30 December 2009

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Reformed Presbyterian Pastor and Christian Activist Asks Whether Presidential Candidate Barack Hussein Obama Misled Christians about His Christian Faith
[2] Danish Media Organ Claims Barack Hussein Obama Greater than Jesus Christ
[3] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Moderator, in Christmas and New Year Message, Urges Uprooting of What Hinders Ghana’s Development
[4] New Documentary on Hungarian Reformed Churches in the U.S. Includes Story of Darr Mine Explosion of 1907
[5] Calvin Synod Winter/Spring 2010 Central Classis Meeting Scheduled 13 February 2010 at First Hungarian Reformed Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
[6] Crowland Presbyterian Church Marks 175^th Anniversary
[7] Greyfriars Parish Church of Lanark, Scotland, Goes A’ Wassailing Christmas Eve at the Clydesdale Inn Pub
[8] Reformed Church in Hungary Bishop Gusztav Bolcskei Condemns Copenhagen Climate Change Summit for Lack of Action
[9] Lifeway Research Survey of 1000 Protestant Pastors Finds Two-Thirds Believe Islam to be a Dangerous Religion
[10] 1960 Christians Killed by Gunmen in Iraq Since U.S.-Led Invasion in 2003
[11] Islamic Terror Roots of Fort Hood Jihad Massacre Ignored by U.S. Left


[Note: This issue of Presbyterians Week is posted a day later than scheduled in order that several last-minute articles can be included.]


[1] Reformed Presbyterian Pastor and Christian Activist Asks Whether Presidential Candidate Barack Hussein Obama Misled Christians about His Christian Faith

In a 30 December 2009 news release, Reformed Presbyterian pastor and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition the Rev. Pat Mahoney points out that presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama attended church regularly during the 2008 presidential campaign, but since taking office as U.S. President, has neither attended church on a regular basis nor found a church home in Washington DC.

Mahoney asks whether or not integrity and honesty are demonstrated by a presidential candidate that makes involvement in a local church community with regular church attendance a key component of his campaign, but once elected has no relationship with a local church, and Mahoney says the resultant appearance is that the claimed importance of a church community to Obama’s family was not a deeply held core belief, but rather a crass political calculation to curry favor with the faith community.

Mahoney continues by listing Obama’s most egregious snubs of Christianity since becoming U.S. President, and addresses the U.S. President, saying: “….To portray yourself as person of deep Christian faith and very involved in the life of the local church during the campaign and then abandon that position after you are elected reduces faith to a commodity and religion to a political tool….[I]f your Christian faith and involvement with a local church means as much to you as you say it does, please find a vibrant local community for you and your family to worship Christ."

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

+ Christian Defense Coalition, Post Office Box 77168, Washington DC 20013, 202-547-1735, ChristianDefense@gmail.com


[2] Danish Media Organ Claims Barack Hussein Obama Greater than Jesus Christ

A 28 December 2009 editorial in Danish news website Politiken.dk declares that U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama is greater than Jesus Christ, calling Obama “the practical saviour of our times.”

+ Politiken.dk, Rådhuspladsen 37 1785 København V, Denmark, info@tgt.dk


[3] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Moderator, in Christmas and New Year Message, Urges Uprooting of What Hinders Ghana’s Development

The Daily Graphic and MyJoyOnline.com reported in a 25 December 2009 article that in his final Christmas and New Year message as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Yaw Frimpong-Manso urged Ghanians to make a high priority of uprooting activities that hinder Ghana’s national development. Activities including bribery, corruption, dehumanization and marginalization of people, political incorrectness, and greed were cited as hindrances.

Instead, Dr. Frimpong-Manso urged Ghanians to build up “…walls of fellowship, commonality and fellow-feeling to strengthen our welfare systems…and to contribute our quota towards the building of the political, social, economic, and religious walls of our nation."

