Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Maryland Police and Government Entities Sued for Unconstitutional Arrest, Jailing, Shackling and Strip-Searching of Pro-Life Demonstrators
[2] Wichita, Kansas DA Refuses to Prosecute Abortionist George Tiller for Vehicular Assault of Pro-Life Demonstrator
[3] Liberty Council DVD ‘Pastors Churches & Political Activity’ Available
[4] English Teacher Needed for Sahiwal, Pakistan Nursing School
[5] Minister Needed in Rural Scotland
[6] Church of Scotland Moderator Asked to Stop Sale of Lochaline Manse
[7] EPC Ghana Outgoing Synod Clerk Briefs National Congress of the Evangelical Presbyterian Students' Union
[8] The Christian Voter and the Office of Civil Magistrate
[9] Death of Rev. Eric Fennema
[10] Political Sermons on Web Earn Tax Exemption Review
[1] Maryland Police and Government Entities Sued for Unconstitutional Arrest, Jailing, Shackling and Strip-Searching of Pro-Life Demonstrators
While participating in Defend Life’s “Face the Truth” Pro-life Tour, eighteen pro-life demonstrators including three young women were arrested 1 August 2008 after they held signs and shared their message along a public street in Bel Air, Maryland.
At least a dozen police officers arrived in more than seven marked vehicles and then arrested, jailed, shackled, and/or strip searched the eighteen demonstrators.
On behalf of the three young women, the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit 3 September against Harford County, the town of Bel Air, and seven police officials for their unlawful arrest, for sexually invasive searches of the female arrestees only, for their subsequent imprisonment, and for numerous violations of their constitutional rights.
+ Alliance Defense Fund, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025
[2] Wichita, Kansas DA Refuses to Prosecute Abortionist George Tiller for Vehicular Assault of Pro-Life Demonstrator
The Wichita, Kansas District Attorney's office has informed Operation Rescue activist Mark Geitzen that it will not pursue charges against abortionist George Tiller for a 6 April vehicular assault where Tiller struck Geitzen with his Jeep outside his late-term abortuary.
Geitzen and another pro-life activist were measuring the width of the abortuary driveway to clear up questions about other incidents that had taken place earlier in the week. While exiting the driveway, Tiller gunned his vehicle at the two men who had no opportunity to move out of the way. Geitzen was stuck by Tiller's vehicle and sustained injuries to his leg and arm.
The Wichita DA chose to disregard images that police officers extracted from Tiller's security camera immediately following the incident showing Tiller's vehicle striking Geitzen while Geitzen unsuccessfully tried to push himself away to avoid injury.
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Operation Rescue, Post Office Box 782888, Wichita, Kansas 67278-2888, 800-705-1175, Fax: 916-244-2636, info@operationrescue.org
[3] Liberty Council DVD ‘Pastors Churches & Political Activity’ Available
The DVD ‘Pastors Churches & Political Activity’ is available from Liberty Council for $US5.00 postpaid.
This DVD features Liberty Counsel's Founder and Chairman Mat Staver as he spells out the political freedoms that belong to churches and pastors. The DVD shows how a church can effectively participate in local and national politics, and be confident that it is acting within its legal rights.
Additionally, The DVD can be viewed online at www.repairingthefoundations.com/Detail.aspx?id=78.
+ Liberty Counsel, Post Office Box 540774, Orlando, Florida 32854, 800-671-1776, Liberty@LC.org
[4] English Teacher Needed for Sahiwal, Pakistan Nursing School
A teacher of Intermediate English grammar, vocabulary, and conversational English is needed for the nursing school at Christian Hospital Sahiwal, Pakistan.
Please contact World Witness Director of Pastoral Care and Candidate Ministry John Hopkins for further information.
+ World Witness, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, One Cleveland St. Suite 220, Greenville, South Carolina 29601, 864-233-5226, Fax: 864-233-5326
[5] Minister Needed in Rural Scotland
Rev. Alistair J. Dunlop writes that a Church of Scotland minister is needed for what he describes as, “two lively, active congregations with steady membership and increasing attendance…in Kilcalmonell (Clachan) linked with Killean and Kilchenzie on the west coast of Kintyre.”
Dunlop, who ministered in the same region of Scotland for 25 years, adds that the locations “…might appear remote, but the quality of life and the opportunity to exercise a meaningful and deeply satisfying ministry more than compensates.”
+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 8AS, 0131-620-8620
+ Rev. Alistair J. Dunlop, Interim Moderator, Kilcalmonell/ Killean and Kilchenzie, Pipers Road, Lochgilphead, Argyll, Scotland
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 4YN, 0131-225-5722
[6] Church of Scotland Moderator Asked to Stop Sale of Lochaline Manse
The Church of Scotland’s moderator the Right Rev. David Lunan has been asked to halt the disposal of its manse at Lochaline, which is on the market with a plot of land at offers of over £GB265,000.
