8 June 2022
“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[2] America’s Mass School Shootings
[3] Buffalo Pro-life Pregnancy Center, CompassCare, Firebombed
Additional Articles of Interest
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June 6, 2022
Dear RCA Community,
We were incensed to hear the reports out of the Southern Baptist Convention of sexual abuse, misconduct, and coverup by the male leadership. These charges come after an extensive year-long review by an outside agency. This news is tragic for all of us. There are countless victims who have been marginalized and dismissed. Most of these are women. Regrettably, we acknowledge this behavior is not limited to one denomination or group.
We must acknowledge the same disgraceful practice of covering up abuse and protecting abusers has happened in the RCA over time. This headline news calls us to renew our commitment to act with justice and compassion for victims of clergy sexual misconduct. We want to clearly say that such behavior and denial is unacceptable in the Christian community. Any leader who abuses his/her power must be removed from office and held accountable for his/her conduct.
We call on all of the classes, who have oversight of our ministers, to rededicate themselves to the following:
- We listen to any victim’s allegation with a posture of believing their account, and will thoroughly investigate all claims.
- We will protect victims from being retraumatized and guard their character.
- We will walk with victims until they have recovered from the trauma.
- We will not allow the transfer of a known sexual predator to any other ministry position, within the classis or in another classis.
- We will hold any predator accountable in the church and by the law for their conduct.
In 2018, the Reformed Church in America put forward a statement, We Are Speaking, that calls upon the church to work to end harassment, abuse, and sexual violence against women and girls. Here is a portion of that statement we need to hear again today:
If we keep silent, we are complicit in the continued dehumanization of women and girls.
If we keep silent, we fail to be coworkers with Christ in the renewal of the world and of the relationships between men and women.
If we keep silent, we ignore God’s call to be agents of change committed to ensuring that all people are treated with dignity.
We are speaking because we are committed to standing with and for women and girls who have experienced harassment, abuse, and sexual violence.
We are speaking because we are committed to seeking healthy ways for men and women to live and work together.
We invite everyone to renew their commitment to making our ministries places that are safe for women and men, all God’s children together to be restored to their full value as those who bear God’s image.
Rev. Phil Assink
General Synod president
Rev. Dwayne Jackson
General Synod Vice President
Rev. Eddy Alemán
General Secretary
+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org
[2] America’s Mass School Shootings
The latest mass school shooting in America occurred on May 24, when eighteen-year-old Salvador Ramos killed nineteen elementary school students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. While there were isolated incidences of gun violence in America’s public schools prior to the 1960s, there were no mass murders. The first was in August 1966, when twenty-five-year-old Charles Whitman killed sixteen and wounded thirty-one at the University of Texas-Austin. Since then, there have been thirteen or more mass school shootings, depending on how they are counted (“13 Mass School Shootings,” May 26, 2022, Reason.com). For example, in April 1999, eighteen-year-old Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered twelve students and a teacher at Columbine High School near Denver, then killed themselves. In March 2005, sixteen-year-old Jeffrey Weise killed seven students and staff at Red Lake High School in Minnesota. In April 2007, twenty-three-year-old Seung-Hui Cho killed thirty-two students and faculty at Virginia Tech. After each of these highly publicized events, new laws have been proposed, but for the most part they are political knee-jerk things that don’t address the fundamental issues. (Putting more guns into the hands of the right people would provide better protection.) America has always had a gun culture, but America has not always been as violent prone as today. A larger percentage of the American population owned guns in the first half of the 20th century and a larger percentage had military and other martial experience, but there were zero mass school shootings. The thing that has changed is America’s moral character and prevailing culture. We would list three of the fundamentals underlying this change. The first is the apostasy of America’s churches. The 20th century witnessed a great downgrade in the character of evangelical Protestant and Baptist churches. There was a large-scale disappearance of such basics as a regenerate membership, forthright preaching, church