30 July 2008

Note:

Presbyterians Week has received several emails from Presbyterian Church in America administrators in response to the 23 July 2008 summary of the Christianity Today article “PCA-Affiliated Cornerstone Ministries Investments (CMI) Files for Bankruptcy,” implying that the use of the word “affiliated” is equivalent to stating that CMI is currently an official agency of the PCA.

This is an incorrect assumption on the part of these administrators. The word “affiliated” describes a much broader range of relationships, associations, and time frames than does this narrow interpretation. Presbyterians Week suggests that the summarized Christianity Today article be consulted for a complete description of the referenced affiliations.

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Death of Rev. Stephen Kim
[2] Church Service at County Fair Cancelled to Avoid Offending Atheists
[3] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Ordains Pastors
[4] ARP General Synod Sets Position on Scripture
[5] United Nations Attempting to Criminalize Christianity
[6] Turkey's Assyrian Genocide of 1915 Remembered
[7] Enns Leaves Westminster Theological Seminary
[8] Canadian CRC Condemns Order of Canada Award to Abortionist
[9] WCF Larger Catechism Anniversary
[10] Dutch Reformed Meet in South Africa to Discuss Unity


[1] Death of Rev. Stephen Kim

Rev. Stephen Kim, pastor of Rock of Faith ARP Church in Los Angeles, California, died Thursday 24 July. His funeral was held on Saturday 26 July at the Los Angeles Korean Funeral Home. He was 56 and died of liver cancer. Rev. Kim is survived by his wife, son and daughter.

+ The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Magazine, One Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina 29601, arpeditor@arpsynod.org


[2] Church Service at County Fair Cancelled to Avoid Offending Atheists

Covenant Presbyterian Church of Grand Junction, Colorado was notified the week of 14 July by the Mesa County Fair Board that the 27 July fair worship service they were asked to organize several months ago was cancelled because the board was afraid of inciting local atheists.

+ The Daily Sentinel, 734 South Seventh Street, Grand Junction, Colorado 81501, 970-242-5050, alex.taylor@gjsentinel.com


[3] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Ordains Pastors

Eleven pastors were ordained by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana on 20 July in Tamale. Moderator Right Reverend Dr. Yaw Frimpong-Manso addressed the assembly urging the ministers to diligently carry out their responsibilities and expressing concern about the effect of movies being shown in Ghana that are pornographic, violent, and that depict ritualistic behavior.

+ GhanaWeb, Poederooienstraat 66, 1106 CK Amsterdam, Netherlands, 31-207700126, Fax: 815-642-9100

+ Presbyterian Church Of Ghana, Post Office Box GP 1800, Accra, Ghana, 233-021-662511, Fax: 233-21-665594, pcghg@yahoo.com


[4] ARP General Synod Sets Position on Scripture

At the annual meeting of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Synod that began 10 June at the Bonclarken assembly grounds in East Flat Rock, North Carolina, several motions were made and carried that set the ARP position on Scripture. The position was adopted that the Bible alone, being God-breathed, is the Word of God written, infallible in all that it teaches, and inerrant in the original manuscripts.

Yet to be clarified is the seeming contradiction between the position limiting Scriptural inerrancy to the original manuscripts and the Standards of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church that in the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 1: Of the Holy Scriptures, Section VIII, state that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments have been “…by his [God’s] singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical;”

Other related motions modify the Form of Government to include the new position in ordination vows for ministers and elders, and revise the Manual of Authorities and Duties to include the adopted position.

+ The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, One Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729


[5] United Nations Attempting to Criminalize Christianity

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is working to defeat a resolution called “Combating Defamation of Religions” that was offered by the Organization of The Islamic Conference that attacks Christianity and moves to criminalize it.

ACLJ is sponsoring a petition to the United Nations’ High Commissioner of Human Rights opposing the resolution.

+ American Center for Law and Justice, Post Office Box 90555, Washington DC 20090-0555, 800-296-4529, Fax: 757-226-2836


[6] Turkey's Assyrian Genocide of 1915 Remembered

The 1800 meter Rigi mountain in Switzerland was the scene of a 6 July two hour climb by approximately 100 people from around the world commemorating the victims of Turkey’s 1915 Assyrian Genocide. Black balloons were released at the summit reading, ‘Turkey should recognize the Assyrian Genocide’.

A short film of the event is available at Ahna.

+ Assyrian International News Agency

+ Ahna-Media, Postbus 960, 7550 AZ Hengelo, Netherlands, 074-2555715, mail@ahna.nl


[7] Enns Leaves Westminster Theological Seminary

Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) professor Peter Enns and WTS issued a joint statement 23 July announcing the end of his time with the seminary, eliminating the need for a dismissal hearing scheduled for 25 August. Enns was suspended because of theological issues in his book, "Inspiration and Incarnation," and whether it fell within the bounds of the Westminster Confession of Faith. All WTS faculty must affirm that confession. According to the statement, Enns and the WTS administration both agreed to his leaving.

