28 November 2007

Headlines:

[1] Alphonza Gadsden, Sr., Becomes Bishop of Southeast
[2] Women in the Church Leadership Training
[3] Eden Professor Will Direct NCC
[4] Chadwick Heads to Rome
[5] Chalmers Center for Economic Development
[6] True Russian Orthodox Church Prepares for Rapture
[7] EPC Adventures in Brazil
[8] Conservatives Define Human Rights in Nova Scotia
[9] Louisville Celebrates Transgender
[10] Egyptian Police Detain Convert Who Wedded Christian
[11] Ft. Worth Distances Itself from The Episcopal Church


[1] Alphonza Gadsden, Sr., Becomes Bishop of Southeast

On 17 November the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) consecrated a new bishop for its Southeastern jurisdiction. The Very Reverend Mr. Gadsden is a D.Min. student at Erskine Theological Seminary. Bishops Leonard Riches, Royal U. Grote, Jr., David Hicks, and Alex Dickerson participated in the event which took place at Pineville, South Carolina.

The 134-year-old REC is one of ten Anglican jurisdictions and organizations pledged to take the first steps toward a new ecclesiastical structure in North America under the title Common Cause Council of Bishops. The historic meeting took place held in Pittsburgh 25-28 September.

+ Bishop Royal U. Grote Jr., The Reformed Episcopal Church, 4142 Dayflower Dr.Katy, TX 77449 (800)732-3433RoyalREC1@aol.com


[2] Women in the Church Leadership Training

The 2008 Presbyterian Church in America Women’s Leadership Training will be held in Atlanta at the Marriott Perimeter Center Hotel 28 Feb. 28 - 1 March 2008. The theme of this year’s conference will be focusing on the purpose and privilege of women’s ministries within the local church. The schedule will include general sessions and workshops filled with practical training and networking with regional women’s groups. This conference will be most beneficial to those who are involved in PresWIC Leadership, Local Women’s and Bible Study Leadership, and Directors of Women’s Ministries.

+ ByFaith Magazine, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, GA 30043


[3] Eden Professor Will Direct NCC

Michael Kinnamon, a professor at Eden Theological Seminary, will leave Saint Louis at the end of the year to lead the National Council of Churches (NCC). Upon ratification of the selection in November, Dr. Kinnamon became the successor to Bob Edgar, who left the NCC in September to become President and CEO of Common Cause.

A product of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Kinnamon, joined the Eden Faculty in 2000, becoming the first occupant of the Allen and Dottie Miller Professor of Mission and Peace chair.

+ Eden Theological Seminary. 475 East Lockwood Avenue, Saint Louis, Missouri 63119-3192


[4] Chadwick Heads to Rome

First Presbyterian Church of Rome, Georgia, has called Jeff Chadwick to be Senior Pastor, succeeding Bill Flannagan, who retired in June, 2006. Jeff had served as the Director of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church World Outreach since September 2000. Under Chadwick’s leadership, the World Outreach missionary family has grown in number by 40 percent, and giving to World Outreach has increased by 70 percent, to an annual total of US$2,350,000 in 2006.

Ordained in the Southern Presbyterian Church (PCUS) in 1982, Jeff served two yoked, rural Presbyterian churches in Monroe, North Carolina, until 1989. Chadwick then served as senior pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Bluefield, West Virginia, until receiving the call to become the EPC World Outreach Director in 2000.

+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Office of the General Assembly, 17197 N. Laurel Park Drive, Suite 567, Livonia, MI 48152-7912 (734) 742-2020

[5] Chalmers Center for Economic Development

Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Covenant conducts low-cost email-based courses train the church world-wide how to minister to the poor without creating dependency – helping the church help the poor to help themselves become financially self-sufficient.

The various courses provide training on: 1. Christian microfinance and microenterprise development in the two-thirds world, 2. Economic development ministry in the US/Canada addressing the areas of savings, asset accumulation, financial literacy, job training, and housing, 3. Short-term missions to the poor without doing long-term harm

+ Chalmers Center for Economic Development, Covenant College, 14049 Scenic Highway Lookout Mountain, GA 30750 (706) 419-1808


[6] True Russian Orthodox Church Prepares for Rapture

The True Russian Orthodox Church went underground some two weeks ago in order to "save themselves during the time of the apocalypse," which they say will come in May 2008.

The True Russian Orthodox Church, was formed by Father Pyotr, a 43-year-old diagnosed schizophrenic currently in custody. Pyotr is believed to have ordered his followers underground last week. The group of 29 people, including four children, has threatened to set fire to themselves if any attempt is made to force them to come to the surface.

Orthodox priests have pitched a tent near the shelter and are praying for the sect members, and trying to engage them in "peaceful dialogue" a source in the Penza diocese told the Russian News and Information Agency, adding that Archbishop Philaret of Penza had written to them.

Religion was tightly controlled in the U.S.S.R. and the collapse of the Soviet Union saw an explosion in sects and cults, as well as interest in New Age philosophies and beliefs. The back pages of many Russian tabloid newspapers are full of advertisements for 'healers' and 'magicians' who promise to bring happiness in love, success in business, as well as a range of other services.

