Tuesday, March 30, 2010

31 March 2010


Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] The Erskine College and Theological Seminary Empire Continues to Strike Back (
Extended Article)

[2] Five-Year Anniversary of the Murder by Starvation and Dehydration of Terri Schiavo Marked Today, 31 March 2010, in Washington DC

[3] Investors in Bankrupt Presbyterian Mutual Society with at least UK£20,000 Invested to Receive UKp12 per UK£ Invested, Lesser Investors to Get Nothing

[4] Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland Calls upon United Kingdom Citizens to Demonstrate against Visit of Roman Catholic Pontiff

[5] PCUSA Offers Early Retirement Packages to Thirty Louisville, Kentucky, Headquarters Employees in Effort to Cut Budget Twenty Percent by 2012

[6] First Presbyterian Church of Beaver, Pennsylvania, Leaves PCUSA for EPC after US$133,700 Payout to PCUSA Beaver-Butler Presbytery

[7] Former PCUSA Church Members at Auction Win Back Church Taken by Genesee Valley Presbytery, the Winning Bid being Twelve and One-Half Percent of Assessed Value

[8] Blogger Reports on Missions Conference in Doornpoort, South Africa

[9] Reformed Theological Seminary Establishing Houston, Texas, Satellite Campus at Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church

[10] Biblical Worldview Student Conference at Milligan College, Johnson City, Tennessee, 31 May – 5 June 2010

[11] Family Research Institute Asks Why “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Regulation is being Relaxed when Ten Percent of Military-on-Military Assaults are Committed by Homosexuals

[12] March 2010 Articles on the Presbyterian Mission Union Website

[13] Flickr Features Photo and Article about St. Peter's German Evangelical Church, now Free Magyar Reformed Church of Staten Island, New York, New York

[14] Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary Makes Available Online Puritan Electronic Research Tool

[15] Hungarian Reformed Church Youth Camp 18-24 July 2010 in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania

[Addendum] to 24 March 2010 Article [6] Westminster Seminary Graduate Dr. Anthony Bradley Publishes Liberating Black Theology


----


[1] The Erskine College and Theological Seminary Empire Continues to Strike Back (Extended Article)

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) Teaching Elder the Rev. Dr. Charles W. Wilson, in the 27 March 2010 Email Three on Dr. Wilson’s ARPTalk Blog, reported that the presiding judge in the 25 March 2010 hearing concerning the restraining order filed by Erskine College and Theological Seminary alumni against the ARP General Synod (ARP-GS) continued the restraining order for an additional ten days so that summations can be written and submitted to the judge, who will then render a decision regarding whether or not a permanent injunction will be made against the changes to the Erskine Board of Trustees made by the ARP-GS at the called meeting of 2-3 March 2010.

In ARPTalk Issue Twenty-Seven dated 23 March 2010, Dr. Wilson published an email message received from Erskine College English professor Dr. William Crenshaw concerning the following item listed in the 13 March 2010 ARPTalk Email One in a list of findings of the ARP Moderator’s Commission on Erskine College and Theological Seminary:

“8. An English professor who openly acknowledges that he stands in defiance of the Erskine Mission and evangelical Christian faith, who tells students to go to “hell” and other such disgraceful things, who publicly mocks the Christian faith of a colleague in the colleague’s classroom at Erskine, and then smugly denies that there is a “culture of intimidation” at Erskine;”

Dr. Crenshaw’s email to Dr. Wilson says that the above item is inaccurate, and that if there are any adverse actions to Dr. Crenshaw because of the above item, that Dr. Crenshaw will sue Dr. Wilson for slander and libel. Dr. Crenshaw additionally claims that there will be no problem raising funds for a lawsuit because of the “legions…of people eager to see your hide tacked on a legal wall. You’ve made far too many enemies over the years, my friend, and the arena is about to change.”

Dr. Wilson’s response to Dr. Crenshaw defines a new word “lawsuiting,” of which Dr. Wilson’s definition includes “any threat of or actual legal action by those who have ignored and circumvented the mission of Erskine College and Seminary to obstruct those seeking the implementation of the mission of Erskine College and Seminary.”

ARPTalk Issue Twenty-Seven additionally includes excerpts from the Alumni for Erskine Facebook group, including a comparison of the ARPs to the Taliban, an anonymous post calling ARP Moderator the Rev. Dr. John de Witt the “Pope” and Dr. de Witt’s church the “Vatican,” a description of the ARPs as “FAR RIGHT NEO NAZI JERKS,” and various other name calling and flights of factual and theological fancy.

Dr. Wilson ends ARPTalk Issue Twenty-Seven with the following prayer:

“Through the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit we come to thee, our God and our Father: Blessed is thy great name, for thou hast made the heavens and the earth and hast come to sinful men in mercy and grace to redeem from us a people to be thine own dear children.

“We are sinners who are unworthy of thy favor. We have not watched over those things that thou hast entrusted to our stewardship. We have been careless in honoring thy Word – thy Word which is Truth. We have walked in willful ways and treated thy commandments and injunctions as though they were mere suggestions. Have mercy and forgive us. Grant to us a repentance of the heart and not simply of high-sounding rhetoric. And, if it be thy will, grant to us a new beginning and new hearts, washed and revived, to serve thee in joy and faithfulness.

“O Lord, for too long we have halted between two opinions. We have made unworthy our name, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. We have polluted our sense of family, our sacred traditions, and our institutions by allowing them to become idols. No wonder we are poor and small and weak and sick and dying and a laughingstock! Our orthodoxy is only words and our practice is betrayal by compromise and accommodation, for we have so long harbored Achans in our camp, and thou hast sent thine angel to oppose us.

“O Lord, by thy Spirit, bring to us the works of reclamation and renewal and reformation in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and Erskine College and Seminary. Thou, God of the Bible is mighty and strong, for thine own name and the cause of thine own dear children, work, we pray, the fires of renewal in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and all her agencies. Remove and dismay those who would dress the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in the soiled rags and dying flesh of unbelief. Father, bring down the idolatry of secular academia that covers its hatred of the God of the Bible and the church of the Lord Jesus with the high sounding platitudes of academic freedom and inquiry as they assiduously seek to undermine the faith of our covenant children and those others to whom we have been given charge. Send thine angel to guard those who are bold for Truth. Honor thy Word written and Jesus thy living Word, and the cause of thy church as she is represented by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church with a new day of faithfulness and integrity and reformation and refreshing so that we may be an effective arm for the redemptive work of the Lord of the universe, Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.”

