20 May 2009

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[*] Correction

The 13 May 2009 Presbyterians Week article, [3] “Church of Scotland Accuses Wee Frees of Meddling in Church of Scotland Business,” referenced the Wee Frees as being the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) instead of the correct reference, which is the Free Church of Scotland.

The editor regrets this error, and promises to punish any future confusion of the Wee Frees with any organization other than the Free Church of Scotland by sitting through fifty consecutive iterations of the current Castrol Edge motor oil “Think with your Dipstick, Jimmy!” television commercial.

+ Christian Observer, 9400 Fairview Avenue, Manassas, Virginia 20110, 703-335-2844, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

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

+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk

+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org


[1] U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Member Thinks Normative Fatherhood should Move beyond “heteronormative view of fatherhood.”

Harry Knox, a member of U.S. President Barrack Obama’s President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, says that part of the Obama administration’s role in promoting responsible fatherhood should include moving beyond America’s “heteronormative view of fatherhood.”

Knox added, “Responsible fatherhood offers us an immense opportunity to speak to a real need in the country…. It’ll be challenging to do that for instance in ways that are not dismissive of the tremendous gifts of single mothers; not to sort of hold a heteronormative view of fatherhood up as the only model….One of the things I am suggesting on the council is that they look at mentoring processes that gay dads have developed to help each other be good fathers around the country.”

Knox is already under fire for responding to Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI’s statement on condoms and AIDS in Africa by saying, “The Pope’s statement that condoms don’t help control the spread of HIV, but rather condoms increase infection rates, is hurting people in the name of Jesus.,” and for responding to a Roman Catholic bishop’s barring a homosexual couple from receiving communion at Roman Catholic mass by saying, “In this holy Lenten season, it is immoral and insulting to Jesus to use the body and blood of Christ the reconciler as a weapon to silence free speech and demean the love of a committed, legally married couple.”

+ Cybercast News Service, 325 South Patrick, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 703-683-9733

+ The Vatican


[2] Presbyterian Seminary Professor Publishes Part I of Article “Why Homosexual Behavior Is More like Consensual Incest and Polyamory than Race or Gender”

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Associate Professor of New Testament Robert A. J. Gagnon, Ph.D., has published Parts I and II of IV of an article titled, “Why Homosexual Behavior Is More like Consensual Incest and Polyamory than Race or Gender” on Dr. Gagnon’s website, and will publish Parts III – IV later in the week of 18 May 2009.

Dr. Gagnon says, “The attempt of recent "hate crime" legislation to place "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" alongside race and gender is logically misguided and dangerous.” Dr. Gagnon is publishing the four-part article to provide a secular case against the appeals to arguments of race and gender discrimination common among proponents of homosexual marriage and civil unions.

+ Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 North Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206, 412-362-5610, Fax: 412-363-3260

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


[3] Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church Adopts Amendment on Biblical Marriage

At a 24 April 2009, meeting at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, the elders of The Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church (EPRC) voted unanimously to amend the denomination’s Form of Government to include a provision stating its position that Biblical marriage is between a man and a woman, and the ERPC’s opposition to same-sex unions of all kinds.

+ The Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church, Post Office Box 2383, Westminster, Maryland 21158, 888-368-4351, info@erpchurch.org


[4] Westboro (Kansas) Baptist Church Members Plans Protest at Church of Scotland General Assembly

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Westboro, Kansas on 23 May 2009 are planning to protest the possible appointment of homosexual minister the Reverend Scott Rennie as minister of Aberdeen, Scotland’s Queen's Cross Church at the Church of Scotland’s 2009 General Assembly meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland. Westboro’s preacher Fred Phelps is barred from entering the United Kingdom.

Phelps and the Westboro church are perhaps best known for their protests that disrupt the burial services of U.S. servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 8AS, 0131-620-8620

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


[5] Mount Hope Church Sues Invading Homosexual Activist Group for Disrupting Church Service

Mount Hope Church of Lansing, Michigan, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), has filed a federal lawsuit against the homosexual activist group Bash Back! for disrupting a 9 November 2008 church service by, in the middle of the service, having their members sitting in the congregation stand up, shout slogans, and unfurl a banner.