+ Crosswalk.com, Salem Communications, 4880 Santa Rosa Road, Camerillo, California, 805-987-0400

+ Westminster Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 27009, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19118, 800-373-0119, Fax: 215-887-5404


[8] Canadian CRC Condemns Order of Canada Award to Abortionist

The Canadian Ministries Office of the Christian Reformed Church in North America has sent a letter to its constituent church councils, calling attention to the "most unfortunate" decision to award the Order of Canada to Dr. Henry Morgantaler, a prominent abortion rights activist. Morgantaler opened Canada’s first abortion clinic in 1969.

A letter sent out by the CRC to its church councils suggesting ways to respond to the award ends with: "Dr. Morgentaler’s appointment is a vivid public reminder of the tragedy of abortion in Canada. Let us use this reminder as a catalyst to prayer and action for the unborn and the lives of vulnerable people everywhere."

+ Worldwide Faith News

+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803, crcna@crcna.org

+ Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Post Office Box 500 Station A, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5W 1E6


[9] WCF Larger Catechism Anniversary

360 years ago on 20 July 1648, the Westminster Larger Catechism was adopted by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland at Edinburgh.

+ The Canadian Press, 36 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2L9, Canada, 416-364-0321, Fax: 416-364-0207

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 4YN, 0131-225-5722


[10] Dutch Reformed Meet in South Africa to Discuss Unity

Leaders from the four Dutch Reformed Churches met in South Africa in June to continue discussions on unifying their churches.

Majorities in three of these churches oppose inclusion of the Belhar Confession, but the Uniting Reformed Churches of Southern Africa consider it to be a foundational document.

+ The Reformed Ecumenical Council, 2050 Breton Road Southeast, Suite 102, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49546, 616-949-2910, rvh@recweb.org

+ Uniting Reformed Churches , Private Bag X1, Belhar, Cape Town, Western Cape 7507, South Africa, 021-952-2151 Fax: 021-952-8638, pjadams@polka.co.za

23 July 2008

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] PCA-Affiliated Cornerstone Ministries Investments (CMI) Files for Bankruptcy
[2] Oregon Health Insurer Denies Chemotherapy and Suggests Physician Assisted Suicide
[3] New Books for 2008 from Inheritance Publications
[4] Focus on the Family Elected to National Radio Hall of Fame
[5] Washington Bishop at Lambeth Conference Calls African Leaders Demonic
[6] Oreland Presbyterian Church Leaves PCUSA Amicably and with Church Property
[7] San Jose State Professor Fired for Answering Student’s Question about Genetics and Homosexuality
[8] Uzbekistani Christian Faces 15-Year Sentence
[9] Christian Counselor Fired for Referring Homosexual to Another Counselor
[10] Pakistan Court Grants Custody of Christian Girls to Kidnappers


[1] PCA-Affiliated Cornerstone Ministries Investments (CMI) Files for Bankruptcy

3,500+ investors with almost $142,000,000 in unsecured debt securities in Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)-affiliated Cornerstone Ministries Investments (CMI) are at risk of losing some or all of their investments after CMI’s 2 February Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

CMI’s financial difficulties are the result of the majority of their loans being made in the risky second mortgage market. Though CMI cultivated a reputation of being a source of loans to churches and ministries, their recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings indicate that significant investments had been made in secular, for-profit middle and low-income housing markets.

+ Christianity Today, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, 630-260-6200, Fax: 630-260-0114, mwhite@christianitytoday.com

+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org


[2] Oregon Health Insurer Denies Chemotherapy and Suggests Physician Assisted Suicide

In his 16 July Daily Dose email newsletter William Campbell Douglass II, M.D. describes how insurer Oregon Health Plan (OHP) denied to a lung cancer patient two years in remission doctor-recommended chemotherapy treatment designed to slow cancer growth, but did tell the patient that OHP covers the expense of physician assisted suicide, legalized in Oregon in 1997.

The patient did receive the recommended treatment when Genentech, manufacturer of the chemotherapy drug Tarciva, agreed to provide the medicine free-of-charge for one year.

+ The Douglas Report, 702 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, 888-213-0685


[3] New Books for 2008 from Inheritance Publications

Inheritance Publications has several new books available including And They Sing A New Song by C. Van der Waal – a biblical study of the place of psalms and hymns in worship services, and The Dort Study Bible - an English translation of the Annotations to the Dutch Staten Bijbel of 1637, now available in Volume 1 - Genesis and Exodus, Volume 2 - Leviticus though Deuteronomy, Volume 3 - Joshua through 2 Samuel, and Volume 4 – Kings through 1 Chronicles.

