28 January 2009

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Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] PCA Central Carolina Presbytery Passes Constitutional Revision Overture Granting Biblical Marriage Exclusivity Full Constitutional Authority
[2] Myanmar Officials Close Christian Churches
[3] 63^rd Annual Conference of The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyter’s Association Announced
[4] Presbyterian Church of Wales Moderator Calls for Tolerance in His Christmas 2008 Message
[5] Calvin College V.P. to Become CRWRC Director of Constituency Relations and Development
[6] EPC’s Z-4:10 Network Announces Small Church Networking Conference 16-18 March 2009 in Huntersville, North Carolina
[7] Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) Teaching Elder Explains Development of Covenant Eyes Internet Pornography Filter
[8] United Reformed Church and Methodist Church in the United Kingdom Endorse Africa Day of Prayer Held 25 January 2009
[9] Reformed Church in America General Secretary Finds Inspiration in U.S. President Barrack Hussein Obama’s Call for Responsibility
[10] RCA U.S. Army Chaplain Clark V. Poling Among Honored at 65^th Four Chaplains Memorial Service
[11] Observing the Sabbath on the Isle of Harris, Scotland Contravenes Equality Legislation Says SportScotland
[12] Church of Scotland Minister Convinces Restaurant to Open on Sundays
[13] Scotland’s Former First Minister Refused Act of Succession Repeal to Prevent Ulster Unionist Backlash
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[1] PCA Central Carolina Presbytery Passes Constitutional Revision Overture Granting Biblical Marriage Exclusivity Full Constitutional Authority

The Central Carolina Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), in its stated meeting of 24 January 2009, passed an overture to amend the PCA Book of Church Order – Chapter 59 The Solemnization of Marriage – to remove wording that binds obedience to civil law on matters of marriage, and enjoins ministers to perform only marriages that “do not transgress the laws of God”; then begins the process of granting Chapter 59 full constitutional authority.

The overture was undertaken in response to worldwide and domestic legislation and court orders legalizing homosexual marriage and compelling churches and ministers to accommodate these marriages.

+ Central Carolina Presbytery, 2517 Rosegate Lane, Charlotte, North Carolina 28270, 704-907-7479, clerk@ccpca.net

+ 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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[2] Myanmar Officials Close Christian Churches

Authorities in Rangoon, Myanmar (Burma), during the week of 11 January 2009, increased restrictions on Christian activity in the city and in the surrounding areas.

Several major city churches, including Wather Hope Church, Emmanuel Church and the Assemblies of God Church, were forbidden from holding church services, and a 5 January 2009 ban on Christians meeting in “unauthorized” places (residences) was continued.

The Burmese news agency Mizzima quoted an unnamed Burmese Christian who claimed that 80 percent of churches in Rangoon were affected by the order.

+ 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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[3] 63^rd Annual Conference of The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyter’s Association Announced

The 63^rd Annual Conference of The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyter’s Association will be held at the Bethlen Communities Conference Room in Ligonier, Pennsylvania on 22-23 August 2009. Members of consistories, presbyteries, church councils, and their families and guests are cordially invited to attend.

+ The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyter’s Association, c/o Wilburn A. Roby Jr., President, 264 Old Plank Road, Butler, Pennsylvania 16002, 724-285-8851, warajr@embarqmail.com

+ The Bethlen Communities, 125 Kalassay Drive, Ligonier, Pennsylvania 15658-8726 724-238-2235 RevImre@bethlen.com

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[4] Presbyterian Church of Wales Moderator Calls for Tolerance in His Christmas 2008 Message

In his Christmas 2008 Presbyterian Church of Wales (PCW) Moderator’s message, the Rev. Haydn Thomas of Cardiff, Wales defined ‘Good will to all men’ as “…showing tolerance towards all people, no matter what their creed, race, gender or politics.”

Thomas decried two National Assembly of Wales members, “…who made a show of inviting the poet Patrick Jones to insult Jesus Christ by reading his poems at the National Assembly. It is regrettable that such persons represent us, but Christians have been persecuted for two thousand years, and still face violent persecution in places like the Indian state of Orissa. We can rise above such offence and show tolerance towards people with different views from us.”

