20 July 2011

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] The Fourth Amendment in Wonderland

[2] First Presbyterian Church of Mansfield, Ohio Votes to Leave PCUSA

[3] Presbyterian Lay Committee President and Executive Editor Lays Aside PCUSA Ordination as a Matter of Christian Principle

[4] Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Presbyter Questions Exclusion of Polygamists from Holy Communion

[5] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Moderator in U.S. Radio Interview Offers Prophetic Warnings to Homosexuals

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[1] The Fourth Amendment in Wonderland

As the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution metaphorically circles the drain in U.S. airports, and increasingly in train stations, bus stations, and on U.S. highways, the Mad Hatters and Queens of Hearts of the U.S. Transportation Security Agency (TSA) continue to perfect the arts of martinetism and passenger humiliation.

A 15 July 2011 article by Kashmir Hill in Forbes titled “Federal Court Rules That TSA ‘Naked Scans’ Are Constitutional” reports that the U.S. Circuit Court for Washington DC on 15 July 2011 ruled that the whole-body-imaging-scanners, a.k.a “Naked Scanners”, used by TSA agents in U.S. airports do not violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

A 13 July 2011 article in The Daily Mail titled “Mother ‘With Attitude’ Arrested after Refusing TSA Pat-Down of Daughter” reports that Andrea Fornella Abbott was arrested at the Nashville International Airport on 9 July 2011 after telling TSA agents she did not want her daughter to be ‘touched inappropriately’ or have her ‘crotch grabbed,’” nor that she wanted to have X-rayed naked pictures of her and her daughter taken by the whole-body-imaging-scanner.

A TSA agent told Ms. Abbott that the whole-body-imaging-scanner does not use X-rays and that: “ It is 10,000 times safer than your cell phone and uses the same type of radio waves as a sonogram.” [While some whole-body-imaging-scanners use backscatter X-rays to generate an image, most of the scanners currently in use at airports use MMW (millimeter [radio] wave) technology. A sonogram uses sound waves to generate an image.]

A 13 July 2011 article by Isabel Mascarenas of WTSP.com titled “New Port Richey Couple Says TSA Search Went Too Far” reports that when the wheelchair-bound Mr. Jason and Mrs. Jennifer Steitler went through TSA security at the Greater Rochester [New York] International Airport to board a flight back home to New Port Richey, Florida, Mr. Steitler said that the TSA agent “had me do a pushup in my chair, then got down into my inner thigh around my back side. It's the most thorough search [I've] had done in my life.” Steitler said of Mr. Steitler’s security search “She’s been using the phrase ‘search raped’ because it was that thorough. She says it was nearly to her crotch.”

Emails from the TSA sent to the Steitlers in response to their complaints about their molestation said, “We apologize for any insensitivity or inappropriate treatment you experienced during the screening process” and “We believe these security measures are necessary and appropriate for ensuring the security and confidence of all air travelers.”

And…an 18 July 2011 Fox News article titled “Woman Gropes TSA Agent's Breast at Security Checkpoint” reports that on 14 July 2011 at a security checkpoint at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, 61-year-old Yukari Miyamae grabbed the left breast of a female TSA agent, then squeezed and twisted the agent's breast with both hands.

Ms. Miyamae, who gave no explanation for her behavior, was arrested on a charge of sexual abuse and was jailed overnight before being released the following morning.


+ Forbes.com, 90 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10011, 212-366-8900, readers@forbes.com

+ The Daily Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, England, 020-7938-6000, news@dailymail.co.uk

+ WTSP.com, 11450 Gandy Blvd North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33702, 727-577-1010, Fax 727-576-6924, Contact Form

+ Fox News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, 888-369-4762, Fax: 212-462-6127, yourquestions@foxnews.com

+ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC 20528, 202-282-8000, Contact Form


[2] First Presbyterian Church of Mansfield, Ohio Votes to Leave PCUSA

A 13 July 2011 article by Jami Kinton in the Mansfield News Journal titled “First Presbyterian Members in Mansfield Vote to Leave National Group” reports that in a congregational meeting held on 10 July 2011moderated by a member of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s Muskingum Valley Presbytery, eighty-seven percent of the 400 church members voted to leave the PCUSA and become an independent church.

