29 April 2009
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Death of Anglican Priest and Theologian the Rev. Dr. Peter Toon
[2] Death of Dr. Robert Kofahl
[3] Death of Sara Parkinson Pressly
[4] Amendment B to Weaken PCUSA Fidelity and Chastity Amendment (G-6.0106b) Defeated
[5] PCUSA Reaffirms Call for Nuclear Disarmament
[6] Miss California USA Excoriated by Homosexual Judge After Pageant Interview Defense of Biblical Marriage
[7] Connecticut Governor Signs Bill Legalizing Homosexual Marriage with Exemption for Religious Objectors
[8] Church of Scotland May Lose Sixteen Percent of Ministers if 2009 General Assembly Allows Ordination of Homosexual Minister
[9] Alliance Defense Fund Offers Free Legal Defense to Iowa County Recorder Employees that Conscientiously Object to Issuing Marriage Licenses to Homosexual Couples
[10] United Church of Christ Minister to Receive Clergy Credentials in the Metropolitan Community Churches Denomination
[11] U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Passes Hate Crimes Act
[12] Thirty-Two Members of U.S. House of Representatives, Urge U.S. President barrack Hussein Obama to Withdraw Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius Nomination
[13] Dominican Republic Legislators Amend Constitution Affirming Right to Life from Conception to Death
[15] Muslim Taliban Terrorists Leave Trail of Murder, Arson, and Sexual Assault in Taiser Town, Pakistan
[16] Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Hosts 1 May 2009 Lectures on the Legacy of John Calvin
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[1] Death of Anglican Priest and Theologian the Rev. Dr. Peter Toon
Anglican priest and theologian the Rev. Dr. Peter Toon, 69, died 25 April 2009 in San Diego, California after a year-long battle with amyloidosis, a rare disease where an abnormal protein builds up in the body’s organs and tissue.
Dr. Toon attended Cliff College in Sheffield, England; King’s College in London, England; The University of Liverpool, England; and Christ Church, Oxford University in England. He held three Masters’ degrees and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oxford.
Dr. Toon was ordained in the Church of England in 1973 and served parishes in both England and the United States. Toon served for ten years at the Prayer Book Society of the United States of America (PBSUSA) as its President and C.E.O.
Dr. Toon is survived by his wife of forty-seven years Vita, their daughter, Deborah, and son-in-law Michael.
Dr. Toon was described by PBSUSA colleague Dr. Roberta Bayer as, “…the most vocal and prolific defender of the theology of the Anglican Reformation and the traditional Book of Common Prayer over the last decades. The absence of his voice on so many issues facing the church today will be an irreparable loss. Clarity of mind, depth of knowledge, and vigor of presentation marked his work, making his arguments both distinctive and convincing. An evangelist like St. Mark, he was a lion of the faith.”
+ VirtueOnline, 1236 Waterford Road, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380
+ Church of England, Church House, Great Smith Street, Westminster, SW1P 3AZ, England, 44-0-20-7898-1000
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[2] Death of Dr. Robert Kofahl
Former Highland College president and creation scientist Dr. Robert Kofahl died 24 April 2009.
Dr. Kofahl earned a B.S. and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, and was the cofounder of the Caltech Christian Fellowship. In 1972, after twenty-one years of service as a faculty member and administrator at Highland College, Dr. Kofahl joined the staff of the Creation-Science Research Center in San Diego, California, where he served as Science Coordinator.
A funeral service for Dr. Kofahl was held 28 April 2009 at the Calvary Presbyterian Church in Glendale, California.
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[3] Death of Sara Parkinson Pressly
Sara Parkinson Pressly, 95, widow of the Rev. Henry E. Pressly, died 15 April 2009. Dr. Pressly had served as pastor of the Tabernacle Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Church in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1950 until his retirement in 1980. Mrs. Pressly’s father, Dr. Gilbert Gordon Parkinson, taught at Erskine Seminary in Due West, South Carolina, for 50 years.
Funeral services were held on 19 April 2009 at the First ARP Church in Statesville, North Carolina.
Mrs. Pressly is survived by a daughter, Margaret Rose Pressly, and a son, Gordon Hearst Pressly.
+ 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] Amendment B to Weaken PCUSA Fidelity and Chastity Amendment (G-6.0106b) Defeated
The Presbyterian Coalition (TPC) on 25 April 2009 announced that the Presbytery of Northern Plains of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) had cast the deciding vote that defeated Amendment B, which was designed to weaken the Fidelity and Chastity Amendment of the PCUSA Constitution’s ordination standards that forbid sexual behavior outside the marriage of a man and a woman.
