Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] By One Vote Margin, Connecticut Supreme Court Legislates Homosexual Marriage
[2] First Graders Taken to San Francisco City Hall for Wedding of Teacher and Lesbian Partner
[3] California Couple Who Added “Bride” and “Groom” to Marriage License Still Not Legally Married
[4] The Rev. Heidi De Jonge is First CRC Classis Holland Woman Minister of the Word
[5] Scottish Island Presbyterians Evangelize Polish Roman Catholic Migrant Workers
[6] Nearly 1000 Christian Families Flee Mosul, Iraq After Recent Attacks
[7] Calvin Synod Eastern Classis Meeting Date Change
[8] Calvin Synod Essay Contest Announced
[9] Workington, England United Methodist and United Reformed Church Merger
[10] St. Andrew’s United Reformed Church of Roundhay, England Celebrates 100th Anniversary
[11] Heidelberg Reformation Association Annual Meeting Audio Available
[1] By One Vote Margin, Connecticut Supreme Court Legislates Homosexual Marriage
Circumventing and the executive and legislative branches, and thus the state constitution, on 10 October 2008 the Connecticut Supreme Court (CSC) by a 4-3 margin became the third state high court after Massachusetts and California to rule that state marriage licenses cannot be denied to same-sex couples.
The CSC’s Kerrigan v. Connecticut Department of Public Health decision states: "Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same-sex partner of their choice."
Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: "The [CSC] has trampled the law by voting to sanction 'same-sex marriage' and elevating practices most societies condemn. Same-sex marriage is not part of our American tradition, nor should it be. Mothers and fathers are not expendable; children need both parents. Since the court's opinion is not worth the paper it is written on, I urge the executive branch, beginning with the Governor, to ignore the court's ridiculous decision. This ruling violates natural law and common sense, and frankly it should be considered only for what it is - a delusional and misguided opinion of four people who don't know the difference between the judicial and the legislative branches of government."
+ Liberty Counsel, Post Office Box 540774, Orlando, Florida 32854, 800-671-1776, Liberty@LC.org
[2] First Graders Taken to San Francisco City Hall for Wedding of Teacher and Lesbian Partner
Eighteen first graders from San Francisco’s Creative Arts Charter School on 10 October 2008 were taken on a field trip to City Hall to congratulate their teacher who had just married another woman in a ceremony conducted by Mayor Gavin Newsom.
The Yes on 8 campaign of ProtectMarriage.com is urging California voters in the 4 November 2008 election to vote in the affirmative on the Proposition 8 ballot, which if enacted would overturn the California Supreme Court's 15 May 2008 same-sex marriage ruling.
Chip White, Press Secretary for Yes on 8 said, “It's totally unreasonable that a first grade field trip would be to a same-sex wedding. This is overt indoctrination of children who are too young to understand it.” White said that the field trip underscores the Yes on 8 campaign’s message that unless Proposition 8 passes, children will be taught about same-sex marriage in public schools. White added, “Not only can it happen, it has already happened.”
+ San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94103, 415-777-1111, readerrep@sfchronicle.com
+ ProtectMarriage.com, 915 L Street, Suite C-259, Sacramento, California 95814, 916-446-2956, info@protectmarriage.com
[3] California Couple Who Added “Bride” and “Groom” to Marriage License Still Not Legally Married
Gideon Codding and Rachel Bird were married in California in the summer of 2008 shortly after California changed the terms “Bride” and “Groom” on the state marriage license to the new terms, "Party A" and "Party B" following the May 2008 California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriages.
California subsequently rejected the couple’s marriage license because they had added the explanatory terms “Bride” and “Groom” next to the state’s new “Party A” and “Party B” designations.
Even though California has announced that starting 17 November 2008 the state marriage license form will again allow couples to identify themselves as “Bride” and “Groom,” Codding and Bird have yet to be deemed legally married by the state of California.
The couple is being represented by the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) in partnership with a Walnut Creek law firm to as PJI President Brad Dacus says, “We…are determined to continue this fight until we have a legally binding resolution protecting every future bride and groom in the state of California."
+ Pacific Justice Institute, Post Office Box 276600, Sacramento, California 95827, 916-857-6900 Fax: 916-857-6902, pji@pacificjustice.org
[4] The Rev. Heidi De Jonge is First CRC Classis Holland Woman Minister of the Word
On 5 October 2008, the Rev. Heidi De Jonge was installed as a minister of the Word at Harderwyk Ministries in Holland, Michigan, becoming the first woman in the history of the Christian Reformed Church’s Classis Holland to accept such a call.
+ Holland Sentinel, 54 West 8th Street, Holland, Michigan 49423, 616-546-4200, Fax: 616-393-6710, peter.esser@hollandsentinel.com
+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org
[5] Scottish Island Presbyterians Evangelize Polish Roman Catholic Migrant Workers
Columnist Allan Brown’s 12 October 2008 commentary concerns the recent influx of Polish Roman Catholic migrant workers into the Scottish islands, and how the Free Church, the Free Church (Continuing) and the Free Presbyterian Church are actively evangelizing among them.