The ADF contends that it is a federal crime to interfere with people exercising their religious rights in a house of worship.

A response to the lawsuit on the Bash Back! website, declares, "Bash Back! and radical transfolk/queers cannot and will not be intimidated."

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

+ Alliance Defense Fund, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025


[6] U.S. Internal Revenue Service Rules Pastors’ Conference on Moral Issues Does Not Constitute Illegal Candidate Endorsement

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has ruled that a series of pastors’ conferences on moral issues funded by the Houston, Texas-based Niemoller Foundation ahead of the 2006 elections did not constitute endorsement of a candidate, and therefore did not violate IRS restrictions on tax-exempt organizations.

An IRS investigation into the Niemoller-funded pastors’ conferences was made in response to a request from the Texas Freedom Network, which describes themselves as a “mainstream” group that “acts as the state’s watchdog, monitoring far-right issues, organizations, money and leaders.”

A 12 May 2009 statement by Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute which represented organizers of the conferences, said, "There is now a clear IRS statement outlining these pastors' events and approving them as valid under the law."

+ Church Executive Magazine, 4742 North 24th Street, Suite 340, Phoenix, Arizona 85016, 602-265-7600, Fax: 602-265-4300, skane@churchexecutive.com


[7] One-Half of Iraqi Christians Have Fled Iraq, Never to Return

One-half of Iraqi Christians have fled Iraq, most of them since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion, due to continual sectarian violence often directed at Christians, and due to Shiite and Sunni Muslim control of professions such as medicine, engineering, and civil service, where Christians used to have a major presence, but are no longer welcome.

The Christian refugees that have fled Iraq often live in crowded and substandard conditions, but are unlikely to return to Iraq, as they see little hope for conditions to again become favorable for Christians.

+ Assyrian International News Agency


[8] Desmond Tutu to Address 2009 Church of Scotland General Assembly

Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu will give an address on the last day of the upcoming Church of Scotland (COS) General Assembly meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland. Tutu is attending as a guest of the former presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, George Reid.

Tutu is an outspoken advocate of homosexual rights, and his visit coincides with the debate to take place at the COS General Assembly meeting as to whether or not the Presbytery of Aberdeen’s decision to appoint actively homosexual minister, the Rev. Scott Rennie, to the pulpit of Queen's Cross Church in Aberdeen, Scotland, will be allowed to stand.

+ Ekklesia, 2nd Floor, 145-157 St. John Street, London EC1V 4PY, England, 0845 056 5445, press@ekklesia.co.uk

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

+ Worldwide Anglican Communion, St Andrew's House, 16 Tavistock Crescent, London W11 1AP, England, 44-0-20-7313-3900, Fax: 44-0-20-7313-3999, aco@anglicancommunion.org


[9] Sunday Ferry Service to Outer Hebrides’ Lewis Island to Begin Later this Year

The Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland is a bastion of strong Calvinism, and thus observes the Sabbath by shutting down almost all businesses on Sundays. Many Isle of Lewis residents limit Sunday activities to Bible reading and to attending church, otherwise avoiding worldly activities.

After being told by legal council that withholding Sunday ferry service to the Isle of Lewis was illegal, ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has confirmed that ferry service from Ullapool, Scotland to the Isle of Lewis will begin including Sundays later in 2009.

In 2008, the Lord's Day Observance Society (LDOS) collected 4000 signatures on a petition opposing Sunday sailings. LDOS director John Roberts, warned there would be angry protests and commented, “The Western Isles are unique and are a Christian bulwark….Sunday sailing will shatter the uniqueness of the islands and cause unnecessary work. People will not lie down if the company plans to put profit before the law of God and break the Sabbath."

Islanders in favor of the Sunday ferry service accuse the Sabbatarians of imposing their religious beliefs on the wider community.