A church elder explained that the church made the decision to leave the PCUSA because a majority of PCUSA pastors do not believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and that the new form of government that went into effect 11 July 2011 imposes a top-down authority upon the churches, giving each ascending church body (presbytery, synod, General Assembly) direct control of the bodies directly beneath.


+ Mansfield News Journal, 70 West Fourth Street, Mansfield, Ohio 44903, 419-522-3311, Contact Form

+ Muskingum Valley Presbytery, 109 Stonecreek Road Northwest, New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663, 330-339-5515, Fax: 330-339-6225, shauna@MVPJourneyingwithJesus.org

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


[3] Presbyterian Lay Committee President and Executive Editor Lays Aside PCUSA Ordination as a Matter of Christian Principle

Carmen Fowler LaBerge, president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and executive editor of its publications, announced 11 July 2011 that she had “humbly set aside [her] ordination as a matter of conscience before the Lord,” due to the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s “adoption of the new Form of Government and the elimination of all explicit standards of sexual behavior for church leaders.”


+ 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


[4] Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Presbyter Questions Exclusion of Polygamists from Holy Communion

A 19 July 2011 Ghana News Agency article titled “Presbyter Questions the Exclusion of Polygamists from Holy Communion” reported that at the recently concluded meeting of the National Delegates Conference of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) in Ho, Ghana, Presbyter Simon N.K. Tette, President of the Presbyters Union of the EPCG, asked the leadership of the Church to reconsider the prohibition of polygamist members from taking Holy Communion.

Presbyter Tette stated: “Jesus Christ Himself who is the Head of the Church and instituted the Lord’s Supper decreed that a person should judge himself/herself before partaking in the Lord’s Supper but did not say any other person or Church must be the judge” and questioned the “integrity and morality of the Church” in admitting polygamists as members and demanding dues and other obligations from them while denying them access to salvation by banning them from partaking in the Lord’s Supper.

Tette referenced a declaration he attributed to Roman Pope Benedict XIV [XVI?] that reads: “Whenever a Church enacts legislation binding the lives of its people and this legislation is either not within the Word Of God or is Additional To It, then the Church is usurping the position of Christ as King of His Kingdom and Head of His Family-and that is a serious matter….The Church is there for gathering and perfecting of the souls in this life, to the end of the world.”


+ Ghana News Agency, Post Office Box 2118, Accra, Ghana, 233-0302-662381, Fax: 233-0302-669841, ghnews@ghana.com

+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Post Office Box HP 18, Ho - Volta Region, Ghana, +233-91-26755, Fax: +233-91-28275, Epchurch@Ghana.Com

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


[5] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Moderator in U.S. Radio Interview Offers Prophetic Warnings to Homosexuals

A 13 July 2011 GhanaWeb article titled “Presbyterian Moderator Offers Prophetic Warnings To Homosexuals” reports that the Rt. Rev. Professor Emmanuel Martey, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), was interviewed by “Alpha and Omega Gospel” host Isaac Kofi Amissah 11 July 2011 on New York, New York’s Volta Power FM radio, where the Moderator spoke strongly “against the barbaric, taboo and sinful practice of homosexuality.”

When asked about calls from human rights activists to the government of Ghana to grant homosexual rights, Prof. Martey responded: “Not all rights are helpful to society. We are Christians and thus we must stand up against practices which are not in principle with the concepts of God' s teachings or which contradicts the Bible.” Martey spoke about Sodom and Gomorrah and quoted from Genesis chapters 18 and 19, Matthew 11:20-24, and 1 Timothy 1:10, before saying that he will continue “to educate homosexuals to help them transform their lives and repent. When good people keep quiet, evil people take over society.”

Martey warns homosexuals that if they do not repent, they will live to regret their decision because they themselves are aware that homosexuality is improper, satanic, evil, destructive, and depressing. Martey commented: “They are warned to repent because God strongly dislikes such acts and God will not hesitate to punish them if they do not repent.”


+ GhanaWeb, Poederooienstraat 66, 1106 CK Amsterdam, Netherlands, 31-207700126, Fax: 1-815-6429100, akoto@ghanaweb.com

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