+ ARPTalk Blog, wilson6114@bellsouth.net

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936, gaston@erskine.edu


[2] Five-Year Anniversary of the Murder by Starvation and Dehydration of Terri Schiavo Marked Today, 31 March 2010, in Washington DC

The Fifth Anniversary of the judicially-sanctioned murder of Terri Schiavo on 31 March 2005 by starvation and dehydration is being recognized today at 11:00 a.m. EDT in Washington DC by the Christian Defense Coalition, Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital, and Generation Life, by the placement of a single rose and prayer in front of the White House.

The leaders of the three organizations will additionally hold a news conference to discuss the legacy of Terri Schiavo's life and death and the impact it has on the current healthcare debate concerning end of life issues and the controversy over "death panels."

The leaders will draw attention to President Barack Hussein Obama's lack of commitment to human rights and the disabled community in America, and will especially focus on his comments during the Presidential campaign when then-Senator Barack Hussein Obama stated that it was a mistake for the U.S. Senate intervening to help Terri Schiavo.

+ 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

+ Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital, 109 Second Avenue Northeast, Washington DC 20002, 202-546-8329, Fax: 202-546-6864, Info@FaithAndAction.org

+ Generation Life, 590 Snyder Avenue, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19382, 215-885-8760, Mail@GenerationLife.org

+ United States Senate, Washington DC 20510, 202-224-3121, ahazen@aoc.gov


[3] Investors in Bankrupt Presbyterian Mutual Society with at least UK£20,000 Invested to Receive UKp12 per UK£ Invested, Lesser Investors to Get Nothing

A 24 March 2010 article in the Belfast Telegraph titled “Reduced Payout of Cold Comfort to PMS Investors” reports that savers with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI)’s bankrupt Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS) with investments of at least UK£20,000 will receive UKp12 per UK£ invested by the end of May 2010, while savers with less than UK£20,000 will receive nothing.

The Moderator of the PCI reported being contacted by a widow who cannot afford to pay for her late husband’s funeral, and by a single mother of two who faces losing their home because her less-than UK£20,000 savings were invested in the PMS. The PCI moderator is hoping for a buyout of the PMS by a larger financial entity so that the smaller PMS investors would again get access to their savings.

+ Belfast Telegraph, 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1EB, Northern Ireland, 028-9026-4000, writeback@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

+ Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW, Northern Ireland, 028-9032-2284, Fax: 028-9041-7301, Info@PresbyterianIreland.org


+
Presbyterian Mutual Society, Glengall Exchange, Glengall Street,
Belfast BT12 5AB, Northern Ireland, 028-9031-1232, Fax: 028-9031-1441, pms@arthurboyd.co.uk


[4] Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland Calls upon United Kingdom Citizens to Demonstrate against Visit of Roman Catholic Pontiff

A 25 March 2010 BBC article reports that the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland (GOLI) is urging citizens of the United Kingdom and members of the Orange Order to demonstrate against the upcoming visit to the United Kingdom of Roman Catholic pontiff Pope Benedict XVI.

A statement by the GOLI says: "We take this opportunity to call on all the people of our land to examine the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, especially on the matter of eternal salvation, to see that the teaching of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church is at total variance with the Biblical message that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone….At the same time, we call on all members of the Loyal Orange Institution to refrain from any uncharitable acts or sentiments against our Roman Catholic fellow countrymen…anyone welcoming Pope Benedict is in danger of appearing to acknowledge his primacy and universal supremacy as Vicar of Christ on earth. "

+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398

+ Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, Schomberg House, 368 Cregagh Road, Belfast BT6 9YE, Northern Ireland, 028-9070-1122, Fax: 028-9040-3700, info@grandorangelodge.co.uk

+ The Vatican, Città del Vaticano, Rome, Italy, 39-6-69-88-35-11, Fax: 39-6-69-88-54-47, Contact Page


[5] PCUSA Offers Early Retirement Packages to Thirty Louisville, Kentucky, Headquarters Employees in Effort to Cut Budget Twenty Percent by 2012

A 29 March 2010 article by Peter Smith in The Courier-Journal titled “Hit by Economy, Presbyterian Council Plans Further Cuts,” reports that Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s General Assembly Mission Council has offered severance packages to thirty employees in the PCUSA headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, as part of an effort to shrink the headquarters budget twenty percent by 2012.

The PCUSA since 2002 has eliminated 250 positions in five separate actions, 186 of these by layoff, and is expecting a nineteen percent drop in yearly revenue in 2012 compared to the projected 2010 revenue.

The most recent thirty employees offered severance packages have until 3 May 2010 to respond to the offers.

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

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


[6] First Presbyterian Church of Beaver, Pennsylvania, Leaves PCUSA for EPC after US$133,700 Payout to PCUSA Beaver-Butler Presbytery

A 25 March 2010 article by Lillian Kwon in The Christian Post titled “Multi-Site Church Cleared to Leave [PCUSA],” reports that First Presbyterian Church of Beaver, Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s Beaver-Butler Presbytery US$133,700 to retain their church property and join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

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

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

+ Beaver-Butler Presbytery, 134-B South Main Street,
Zelienople, Pennsylvania 16063, 724-452-7515, Fax: 724-452-7522, office@beaverbutler.org

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


[7] Former PCUSA Church Members at Auction Win Back Church Taken by Genesee Valley Presbytery, the Winning Bid being Twelve and One-Half Percent of Assessed Value

A 22 March 2010 article in The Layman Online by Edward Terry titled “Congregation Wins Back Property at Auction” reports that the majority of the former members of a Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) church in Oakfield, New York, that in 2009 left the Oakfield Independent Presbyterian Church to form the Oakfield Community Bible Church, on 18 March 2010 won back their former church property at auction from the PCUSA’s Presbytery of the Genesee Valley for a winning bid of US$50,000, equivalent to twelve and one-half percent of the church property’s US$400,000 assessed value.