+ MyJoyOnline.com, 3rd Floor Trust Towers, Farrar Avenue, Accra, Ghana, 233-21-226151, Fax: 233-21-233697, info@myjoyonline.com

+ Daily Graphic, Number 3 Graphic Road, Accra, Ghana, 233-21-684001-10, Fax: 233-21-684019, graphic@ncs.com.gh

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


[4] New Documentary on Hungarian Reformed Churches in the U.S. Includes Story of Darr Mine Explosion of 1907

Frances Borsodi Zajac of The Herald-Standard reports in a 17 December 2009 article titled “Darr Mine Disaster Mentioned in New Overseas Documentary” that a new documentary on DVD, in Hungarian and in English, about the establishment of Hungarian Reformed churches in the United States.

Missionary to the United States for the Reformed Church in Hungary in Debrecen, Hungary, the Rev. Attila Kocsis of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, said: "The film is about Hungarian churches that were established in the United States and stopped to function in past decades because they lost their membership when people moved away for different reasons. It is in memory of those people who lived here, served here, were members of congregations, built churches, and became good citizens of the United States.''

Calvin Synod pastor the Rev. Alexander Jalso of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, is shown in the documentary leading a prayer for the victims of the Darr Mine explosion that occurred 19 December 1907, in Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania, which killed 239 miners, making the Darr Mine explosion the second worst in U.S. history and the worst ever in Pennsylvania history. Pastor Jalso commented: "It is a piece of history and very important. The tragedy is deep and we should not forget those who sacrificed their lives.''

The DVD documentary is available from Pastor Kocsis by telephone at 732-442-7799 or by email at attlkcss@hotmail.com.

+ The Herald-Standard, 8-18 East Church Street, Uniontown, Pennsylvania 15401, 724-439-7569, Fax: 724-439-7559, tsnead@heraldstandard.com

+ Reformed Church in Hungary, MRE Zsinata1146 Budapest, Abonyi u. 21., Hungary, 30-3361-666, info@reformatus.hu

+ Calvin Synod, C/O Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop, 7319 Tapper Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46324, 219-931-4321, kkludwig@aol.com


[5] Calvin Synod Winter/Spring 2010 Central Classis Meeting Scheduled 13 February 2010 at First Hungarian Reformed Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Calvin Synod Winter/Spring 2010 Central Classis Meeting is scheduled for 13 February 2010 at the First Hungarian Reformed Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

+ Calvin Synod, C/O Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop, 7319 Tapper Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46324, 219-931-4321, kkludwig@aol.com


[6] Crowland Presbyterian Church Marks 175^th Anniversary

The Welland Tribune reported in a 26 December 2009 article that the Crowland Presbyterian Church (CPC) (Presbyterian Church in Canada) of Crowland Township in Welland County, Ontario, Canada, is celebrating its 175^th anniversary.

CPC traces its roots to 1834 when the Church of Scotland sent the Rev. Angus McIntosh, who served for several years between Fort Erie and Port Dalhousie, preaching at stated intervals in Cook's Mills and in Doan's Ridge. CPC has been served by the Rev. Maria Lallouet since 1994.

+ Welland Tribune, 228 East Main Street, Welland, Ontario, Canada
L3B 5P5, 905-732-2411, Fax: 905-732-3660, Contact Page

+ The Presbyterian Church in Canada, 50 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario M3C 1J7, 416-441-1111, Fax: 416-441-2825, skendall@presbyterian.ca

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


[7] Greyfriars Parish Church of Lanark, Scotland, Goes A’ Wassailing Christmas Eve at the Clydesdale Inn Pub

Trevor Grundy of Ecumenical News International, in a 23 December 2009 article titled “You Might Meet Jesus in a Pub, Says Scottish Minister,” tells of the members of Greyfriars Parish Church (Church of Scotland) in Lanark, Scotland, who gathered at the Lanark pub, The Clydesdale Inn, on Christmas Eve 2009 for a carol singing session for the pub patrons.

Additionally, the pub is serving a new brew called “Greyfriars Kirk Christmas Ale,” described as “a special beer brewed for those bursting with goodwill and festive song.”

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

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


[8] Reformed Church in Hungary Bishop Gusztav Bolcskei Condemns Copenhagen Climate Change Summit for Lack of Action

In a 27 December 2009 article titled “Reformed Church Head Condemns Climate Summit,” The Budapest Times reports that in a 25 December 2009 message at the Reformed “Great Church” (Református Nagytemplom) in Debrecen, Hungary, Reformed Church in Hungary Bishop Gusztav Bolcskei condemned the recent Climate Change Summit meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the lack of substantive action taken during the summit.

