15 June 2011
Presbyterians Week Headlines
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[1] New Bill in Great Britain’s House of Lords Seeks to Stop Sharia Court Encroachments
[4] Muslim Extremists in Nigeria Murder Church Pastor and Church Secretary 7 June 2011
[6] Church of Scotland Parishes Plan to Leave Kirk over Loosened Restrictions on Homosexual Ministers
[7] June 2011 Reformation Voice Available for Download
[8] Christian Reformed Church in North America Synod 2011 Approves Paedocommunion
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[1] New Bill in Great Britain’s House of Lords Seeks to Stop Sharia Court Encroachments
On 7 June 2011, a bill designed to stop Muslim Sharia law courts from falsely claiming legal jurisdiction over criminal or family law in England and Wales was introduced in Great Britain’s House of Lords by Baroness Cox. The bill is additionally supported by The Christian Institute and the National Secular Society.
Under the Bill, it will become a crime punishable by up to five years in prison to falsely claim legal jurisdiction over criminal or family law.
The Bill makes clear that laws against sex discrimination apply to arbitration tribunals, firmly outlawing the Sharia practice of treating a woman’s testimony as being worth half that of a man’s.
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+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk
+ National Secular Society, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL, England, 20- 7404-3126, 870-762-8971, enquiries@secularism.org.uk
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A 7 June 2011 ASSIST News Service article by Jeremy Reynalds titled “Christian Fears over Sharia Courts Bill in Uganda” reports that Ugandan Christian leaders are warning that life will get worse for non-Muslims under proposed legislation that would give Sharia rulings the force of law.
The Muslim Personal Law Bill would give more power to Islamic Kadhi courts for Muslims on matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance, and the Christian leaders fear that the bill could promote Islamic extremism and pave the way for a wider application of Sharia in the predominantly Christian country. Muslims have been evading questions about how the bill would apply to Muslims that convert to Christianity, considered the capital crime of “blasphemy” under Islamic law.
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+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
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An 8 June 2011 ASSIST News Service article by Jeremy Reynalds titled “Reports of Victims of Forced Conversions to Islam, Rapes and Forced Marriages” reports that Pakistani girls from the Christian and Hindu religious minorities are facing increasing instances of forced conversion to Islam, along with being raped by and being forced to marry Muslim men.
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+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
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[4] Muslim Extremists in Nigeria Murder Church Pastor and Church Secretary 7 June 2011
A 12 June 2011 ASSIST News Service article titled “Pastor, Church Official Shot Dead in Nigeria: Muslim Militants of Boko Haram Blamed for Killings in Borno State” reports that Church of Christ in Nigeria pastor Rev. David Usman and church secretary Hamman Andrew were murdered in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria, on 7 June 2011 by Muslim extremists from the Boko Haram sect. The Boko Haram sect seeks to impose Sharia law on northern Nigeria.
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+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ Church of Christ in Nigeria, No 5 Noad Avenue, PMB 2127, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, 234-73-453679, info@cocin-ng.org
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A 14 June 2011 article by Nicole Marshall in the Tulsa World titled “Police Captain Suspended for Two Weeks Without Pay Over Mosque Dispute” reports that Tulsa, Oklahoma, Police Captain Paul Fields, a Christian, has been suspended without pay for two weeks for refusing to attend a 4 March 2011 Law Enforcement Appreciation Day at the mosque of the Islamic Society of Tulsa, and for refusing to force other police officers under his command that shared the same religious convictions to attend the event.
The Tulsa Police cited Captain Fields for “actions and writings that were made public [that] brought discredit upon the department related to furnishing officers to attend.”
Captain Fields has filed a federal lawsuit for First Amendment violations against Deputy Police Chief Daryl Webster who originally gave the order, then later added Police Chief Chuck Jordan and the city of Tulsa as defendants.
Captain Fields is represented by the Thomas More Law Center.
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+ Tulsa World, 315 South Boulder Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103, 918-581-8400, news@tulsaworld.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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[6] Church of Scotland Parishes Plan to Leave Kirk over Loosened Restrictions on Homosexual Ministers
A 9 June 2011 BBC article titled “Aberdeen Church Could ‘Break Away’ over Gay Ministers” reports that Gilcomston South Church in Union Street (GSC), of Aberdeen, Scotland, is expected to vote leave the Church of Scotland (CoS) because of the CoS 2011 General Assembly decision to allow the appointment of homosexual ministers.
GSC minister the Rev. Dominic Smart said: “The thing we disagree with is the way in which the Bible seems to have been [marginalized]….Our decision is not a knee-jerk reaction. It is the culmination of careful study, sincere discussion and prayer over the past two-and-a-half years….We have weighed up many different options and believe the decision we have reached has the most integrity….Our decision comes from a view shared by most Christians.”
A 14 June 2011 STV article by Shiona McCallum titled “More Parishes Could ‘Quit’ over Gay Church of Scotland Clergy” reports that two additional CoS churches, St. Kane’s at New Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and Stornoway High Church in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, are expected to leave the CoS for the same reasons.
A 10 June 2011 Belfast Telegraph article by Alf McCreary titled “Presbyterian Church ‘Alarm’ over Gay Clergy” reports that the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) 2011 General Assembly, meeting 6-9 June 2011, discussed the recent CoS actions regarding homosexual clergy, with former PCI moderator the Very Rev. Dr. John Lockington saying that the CoS actions have caused “much disquiet, disappointment and even alarm” within the PCI.
The PCI voted favorably 8 June 2011 on a resolution to “view with concern the deliverances of the Church of Scotland on the Report of the Special Commission”.
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+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398
+ STV, Pacific Quay, Glasgow G51 1PQ, Scotland, 0141-300-3704, yourview@stv.tv
+ Belfast Telegraph, 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1EB, Northern Ireland, 028-9026-4000, writeback@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
+ Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW, Northern Ireland, 028-9032-2284, Fax: 028-9041-7301, Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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[7] June 2011 Reformation Voice Available for Download
The June 2011 Reformation Voice is available for download at the Heidelberg Reformation Association website.
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+ Heidelberg Reformation Association, Rev. Howard Sloan, Secretary, 5543 Business 220, Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522
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[8] Christian Reformed Church in North America Synod 2011 Approves Paedocommunion
Synod 2011 of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) voted 13 June 2011 that baptized children will no longer be required to make a formal profession of faith before they can take part in the Lord’s Supper.
During the two-hour debate preceding the vote, some urged that the CRCNA should continue to require a profession of faith before someone participates in the Lord’s Supper, saying that it is important that a person understand and have professed belief in the confessional standards of the church before taking communion.
Others said the change is a good way to bring children more fully into the worship life of the church. By taking part in the Lord’s Supper, they will receive grace that can help them grow in their spiritual formation.
The change will now be adopted into the CRCNA’s Church Order.
A delegate from Classis Central Plains, the Rev. Ed Laarman, expressed concern about removing the requirement for profession of faith from the process leading to a person partaking in the Lord’s Supper.
“By moving this way, we are moving in a profoundly disturbing direction,” he said. “It is good to be building bridges (to allow young people to participate in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper), and yet (with this change) we don’t want them to subscribe to … what we believe.”
Mr. Laarman said it also disturbs him that each congregation will be asked to determine what is an age and ability appropriate time for children to take part in the Lord’s Supper. That can lead to confusion, he said.
Another delegate said he was “excited about welcoming children to the table, not based on their belief, but on the fact that they are members of the covenant.”
The synodical advisory committee also addressed and clarified the issue of parents wanting to present a child for dedication, instead of baptism, as part of the faith formation process. The committee made recommendations on how pastors should handle this issue.
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+ 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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