Alexander Dvorkin, a Russian expert on religions and sects, earlier said that totalitarian sects were common in Russia, and that “control over their members is absolute, and anything that comes into the heads of their leaders has a direct impact on the entire group.” Dvorkin also said the group in the Penza Region was similar in outlook to the pseudo-Russian Orthodox groups calling for the canonization of Stalin and Ivan the Terrible, adding that the actions of the Penza group could “act as a detonator,” provoking other sects to “announce the end of the world.”

+ Institute on Religion and Public Policy,1620 I Street, NW, Suite LL10, Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 835-8760 irpp@religionandpolicy.org


[7] EPC Adventures in Brazil

Evangelical Presbyterian General Assembly Moderator Bill Vogler and Executive Pastor/Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah are in Sao Paulo, Brazil, week meeting with leadership of the Brazilian Presbyterian Church (IPB) and the Andrew Jumper Graduate Study Center.

The leaders and faculty of the Andrew Jumper Graduate Study Center tell that in 2001-2002 the EPC (with particular help from then Stated Clerk Mike Glodo) prevented a “liberal takeover” of the Center. The Jumper Center is an orthodox, Reformed and Presbyterian graduate school of the IPB, which has approximately four million members. It awards M.Div., D.Min. and S.T.M. degrees, and a graduate level certification.

On 17 November 2007 Mark Jumper was scheduled to be hosted by the IPB while attending the tenth graduation class of the Jumper Center, named after his father, the late Dr. Andrew Jumper.

+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Office of the General Assembly, 17197 N. Laurel Park Drive, Suite 567, Livonia, MI 48152-7912 (734) 742-2020

[8] Conservatives Define Human Rights in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia's Conservative government is proposing steps to modernize the province's Human Rights Act, including a broader definition of harassment. Previously the definition in the act, which was introduced in 1967, dealt only with sexual harassment.

Michael Noonan, acting director of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, says the definition will now cover harassment on the basis of race, religious affiliation or political belief and also around issues dealing with the disabled. The amendments include changes to other key definitions to ensure consistency with federal charter requirements and with human rights legislation in other jurisdictions.

+ The Canadian Press, 36 King St. East, Toronto, ON M5C 2L9 (416) 364-0321


[9] Louisville Celebrates Transgender

Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary celebrated the 9th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on 20 November with a day of campus events, culminating in an ecumenical candlelight memorial service in Caldwell Chapel. The Transgender Day of Remembrance is a national memorial project that honors human beings slain during the past year because of their unconventional gender. The celebration was one of many events around the country to focus attention on threats many transgender people live with daily.

The seminary observance was planned jointly by the Women's Center at LPTS and local organizations representing the transgendered community in Louisville. Events included a morning prayer vigil and a lunch-hour presentation on "Transgender 101: Basic Terms and Concepts" by local activist Beth Harrison-Prado.

+ Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 1044 Alta Vista Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40205 (800) 264-1839


[10] Egyptian Police Detain Convert Who Wedded Christian

Police detained an Egyptian convert to Christianity on her wedding anniversary in Upper Egypt last week, her husband said. Plainclothes officers arrested Siham Ibrahim Muhammad Hassan al-Sharqawi on Thursday (November 22) on the outskirts of Qena, 300 miles south of Cairo, according to an eyewitness. Witnesses said that police treated the woman like a prostitute, calling her a “whore,” and threatening to beat her. Sources gave conflicting reports about whether State Security Investigation officials used physical violence against Al-Sharqawi or limited themselves to only threats.

The convert’s husband said he is not certain whether police are aware that she is a convert, because she was carrying neither her Muslim ID nor her forged Christian papers at the time of her arrest. Apart from false ID, Al-Sharqawi may also be held for marrying a Christian man or insulting Islam.

+ Compass Direct News Service, PO Box 27250, Santa Ana, CA 92799 (949) 862-0304


[11] Ft. Worth Distances Itself from The Episcopal Church

Delegates to the Diocese of Ft. Worth's annual convention took their first step in November to cut ties to the Episcopal Church, a move driven by the diocese's opposition to the ordination of women and gay men and the blessing of same-sex unions. More than 200 clergy and lay delegates voted at the Will Rogers Memorial Center, by an overwhelming majority rejecting on first reading an amendment assenting to the authority of the Episcopal Church. Speaking in a news conference following the convention's conclusion, Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker said the decisions "marked a firm resolve about moving forward together, recognizing that there are parts that are not fully behind the path we've chosen, but the debate is always characterized by respect and honesty." "It's important to note that the decisions made today are preliminary decisions that need to be ratified by another convention," he added. The convention noted that the diocese wishes "to remain within the family of the Anglican Communion while dissociating itself from the moral, theological, and disciplinary innovations of the Episcopal Church..." If the constitutional and canonical amendments pass a second reading, presumably at the 2008 diocesan convention, Mrs. Jefferts Schori and David Booth Beers will claim that this violates the requirements of the Episcopal Church's Constitution and Canons. Article V, Section 1 says that a diocese's constitution must include "an unqualified accession" to the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church.

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