Thomas urged that “…we show the value of Christian work and love…” and said that, “…good will must extend beyond the first of January.”

The PCW Moderator closed his message saying, “Let us all celebrate Jesus’ life as well as his coming – and remember his tolerance and love towards everyone he met, over Christmas and during the whole of 2009.”

+ 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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[5] Calvin College V.P. to Become CRWRC Director of Constituency Relations and Development

The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee announced on 15 January 2009 that Tom McWhertor, currently vice president for enrollment and external programs at Calvin College, has accepted the position of Director of Constituency Relations and Development for the Christian Reformed Church‘s relief and development agency, and will begin working in that position on 23 February 2009.

+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org
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[6] EPC’s Z-4:10 Network Announces Small Church Networking Conference 16-18 March 2009 in Huntersville, North Carolina

The Z-4:10 Network, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s (EPC) small church support group, is hosting a networking conference for leaders of small churches 16-18 March 2009 at Lake Forest Church in Huntersville, North Carolina. For information about the conference and registration, please visit http://www.epc.org/event/2009-03-16-z-410-networking-conference-for-small-church-leaders.

+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 17197 North Laurel Park Drive Suite 567, Livonia, Michigan 48152, 734-742-2020, Fax: 734-742-2033, webmaster@epc.org
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[7] Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) Teaching Elder Explains Development of Covenant Eyes Internet Pornography Filter

Teaching Elder Dr. Don E. Galardi of Community EPC in Owosso, Michigan in the 22 January 2009 edition of EPNews tells how twenty-five years ago he represented the EPC as a two-year delegate to the National Coalition Against Pornography (today called the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families), and how no one then would have imagined today’s proliferation and access to pornography due to the World Wide Web.

Dr. Galardi explains that Community EPC Ruling Elder Ron DeHaas asked his computer whiz son-in-law, Collin Rose, the son of EPC Teaching Elder Jim Rose, about some way for him to have greater oversight of his family’s use of the Internet as it relates to pornography.

Rose’s answer was to develop the “Covenant Eyes” pornography filter and accountability tool that presently has more than 53,000 subscribers worldwide.

Galardi concludes: “Internet pornography is the hidden sin in many church members’ lives, which routinely affects the spiritual health of congregations. Consider promoting its use among your church members. It is the most useful tool I know of in protecting our families and church staff from the subtle ploys of the evil one. It is tested, proven, and effective in dealing with ungodliness that is beamed through the screens of PCs found in our homes, work places and church buildings.”

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

+ Covenant Eyes, Inc., 1525 West King Street, Owosso, Michigan 48867, 989-743-1100, info@covenanteyes.com

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[8] United Reformed Church and Methodist Church in the United Kingdom Endorse Africa Day of Prayer Held 25 January 2009

The United Reformed Church (URCUK) and the Methodist Church in the United Kingdom endorsed and urged participation in the call by the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) for an Africa Day of Prayer on 25 January 2009 in which the suffering people of Zimbabwe were remembered in prayer.

Zimbabwe is suffering a cholera epidemic, with about 40 thousand people already infected and 1800 dead. Food is scarce, political violence continues, and schools have not been able to run properly due to the financial and social crisis.

Zimbabwe has been ruled by the Marxist dictator Robert Mugabe since coming to power in 1980 in the country formerly called Rhodesia.

+ AllAfrica.com, 920 M Street Southeast, Washington DC 20003, 202- 546-0777, Fax: 202-546-0676

+ United Reformed Church, Church House, 86 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RT, England, 020-7916-2020, Fax: 020-7916-2021, urc@urc.org.uk

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[9] Reformed Church in America General Secretary Finds Inspiration in U.S. President Barrack Hussein Obama’s Call for Responsibility

Responding to U.S. President Barrack Hussein Obama’s inauguration speech where Obama called for overcoming daunting problems with common purpose and shared responsibility, Reformed Church in America General Secretary the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson said that the speech was a turning point that has Americans “filled with hope” and “hungry for that kind of a future.”

Hope College graduate and son of Granberg-Michaelson, J.K., said of the presidential inauguration, “”It’s wonderful just to see more people than I’ve ever seen in one place, all united by the love we have for our country and the hope for our new president.”