+ Inheritance Publications, Box 154, Neerlandia, Alberta T0G 1R0, Canada, 780-674-3949, Fax: 775-890-9118


[4] Focus on the Family Elected to National Radio Hall of Fame

The Focus on the Family radio program has been elected to the National Radio Hall of Fame, joining such historic programs as Your Hit Parade, The Shadow, Little Orphan Annie and Orson Welles' famous Mercury Theater.

Dr. James Dobson's broadcast was nominated in the “national active” category, alongside Bob Costas, Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Howard Stern. To qualify, a broadcaster must have contributed to the radio industry on a national level for at least 10 years.

For the first time, voting was open to the public. The formal induction ceremony takes place in Chicago in November.

+ Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995, 800-232-6459

[5] Washington Bishop at Lambeth Conference Calls African Leaders Demonic

At the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England, Anglican leaders in Africa who criticize liberal Episcopal leaders in the USA for ordaining homosexual priests and blessing same sex unions were characterized as “demonic” by The Right Rev John Chane, the Bishop of Washington (DC).

+ VirtueOnline, 1236 Waterford Road, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380


[6] Oreland Presbyterian Church Leaves PCUSA Amicably and with Church Property

On 20 May, the Presbytery of Philadelphia (PCUSA) honored the request of 97 percent of the voting members of the Oreland Presbyterian Church of Oreland, Pennsylvania to be dismissed with their property. Oreland is seeking to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).

Oreland’s pastor of 14 years Rev. Jim Farrell expressed his gratitude to the Presbytery of Philadelphia and said, "There ought to be some way to get this out there so that the larger body of Christ, particularly Christians who are Presbyterian and in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., could see that there is a way to do this without beating each other up and without shaming either the church of Jesus Christ or our God."

+ The Bulletin Newspaper, 1500 Walnut Street Suite 300, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, 215-735-9150, Fax: 215-735-3019, publisher@thebulletin.us

+ Oreland Presbyterian Church , 1119 Church Road, Oreland, Pennsylvania 19075, 215-887-7002, Fax: 215-887-0621, mailto:info@orelandpres.org

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005

+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 17197 North Laurel Park Drive Suite 567, Livonia, Michigan 48152, 734-742-2020, Fax: 734-742-2033, webmaster@epc.org


[7] San Jose State Professor Fired for Answering Student’s Question about Genetics and Homosexuality

On 21 June 2007 in a human heredity course as San Jose City College, Adjunct Professor June Sheldon answered a student’s question about how heredity affects homosexual behavior by citing the class textbook and a well-known German scientist who had found a relationship between maternal stress and homosexual behavior. Additionally, she mentioned that in a later chapter of the text the students would learn that homosexual behavior may be influenced by both genes and the environment.

Following a student complaint, Sheldon was investigated, then recommended for removal from the adjunct seniority rehire preference list and terminated by the board of trustees on 13 February 2008.

Represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, Sheldon has filed a lawsuit against the school for violating her 1^st and 14^th Amendment rights under the US Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1871, and are seeking that the defendants be held accountable for their actions, that Sheldon be restored to her position, and that she be compensated for violations of her constitutional rights.

The San Jose City College attorney characterizes the charges as “…factually and legally incorrect in every respect.”

+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, Post Office Box 25382, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15220, 866-787-9947, lsn@lifesitenews.com

+ Alliance Defense Fund, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025


[8] Uzbekistani Christian Faces 15-Year Sentence

Uzbekistani Protestant Christian Aimurat Khayburahmanov is facing a 15 year prison term after being arrested for teaching religion without official approval and for establishing or participating in a “religious extremist” organization. The extremism charge was based on Khayburahmanov gathering people in his home and reading Christian literature prohibited by the local Religious Affairs Committee.

Khayburahmanov has repeatedly been beaten by his captors in an attempt to force him to implicate other Christians, and is kept in an isolation cell.

Authorities in the Karakalpakstan Region of Uzbekistan consider as criminal behavior all non state-controlled Muslim and non-Russian Orthodox religious activity.

+ Crosswalk.com, Salem Communications, 4880 Santa Rosa Road, Camerillo, California, 805-987-0400

+ Russian Orthodox Church, 75 East 93rd Street, New York, New York 10128, 212-534-1601, englishinfo@russianorthodoxchurch.ws


[9] Christian Counselor Fired for Referring Homosexual to Another Counselor

Marcia Walden, a licensed associate professional counselor employed by Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) in Atlanta, Georgia as an Employee Assistance Program counselor for federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) employees referred a counselee seeking help with a same-sex relationship to another counselor because of her sincerely-held Christian religious beliefs about homosexuality. The counselee was immediately given an appointment with another counselor, and the counselee later described the counseling session as “exemplary.”

Later the same day, the counselee complained to Walden’s supervisor about the referral decision, accused Walden of “homophobia” for making the referral, and expressed the desire to file a “formal complaint” against Walden.