A former Lochaber District Council member along with several other Scottish Parliament and Highland Council members want the property taken off the market and handed over to the community for a nominal sum and adapted for social housing, as a daycare center, or for sheltered accommodation.
The manse in question is in an area where there has been Christian worship since the days of the 6th century St. Columba, and whose famous Macleod family produced 550 years of ordained service and six moderators through the early 1990’s.
+ Press and Journal, Lang Stracht, Mastrick, Aberdeen AB15 6DF, Scotland, 01224-343311, pj.newsdesk@ajl.co.uk
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 4YN, 0131-225-5722
[7] EPC Ghana Outgoing Synod Clerk Briefs National Congress of the Evangelical Presbyterian Students' Union
On 30 August 2008, the Rev. Frank Anku, outgoing Synod Clerk of Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG), briefed delegates to the National Congress of the Evangelical Presbyterian Students' Union on highlights of the recently held 67th Synod.
Anka explained that the EPCG quest to assume General Assembly status was to realign the administrative setup of the Church to fit into international standards.
Anka said the Church remained the only institution in English-speaking international circles to still operate at the Synod level. He said that under the new dispensation, the Synod Committee or Cabinet of the Church has changed to become the Council with the Presbyteries becoming the Synods instead.
Anka urged the youth to patronize the Evangelical Presbyterian University College to improve their academic standing, adding that this was the gesture to crystallize the value of youth development in the Church towards nation building.
+ GhanaWeb, Poederooienstraat 66, 1106 CK Amsterdam, Netherlands, +31-207700126, Fax: +1-815-6429100, akoto@ghanaweb.com
+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Post Office Box HP 18, Ho - Volta Region, Ghana, +233-91-26755, Fax: +233-91-28275, Epchurch@Ghana.Com
[8] The Christian Voter and the Office of Civil Magistrate
The current political campaigns have raised to the forefront several biblical questions about Christianity and civil government.
In his July 2004 Vision Forum Ministries article, ‘Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate?’, William Einwechter examines the issue from the perspective of five biblical principles.
In the August 2007 essay ‘The 2008 Election Campaign’, your Presbyterians Week editor examines scriptural principles to guide the Christian voter.
In the essays ‘Qualifications for Public Office’ and ‘Christian Voting Responsibilities’, 19th century Reformed theologian William Symington writes about the moral and religious qualifications of public office holders.
+ Vision Forum Ministries, 4719 Blanco Road, San Antonio, Texas 78212
+ Staff
[9] Death of Rev. Eric Fennema
In a message to all Councils of the United Reformed Churches in North America, Berwyn Konynenbelt, Clerk of Trinity Reformed Church announced that Rev. Eric Fennema, pastor of the Trinity Reformed Church of Lethbridge, Alberta, passed away suddenly on Saturday morning, 6 September 2008 while participating in a local Christian School fund-raising golf tournament.
Konynenbelt added that he covets prayer for the Trinity Reformed Church congregation and for the Fennema family as they mourn the loss of their pastor - and to his family - a husband, father and grandfather.
The church secretary announced on 9 September that the funeral for Rev. Fennema will be held Thursday, 11 September at 10:00 a.m. at Trinity Reformed Church.
Rev. Christopher Gordon of Lynden United Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington will conduct the funeral.
Condolences can be sent to bulletin@trinityurc.org and they will be forwarded to the family.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made to Christian Education through the Christian Credit Union in Lethbridge, Alberta.
+ United Reformed Churches in North America, C/O Mr. Bill Konynenbelt, 5824 Bowwater Circle Northwest, Calgary, Alberta T3B 2E2, Canada, 403-286-0521, Fax: 403-286-0759, urcna@shaw.ca
[10] Political Sermons on Web Earn Tax Exemption Review
Sermons posted on the Internet may land politically-minded pastors in trouble if they're not careful, the New York Times reports. This year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began actively watching the Internet for churches who violate their tax exempt status by supporting or opposing candidates from the pulpit.
Internet services such as YouTube and Google along with the increased Internet presence of churches have made it easier for the IRS and watchdog groups to find pastors who may have thought only that their congregations would hear the message. Several churches' tax exempt status is under review and may be revoked this year thanks to such monitoring.
“The IRS goes, and it’s scouring the Internet looking for trouble," said Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for a conservative Christian group called the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which defends clergy members accused of partisan activities. “It is our contention that in church it is the pastor who should determine what is said, not the IRS.”
The IRS on 25 August released its June 2008 update to Publication 1828, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations, nearly one third of which focuses on the rules governing churches and politics.
ADF says the IRS’s effort violates the fundamental rights of religious groups and is encouraging church groups to openly preach about election candidates on 28 September as a protest.
+ Crosswalk.com, Salem Communications, 4880 Santa Rosa Road, Camerillo, California, 805-987-0400
+ The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 1255 23rd Street Northwest Suite 700, Washington DC 20037, 202-466-1200, help@philanthropy.com