The Oakfield Independent Presbyterian Church was formed in 2007 by those who left the PCUSA church, then lost the majority of their members in 2009 when they left to form the
Oakfield Community Bible Church. The majority of the congregation left Oakfield Independent Presbyterian Church after the Presbytery of the Genesee Valley was awarded the church property in a court decision, leaving only about a dozen church members. The remnant congregation lost a court appeal in May 2009.

The
Oakfield Community Bible Church is hoping that the remnant members of the Oakfield Independent Presbyterian Church will rejoin them for worship in their once-former church.

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

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

+ Presbytery of the Genesee Valley, 1190 Winton Road South, Rochester,
New York 14618, 585-242-0080, Fax: 585-242-0086, office@pbygenval.org


[8] Blogger Reports on Missions Conference in Doornpoort, South Africa

Steve Hayes published an article 25 March 2010 on his Khanya Blog titled “Mission Conference” where he reported on a 24 March 2010 missions conference he attended at the NG Kerk in Doornpoort, South Africa.

One of the speakers Mr. Hayes described was Nico Botha, “who spoke about the lack of mission consciousness in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA).” Botha said that several evangelism programs had been tried, including Evangelism Explosion III and Alpha courses, “but there was no mission consciousness, and instead an attitude of neocolonial dependence.” Botha said that many of the URCSA churches are still financially supported by their “mother” church, the Dutch Reformed Church (NGK), and that “[p]erhaps postcolonial theory could help them to deal with that situation.”

Mr. Hayes described the conference attendees as overwhelmingly “pale and male,” as only four of the forty attendees were women, and Mr. Botha was the only black attendee.

Marius Nel spoke about the mostly Dutch Reformed Southern African Partnership of Missional Churches, whose three key spiritual practices are:

-- Dwelling in the World - where people focus for seven days on their interactions with strangers and acquaintances;

-- Plunging - where people try to enter the world of people with whom they don’t normally interact; and,

-- Dwelling in the Word - where people read the Bible together, listening to the Scripture and trying to hear what it is saying to them and to those with whom they have been interacting.

+ Khanya Blog, shayes@dunelm.org.uk

+ Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, c/o Professor S.T. Kgatla, 015-296-0005, Fax: 015-296-0005, kgatla@mweb.co.za

+ Dutch Reformed Church, Posbus 13528, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria, South Africa, 27-0-12-342-0092, Fax: 27-0-12-342-0380, algemenesinode@ngkerk.org.za


[9] Reformed Theological Seminary Establishing Houston, Texas, Satellite Campus at Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church

Reformed Theological Seminary has entered into an agreement with Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas, to establish an extension campus at the church, which becomes the sixth campus of RTS.

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

+
Reformed Theological Seminary – Charlotte, 2101 Carmel Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28226, 704-366-5066, Fax: 704-366-9295, rts.charlotte@rts.edu


[10] Biblical Worldview Student Conference at Milligan College, Johnson City, Tennessee, 31 May – 5 June 2010

The Biblical Worldview Student Conference will be held 31 May – 5 June 2010 at Milligan College in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Conference costs, including room and board, are a maximum of US$350, with discounts for early registration and for chaperones.

Registration information is available at:

http://www.westminsterkpt.org/bwsc/registration/registration.htm

The conference is sponsored by Westminster Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Kingsport, Tennessee.

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


[11] Family Research Institute Asks Why “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Regulation is being Relaxed when Ten Percent of Military-on-Military Assaults are Committed by Homosexuals

A 25 March 2010 news release by the Family Research Institute (FRI) titled “Relax Enforcement When Gays Commit Ten Percent of Military-on-Military Assaults?” references U.S. Department of Defense reports showing that ten percent of military-on-military assaults are committed by homosexuals, meaning that in 2009, a homosexual male was eight times more likely to assault a serviceman than was a heterosexual serviceman likely to assault a servicewoman, and a homosexual woman was thirty times more likely to assault a servicewoman than was a heterosexual servicewoman likely to assault a serviceman.

The FRI concludes that “[m]aking military service easier for those most apt to assault doesn't demonstrate 'common decency' or 'common sense.'"

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which describes itself as “dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry,” lists the FRI among Colorado-based “hate groups” including the Aryan Nations Revival, the Nation of Islam, the National Socialist Movement [Nazis], and the United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

The SPLC additionally designates as hate groups Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, the Massachusetts citizen's group Mass Resistance, the Illinois Family Institute, and the Traditional Values Coalition.

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

+ Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, Post Office Box 5522, Naperville, Illinois 60567, 630-717-7631, Contact Page

+ Family Research Institute, Post Office Box 62640,
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80962, 303-681-3113, Contact Page

+ Mass Resistance, Post Office Box 1612, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, 781-890-6001, Contact Page

+ Illinois Family Institute, Post Office Box 88848, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, 708-781-9328, Fax: 708-781-9376, Contact Page

+ Traditional Values Coalition, 139 "C" Street Southeast, Washington DC 20003, 202-547-8570, Fax: 202-546-6403, mail@traditionalvalues.org

+
Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104, 334-956-8200, Contact Page


[12] March 2010 Articles on the Presbyterian Mission Union Website

New articles for March 2010 on the Presbyterian Missionary Union website include:

-- Partnering in Ministry with Myanmar;

-- God’s Blessings Come Down with the Rain;

-- Introducing Team Timothy New York City 2010; and,

-- Missionaries in the Home Office .

+ Presbyterian Missionary Union, 1650 Love Road, Grand Island, New York 14072, 716-775-0442, office@presbyterianmissions.org

+ Bible Presbyterian Church


[13] Flickr Features Photo and Article about St. Peter's German Evangelical Church, now Free Magyar Reformed Church of Staten Island, New York, New York

A Flickr photo and article about St. Peter's German Evangelical Church, now Free Magyar Reformed Church of Staten Island, New York, New York, provides the history of the church built in 1883 for German immigrants, where a Magyar Reformed congregation that shared the church was established in 1915, and soon acquired the church to serve the growing Hungarian population of the area called Kreischerville.