Walden was several times questioned by supervisors about her religious beliefs, and urged to put aside her religious beliefs in her counseling work. She was later suspended without pay while being investigated for “sexual orientation” discrimination, then fired at the request of the CDC end of the two week suspension period.

Walden, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, has filed a lawsuit against CSC, CDC, and the CDC employee who demanded that she be fired, alleging violations of her constitutional and civil rights.

+ Alliance Defense Fund, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025


[10] Pakistan Court Grants Custody of Girls to Kidnappers

The Muslim captors of two Christian Pakistani girls ages 10 and 13 kidnapped from their parents in June were awarded their custody during a court decision 12 July in a Muzaffargarh District and Sessions court hearing.

The girls, accompanied by 16 Muslim men, were given five minutes to testify where they claimed to have converted to Islam. The older girl claimed that she was 17 and that she had married a Muslim man.

The parents, who have appealed the court decision, were not allowed to speak with their daughters nor allowed to present birth certificates and school records proving the girls’ true ages.

The father expressed fear that the kidnappers run a prostitution ring and have been sexually abusing the girls. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reports that kidnapping and sexual abuse of children is a serious problem, and a spokesman said that religious minorities are an easy target because of their poverty and the religious bias against them.

Christians comprise only 2 percent of Pakistan’s 168 million citizens.

+ Compass Direct News Service, Post Office Box 27250, Santa Ana, California 92799, 949-862-0304, Fax: 949-752-6536, info@compassdirect.org

16 July 2008

[1] Death of Reverend Imre Bertalan
[2] Erskine College Fire Damages Two Buildings
[3] Classis Southwest US Meets in California
[4] Death of Sir John Marks Templeton
[5] Westminster Professor Suspended from Teaching
[6] Reformed Family Worship Book
[7] Venezuela’s ‘Reformed Catholic Church’ Repudiated
[8] Planned Parenthood Front Groups Lobby for Abortion in Health Care Reform
[9] McDonald’s Says Opposition to Homosexuality is Hate
[10] Bible Publishers Sued for Sexual Sin References


[1] Death of Reverend Imre Bertalan

Rev. Mr. Imre Bertalan died on the morning of 10 July. Colleagues described him as “a prime mover in the Hungarian Reformed community for many decades, as pastor of local congregations and President of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America.” Survivors include a son, the Reverend Imre A. Bertalan, and daughters Sara and Vickie.

+ Rt. Rev. Sandor Szabo, Hungarian Reformed Church in America, 1053 East Sixth Street #32, Ontario, California 91764

+ Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, 2001 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20036-1011, hrfa@hrfa.org



[2] Erskine College Fire Damages Two Campus Buildings

A 10 July evening fire at Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina caused by a faulty dishwasher damaged the Moffatt Dinning Hall and Founder’s Hall, disrupting several current and upcoming summer programs. Campus dining services have temporarily moved to the Due West Retirement Center. School president Randall Ruble assisted with retrieving portraits of past college presidents from the firefighters who retrieved them from Founder’s Hall, and following an interview continued to hold an umbrella over a television news reporter as she taped her report. Ruble said 11 July that the fire damage will be covered by the school’s insurance policy.

+ The Greenville News, 305 South Main Street, Greenville, South Carolina 29602, 800-800-5116

+ WYFF 4, 505 Rutherford Street, Greenville, South Carolina 29609, 864-242-4404

+ Erskine College, Two Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 888-359-4358


[3] Classis Southwest US Meets in California

The Rev. Bradd L. Nymeyer, Clerk of Classis Southwest US, United Reformed Church (URCNA) reports that their meeting was convened 30 June at First United Reformed Church of Chino, California, by the consistory of the High Desert United Reformed Church of Apple Valley. All 12 churches of classis were fully delegated. The delegates were led by URCNA ministers chairman Mike Brown and assistant Marcelo Souza.

The main order of the day was the candidacy examination of Mr. Jonathan Moersch of Oceanside United Reformed Church. Moersch was examined in all the areas prescribed by the Church Order and unanimously sustained the examination.

Rev. Jay Fluck from the Western Classis of the Reformed Church in the United States was present to give ecumenical greetings on behalf of that denomination.

The delegates also heard synodical committees reports and a report on the initial work toward a new church in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The next classis will be convened by the Chino United Reformed Church on 13-14 January 2009.

+ United Reformed Church (URCNA), 5824 Bowwater Creek Northwest, Calgary, Alberta T3B 2E2, Canada, 403-286-0521, Fax: 403-286-0759, urcna@shaw.ca


[4] Death of Sir John Marks Templeton

Sir John Marks Templeton succumbed to pneumonia 9 July at a Nassau, Bahamas hospital. He was 95. Templeton was a pioneer in international mutual funds in the mid-1950’s, eventually becoming a billionaire. He founded the Templeton prize in 1972, first awarded to Mother Teresa, and in 1987 founded the Templeton Foundation that provides $70 million each year in academic research grants.