The Rev. John MacLeod, assembly clerk of the Free Church (Continuing), is quoted as saying of the Poles, “[They have become] a natural constituency for us…They have social and spiritual needs that are not being met.”
Brown illustrates several aspects of what he calls “extreme” Scottish Presbyterianism by writing, “For those accustomed to the spiritual kindergarten that is the Church of Scotland, a Free Church (Continuing) service is formidable, perhaps even a little scary. The psalms are led by the Presenter, a man at the front who wails in a curious keening voice until the psalm gets to a catchy bit and everyone else joins in. The pews are filled by people with long, anxious Alastair Sim faces. The mournful sound almost makes you smell the seaweed on the beaches of the Minch.”
Brown closes his column by citing the predictable dismissal of these evangelization efforts by Scottish Roman Catholic prelates, and quotes cartoon character Bart Simpson during an episode where he switched faiths as saying, “Why focus on the stupid little things that divide us when we can concentrate on the stupid big things that unite us?” Brown then adds his own “Amen” to Bart’s philosophical discourse.
+ The Sunday Times, 1 Virginia Street, London E98 1XY, England, 020-7782-5000, comment@thetimes.co.uk
+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org
[6] Nearly 1000 Christian Families Flee Mosul, Iraq After Recent Attacks
Nearly 1000 Christian families have been forced to flee Mosul, Iraq to the northern and eastern fringes of the Nineveh province after attacks there since 28 September have killed at least eleven Christians.
At least three Christians homes in the Sukkar district of Mosul were blown up by unidentified attackers. This area is regarded by US and Iraqi security forces of one of the last urban bastions of the Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako says that more than 200 Christians had been killed and numerous Christian churches attacked since the US-led invasion in 2003, and added that one-third of the 800,000 Christians living in Iraq at the time of the invasion have fled the country.
Osama Al Najifi, a member of Iraq's parliament, a Sunni Muslim from Mosul, and a longtime defender of Iraqi minorities claimed 12 October 2008 that the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Kurdish Asayesh intelligence service are carrying out the attacks under the cover of the Iraqi military in order to Kurdify the city and change its demographic balance to serve Kurdish interests.
+ Assyrian International News Agency
[7] Calvin Synod Eastern Classis Meeting Date Change
The date of the Calvin Synod Eastern Classis Meeting has been changed from Saturday, 25 October to Sunday, 26 October, 2008.
+ Magyar Református Egyház
+ Calvin Synod, C/O Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop, 7319 Tapper Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46324, 219-931-4321, kkludwig@aol.com
[8] Calvin Synod Essay Contest Announced
The Calvin Synod announces an essay contest in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, and solicits entries from local churches of the Calvin Synod to include: 1) essays or poems from lay members; and 2) sermons or academic studies from Pastors.
Topics are to be similar to: “What Does it Mean to Me to Be a Calvinist?” or “The Importance of Calvin in My Life.”
+ Magyar Református Egyház
+ Calvin Synod, C/O Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop, 7319 Tapper Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46324, 219-931-4321, kkludwig@aol.com
[9] Workington, England United Methodist and United Reformed Church Merger
On 5 October 2008, the Trinity Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church of Workington, England conducted a ceremony marking the merger of the two churches into the new United Church congregation.
Those attending included representatives of other local churches and several invited dignitaries.
The Rev. Nicola Reynolds, pastor of the new congregation said, “We were very grateful to Tony Cunningham MP and his family and the mayors of Allerdale and Workington who were with us. It was a wonderful time of peace and fellowship.”
+ Times and Star, 21-27 Oxford Street, Workington, CA14 2AN, England, 01900-607600, Fax: 01900-607601, letters@times-and-star.co.uk
+ United Reformed Church, 86 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RT,
England, 020-7916-2020, Fax: 020-7916-2021, urc@urc.org.uk
[10] St. Andrew’s United Reformed Church of Roundhay, England Celebrates 100th Anniversary
St. Andrew’s United Reformed Church of Roundhay, England celebrated the 100th anniversary of its dedication on 6 October 1908.
St. Andrews currently has 50 community organizations that use its meeting rooms, and a big screen television where the community can watch World Cup football and Wimbledon tennis for free.
Additionally, St. Andrews has its own drama group and regularly stages special events – like a Harry Potter Day, Narnia Day and a gospel day.
+ Leeds Weekly News, Yorkshire Post Newspapers, Post Office Box 168, Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 1RF, England, 0113-2388637, sheila.holmes@ypn.co.uk
+ United Reformed Church, 86 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RT,
England, 020-7916-2020, Fax: 020-7916-2021, urc@urc.org.uk
[11] Heidelberg Reformation Association Annual Meeting Audio Available
An MP3 audio of the message "Comforted or Comforter" given by Rev. Howard Sloan at the Second Annual Meeting of the Heidelberg Reformation Association in Bedford, Pennsylvania on 11 October 2008 is now available at the organization’s website.
+ Heidelberg Reformation Association, Rev. Howard Sloan, Secretary, 5543 Business 220, Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