+ The Grand Rapids Press, 155 Michigan Street Northwest, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, 616-222-5818, dgaydou@grpress.com

+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org
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[10] RCA U.S. Army Chaplain Clark V. Poling Among Honored at 65^th Four Chaplains Memorial Service

The 65^th Annual Four Chaplains Memorial Service was held 25 January 2009 at New Bedford, Massachusetts’ Seamen’s Bethel to honor the four U.S. Army chaplains who sacrificed their own lives by giving their life jackets to other soldiers aboard the USAT Dorchester troop ship that sank off the coast of Greenland on 3 February 1943 after being struck by an enemy torpedo.

One of the four, Chaplain First Lieutenant Clark V. Poling, was an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America and served at the First Church of Christ in New London, Connecticut and at the First Reformed Church in Schenectady, New York, before entering the chaplaincy shortly after the start of World War II.

The four clergymen linked arms, sang hymns and prayed as the Dorchester went down, and survivors reported that the last thing they heard as the ship slipped beneath the north Atlantic water was the Lord’s Prayer. Each was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart posthumously.

The editor remembers in the early 1960’s seeing a depiction of the four Dorchester chaplains in their final moments at a now long-closed wax museum in Washington DC.

+ The Standard Times, 25 Elm Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts 02740, 508-979-4440, Newsroom@S-T.com

+ Arlington National Cemetery Website

+ Reformed Church in America,4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org
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[11] Observing the Sabbath on the Isle of Harris, Scotland Contravenes Equality Legislation Says SportScotland

The Isle of Harris Golf Club on the Isle of Harris, Scotland observes the Sabbath by closing on Sundays as do the other public facilities on the island, as is common on the predominantly protestant western islands of Scotland.

The Golf Club has applied for a GB£75 thousand grant from SportScotland, the Scots national sports agency, to fund improvements to the golf course. Though the grant application remains under consideration, the chairman of SportScotland, Louise Martin, believes that Sabbath observation by public entities in many of the western islands of Scotland violates equality legislation enacted in 2006 that forbids funding entities not accessible by all religions and beliefs, and several other categories.

SportScotland is proposing a compromise whereby golf course employees would be off on Sundays, but golfers could pay using an honor system. Free Church of Scotland at Leverburgh, Isle of Harris minister the Rev. Ruairidh Maclean says “I would not be terribly happy with this and I would imagine a significant proportion of the community would not be happy.”

Under the proposed improvements, Highland and Islands Enterprise and Western Isles Council would pay the additional GB£75 thousand required to complete the renovations, but they do not insist that the golf course be opened on Sundays.
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+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 8AS, 0131-620-8620

+ 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

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[12] Church of Scotland Minister Convinces Restaurant to Open on Sundays

Church of Scotland minister the Rev. Marion Dodd, a regular customer at Le Jardin in The Knowles, Kelso, Scotland, suggested to owner John Robertson that he begin opening on Sundays. Robertson said, “I was very surprised that a minister of all people would ask us to open on the Sabbath, but after discussing it with my wife we decided to give it a shot and follow pastoral advice.”

Dodd wanted her congregation to help the business out as trade slowed at the end of the tourist season, even stopping one of her Sunday morning services after the sermon to invite people to join her at the cafe and finish worship there. Instead of having the usual collection on that Sunday, members of the congregation were encouraged to buy tea and cakes.

In an effort to better link the church with the local community, the Kirk Session is now exploring plans to hold occasional services and other events at the eatery.
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+ Christian Today, 200 Great Dover Street, London SE1 4YB, England, 44-0-20-7378-5705

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

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[13] Scotland’s Former First Minister Refused Act of Succession Repeal to Prevent Ulster Unionist Backlash

Former First Minister of Scotland, Donald Dewar, in 1999 fought repeal of the Act of Settlement to prevent the alienation of Ulster unionists, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The 1701 Act of Settlement says that no Catholic can inherit the crown and any member of the royal family who marries a Catholic is barred from succession to the crown unless his or her spouse agrees to renounce the Catholic faith.
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+ The London Times, Times House, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1TT, England, 44-0-20-7782-5971, pressoffice@thetimes.co.uk

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