Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Reformed Presbyterian Pastor and Two Teen Girls Arrested in Denver During Democratic National Convention
[2] Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches Enter Federative Union with United Reformed Churches in North America
[3] 2008 Colorado Springs Reformation Day Conference Announcement
[4] First RP Conference On Mercy Ministries Announced
[5] Opportunity for Cambridge Presbyterian Church To Buy Church Property
[6] Tainan Theological College Appoints President and Academic Dean
[7] African Children’s Choir to Perform at Meredith Drive Reformed Church in Des Moines
[8] Church of Scotland Approves ‘Pub in a Church’ Restoration Plan
[9] Dead Sea Scrolls to be Digitized and Made Available Online
[10] Christians Flee to Forests as Mob Violence Escalates in Indian State
[1] Reformed Presbyterian Pastor and Two Teen Girls Arrested in Denver During Democratic National Convention
The Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Reformed Presbyterian pastor and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition of Washington DC along with Julia Giacopuzzi, age 15, and Jayne White, age 17, were arrested on 28 August near Senator Barack Hussein Obama's Denver, Colorado hotel.
The young women were writing messages in sidewalk chalk on the public sidewalk when the police officers rushed in and violently arrested the girls without warning or provocation. Mahoney was arrested and threatened with a felony for leading the event. They all were later released.
Throughout the convention, members of Survivors were using sidewalk chalk throughout the city of Denver with the permission of City Attorney David Fine and Denver Deputy Chief of Police John Lamb. It was understood by the young women that sidewalk chalk was an accepted medium, and they were given no warning by the police before being cuffed and dragged away.
Mahoney said of the arrests, "I am absolutely stunned, sickened and appalled by the excessive use of force by these police officers against these two young women at the Democratic National Convention. They were rushed without warning, physically forced to the ground, had a knee driven into their back, cuffed and dragged away. Their crime was simply writing pro-life messages on the sidewalk yards away from the hotel where Senator Barack Obama is staying. It must be stressed that they had permission from the Denver City Attorney and Police Department to do this and they were given no warning to stop.”
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, Post Office Box 52708, Riverside, California 92517, 951-750-1114, info@survivors.la
[2] Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches Enter Federative Union with United Reformed Churches in North America
In a 27 August letter to all Consistories of the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA), Rev. Harry Zekveld, URCNA Committee For Ecumenical Relations and Church Unity Secretary, announced that on 22 August 2008, the Federation of Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches (OCRC) met in Synod in Nobleton, Ontario, and accepted the invitation extended to the federation to enter into federative union with the URCNA on the basis of Three Forms of Unity and the Church Order. The invitation to the OCRC was made by Synod Schererville (2007) and subsequently ratified by a majority of the consistories of the URCNA, as required by the Church Order.
Zekveld stated that prior to the Synod, four of the five churches in the OCRC held congregational meetings in which members expressed themselves strongly in favor of a federational decision to accept the invitation. Due to other congregational concerns, the Cambridge OCRC consistory made a decision to postpone indefinitely dealing with the matter of joining with the URCNA. For this reason they also abstained from voting on the overture which was presented at Synod and will remain independent for the present. All the votes which were cast were in favor of accepting the invitation and joining with the URCNA.
Zekveld added that as per the invitation, the churches by virtue of last week’s synodical vote are received immediately into the URCNA, without conducting a colloquium doctum for their ministers. The congregations involved are in Bowmanville, Ontario; Burlington, Washington; Kelowna, British Columbia; and Nobleton, Ontario.
+ 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
[3] 2008 Colorado Springs Reformation Day Conference Announcement
The 2008 Colorado Springs Reformation Day Conference is scheduled for 31 October through 2 November at the Springs Reformed Church (RPCNA).
Dr. R. Scott Clark of Westminster Seminary California will be speaking on the theme of “Recovering The Reformation”.
+ Springs Reformed Church, 229 South Weber Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903, 719-577-4157, office@springsreformed.org
+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861
[4] First RP Conference On Mercy Ministries Announced
First Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA) of Grand Rapids, Michigan will host the Conference on Mercy Ministries on 7 February 2009 at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary chapel.
Rev. Barry York, pastor of Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA) in Kokomo, Indiana will be the featured speaker.
+ First Reformed Presbyterian Church, 2965 Leonard Street Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49525, raylann51@gmail.com
+ Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, 2965 Leonard Street Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-977-0599, Fax: 616-285-3246, info@puritanseminary.org
[5] Opportunity for Cambridge Presbyterian Church To Buy Church Property
Mission to the World Team Britain Team Leader David L. Cross writes that Cambridge Presbyterian Church (CPC) of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW) is reporting that the St. Stephens Church where they hold Sabbath morning services is for sale at an estimated $US2.4 million to $US3.25 million.
CPC serves a congregation of about 120 including people from a nearby US Air Force base and local university students.
