9 April 2008

Presbyterians-Week Headlines

[1] Daddy Madison Departs
[2] PC(USA) Headquarters Space for Lease
[3] Presbyterian Church of Sudan (Malakal) Reorganizes
[4] Adee Chosen Head at More Light
[5] Gradye Parsons Becomes Candidate for PC(USA) Stated Clerk
[6] Evangelism Becomes National Security Issue in China

[1] Daddy Madison Departs

Bishop S.C. "Daddy" Madison has died at the age of 86 after 17 years at the helm of the United House of Prayer for All People. Once dismissed to the footnotes of reports on the urban ecclesiastical landscape, the House of Prayer now finds itself classed as "an affluent African American denomination."

While the weary left has declined by 25 to 40 percent, the House of Prayer has expanded from a storefront to 1.5 million members with 150 regional jurisdictions in 25 states. What captures the imagination, however, is the massive real estate holdings of the denomination. Under Madison's tenure some 100 sancturies were added to the body.

Continuing the tradition of founding pastor Sweet Daddy Grace, Madison has built affordable multi-family housing, assisted living centers, and commercial retail establishments. Scholarships for young people and expanded ministerial development programs have contributed their part to the blossoming of the House of Prayer.

Working from poverty with no outside assistance, the urban denomination is often compared to the oriental denominations which have consciously followed the John L. Nevius plan for self-development.

The colorful denomination emerged from the creative mind of Walter "Sweet Daddy" Charles Manuel Grace (Marcelino Manuel da Graca), a Cape Verde man who opened his first church in Massachusetts and then expanded to Washington in 1927.

The highly liturgical body often suggests a blend of Eastern Orthodox and West Indian traditions but the liturgical product is unique. However, baptismal practices are often identified with Smallwood Williams, another Washington figure, who introduced the practice of baptism by hosing.

Similar in some respects to sprinkling, the practice calls for classis of baptismal candidates to gather in front of fire hydrants for group cleansings. In the summer large numbers of Washingtonians gathered to renew their baptismal vows. The advent of air-conditioning has not dampened enthusiasm for the distinctive rite.

Born in 1922, Daddy Madison joined the church at the age of 8 and rose quickly through the ranks becoming ordained to the ministry in 1940 by Sweet Daddy Grace himself. At the age of 23, Madison was appointed to the General Council of the House of Prayer and remained on the top administrative board till his death.

+ United House of Prayer for All People, 215 51st Street, SE, Washington, DC 20019

[2] PC(USA) Headquarters Space for Lease

After a series of staff reductions, the Presbyterian Church (USA) finds itself with more office space in Louisville, Kentucky, than it needs. Roughly one seventh of its floor space has been turned over to Commercial Kentucky Real Estate Advisors in hopes of finding a tenant. About 30,000 square feet of first-floor space on the west side of the Witherspoon Street headquarters is on the market.

+ Presbyterian Church (USA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202

[3] Presbyterian Church of Sudan (Malakal) Reorganizes

The 32nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Sudan met 30 March thorough 2 April in Malakal to reorganize after more than 20 years of disruption. Delegates from 10 presbyteries active in the nation came together under the direction of Dr. Riek Maachar Teny, Vice President of Southern Sudan.

Under the new constitution, each presbytery will be represented by 34 members at future General Assemblies and the local jurisdictions will manage most of their own affairs. A Moderator General from the national structure will coordinate inter presbytery ventures. Each presbytery will also have a representative on the denominational executive committee.

The jurisdiction not only suffered from political division but social and theological disputes. A variety of dissenting denominations remain outside the Malakal organization.

+ Embassy of the Republic of Sudan, 2210 Massachusetts Ave., Washington DC 20008 (202) 338-8565

[4] Adee Chosen Head at More Light

More Light Presbyterians has named Michael J. Adee its executive director and field organizer. Adee has been serving as national field organizer for the Presbyterian Church (USA) affinity group since May of 1999 and was a volunteer for eight years before that.

Adee, who earned his Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Communication at Louisiana State University,has worked as a college professor in Louisiana, Kentucky and Ohio, a hospital and hospice chaplain, bereavement counselor, campus minister, diversity consultant, tennis coach, and relief worker in Zimbabwe.

+ More Light Presbyterians, PMB 246, 4737 County Road 101, Minnetonka, MN 55345-2634

[5] Gradye Parsons Becomes Candidate for PC(USA) Stated Clerk

The Stated Clerk Nominating Committee (SCNC) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) announced 3 April that the Rev. Gradye Parsons is its consensus nominee to serve as the next General Assembly Stated Clerk.

The election to a four-year term is slated for 27 June, during the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA). If elected, Parsons will succeed Clifton Kirkpatrick, who earlier this year declined to seek a fourth term.

Parsons served as associate stated clerk of the General Assembly for the past eight years. In that role, Parsons has been the director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), including director of OGA's General Assembly Meeting Services department.

+ Presbyterian Church (USA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202


[6] Evangelism Becomes National Security Issue in China

As China deals with the fallout of protests in Tibet and alleged protests in neighboring Xinjiang province, the family of a Uyghur Christian fears he may be sentenced to death after officials accused him of endangering national security.

Officials closed Alimjan Yimit's business last September and accused him of using it as a cover for "preaching Christianity among people of Uyghur ethnicity." When they detained him on 12 January, officials told his family only that the arrest was a matter of "national security."

In view of the recent crackdown on Tibetan protestors and an alleged protest in the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang that reportedly saw 400 Uyghurs detained by late March, Yimit's family fear he may be branded a separatist, a crime punishable by death. Friends said a verdict is expected by the end of April.

Alimjan's arrest followed that of another Uyghur Christian, Osman Imin, on 19 November 2007. Authorities placed Osman in criminal detention and accused him of assisting foreigners in illegal religious activities and revealing state secrets, according to China Aid Association.

+ Compass News Direct, PO Box 27250, Santa Ana, CA 92799-7250