The interesting and unusual architecture of the church features what the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission describes as an “unusual porch that is domestic in scale and form, and by the emphasis on verticality provided by the tall spire and rows of small gabled dormers in the steeply-pitched gable roof.”

+ Yahoo! Inc., 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089, 408-349-3300, Fax: 408-349-3301


[14] Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary Makes Available Online Puritan Electronic Research Tool

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (PRTS) is in the process of scanning all 65,000 library volumes for use with the Puritan Electronic Research Tool (PERT), a tool designed at PRTS for use by pastors, students, and laypeople to help find Scripture references and related commentary that may be buried within a book.

PERT is available for use, entirely free, at:

http://pert.puritanseminary.org/index.aspx.

+ Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, 2965 Leonard Street Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-977-0599, Fax: 616-285-3246, info@puritanseminary.org


[15] Hungarian Reformed Church Youth Camp 18-24 July 2010 in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania

The Hungarian Reformed Church Youth Camp for 2010 is scheduled for 18-24 July at the Laurelville Mennonite Church Center in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania.

The camp theme is "The B.I.B.L.E. ~ That's the Book for Me! From Genesis to Revelation, His Truth Revealed!" or in Hungarian, "A BIBLIA ~ Ez aztán a nekem való Könyv! Mózestől a Jelenésekig: minden lapja az Úr szava!"

For further information, please call Gabe Csapó at 609-758-5113 or
Les Török at 614-497-1026.

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


[Addendum] to 24 March 2010 Article [6] Westminster Seminary Graduate Dr. Anthony Bradley Publishes Liberating Black Theology

John Lofton conducted a radio interview with Dr. Anthony B. Bradley on Lofton’s The American View titled: “Dr. Anthony B. Bradley Re: The Need To Liberate Black Theology From Its Racist Victimology,” which is available here:

http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=1613

John Lofton’s and co-host Michael Anthony Peroutka’s The American View can be heard daily, live, from 11 a.m. to noon eastern time on NationalProlifeRadio.net. Archives of The American View radio programs are available at:

http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=5

+ The American View, 8028 Ritchie Highway Suite 303, Pasadena, Maryland 21122, 410-766-8592, jlof@aol.com




Tuesday, March 23, 2010

24 March 2010


Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Christian Defense Coalition Director Responds to U.S. House of Representatives Passage of Health Care Legislation

[2] ARP General Synod Moderator Expresses ‘Grief, Shock, and Dismay’ over Erskine College and Theological Seminary Lawsuit

[3] History Professor Puts Erskine College and Theological Seminary Controversy into Historical Perspective

[4] Hope College Alumni Group Pressuring for Removal of 1995 Institutional Statement on Homosexuality

[5] United Nations Commission Panel Discussion for Girl Scouts Features Planned Parenthood Brochure Encouraging Girls to “Talk Dirty” and Engage in Aberrant Sex

[6] Westminster Seminary Graduate Dr. Anthony Bradley Publishes Liberating Black Theology

[7] Philadelphia PCA Pastor Seeks to Replace Prosperity Gospel in Black Churches with Biblically-Grounded, Redemptive Christianity

[8] Atlanta Superior Court Issues Summary Judgment Against UCC Southeast Conference in Attempted Church Confiscation


-----

[1] Christian Defense Coalition Director Responds to U.S. House of Representatives Passage of Health Care Legislation

Reformed Presbyterian minister and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition the Rev. Pat Mahoney responded in the late evening of Sunday, 21 March 2010, to the U.S. House of Representatives passage of the Health Care Bill earlier in the evening:

"Today is a tragic and sad day for America. As part of health care legislation, we are now asking all Americans to pay for the killing of innocent children through abortion with their tax dollars.
"As we have been saying during this entire debate, abortion is not health care. Health care should be about compassion and mercy not violence and the diminishing of women.

"Although the pro-life and faith community is profoundly saddened by this vote, we are also highly motivated and energized as we look toward the midterm congressional elections in the fall of 2010.

"We plan to mobilize the pro-life and faith community in record numbers to see that Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid no longer serve in those positions during the next Congress.

"Our message will be clear and simple to the voters this fall regarding every member of Congress who supported this legislation. Here it is: These legislators who voted for the passage of this health care bill are the ones who are now forcing you to pay for the killing of innocent children with your tax dollars.

"We are confident this will have a powerful impact on Catholic and Evangelical voters this November.

"After the defeat of the Alamo, a powerful cry was heard across the nation which has inspired Americans for generations. That cry was, 'Remember the Alamo!'

"From the ashes of this defeat, another powerful cry will be heard. 'Remember March 21!' We believe as Americans understand what happened today they will work with unprecedented passion to ensure this bill is reversed and human rights and social justice are once again embraced in this country."

+ 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

+ U.S. House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515, 202- 224-3121, Contact Page


[2] ARP General Synod Moderator Expresses ‘Grief, Shock, and Dismay’ over Erskine College and Theological Seminary Lawsuit

A 22 March 2010 article by Felicia Kitzmiller in The Index-Journal titled “ARP Delegates Shocked over Suit” reports that the Rev. Dr. John deWitt, Moderator of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church’s General Synod (ARP-GS), on behalf of himself and the ARP-GS delegates, expressed ‘grief, shock and dismay’ over the lawsuit by Erskine College and Theological Seminary board members against the ARP-GS for the recent vote by an approximately two-to-one margin to dismiss fourteen Erskine board members and establish an interim Board of Trustees.

DeWitt is quoted as saying that Presbyterian Church tradition is that decisions are made at various levels within the church courts, and that decisions requiring further examination are done “…in an orderly way, under the provisions of our Book of Government.”

Dr. deWitt continued: “It is a firm conviction with us that we do not seek redress by going to law, a conviction based squarely in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 6:1-8). Most of us find it difficult to understand why the church, which is the proprietor of Erskine College and Seminary, should not be able to put in place trustees who represent the mind and heart of the sponsoring body.”