discipline, separation and a pilgrim lifestyle, fathers as spiritual heads of the home and overseers of the children’s education, and mothers as keepers of the home. A light-hearted party atmosphere replaced a holy atmosphere. The churches walked in lockstep with the world. The second fundamental was the rise of a vile, antichrist pop culture and entertainment industry. The music-driven youth culture blasted on the scene in the 1950s (preceded by the smaller jazz culture) and exploded in influence in the 1960s. With the self-centered theme, “It’s your life; do what you want,” it is in open rebellion to God and His holy laws and is a recipe for moral disaster. The pop culture and entertainment industry have grown progressively more corrupt and violent-prone with each passing decade, and the internet, smart phone, and social media have amplified the influence. A third fundamental was the philosophical corruption of the public school system. This began at the turn of the twentieth century and spread slowly, gaining ground more dramatically as the century progressed toward the halfway mark. Major turning points were the replacement of creationism with evolution and the rejection of the biblical view of God and man and absolute morals. The result has been evident for all to see. The moral difference between the America into which I was born in 1949 and the America that exists today is breathtaking. Mass school shootings are only one small element. The top two things that would bring real moral change to America are these: The first thing is spiritual revival in Bible-believing churches. The churches hold the key to this if they are willing to pay the price. Pastors must stop following and start leading. The second thing that could bring real moral change in America is the dismantling of the public educational system, including government-supported colleges and universities. At the very least, all of God’s redeemed people should stop supporting the public schools.
+ Way of Life Literature, Post Office Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, 519-652-2619, fbns@wayoflife.org
[3] Buffalo Pro-life Pregnancy Center, CompassCare, Firebombed
Early yesterday morning police and fire responded to smoke at CompassCare, a pro-life medical office in Buffalo. The building was firebombed. The windows in the reception room and nurses’ office were broken and fires lit. Graffiti on the building left by the arsonists refers to the abortion terrorist group Jane’s Revenge reading, “Jane Was Here.” The group took responsibility for a firebombing of a pro-life organization in Madison, WI in May. The organization vowed more of the same in other states as the Supreme Court Decision reversing Roe v. Wade nears and have been promoting to their communist followers what they have dubbed a “Night of Rage.”
CompassCare and other pro-life service centers have been the target of violence for months both online and in-person. Ironically, New York’s Governor not only ignored the violence but instead earmarked $35 million in tax payer funds to increase security at abortion clinics. Adding insult to injury the New York legislature passed a bill investigating pro-life pregnancy centers precisely because they do not perform abortions.
CompassCare’s CEO, Jim Harden says, “This is the pro-abortion ‘Kristallnacht.’ Because of this act of violence, the needs of women facing unplanned pregnancy will go unmet and babies will die. I wonder if Gov. Hochul will veto the Pregnancy Center Investigation Bill? I wonder if Attorney General Letitia James will investigate these cowardly criminals? CompassCare will rebuild. Because women deserve better. CompassCare will not stop because pre-born boys and girls deserve protection.”
SOURCE CompassCare
CONTACT: James R. Harden, M.Div. President/CEO, 585-820-7229, jim.harden@compasscare.info; facebook.com/compasscarecommunity; Twitter @compasscare
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
Additional Articles of Interest
– Study: Face Masks Contributed to High COVID-19 Death Rates
– ARMING CRIMINALS: American Weapons Sent to Ukraine Are Ending Up for Sale on Dark Web
– Israeli Study Links COVID-19 Vaccines to Heart Failure in Young Adults
– Study Finds Athlete Deaths Are 1700 Percent Higher Than Expected Since COVID-19 Vaccination Began
– Left-Wing Extremists Planning to Storm D.C. to Stop Roe V. Wade from Being Overturned
– FDA Warns of CARDIAC INFLAMMATION Risk Linked to the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine
– New York Legislature Passes Bill To Investigate Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers For Not Doing Abortions
– 1,287,595 Injuries Reported After COVID Shots, Vaccine Injury Compensation Programs ‘Overwhelmed’
– The Collapse of the Global Food System – Massive Starvation and Death Worldwide is now Imminent
– California Farm Water Coalition Warns Domestic Food Supply In Peril with State Cutting Water
– Cases of Brain Damage in Children Skyrocket Following COVID-19 Vaccines
– Masking: More Harms Than Good?
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