3 October 2007

Headlines:

[1] Sheldon Jackson College Eyes Future
[2] Indonesian Church Joins Protestant Church in The Netherlands
[3] Myanmar Seminary President Defies Church a nd Locks the Gates
[4] Ministry Incentive Program at Calvin Grows
[5] Anglicans Propose New Structure


[1] Sheldon Jackson College Eyes Future

Acknowledging that beleaguered Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska, will not reopen again as a four-year institution soon, officials at the Presbyterian-related school are trying to build a future for the college by focusing on what it has to offer the region. That's why the fish hatchery and aquarium remain open on campus with plans to reinstate a rural village leadership-training program also in the works. The college recently learned that it has received a US$1.5 million grant from the US Department of Commerce to expand the fish hatchery operation.

With the closure of SJC expected to hurt Sitka's economy, the college will lead from its strengths to meet the articular needs of the community, said school officials.

"The fish hatchery is an indispensable part of what Sheldon Jackson will become in the future and is central to the economy of southeast Alaska," said the Rev. David Dobler, president of Sheldon Jackson. "Therefore we will continue operation of the hatchery as the linchpin of our future as an institution."

Other possibilities include turning vacant dormitories into temporary housing for throngs of fishermen that pour into the small seaside town each year, or training Alaskan residents as teacher's aides.

After struggling financially for years, Alaska's oldest educational institution announced in late June that academic operations would be suspended for the 2007-2008 academic school year as trustees explore options for SJC's future. One hundred employees were laid off as a result.

Sheldon Jackson College has more than US$35 million in assets, primarily land and buildings, but has virtually no cash and US$11 million in debts.

+ Presbyterian Church (USA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202 (888) 728-7228


[2] Indonesian Church Joins Protestant Church in The Netherlands

The Indonesian Christian Congregations (PERKI Nederland) decided at its Sixth Congress on 30 September to join the Protestant Church in The Netherlands (PKN). PERKI gathers nine congregations of about 2,500 long-term ethnic Indonesian people living in the Netherlands and has had relationships with the predecessors of the PKN since 1930.

From its side, the PKN expressed its joy at this important step. Bas Plaisier, General Secretary of the PKN, said it was important for the PKN to include churches from immigrant groups. The PKN, Plaisier said, should be "a place for people of different cultures. I am happy that we can intensify our long-standing cooperation with PERKI in this way."

PERKI will join the PKN as a separate classis, a step that will require the PKN to change its church order. The PKN hopes this step will lead to others joining. In November, the PKN will also consider an associative relationship with the Alliance of Free Evangelical Congregations. (PKN)

+ Dr. B. Plaisier, General Secretary, PO Box 8399, 3503 RM Utrecht, The Netherlands

+ Reformed Ecumenical Council Secretariat, 2050 Breton Rd, SE, Suite 102, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546


[3] Myanmar Seminary President Defies Church a nd Locks the Gates

David Khobal, locked the doors of the Myanmar Seminary to all students, following a decision by the Christian Reformed Church of Myanmar not to reappoint him as president of the institution. Students coming into Yangon from the Chin State hills had to be housed at rented homes. The other teachers of the seminary are conducting classes in the living quarters of Chan Thleng, the CRCM General Secretary, who also houses about 15 female students there. Khobal, became Acting President in 2003, and then was appointed to a three-year term. Although the board recommended his continuation for a second term, the synod earlier this year voted down the recommendation. Khobal, apparently believing he had the strong support of a group of American donors, refused to accept the decision, and put a lock on the gates, after moving some of his relatives on to the campus. Now, the campus is empty except for these families, and the library, computers, student residences and classrooms remain unavailable.

Prior to 2003, Khobal was supported for study at the Mid America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. An ad hoc committee, known as the Christ Mission to Myanmar Committee (CMMC), had existed to support an earlier student from the CRCM, Aung Lai Matu, and it offered financial support to Khobal as well. It further invested in the seminary after Khobal was appointed President.

CMMC encouraged Khobal to find a way to make the seminary independent of the CRCM. The church resisted such moves. It had founded the seminary and governed it through its own synodical authorities. The property remains in the name of the treasurer of the church (a necessity under the Myanmar legal system, since only individuals, not churches, can own property), and the equipping of the property came through many donors, not just the American committee.

+ Reformed Ecumenical Council Secretariat, 2050 Breton Rd, SE, Suite 102, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

[4] Ministry Incentive Program at Calvin Grows

The largest single gift in Calvin Theological Seminary's history will boost a tuition loan fund that could help replenish the ranks of Christian Reformed Church pastors over the next 35 years. The Ministry Incentive Program, which provides student loans that forgive up to 50 percent of the principal for students who become ordained Christian Reformed Church ministers, is getting a US$2.05 million influx.

Sid Jansma Jr., president of Wolverine Gas & Oil Corp., and his late wife, Joanne, are the donors.

Students typically receive US$2,000 to US$3,000 per year from the loan fund. That amount now will increase to US$4,000 or US$5,000 per year, about half the cost of a year's tuition.

+ Calvin Theological Seminary, 3233 Burton Street SE, Grand Rapids MI 49546


[5] Anglicans Propose New Structure

Anglican bishops from ten jurisdictions and organizations took their first steps toward a "new ecclesiastical structure" in North America, it was announced by Common Cause Council of Bishops in Trinity Cathedral, Pittsburgh today.

Calling it an "historic time" in the life of the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, chair of Common Cause, said that 51 bishops will act as a "college of bishops" representing more than 600 Anglican congregations that make up Common Cause Partners which also includes a dozen mission leaders.

"This is a significant step towards a new Anglican province that will be recognized by a number of Anglican provinces and primates which embraces Common Cause Partners with a separate ecclesiastical structure called for by the bishops in Kilgali, Rwanda," said Duncan

The bishops laid out a timeline for the path ahead saying they have committed themselves to working together at local and regional levels agreeing to interchangeable deployment of clergy. The bishops gathered here included leaders from the Anglican Province of America, (the Most Rev. Walter Grundorf), the Reformed Episcopal Church, (Presiding Bishop Leonard Riches), the AMIA (Bishop Chuck Murphy), the head of the Canadian Anglican Network, and newly elected bishops from some 15 offshore jurisdictions in Africa, Asia and the Southern Cone now with ecclesiastical bases in North America, as well as Forward in Faith, NA.

+ Dr. David Virtue, VirtueOnline, 1236 Waterford Rd., West Chester, PA 19380