+ The Index-Journal, 610 Phoenix Street, Greenwood, South Carolina 29646, 864-223-1411, jburns@indexjournal.com

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

+ Erskine College and Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936, gaston@erskine.edu


[3] History Professor Puts Erskine College and Theological Seminary Controversy into Historical Perspective

Assistant Professor of History at Patrick Henry College, Visiting Professor of Church History at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, and member of Good News Presbyterian Church (ARP), Frederick, Maryland, Dr. William VanDoodewaard, wrote a March 2010 article for the Reformation21 Blog titled “Shifting Sands at Erskine,” which briefly reviews the recent actions of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church’s General Synod (ARP-GS) regarding Erskine College and Seminary and the subsequent lawsuit against the ARP-GS by Erskine, then examines the historical context and implications of these events, concluding:

“Whether the suit will prove successful is not clear. However, the circumstances themselves are far more revealing of the college's condition. It is very evident that a portion of the Erskine constituency, along with a minority in the denomination, have little regard for working through God-given patterns of church government, perhaps because of the continual growth of the more conservative evangelical majority. That a Synod would call for a greater integration of faith and learning, and a more distinctively Christian worldview in her institutions ought to be encouraging to a Christian. That a Synod would seek to have its institutions uphold the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scriptures is a baseline, historic distinction between evangelical and liberal trending to secular.

“Though astonishing, this historic event also provides helpful clarity, and a sobering reality check on the depth of decay to address. Concerns regarding the former board and leading parts of the administration, along with a small portion of the denomination, are verified. One would be hard pressed to see why an evangelical denomination would accommodate in her ministries those willing to pursue an end run through civil courts, in defiance of the very nature of Christ's church and her desire to pursue faithfulness. It is difficult to see any reflection of grace, gospel, or biblical justice in attempting to wrest the control of these institutions away from the denomination which formed, supports, and has owned them for nearly 200 years.

“Yet, the sure comfort even in the midst of deep tensions and challenge is that God does honor those who honor Him; He does work all things together for good to those who love Him. He will certainly do this for a denomination taking up this cross to follow Him, striving for greater faithfulness to His glory.”

+ Reformation21 Blog, r21@alliancenet.org

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

+ Erskine College and Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936, gaston@erskine.edu


[4] Hope College Alumni Group Pressuring for Removal of 1995 Institutional Statement on Homosexuality

A 16 March 2010 The Grand Rapids Press article by Nate Reens titled “Influential Hope College Alumni Protest Policies Opposing Homosexuality on Campus” describes efforts by a Hope College alumni group to pressure the Hope College trustees to remove a 1995 Institutional Statement on Homosexuality and otherwise make the Holland, Michigan, institution be tolerant of homosexuality.

The 1995 Institutional Statement on Homosexuality says that Hope College “will not provide recognition, financial or logistical support for groups whose purposes include the advocacy or moral legitimization of homosexual behavior.”

+ The Grand Rapids Press,
155 Michigan Street Northwest, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, 616-222-5818, dgaydou@grpress.com

+ Hope College, Holland, Michigan 49423, 616-395-7780, Fax: 616-395-7111, bultmanj@hope.edu

+
Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org


[5] United Nations Commission Panel Discussion for Girl Scouts Features Planned Parenthood Brochure Encouraging Girls to “Talk Dirty” and Engage in Aberrant Sex

The 17 March 2010 issue of the Wednesday STOPP Report written by Rita Diller describes a recent meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women where a panel discussion held for the World Association of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides, where parents were not invited, featured Planned Parenthood handing out a brochure titled “Healthy, Happy and Hot,” which encouraged girls to “talk dirty” to their sex partners, to engage in aberrant sex, and claiming there is no right or wrong way to have sex.

The brochure additionally affirms that young people living with HIV have the “right to sexual pleasure” and “have the right to decide if, when and how to disclose their HIV status;” and that laws requiring young people to disclose their HIV status to sexual partners “violate the rights of people living with HIV by forcing them to disclose or face the possibility of criminal charges.”

+ American Life League, Post Office Box 1350, Stafford, Virginia 22555, 540-659-4171, Fax: 540-659-2586, info@all.org

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

+ World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, World Bureau, Olave Centre, 12c Lyndhurst Road, London NW3 5PQ, England, 44-0-20-7794- 1181, Fax: 44-0-20-7431-3764, wagggs@wagggsworld.org

+ United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, Women's Rights Section, Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, DC2, 12th floor, New York, New York 10017, Fax: 212-963-3463, daw@un.org


[6] Westminster Seminary Graduate Dr. Anthony Bradley Publishes Liberating Black Theology

Westminster Seminary graduate, visiting professor of theology at The Kings College in New York, New York, and a research fellow at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, Dr. Anthony Bradley, on 28 February 2010 published Liberating Black Theology, a critique of the "victimology" theme within black liberation theology and its long-standing spiritual and social implications.

Dr. Bradley’s publisher, Crossway Books, describes Liberating Black Theology thusly:

“When the beliefs of Barack Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, assumed the spotlight during the 2008 presidential campaign, the influence of black liberation theology became hotly debated not just within theological circles but across cultural lines. How many of today's African-American congregations-and how many Americans in general-have been shaped by its view of blacks as perpetual victims of white oppression?

“In this interdisciplinary, biblical critique of the black experience in America, Anthony Bradley introduces audiences to black liberation theology and its spiritual and social impact. He starts with James Cone's proposition that the "victim" mind-set is inherent within black consciousness. Bradley then explores how such biblical misinterpretation has historically hindered black churches in addressing the diverse issues of their communities and prevented adherents from experiencing the freedoms of the gospel. Yet Liberating Black Theology does more than consider the ramifications of this belief system; it suggests an alternate approach to the black experience that can truly liberate all Christ-followers.”

The Christian Observer, on 20 January 2009, republished the March 2008 Reformed World article “What Makes You So Strong?,” by Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., which is illustrative of Pastor Wright’s theological beliefs.