Bishop Bolcskei described the purpose of the Climate Change Summit as being “to leave a still habitable Earth to our children,” but lamented that the international representatives adjourned the summit with important tasks “left…undone….”

Bishop Bolcskei additionally remarked that Hungary continues to be in the same state of misery as was the country prior to the overthrow of communism twenty years ago, describing Hungary as “roaming in the wasteland just as before," concluding that Jesus Christ is what Hungary needs in order to be guided “to a place where we can settle and find peace.”

+ The Budapest Times, 1037 Budapest, Kunigunda útja 18., Hungary, 36-1-453-0752, editor@budapesttimes.hu

+ Reformed Church in Hungary


[9] Lifeway Research Survey of 1000 Protestant Pastors Finds Two-Thirds Believe Islam to be a Dangerous Religion

A recent survey of 1000 Protestant pastors by Lifeway Research finds that two-thirds of the pastors believe Islam to be a dangerous religion, forty-five percent agreeing strongly and twenty-one percent agreeing somewhat. Among evangelical pastors, seventy-seven percent agree strongly or somewhat, while among mainline pastors forty-four percent agree strongly or somewhat, and thirty-eight percent strongly disagree.

+ Lifeway Research, One Lifeway Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee 37234, 615-251-2000, Contact Page


[10] 1960 Christians Killed by Gunmen in Iraq Since U.S.-Led Invasion in 2003

A 26 December 2009 article in Aswat al-Iraq (Voices of Iraq) reports that head of the Chaldean Cultural Association for Peace, Hawal Ziqiya Masho, told Aswat al-Iraq that 1960 Christians in Iraq have been gunned down since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Masho further reports that the number of Iraqi Christians in Iraq since the 2003 invasion have dwindled from 2.1 million to 500,000. In the same time period, 500,000 Iraqi Christians have had their property confiscated, 200,000 Iraqi Christians have been forced to pay extortion money, and dozens of Iraqi Christians have been kidnapped, then released after a ransom is paid.

Masho reports too, that violence in Iraq against Christians is supported by an unnamed neighboring country, and concludes that: “There is a plan to flush all Christians out of Iraq.”

+ Aswat al-Iraq, 7706-510-546, aswat.info@gmail.com


[11] Islamic Terror Roots of Fort Hood Jihad Massacre Ignored by U.S. Left

FrontPage Magazine Editor Jamie Glazov’s 22 December 2009 City Journal article titled “Fort Hood Denial” lists the conclusive evidence that U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s Fort Hood Jihad Massacre was an act of Islamic terrorism, including that:

-- Major Hasan described, to colleagues, non-Muslims as infidels, condemned to hell, that should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats.

-- Major Hasan exchanged eighteen email messages with al-Qaida recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki.

-- Major Hasan shouted “Allahu akbar” (God (Allah) is great) as he began shooting U.S. troops at Fort Hood.

Glazov additionally lists rationalizations being used by U.S. leftists to deny the Islamic terrorist jihadist roots of Hasan’s massacre including:

-- Hasan was insane.

-- Hasan was stressed by U.S. military service.

-- Hasan experienced anti-Islamic discrimination

Glazov goes on to describe characteristics of the leftist worldview, the peer-pressure among leftists to tow the party line [political correctness, Cultural Marxism, ed.], and predicts more of the same denial “with all of its irrationality and disregard for human life.”

In related matters, the Jihad Watch website has published two new articles related to the attempted bombing on 25 December 2009 of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 titled “Two Al-Qaeda Top Dogs Behind Flight 253 Jihad Plot were Released from Gitmo” and “Obama Ignores Flight 253 Jihadist's Ties to Al-Qaeda and Fort Hood Imam, Calls Him "Isolated Extremist."

+ Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, New York 10017, 212-599-7000, Fax: 212-599-3494, hmartone@manhattan-institute.org

+ FrontPage Magazine, Post Office Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, California 91499, Contact Page

+ Delta (Northwest) Airlines Inc., Post Office Box 20706, Atlanta, Georgia 30320, 404-715-2600, Contact Page