A longtime supporter of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, Templeton encouraged ministerial students to study business to better understand the elders with whom they would be working in local congregations.

Templeton is survived by two sons, a stepdaughter, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

+ Los Angeles Times, 202 West First Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, 213-237-5000, Fax: 213-237-7679

+ Catholic News Service, 3211 Fourth Street Northeast, Washington, DC 20017, 202-541-3250, 202-541-3255, cns@catholicnews.com


[5] Westminster Professor Suspended from Teaching

Westminster Theological Seminary Professor of Old Testament Peter Enns was in March suspended from teaching by the institution’s board of trustees and will face a four-day hearing scheduled in August to determine whether or not the tenured faculty member will be dismissed from the seminary.

Enn’s book Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament precipitated the suspension due to its contentions about supposed contradictions and inconsistencies in Scripture, inferences that parts of the Bible are taken from literature from Israel’s neighboring lands, and allegations that New Testament authors take certain Old Testament passages out of context when they are attribute them to prophesy of the coming of Jesus Christ.

Westminster frames the issue as being whether or not Enns violated the oath he took when he joined the faculty which pledges that faculty will not inculcate, teach or insinuate anything contrary to the Westminster Confession of Faith, which proclaims the infallible truth and entire perfection of Holy Scripture whose sole author is God.

+ The Philadelphia Inquirer, 400 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130, 215-854-4500

+ Westminster Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 27009, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19118, 800-373-0119, Fax: 215-887-5404


[6] Reformed Family Worship Book

Ginny Youmans of ReformingMinds has written the Reformed Family Worship Book that includes introductory material about Reformed theology, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Catechism for Young Children, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism with school year catechism study schedules, and Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s Calendar for Daily Bible Reading. It is available for $19.95 plus shipping from the web site.

+ ReformingMinds


[7] Venezuela’s ‘Reformed Catholic Church’ Repudiated

A group of former Lutherans, Anglicans, and Roman Catholics supporting President Hugo Chavez announced itself last month as the “Reformed Catholic Church” in Venezuela.

Both Rome and the Anglican Communion have disavowed the group’s legitimacy and condemned its use of the descriptor ‘Catholic’.

Rome describes the group as “using the same symbols, vestments, nomenclature, titles and sacramental and liturgical services as the Catholic Church”, so clearly it is not ‘Reformed’ either.

+ Zenit, Post Office Box 467603, Atlanta, Georgia 31146

+ Anglican Communion, St Andrew's House, 16 Tavistock Crescent, London W11 1AP, England, 44-0-20-7313-3900, Fax: 44-0-20-7313-3999, aco@anglicancommunion.org

+ Roman Catholic Church, 39-06-698-83712


[8] Planned Parenthood Front Groups Lobby for Abortion in Health Care Reform

A press release from the Virginia Society for Human Life (VSHL) references an 8 July article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch announcing a campaign by Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) financed group Health Care for America Now, and in Richmond the Virginia Organizing Project, to lobby in 50 cities nationwide for fully federally funded abortion-on-demand to be included in any new national health care reform plans.

According to their own figures, PPFA-affiliated clinics killed 289,750 unborn children through abortion in 2006. Other PPFA information reveals that abortions in the United States have decreased by 25% between 1990 and 2006 while increasing 224% in PPFA-affiliated clinics.

+ Virginia Society for Human Life, 6767 Forest Hill Avenue Suite 270, Richmond, Virginia 23225, 804-560-8745, Fax: 804-560-8746, vshl67@comcast.net

+ Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 434 West 33rd Street, New York, New York 10001, 212-541-7800, Fax: 212-245-1845

+ Richmond Times-Dispatch, 300 East Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, 804-649-6990


[9] McDonald’s Says Opposition to Homosexuality is Hate

When the American Family Association (AFA) wrote McDonald’s in opposition to its obtaining membership in and a seat on the Board of Directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) for a $20,000 contribution, their spokesman Bill Whitman responded by saying that those who oppose homosexuality are motivated by hate.

AFA Chairman Don Wildmon dismissed that characterization by emphasizing that the focus is upon McDonald’s choosing “not to remain neutral but to give the full weight of their corporation to promoting the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage."

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ American Family Association, Post Office Drawer 2440, Tupelo, Mississippi 38803, 662-844-5036

+ McDonald’s Corporation, 2111 McDonald's Drive, Oak Brook, Illinois 60523, 800-244-6227


[10] Bible Publishers Sued for Sexual Sin References

Bradley LaShawn Fowler, a Michigan homosexual, is suing Zondervan Publishing Company for $60 million and Thomas Nelson Publishing for $10 million for scriptural passages in the Bibles that they publish that identify homosexual behavior as sin.

U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr., who will hear Fowler’s case against Thomas Nelson, says the court “has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of [Fowler’s] claims."