+ Good News/Crossway, 1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, 630-682-4300, Fax: 1-630-682-4785, info@crossway.org

+ Westminster Theological Seminary, 2960 West Church Road, Glenside, Pennsylvania 19038, 215-887-5511, Fax: 215-887-5404, communications@wts.edu

+ The Kings College, Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1500, New York, New York 10118, 212-659-7200, Fax: 212-659-7210, info@tkc.edu

+ The Acton Institute, 161 Ottawa Avenue Northwest, Suite 301, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, 616-454-3080, Fax: 616-454-9454, info@acton.org


[7] Philadelphia PCA Pastor Seeks to Replace Prosperity Gospel in Black Churches with Biblically-Grounded, Redemptive Christianity

An article in the March 2010 ByFaith Magazine by Melissa Morgan Kelley titled “Seeking Revival Within the Black Church” describes a small group of black Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) teaching elders preparing to lead a 4-6 June 2010 conference called “Revival 2K10: Worshiping God Through Preaching, Prayer, and Praise,” being held at the New Song Community Church in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ms. Kelly interviews the Rev. Lance Lewis, pastor of Christ Liberation Fellowship PCA in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is a plant of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Mr. Lewis expresses concern about the entrenchment of the prosperity gospel and word of faith teaching that have increased within African-American churches over the past twenty-five years, and says that these movements are “…as much a threat to the historic black church as theological liberalism was to the evangelical church in the early part of the twentieth century.”

Mr. Lewis continues: “When people see that the prosperity gospel doesn’t work they may reject God altogether….” and expresses a vision of a more biblical way of believing, “where people no longer measure their lives by their circumstances, but seek to serve the Lord as an end to itself. That helps to provide a foundation for a growing, thriving, and flourishing walk with the Lord.”

Describing the upcoming conference, Mr. Lewis says: “Revival 2K10 seeks to offer preaching and teaching that provides biblical answers to the questions that are on the minds of churched and unchurched black people. They’re chiefly concerned with what is the substance of salvation in the here and now.”

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


[8] Atlanta Superior Court Issues Summary Judgment Against UCC Southeast Conference in Attempted Church Confiscation

In a summary judgment order filed 3 March 2010, Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, Atlanta Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher S. Brasher, using neutral principles of property law, ruled that Center Congregational Church (CCC) of Atlanta, Georgia, is the rightful owner of their church property, and that claims of ownership by the Southeast Conference (SC) of the United Church of Christ (UCC) are invalid.

CCC exited the UCC because of doctrinal actions taken by the UCC in 2005, and subsequently associated CCC with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. SC-UCC then sued CCC to have the congregation ejected from the CCC church property.

For further background information, see the 27 May 2009 Presbyterians Week article [8] Southeast Conference of the UCC Sues to Oust Thirty-Six Member Center Congregational Church in Atlanta, Georgia from Church Property, and the 5 August 2009 Presbyterians Week article [5] Center Congregational Church of Atlanta, Georgia, Being Bankrupted by UCC Southeastern Conference Efforts to Seize Church.

+ Center Congregational Church, 1055 Moores Mill Road Northeast, Atlanta, Georgia 30327, 404-351-2747, JRMcAlileyIII@netscape.net

+ Southeast Conference United Church of Christ, 1330 West Peachtree Street, Suite 350, Atlanta, Georgia 30309, 800-807-1993, Fax: 404-607-7939

+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org

+ National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, Post Office Box 288, Oak Creek, Wisconsin 53154, 800-262-1620, Fax: 414-764-0319




Tuesday, March 16, 2010

17 March 2010


Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Jonah and Nineveh in 2010 - Haiti President Replaces Mardi Gras Festival with Three Days of Fasting and Prayer

[2] Erskine College and Theological Seminary Files Lawsuit against Associate Reformed Presbyterian General Synod

[3] Cornerstone Ministries Investments Bankruptcy Liquidation Plan Administrator Selects Special Counsel to Pursue Claims Arising from “[US]$140 Million Ponzi Scheme”

[4] Evangelical Presbyterian Church Interim Committee on Women Teaching Elders Releases Report Ahead of June 2010 GA Meeting
[5] Muslim Clergyman from Falls Church, Virginia 9/11 Mosque Offers Invocation before Virginia General Assembly on 11 March 2010

[6] Morocco Deports Christian Foster Families of Thirty-Four Orphan Children

[7] Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola Holds HIV/Aids Seminar 12-14 March 2010 in Luanda, Angola

[8] Internal Revenue Service Agents Visit Sacramento, California, Car Wash 10 March 2010 about US$0.04 Tax Debt from 2006

[9] U.S. Department of Education Buying Twenty-Seven Remington Model 870 Police Shotguns

[10] Geneva College Faculty Openings

[11] Naphtali Press and The Confessional Presbyterian Spring Sale


----------

[1] Jonah and Nineveh in 2010 - Haiti President Replaces Mardi Gras Festival with Three Days of Fasting and Prayer

A 16 March 2010 ASSIST News Service article by Jeremy Reynalds titled “Haitian Mardi Gras Festival Replaced with Three Days of Prayer and Fasting” reports that in the wake of the 12 January 2010, 7.0-magnitude earthquake, Haiti’s president René Préval, for the first time in Haiti’s history, cancelled the internationally attended annual Mardi Gras Festival, and instead called for three days of fasting and prayer 12-14 February 2010.

An estimated 1 million people, more than ten percent of Haiti’s population, gathered each of the three days across from the earthquake-collapsed National Palace, where a Haitian Christian leader said: “In unity and humility we cried out to God. One can truly assert that God has visited Haiti during these three days and has poured his shower of blessing and forgiveness over our nation….We closed the three days with seven tours around the National Palace (like Jericho). It took us four hours to make it because of the density of the crowd.”

Reciprocal Ministries International (RMI) reports that more than 3000 people professed faith in Jesus Christ during the three days, including 120 Voodoo priests. Another church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital and the center of the earthquake, reported over 2000 professions of faith.

RMI said that President Préval had been asked by Christian leaders for three years to set aside a national day of prayer, but had always refused for fear of offending the Voodoo practitioners and Roman Catholics. When Préval was contacted after the earthquake, three days of prayer and fasting were declared in lieu of the Mardi Gras Festival.

Resolutions coming out of the three days of prayer and fasting included:

-- that 12 January be declared an annual National Day of Reflection and Thanksgiving;

-- that 14 February be declared an annual day of National Prayer and Fasting;

-- that the Bible should be adopted as the spiritual constitution of the new Haiti and should be taught in all Haitian schools;

-- and, that the Haiti president should finish all official speeches with the words, “God bless Haiti.”