TPC stated, “In spite of cultural pressures to normalize non-marital relations, the [PCUSA] stands with the Body of Christ around the world and across the ages in affirming God’s plan for marriage as the proper place for human sexual intimacy. The effort to substitute a meaningless paragraph for the current language of “fidelity and chastity” in the [PCUSA]’s constitution has failed in the recent round of voting by presbyteries. The decision means that examinations of and judgments about candidates for office, based on the [General Assembly]’s response to the Peace, Unity, and Purity report of 2006, must comply with this explicit standard, which has just been reaffirmed by the presbyteries.”
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
+ The Presbyterian Coalition, 4604 Grove Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23226, 804-615-3243, office@presbycoalition.org
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[5] PCUSA Reaffirms Call for Nuclear Disarmament
In support of U.S. President Barrack Hussein Obama’s 5 April 2009 call while in Prague, Czech Republic, for worldwide nuclear disarmament, the Presbyterian Washington Office and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program are urging Presbyterians to contact their U.S. Senators with the message: “Work for a world free of nuclear weapons.”
Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) General Assemblies for more than 50 years have been calling for worldwide nuclear disarmament.
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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[6] Miss California USA Excoriated by Homosexual Judge After Pageant Interview Defense of Biblical Marriage
Miss California USA Carrie Prejean was asked by pageant judge and homosexual Perez Hilton about Prejean’s views on homosexual marriage during her interview as a finalist for the 2009 Miss USA competition, and Prejean’s answer reflected the biblical precepts of marriage that she had been taught growing up in a Christian home.
Hilton’s reaction was to threaten to knock the tiara off of Prejean’s head if she were to win the pageant, and to call Prejean several obscene names. Hilton additionally condemned Prejean for sharing her “political and religious views,” even though Hilton was the one that asked the question.
Prejean’s honest answer to judge Hilton likely cost her the Miss USA crown. Prejean said later during a Today Show interview that her answer had been guided by “biblical correctness” rather than “political correctness.”
+ Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995, 800-232-6459
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[7] Connecticut Governor Signs Bill Legalizing Homosexual Marriage with Exemption for Religious Objectors
Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell on 23 April 2009 signed a bill confirming the October 2008 ruling of the Connecticut Supreme Court legalizing homosexual marriage. In April 2005, Governor Rell signed a bill creating same-sex civil unions in Connecticut.
The Connecticut House and Senate passed the current bill only after an amendment was added that provides an exemption to groups that object to homosexual marriage on religious grounds.
+ The Hartford Courant, 285 Broad Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06115, 860-241-6200
A poll by the Sunday Times of fifty Church of Scotland (COS) ministers found that eight of the fifty may quit the denomination if the 2009 general assembly does not overturn the decision to appoint and ordain an openly homosexual minister to the Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen, Scotland.
In a related matter, the Presbytery of Lochcarron-Skye has lodged a motion at the COS general assembly calling for practicing homosexuals and unmarried co-habitees to be banned from the ministry.
+ VirtueOnline, 1236 Waterford Road, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 4YN, 0131-225-5722
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[9] Alliance Defense Fund Offers Free Legal Defense to Iowa County Recorder Employees that Conscientiously Object to Issuing Marriage Licenses to Homosexual Couples
A joint Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and Iowa Family Policy Center letter issued 22 April 2009 offers free legal defense by ADF attorneys to county recorder offices that adopt a policy protecting employee rights of conscience. Right of conscience policies would protect objecting employees from being forced to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if doing so would violate the employee’s conscience.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller distributed a statement 21 April 2009 to county recorders threatening legal action against any recorder’s office that does not abide by the Iowa Supreme Court‘s 3 April 2009 decision striking down Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act.
+ Alliance Defense Fund, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025
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[10] United Church of Christ Minister to Receive Clergy Credentials in the Metropolitan Community Churches Denomination
United Church of Christ minister and presiding bishop of The Fellowship, Bishop Yvette Flunder, will receive clergy credentials in Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) on 3 May 2009 at the 11:00 a.m. worship service of Metropolitan Community Church of Washington DC.
MCC describes itself as the world’s largest and oldest Christian denomination with a primary affirming ministry to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons, along with their families, friends, and allies.
+ National Council of Churches, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 880, New York, New York 10115
+ Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, 1500 Industrial Blvd., Suite 210, Abilene, Texas 79602, 310-360-8640, Fax: 325-690-6328, info@mccchurch.net
+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org
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[11] U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Passes Hate Crimes Act
The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, on 23 April 2009 in a fifteen to twelve vote, passed the Hate Crimes Act, which will now be advanced to the full legislative body for further action.