+ Newsmax, Post Office Box 20989, West Palm Beach, Florida 33416, 561-686-1165, Fax: 561-686-3350

+ Zondervan Publishing, 5300 Patterson Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

+ Thomas Nelson Publisher, Post Office Box 141000, Nashville, Tennessee 37214, 800-251-4000

9 July 2008

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] GAFCON Calls Anglicans to Reformation
[2] Presbyterian Church Of Canada Reaffirms Sovereignty Of Jesus Christ
[3] Pro-Life Protesters’ Speech and Freedom Rights Upheld
[4] California Lawsuit Filed to Disenfranchise Voters
[5] Pakistani Christians Denied Asylum in Scotland Facing Deportation
[6] Assyrian Christians Targeted by Islamists
[7] Virginia Judge Rules ‘Division Statute’ Application Constitutional
[8] Highland Presbyterian Church Sued Over Air Conditioner Noise

[1] GAFCON Calls Anglicans to Reformation

On 22 June, the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) opened in Jerusalem where more than 1000 conservative Anglican leaders held a week-long meeting to examine the future of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Nigerian Archbishop and conservative Anglican leader Peter Akinola expressed concern for the future unity of the Communion by saying, "Those who failed to admit that by the unilateral actions they took in defiance of the Communion have literally torn the very fabric of our common life at it deepest level since 2003, are grumbling that we are here to break the Communion.”

A statement issued at the conclusion of the GAFCON meeting included an announcement of plans for a group of 300 conservative Anglican leaders to oversee the continuing GAFCON movement, their efforts to defend the Gospel from liberal and revisionist theologies, and to continue to offer pastoral oversight to conservative parishes stranded within liberal member churches of the Anglican Communion.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams criticized the GAFCON meeting, describing their proposals as creating more problems than they solve and urging Anglicans to work for changes within existing Anglican organizational structures.

Canadian Archbishop Fred Hiltz repudiated the GAFCON statement that Anglican churches in the USA and Canada [by their recent actions] have been proclaiming a false gospel.

+ Christianity Today International, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, 630-260-6200, Fax: 630.260.0114, mwhite@christianitytoday.com

+ Episcopal Church Center 815 Second Avenue New York, New York 10017, 800-334-7626, cdawkins@episcopalchurch.org

+ Ecumenical News International, Post Office Box 2100, CH – 1211, Geneva 2, Switzerland, 41-22-791-6111, Fax: 41-22-788-7244, eni@eni.ch

[2] Presbyterian Church Of Canada Reaffirms Sovereignty Of Jesus Christ

At their recent general assembly, the Presbyterian Church in Canada reaffirmed the exclusiveness and uniqueness of the saving work of Jesus Christ. There had been a number of representatives to the assembly whose remarks indicated that they were moving toward a 'generic' faith that embraced all world religions as equally valid ways to God. This resolution made clear their reaffirmation of the Bible.

+ Association For Church Renewal, Post Office Box 102, 182 High Street, Candia, New Hampshire 03034, 603-867-7711, Renewall.acr@gmail.com

[3] Pro-Life Protesters’ Speech and Freedom Rights Upheld

On 2 July, the 9^th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the first and fourth amendment [US Constitution] rights of two pro-life activists were violated when they were ordered by police officers to remove a truck displaying pictures of aborted children from near a school and then were detained by the police for more than one hour.

The court opinion affirmed that free speech cannot be limited based on listeners' reactions to the content, and held that the activists were detained by police for an unreasonably long period of time.

+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com

+ The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Post Office Box 219, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-206-0600, cbr@cbrinfo.org

[4] California Lawsuit Filed to Disenfranchise Voters

A lawsuit filed by homosexual activists in California seeks to remove a marriage protection amendment from the November 2008 California ballot. The amendment, if ratified by the voters, would undo the 15 May California Supreme Court decision legalizing homosexual marriage.

As explained by Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel, the lawsuit plaintiffs argue that California voters do not have the authority to change what they call a “constitutional revision” rather than a constitutional amendment, and they claim that the amendment “would so radically change the landscape of the society that it can’t be voted upon by the people.” Staver characterizes this legal theory as “laughable”.

Meanwhile in California, fire fighters continue to battle blazes that since 22 June have burned over 800 square miles including more than 69 homes. California state forestry officials on the morning of 6 July said that about 1400 of a maximum total of approximately 1700 active fires had been contained with more than 330 out-of-control fires still burning.

+ American Family Association, Post Office Drawer 2440, Tupelo, Mississippi 38803, 662-844-5036

+ Liberty Counsel, Post Office Box 540774, Orlando, Florida 32854, 800-671-1776, Liberty@LC.org

+ InterActiveCorp, 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011,
212-314-7300, info@iac.com

[5] Pakistani Christians Denied Asylum in Scotland Facing Deportation

A family of Pakistani Christians who fled from Lahore due to persecution from Islamists has been denied asylum and has been taken from their Glasgow home to a detention center to await deportation back to Pakistan.