A YouTube video of the three day services is available at: http://www.allaboutgod.net/video/haiti-3-days-of-prayer

For further information on the spiritual situation in Haiti prior to the earthquake, please see the 6 January 2010 Presbyterians Week article [4] Poverty Drives 225,000 Haitian Children into Slavery.”

+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com

+ Reciprocal Ministries International, 5475 Lee Street, Suite 301, Lehigh Acres, Florida 33971, 239-368-8390, Fax: 239-368-8325, rmioffice.florida@rminet.org

[2] Erskine College and Theological Seminary Files Lawsuit against Associate Reformed Presbyterian General Synod


A 12 March 2010 article in The Aquila Report by Don K. Clements titled “Erskine College, Plaintiff, vs. General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian General Synod, Inc., Defendant,” describes the eight-page lawsuit filed at the Abbeville, South Carolina, Courthouse 10 March 2010 by Erskine College against the Associate Reformed Presbyterian General (ARP-GS) Synod, Inc.

The lawsuit alleges facts including that the ARP-GS has “resolved to usurp control of the operation of Erskine College,” that the ARP-GS changes to the Erskine Board of Trustees (BT) structure “causes Erskine College immediate and irreparable harm,” and that the removal of fourteen members of the BT as the suit alleges “without due process,” has caused “immediate and irreparable harm to those threatened Trustees.”

The “Cause of Action” portion of the lawsuit seeks a “Declaratory Judgment that the General Synod has no authority to remove members of Erskine’s Board of Trustees, that any attempted removal is unlawful and void….and that the Interim Board……be disbanded immediately,” and declares a “Civil Conspiracy in that the General Synod,” of whose actions are “combined for the purpose of injuring Erskine,” are “intended to injure Erskine and damage its mission,” and “to lose its academic independence, to lose its standing and accreditation, to creating a perception of instability which would discourage and inhibit the effectiveness of the ongoing College presidential search committee, and allow [the ARP-GS] to control the presidential search process for their own gain.”

The “Cause of Action” further seeks “[a] declaration that the General Synod has no authority to remove members of Erskine's Board of Trustees,” and asks “[f]or an award of actual and punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a Jury;…[f]or an award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs;…and “[f]or such other legal and equitable relief the Honorable Court deems just and proper.”

The ARP Catawba Presbytery moderator, upon resolutions for communal prayer received from the sessions of the Tirzah ARP Church in York, South Carolina, and the First ARP Church in Lancaster, South Carolina, has called meeting of Presbytery for the purpose of communal prayer for the ARP-GS and Erskine College and Seminary issue, and the individuals involved, for 25 March 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Union ARP Church in Richburg, South Carolina.

+ The Aquila Report, c/o Metokos Press, 211 Main Street, Suite 108, Narrows, Virginia 24124, 540-726-8223, operations@theaquilareport.com

+ ARPTalk Blog, wilson6114@bellsouth.net

+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936, gaston@erskine.edu

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601,
864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

[3] Cornerstone Ministries Investments Bankruptcy Liquidation Plan Administrator Selects Special Counsel to Pursue Claims Arising from “[US]$140 Million Ponzi Scheme”

Glass Ratner Capital and Advisory Group, LLC, the plan administrator overseeing the liquidation of the Chapter Eleven bankrupted Cornerstone Ministries Investments (CMI) has selected the law firm of Reid Davis LLP (RDLLP) to handle the claims associated with the collapse of CMI, which RDLLP characterizes as a “[US]$140 million Ponzi scheme.”

Mr. Jason Collins of Reid Davis will be the lead lawyer for the claims litigation. Mr. Collins is an attorney and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who handles all types of complex business and financial litigation with a special emphasis on financial fraud cases, insolvency disputes, fiduciary duty, and professional liability matters, and cross-border financial litigation.

Additionally, Mr. Collins is a member of the American Bar Association, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and the State Bar of Texas. Mr. Collins’ accounting credentials include an M.S. in Finance and B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas A&M University, where he graduated summa cum laude, finishing as the top student in his class, and served as a Mays Business School Fellow.

For further background information on the CMI bankruptcy and related matters, please see the 23 July 2008 Presbyterians Week and the 26 August 2009 Presbyterians Week.

+ Glass Ratner Capital and Advisory Group, LLC, Lenox Overlook, 3391 Peachtree Road, Suite 110, Atlanta, Georgia 30326, 678-904-1990, Fax: 678-904-1991

+ Reid Davis LLP, 4301 Westbank Drive, Building B, Suite 230, Austin, Texas 78746, 512-647-6100, Fax: 512-647-6129

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

[4] Evangelical Presbyterian Church Interim Committee on Women Teaching Elders Releases Report Ahead of June 2010 GA Meeting

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) Interim Committee on Women Teaching Elders released a unanimous report on 3 March 2010 to be presented for approval to the EPC 30th General Assembly in June 2010 containing recommendations from the committee meetings that were charged with exploring “…ways to include those pastors and churches with conflicting positions on women teaching elders in the presbyteries of the EPC.”

The report states: “The issue of women’s ordination, particularly as it applies to clergy, has been a test of our genuine commitment to the EPC motto: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things charity….
Women’s ordination is a non-essential issue about which faithful believers may have honest differences of biblical interpretation and practice. One’s view of women’s ordination is not an essential element to the catholic faith, Evangelical Protestantism, or the Reformed Tradition. The EPC has always affirmed that women’s ordination is a matter of biblical interpretation, not biblical authority.”

The primary recommendation of the report is that a congregation desiring to call a woman teaching elder should be allowed to “transfer from its current presbytery to an adjoining one that does receive women teaching elders.” The report additionally proposes a procedure for churches coming from a transitional presbytery or from a non-EPC context be placed in an appropriate presbytery, and that the Mid-America Presbytery (MAP) be split into two distinct presbyteries where one would retain the current MAP policy forbidding women teaching elders and the other would allow for women teaching elders.