Cross says that the church will soon decide whether to make an offer for the property or to seek other facilities for their morning services. He asks for joint prayer with the CPC congregation in seeking direction about this matter.
+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales, epcew@epcew.org.uk
+ Mission to the World (PCA), Post Office Box 116284, Atlanta, Georgia 30368, 678-823-0004 x2451, partnerservices@mtw.org
[6] Tainan Theological College Appoints President and Academic Dean
Tainan Theological College and Seminary (TTCS) of Tainan, Taiwan on 1 August appointed Dr. Lin Chuan-fen Academic Dean, and former Acting Academic Dean and Acting President Dr. Wu Fuya was appointed President. Dr. Wu’s installation will be marked on 15 September.
Dr. Lin has served the college in various capacities since 1981. She holds the Master of Theology from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois and a Ph.D. in social work and welfare from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Dr. Wu holds the Master of Divinity from TTCS, the Doctor of Ministry from Episcopal Divinity School of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Doctor of Theology from the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology of Quezon City, Philippines.
TTCS bills itself as "Taiwan's First University" based on its formal organization in 1876 to offer a four-year collegiate level course of education, modeled on that offered in the UK, for students intending to enter Christian ministry.
+ National Council of Churches, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 880, New York, New York 10115, info@ncccusa.org
+ Tainan Theological College and Seminary, 117 Tung-men Road, Section 1, Tainan, Taiwan, 886-6-237-1291, Fax:886-6-234-6060, ttcs@bbs.ttcs.org.tw
[7] African Children’s Choir to Perform at Meredith Drive Reformed Church in Des Moines
The African Children’s Choir (ACC) will be in concert at the Meredith Drive Reformed Church (RCA) in Des Moines, Iowa at 7:00 PM on 24 September 2008.
Admission is free, though a free-will offering will be taken.
The ACC, since being formed in 1984 has seen over seven hundred orphaned and vulnerable children join the Choir program, and the funds they have generated have provided the opportunity of education and hope for many thousands like them in some of the most desperate and needy areas of Africa.
+ Des Moines Register, 715 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309, 515-284-8000, publisher@dmreg.com
+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org
[8] Church of Scotland Approves ‘Pub in a Church’ Restoration Plan
The Church of Scotland has given approval of a restoration plan for the 
Lansdowne Parish Church at Kelvinbridge District in Glasgow’s West End that during the week will use the church main hall for theatre or music productions with a bar and restaurant annex, and on Sundays use the main hall for the normal church services.
Proceeds from the pub and restaurant would fund the church’s restoration work.
The church was built in 1863 and has a spire almost 220 feet high.
+ The Publican, 245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 9UY, England, 020-7955-3711, info@thepublican.com
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 4YN, 0131-225-5722
[9] Dead Sea Scrolls to be Digitized and Made Available Online
Digital photographs of the Dead Sea Scrolls are being photographed by Israeli authorities for placement on the Internet for public access. The project will take two years to complete.
+ The Telegraph, Victory House, Meeting House Lane, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TT, England, 0800-316-6977, telegraphenquiries@telegraph.co.uk
[10] Christians Flee to Forests as Mob Violence Escalates in Indian State
Gospel for Asia (GFA) leaders in India's Orissa state report that mob violence in the wake of the murder of Swami Laxmananand Saraswati, a top leader of the World Hindu Council and an outspoken opponent of Christianity who was killed by what are believed to be Maoist rebels. Hindu radicals have seized upon the killing as an excuse to incite violence against the area's Christian community.
At least twelve members of GFA-related churches have been murdered, but no one knows the overall death toll. As many as 20 GFA-related churches have been destroyed and hundreds of Christian families have been burned out of their homes.
GFA President K.P. Yohannan said, "The Christians in Orissa have fled for their lives into the forests, and some have been in hiding for three days without food or water. Several of our pastors are in the forest along with their church people, and one said that he could have escaped, but would rather die with his people than leave them."
Yohannan added, “"I have never seen persecution so bad in my life, and I have seen a lot of opposition to the Gospel over the years."
+ Gospel for Asia, 1800 Golden Trail Court, Carrollton, Texas 75010, 800-946-2742, info@gfa.org
+ Vishva Hindu Parishad, Sankat Mochan Hanuman Mandir Ashram, R.K. Puram Sector 6, New Delhi 110022, India, 9111- 26178992, Fax: 9111-26195527, jaishriram@vsnl.in
Correction:
The 27 August 2008 article ‘Presbyterian Church of Nigeria Holds First National Convention’ in error combined descriptions of events from the 2007 National Convention and events scheduled for the 18th General Assembly of August 2008. Dr. Usang’s message was from the 2007 event. Rev. Eme’s announcement of the opening of Hope Wadell University in Ohafia, Abia State refers to an event held in conjunction with the 18th General Assembly.