The family’s husband and father of three young children had been targeted in Pakistan for printing Christian materials and was charged with the capital crime of blasphemy.

Church of Scotland minister Ian Galloway is at the forefront of efforts to prevent the family’s deportation.

+ Deeside Piper & Herald, 56a High Street, Banchory, Scotland AB313SS, 01330-824955

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 4YN, 0131-225-5722

[6] Assyrian Christians Targeted by Islamists

Assyrian Christians in northern Iraq are being persecuted by Islamists who wage a campaign of violence including murder of clergy and laity, abduction and rape of young Assyrian women, theft and property confiscation, and bombings of churches and businesses. The Assyrian International News Agency characterizes the plight of Assyrian Christians as “a minority [caught] between genocide, fear and terrorism.”

A letter was recently sent to churches in Mosul from an Islamic group calling itself "The Battalion of Just Punishment, Jihad Base in Mesopotamia" calling Assyrian Christians “the dhimmi people” [derogatory Islamic term for Christians and Jews] and warning them to not establish a recently proposed police force to protect them from the violence being done to them by Islamists.

+ Assyrian International News Agency

[7] Virginia Judge Rules ‘Division Statute’ Application Constitutional

Fairfax, Virginia Judge Randy I. Bellows ruled 27 June that his earlier application of the Division Statute was constitutional in response to a 28 May challenge from the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia.

Several congregations in the Diocese of Virginia have exited the Episcopal Church and have formed congregations in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). These congregations have filed claims to retain their church properties under Virginia’s Division Statute which is triggered when there is a division of a church or religious society.

A trial before Judge Bellows is set for October, where further property rights issues will be considered in the process of rendering decisions in the congregational property claims.

+ Episcopal Church Center 815 Second Avenue New York, New York 10017, 800-334-7626, cdawkins@episcopalchurch.org

+ Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, 110 West Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia 23220, 800-346-2373


[8] Highland Presbyterian Church Sued Over Air Conditioner Noise

Neighbors of the Highland Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Louisville, Kentucky in October 2007 sued the church because of a noisy air conditioning unit that had been installed in a driveway adjacent to the church’s education building.

Highland requested that a mediation agreement with the plaintiffs that expired 20 June be extended until 15 July, but the request was refused and the court case was scheduled to begin in early July. If the plaintiffs prevail in court, the church will be compelled to move the unit to another location.

+ The Courier-Journal, 525 West Broadway, Post Office Box 740031, Louisville, Kentucky, 40201-7431, 502-582-4011, publisher@courier-journal.com

2 July 2008

Presbyterians Week – Special Focus

Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) 2008

218th General Assembly --- 21-28 June 2008


[1] PCUSA Membership Declines 2.6% in 2007
[2] GA Committee on Church Orders Votes to Delete Fidelity and Chastity Requirements for Church Officers
[3] Committee on Theological Issues and Institutions Approves Changes to 1962 Heidelberg Catechism Translation
[4] Belhar Confession Study Approved by Committee on Theological Issues and Institutions
[5] Gradye Parsons Elected GA Stated Clerk
[6] GA Calls for Tolerance in Relations with Jews and Muslims


[1] PCUSA Membership Declines 2.6% in 2007

On the opening day of the 218th PCUSA General Assembly, Sharon K. Youngs reported that active, confirmed PCUSA membership declined in 2007 by 57,572 from 2,267,118 in 2006 to 2,209,546, a drop of 2.6% from the 2006 total. Twelve PCUSA congregations were dismissed to other denominations, and 71 other churches were dissolved.

The PCUSA reached its highest membership level in 1965 when it had 4,254,597 members. The 2007 membership total represents 52% of its 1965 membership total, and represents 71% of the 1983 membership total of 3,121,338 reached the year the United Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbyterian Church U.S. (PCUS) reunited to form the PCUSA.


[2] GA Committee on Church Orders Votes to Delete Fidelity and Chastity Requirements for Church Officers

Jerry L. Van Marter reports that by a vote of 41-11 Tuesday Evening 24 June, the Assembly Committee on Church Orders and Ministry recommended to the 218th General Assembly that it send an amendment to the presbyteries to delete G-6.0106b — which requires “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” for church officers — from the PCUSA’s Book of Order.

A number of committee members, knowing the inevitable vote was coming, didn’t return to the committee’s meeting room after the dinner break.

The overture approved by the committee came from Boston Presbytery.

Committee member David Reimer predicted the fallout would be heavy. “I have a fear that the ramifications will be severe,” he said. “Churches won’t wait for the ratification votes [by the presbyteries] but will leave immediately, though I hope they won’t.”

Committee member the Reverend Emily McColl agreed with Reimer, saying “many churches will no longer consider us Reformed in their understanding of biblical interpretation and theology.”