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

+ Mid-America Presbytery, moderator@presbyteryofmidamerica.org

[5] Muslim Clergyman from Falls Church, Virginia 9/11 Mosque Offers Invocation before Virginia General Assembly on 11 March 2010

Muslim clergyman Johari Abdul-Malik of the 9/11 Mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, who has defended several convicted terrorists connected to his mosque, offered the opening invocation before the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond, Virginia, on 11 March 2010.

The Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force (VAST) led a protest of Abdul-Malik’s appearance, and urged Virginia lawmakers to speak out against or boycott the invocation. Twelve Virginia legislators chose to boycott the event.

VAST Chairman James Lafferty commented: “Every day, some of Virginia’s finest young men and women are among those Americans who patrol Iraq and Afghanistan to protect us from the violent terrorists like this imam. They risk their lives for America’s safety. The least these lawmakers in
Richmond can do is get out of their chairs and object to this imam’s presence at the opening of the General Assembly. This is an outrage.”

+ Traditional Values Coalition, 139 "C" Street Southeast, Washington DC 20003, 202-547-8570, Fax: 202-546-6403, mail@traditionalvalues.org

+ Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force, Fairfax, Virginia, 703-931-2324,
jameslafferty@usa.net

+ Virginia General Assembly, Capitol Square,
Richmond, Virginia 23219, 804-698-1619, information@sov.state.va.us

+ Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, 3159 Row Street, Falls Church, Virginia 22044, 703-536-1030, Fax: 703-536-1035

[6] Morocco Deports Christian Foster Families of Thirty-Four Orphan Children

A 14 March 2010 article from ASSIST News Service by Janey L. DeMeo titled “Americans Deported from Morocco – Forced to Abandon Orphans” reports that on 6 March 2010, Christian foster parents from several countries including an American family that cared for thirty-four Moroccan orphans at a Village of Hope (VOH) orphanage were ordered to leave Morocco, abandoning thirty-four orphan children being raised by the foster families.

Ms. DeMeo reports: “The VOH compound was legal and legitimate. The missionaries had openly stated their standing as Christians, and had accepted the conditions placed on them by the Moroccan government. Those limitations included the requisite that the children were to learn about Islam as well as Christianity and to be well acquainted with the Muslim culture. The missionaries honored this stipulation to a tee, trusting that God would use their obedience and reveal Himself to the children.”

Ms. DeMeo continues: “So why were the workers ordered to leave without any proven misdemeanor? The Bible answers that question. We are in a spiritual battle. And the battle is worsening. Hostility towards Christians is increasing worldwide, and with it, hostility to children—particularly orphans. This is a time when we, the body of Christ, need to step up our prayer quota and stand in the gap for the children and the nations. Morocco’s children need our prayers more than ever—as do the children worldwide.”

+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com

[7] Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola Holds HIV/Aids Seminar 12-14 March 2010 in Luanda, Angola

A 15 March 2010 article on the Angola Press Society website reports on the HIV/Aids Workshop conducted by the Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola (ERCA) 12-14 March 2010 in Luanda, Angola. Discussions on the “History of HIV/Aids,” “ Contamination and Symptoms,” “ The Epidemiological Situation in the World and Angola,” and “HIV/AIDS in Biblical Context: Churches and Prevention Measures,” were included.

During closing ceremonies, the ERCA praised the efforts of the Angolan government in the fight against HIV/Aids. Workshop participants requested that the Angolan government publicize and enforce the law prohibiting requiring prospective employees to take an HIV/Aids test.

+ Angola Press Society, 16 Road Rei Katyavala, Luanda, Angola, 44-6771, Fax : 44-7336, angop@netangola.com

+ Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola, Rua Rainha Ginga 75; Andar 4, Apartment 1, 2 e 16, Caixa Postal 2594 C, Luanda, Angola, 244-222-39-4586, Fax: 244-222-39-4586, iera_cdg@yahoo.com.br

[8] Internal Revenue Service Agents Visit Sacramento, California, Car Wash 10 March 2010 about US$0.04 Tax Debt from 2006

A 13 March 2010 article titled “IRS Visits Sacramento Carwash in Pursuit of Four Cents” in Bob Shallit’s Business column in the Sacramento Bee reports that on 10 March 2010, two Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents paid a visit to Harv’s Metro Car Wash in Sacramento, California, to demand payment of a US$0.04 in delinquent taxes from 2006, which had grown to US$202.35 with penalties and interest.

The car wash owner described the IRS agents as “deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending” and “rude,” and suggests that the IRS “may have a problem with priorities." Additionally, the car wash owner provided Mr. Shallit with a 22 October 2009 letter from the IRS that states Harv's "has filed all required returns and addressed any balances due."

+ The Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q Street, Sacramento, California 95816, 916-321-1000, Contact Page

+
Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20224, 202-622-5164, Fax: 202-622-8653

[9] U.S. Department of Education Buying Twenty-Seven Remington Model 870 Police Shotguns

The U.S. Department of Education issued an 8 March 2010 solicitation EDOOIG-10-000004 for the purchase of twenty-seven Remington Model 870 police, twelve gauge shotguns with fourteen-inch Parkerized choke, modified sight, and “ghost ring rear Wilson combat.”

The required delivery date is 22 March 2010.

+ General Services Administration, Federal Service Desk, 866-606-8220

+ U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue Southwest, Washington DC 20202, 202-401-2000

[10] Geneva College Faculty Openings

Faculty positions currently available at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, include:

-- Department of Business and Accounting Management

-- Electrical or Computer Engineering

-- Literacy/Reading Education Faculty

-- MA in Counseling Program Faculty

-- Reference Instruction Librarian

+ Geneva College, 3200 College Avenue, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania 15010, 724-846-5100, Fax: 724.847.6696, pr@geneva.edu

[11] Naphtali Press and The Confessional Presbyterian Spring Sale

The Confessional Presbyterian and Naphtali Press are having a 2010 Spring Sale with significant discounts on the James Durham and Robert L. Dabney Book Bundle, Westminster Larger Catechism Manuscripts, the Solemn League & Covenant Large Broadside, and Volumes I –V of The Confessional Presbyterian.

+ Naphtali Press, Post Office Box 141084, Dallas, Texas 75214, naphtali@naphtali.com

+ The Confessional Presbyterian, Post Office Box 141084, Dallas, Texas 75214