The act adds gay, lesbian, and transgender people to the list of federally protected classes, and there is concern that the act will be used to criminalize Christians who preach and teach the biblical view of sexuality.
+ American Center for Law and Justice, Post Office Box 90555, Washington DC 20090, 757-226-2489, Fax: 757-226-2836
Thirty-two members of the U.S. House of Representatives on 28 April 2009 issued a letter to President Barack Hussein Obama asking that the nomination of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius for Health and Human Services secretary be withdrawn. Representatives sending the letter include Representative Todd Tiahrt from the nominee’s home state of Kansas.
The letter asks President Obama to withdraw the nominee “in light of her close collaboration with the abortion industry…We are deeply disappointed by this nomination and believe a nominee to such an important position should, at the very least, not have commitments to the morally reprehensible practice of providing abortion in almost every circumstance. For these reasons, we respectfully request that you withdraw your nomination of Kathleen Sebelius for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.”
Sebelius was subsequently confirmed by the U.S. Senate on the evening of 28 April 2009 as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services by a roll call vote of sixty-five to thirty-one.
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Associated Press, 450 West 33rd Street, New York, New York 10001, 212-621-1500, info@ap.org
+ Operation Rescue, Post Office Box 782888, Wichita, Kansas 67278-2888, 800-705-1175, Fax: 916-244-2636, info@operationrescue.org
[13] Dominican Republic Legislators Amend Constitution Affirming Right to Life from Conception to Death
Legislators in the Dominican Republic on 21 April 2009 amended their country’s constitution by a vote of 167 to 32 to state that “the right to life is inviolable from conception until death.” The constitutional amendment was precipitated by international pro-abortion groups seeking to decriminalize abortion in the Dominican Republic.
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Personhood USA, Post Office Box 486, Arvada, Colorado 80001, 202-595-3500
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[14] Assyrian Genocide Studies Center Launches Website
The Assyrian Genocide Studies Center has launched a website at http://www.seyfocenter.com to assist in the effort for international recognition of the Armenian genocide perpetrated by the Muslim Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1918 during World War One (WWI) in which 1.5 million Christian Armenians and Assyrians were killed.
Prior to 1915 and WWI, thirty-three percent of the inhabitants of Turkey were Christian (Assyrians, Armenian, and Pontus Greeks). Today, only 0.1 percent of the Turkish population are Christians, including several thousand Assyrians.
+ Assyrian International News Agency
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[15] Muslim Taliban Terrorists Leave Trail of Murder, Arson, and Sexual Assault in Taiser Town, Pakistan
Muslim Taliban terrorists on 19 April 2009 invaded Taiser Town, in Karachi, Pakistan, leaving messages on the walls of two churches reading “Long Live the Taliban,” “Talibanization is our goal,” and “Embrace Islam or Prepare to Die.”
On 21 April 2009, Christian residents staged, in vain, a protest in hope of attracting protection from the local government. The same evening, more than 100 masked terrorists invaded Taiser Town with automatic rifles.
The Taliban attackers entered homes, pillaged money and jewelry, abused the women, and burned their property. The Taliban leaders shouted, “You infidels have to convert to Islam or die. Why did you wash up warnings inscribed on walls of church and home doors?”
The terrorists sexually assaulted several women and physically abused dozens more with clubs, iron rods, and whips. Several homes were set on fire by the terrorists. When two Christians resisted, the militants killed them execution-style directly in front of their families.
Jeremy Sewall, Advocacy Director for International Christian Concern, said, “The Pakistani government has created an opening for terrorists to attack Christians indiscriminately by acceding to their demands in the Swat Valley. Formerly, Christians in the major cities of Pakistan experienced discrimination, but up till now they had not had to fear threats of forced conversion or execution on a wide scale. This attack is a harbinger of worse to come if the Pakistani government continues to cower in the face of Muslim radicals.”
+ Assyrian International News Agency
+ 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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[16] Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Hosts 1 May 2009 Lectures on the Legacy of John Calvin
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is holding the annual J. Hubert Henderson Conference on Church and Ministry on 1 May 2009. Dr. John D. Witvliet, associate professor of worship and director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, will present three lectures on the theme “The Legacy of John Calvin and the Renewal of Christian Worship”. All events are free and open to the public.
Lectures include “Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord: The Shaping of Public Worship in Calvin’s Geneva” at 11:30 a.m., “Bless the Lord, O My Soul: The Biblical Psalms as the People’s Prayerbook in Reformed and Presbyterian Worship” at 2:30 p.m., and “Lift Up Your Hearts: Theological Imagination and Calvin’s Legacy for Contemporary Christians” at 4:30 p.m.
+ Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 North Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206, 412-362-5610, Fax: 412-363-3260
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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