20 January 2010
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[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
[6] Minority of PCUSA Pastors, Elders, and Members Believe Salvation Exclusively through Jesus Christ
[8] Ponds Reformed Church of Oakland, New Jersey, Celebrates Tercentenary
[10] EPC Small Church Leaders Conference 3-5 March 2010 in Lakewood, Colorado
[12] Presbyterian and Reformed Communities Providing Disaster Relief to Haiti
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:
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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
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
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
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 300th 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 18th 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
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
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:
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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
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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/
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and contributions designated “Haitieen Project Coram Deo” can be made at:
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+ 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
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