know that God is with them. And as word gets back that Christians are praying, it’ll encourage them.”
+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast,
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, 616-942-7328, info@mnnonline.org
+ Vision Beyond Borders, Post Office Box 6770, Sheridan, Wyoming 82801, 307-672-5995
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Retired pediatrician Dr. H. Sidney Heersma celebrated his 100th birthday by giving US$1000 for every year of his life to Bethany Reformed Church (BRC) of Kalamazoo, Michigan and its ministries.
US$15,000 of the gift was earmarked for Friendship House, located next door to BRC, the former parsonage that is now home to Restore ministries, which helps people who have been incarcerated to re-establish themselves in the community; a Loaves and Fishes food pantry; and the Christian Resource Center, which is supported by several churches and last year gave US$40,000 to people in need.
After the morning service on 11 July 2009, a new sign in front of Friendship House was unveiled, proclaiming it to be the Heersma-Schrock Friendship House, named for Heersma and his daughter, Claudia Schrock, who was his primary caregiver from 2002 until her death 28 January 2009, and who was a member and former deacon at BRC. Other family members present were Heersma’s son, James, and one of Schrock’s daughters and her husband, Cynthia Schrock and Michael Seeley.
+ Michigan Live LLC, 339 East Liberty Street, Suite 210, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104, feedback@mlive.com
+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org
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[11] First Reformed United Church of Christ of Kenton, Ohio, Celebrates 150th Anniversary at a 12 July 2009 Special Service
The First Reformed United Church of Christ (FRUCC) of Kenton, Ohio, celebrated its 150th anniversary with a special service on 12 July 2009. During the same service, FRUCC pastor the Rev. Thomas Eisenman celebrated his 55th anniversary of ordination.
FRUCC was founded on 15 July 1859, when 20 people organized themselves as members of the Reformed Church in America. Pastor Eisenman described the German roots of the Reformed Church, saying: “Persecution in Germany led members to flee first to Holland, then England, and then on to North America.”
+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org
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The Zion United Church of Christ (ZUCC) in Hagerstown, Maryland, for a brief time following the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the U.S. War between the States, played a pivotal role in the retreat of Confederate forces commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the pursuit of the Confederate forces by a Union Army Michigan cavalry brigade commanded by General George Armstrong Custer.
The Confederate forces used ZUCC as a stronghold on 6 July 1863 as the Confederate Army and General Lee passed through Hagerstown, Maryland, and General Custer used the ZUCC bell tower to observe Confederate movements on 12 July 1863 after his brigade pushed the Confederates to the western edge of the town. A Confederate sniper’s bullet meant for General Custer hit one of the church tower’s bells instead.
ZUCC was organized in December of 1770 as the First German Reformed Church, and was during the U.S. War between the States and later called the Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church before the church assumed its current name. Ten American Revolutionary War veterans are buried in the ZUCC cemetery.
+ The Historical Marker Database, 703 924-6108, publisher@hmdb.org
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[13] Hungarian Freedom Fighter Joseph Szarka, 78, Dies 8 July 2009
Hungarian freedom fighter Joseph Szarka 78, died 8 July 2009 of age-related illnesses. In 1956, Szarka moved from his home in Bicske, Hungary, to live in the United States after unsuccessfully battling the Soviet-controlled Hungarian government.
Joseph Szarka was a well-known figure in the Hungarian community of greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. Szarka served as president of the McKeesport (Pennsylvania) Hungarian Social Club, the Pioneer Old Hungarian Family, and the McKeesport (Pennsylvania) Hungarian Dance Group. Szarka additionally was a member of the American-Hungarian Social Association of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) and a chief elder and sat on the church council at the Free Hungarian Reformed Church of McKeesport (Pennsylvania), where he was a member for fifty-two years.
Joseph Szarka is survived by five daughters, two sisters, and eight grandchildren. Funeral services were held 13 July 2009 at the Free Hungarian Reformed Church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.
+ Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 34 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222, 412-263-1100
+ 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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[14] Oak Hill Christian School Offering Online High School Biology and Chemistry
Oak Hill Christian School is offering, for the 2009-2010 school year, live and fully interactive online high school biology and chemistry classes utilizing Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. The cost per class for the school year is US$410 plus the cost of books.
A downloadable, printable class registration form is available here:
http://www.oakhillcs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/registration.pdf
+ Oak Hill Christian School, 11480 Sunset Hills Rd., Reston, Virginia 20190. 703-796-6887, office@oakhillcs.com
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Answers in Genesis is offering, through 30 September 2009, free access to the online digital edition of the April-June 2009 Answers magazine here:
+ Answers in Genesis, 2800 Bullittsburg Church Road, Petersburg, Kentucky 41080, 859-727-2222
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[16] PCA Historical Center Acquires Abraham Lance Lathem Papers
The PCA Historical Center, an archive and manuscript repository for the Continuing Presbyterian Church, announces the acquisition of the papers of Abraham Lance Lathem including Lathem’s sermon notes, Summer Bible School curriculum and correspondence, and historical notes on the churches served by Dr. Lathem.
+ PCA Historical Center, 12330 Conway Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63141, 314-469-9077, archivist@pcahistory.org
+ 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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[17] Full Bible Publications Offers Two New Books
Full Bible Publications, the book publishing arm of the Christian Observer, is offering two new books:
1) 52 Reformed Sermon Outlines contains fifty-two Reformed sermon outlines by Dr. Edwin Elliott, Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Manassas, Virginia, and Publisher of the Christian Observer. The cost for download is US$2.50, and the cost for the printed edition is US$12.50 plus shipping.
2) The Heidelberg Catechism (Paraphrased) contains a paraphrase of the Heidelberg Catechism by Dr. Chuck Baynard (Pastor of Clover Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Clover, South Carolina, and Associate Editor of the Christian Observer) with commentary as needed and the original Heidelberg Catechism text preserved as footnotes, plus fifty-two sermon outlines by Dr. Edwin Elliott based on the fifty-two Lord’s Days of the Heidelberg Catechism. The cost for download is US$2.50, and the cost for the printed edition is US$15.95 plus shipping.
+ Christian Observer, 9400 Fairview Avenue, Manassas, Virginia 20110, 703-335-2844, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
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