Since G-6.0106b was put in the Book of Order in 1996, two
General Assemblies—in 1997 and 2000—sent out amendments to
delete it. On both occasions, the presbyteries rejected it.

On 11 February, the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission rejected two appeals that sought to permit presbyteries to consider ordaining men and women whose behavior did not conform to the Book of Order G-6.0106b fidelity and chastity ordination standards.


[3] Committee on Theological Issues and Institutions Approves Changes to 1962 Heidelberg Catechism Translation

Ben Daniel writes that on 23 June, the Committee on Theological Issues and Institutions approved Overture 13-06 from Newark Presbytery, voting by a margin of 33 to 26, with two abstentions, to ask the 218th General Assembly of the PCUSA to make five changes to the 1962 translation of the Heidelberg Catechism which since 1967 has been used in The Book of Confessions of the PCUSA.

Most of the committee’s deliberations focused on proposed changes to Question 87 of the Heidelberg Catechism, which contains a reference to “homosexual perversion” that is not found in the original German text or in any subsequent translation in any language published prior to 1962.

Those against the motion appealed to the church’s longstanding condemnation of homosexuality and a sense that the Heidelberg version currently used in The Book of Confessions is biblically faithful, as it exchanges the original text in Question 87 with a direct quote from 1 Cor. 6:9-10. “It’s Scripture,” declared Assembly observer Kermit Oppriecht, associate pastor of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kansas. “How much more faithful can you get?”

Those for the motion appealed to questions of historical accuracy and of faithfulness to gays and lesbians within the Presbyterian family. “We must rely on accurate translations of the confessions because most of our pastors are not trained in German or Latin,” John Vest, associate pastor at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, told the committee. “It is an affront to our Reformed heritage to have so faulty a translation in our confessions.”


[4] Belhar Confession Study Approved by Committee on Theological Issues and Institutions

Vicki Fogel Mykles reports that the General Assembly Theological Issues and Institutions Committee approved a recommendation 24 June from the Advocacy Committee on Racial Ethnic Concerns (ACREC) to “initiate the process described in G-18.0201b [Book of Order] by appointing a committee to consider amending the confessional documents of the PCUSA to include the Belhar Confession in The Book of Confessions and to report to the 219th General Assembly (2010).”

The Belhar Confession emerged out of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and speaks to the persistent reality of racism. It calls the church to unity and reconciliation as marks of faithfulness, the unity of God’s people in a prophetic witness of the gospel by confronting the sin of racism and the work of justice in church and society.

According to the rationale of the recommendation, the Belhar Confession speaks to the worldwide realities of racism and calls the church to a deeper appreciation of the values of unity in diversity in relation to the divisions of race, culture and other facets of the human condition.


[5] Gradye Parsons Elected GA Stated Clerk

Jerry L. Van Marter reports that on 27 June, the Reverend Gradye Parsons, associate stated clerk and director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), won a first ballot victory Friday to succeed the Reverend Clifton Kirkpatrick as GA stated clerk for the PCUSA.

Kirkpatrick is stepping down after three four-year terms. Parsons has served in OGA for eight years after serving as executive presbyter and stated clerk of Holston Presbytery in his native Tennessee.

Parsons received 405 votes, or 57 percent. He was the choice of the Stated Clerk Nomination Committee and defeated three other applicants who also stood for election.


[6] GA Calls for Tolerance in Relations with Jews and Muslims

Mike Ferguson reports that the 218th GA on 25 June approved with amendments a resolution “On Calling for Tolerance and Peaceful Relations Between the Christian and Muslim Communities.” The vote was 547-149.

The Assembly found common ground with interfaith groups in the concept that Christians, Jews and Muslims may hold different understandings of how God has been revealed to humankind, but all three groups are called to love God and neighbor and care for the poor. That means Presbyterians ought to be in conversation with Jews and Muslims, celebrate religious holidays together and even set aside days to worship together — all to promote understanding, respect and goodwill.

Commissioners voted to strike language in the original overture that would have the PCUSA affirm “that Jews, Christians and Muslims worship a common God, although each understands that God differently” and a section that acknowledges Abraham “as an expression of our common commitment to one God.”

Instead, commissioners inserted language that acknowledges that the three religions hold “differing understandings of how God has been revealed to humankind.”

Commissioners debated whether the overture from meant that all three groups worship the same God. The Reverend Jay Rock, PCUSA coordinator for Interfaith Relations, told commissioners that “we understand the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ himself to be present as we enter into dialogue with people of other faiths.”

Rather than saying that all worship the same God, the overture “points to our understanding that how God is revealed in those three faiths is quite different.”

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005

+ Presbyterian Lay Committee, Post Office Box 2210, Lenoir, North Carolina 28645, 828-758-8716, Fax: 828-758-0920, laymanletters@layman.org