+ Guardian News and Media Ltd., 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER, England, 020-3353-2000, reader@guardian.co.uk


[10] Ligonier Academy Begins Distance Learning Non-Degree Certificate Program

Registration is open for the Certificate Program of Ligonier Academy of Biblical and Theological Studies. The program is a non-degree distance education curriculum designed for laypeople, ministers, and educators who desire a structured way to study biblical and theological subjects at their own pace, at their own level of interest, and in their own home.

Curriculum and tuition information are available at http://www.ligonier.org/eblasts/2009/registration_open_certificate_program.html.

+ Ligonier Academy, 400 Technology Park, Lake Mary, Florida 32746, 407-333-4244, Fax: 407-333-4233


[11] 63rd Annual Conference of The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyter's Association to be held 22-23 August 2009

The 63rd Annual Conference of The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyter's Association will be held at the Bethlen Communities Conference Room in Ligonier, Pennsylvania on Saturday and Sunday 22-23 August 2009. All members of the consistory, Presbytery or Church Council, along with their families and guests are cordially invited to attend.

The guest speaker will be the Rev. Chuck Huckaby of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, who will speak on “The Reformed Elder – Biblical Basis,” and “The Reformed Elder in the Postmodern Parish.”

A tentative agenda, along with a list of motels in the Ligonier, Pennsylvania area and other important information will be available after 4 July 2009.

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


[12] First Bible Presbyterian Church of Kalispell, Montana Celebrates 50^th Anniversary 31 May 2009

First Bible Presbyterian Church (FBPC) of Kalispell, Montana will be celebrating the church's 50th anniversary on Sunday, 31 May 2009. Following the 11 a.m. service, a special dinner will be served.

For more information, please contact FBPC pastor Jim Huff at 344 5th Avenue West, Kalispell, Montana 59901, by phone at 406-755-1181 or by email at jhtrld@digisys.net.

+ Bible Presbyterian Church


[13] Western Reformed Seminary Makes Available Online the 2009 Dr. Ronald W. Taber Memorial Lectures

Western Reformed Seminary (WRS) of Tacoma, Washington has made available online the Dr. Ronald W. Taber Memorial Lectures for 2009 at http://www.wrs.edu/media-lectures/Taber_lectures/folsom_battle_lectures.htm. The lectures feature Dr. Burt Folsom of Hillsdale College and Dr. John A. Battle of WRS, who presented a four-lecture series on the topic, “Capitalism: Biblical and Practical.” This series is especially timely in view of the current rush to big government.

+ Western Reformed Seminary, 5 South G Street, Tacoma, Washington 98405, 253-272-0417, Fax: 253-627-4882, registrar@wrs.edu

13 May 2009

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Two More New England States Endorse Homosexual Marriage
[2] More Light Presbyterians Come to Washington DC to Lobby for Hate Crimes and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
[3] Church of Scotland Accuses Wee Frees of Meddling in Church of Scotland Business
[4] Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland Consider Closer Cooperation
[5] Letter Writer Reminds The Scotsman of Scots Church History
[6] Taliban Extorts Protection 'Tax' From Christians in Swat Valley
[7] Pentagon Advisor Condemns U.S. Military’s Destruction of Bibles Sent to Troops in Afghanistan
[8] Louisiana Police Detain Man for “Don’t Tread on Me” Bumper Sticker on Car
[9] Two Calvin College Professors and One Student Win 2009-1010 Fulbright Scholarships
[10] Sweden Rules Gender-Based Abortion Legal
[11] Canadian Doctors Perform Unique In-Utero Repair of Unborn Baby Girl’s Heart
[12] Memorial Services Audio for the Rev. Dr. Timothy Tow Available
[13] New England Reformed Fellowship Meeting 12 May 2009
[14] News of the Presbytery of the United States in the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)
[15] Erskine Seminary to Award D.Min. to Erskine Seminary Professor, Associate Dean, and U.S. Army Chaplain R.J. Gore, Jr.
[16] Hungarian Reformed Church Plans Constituting Synod
[17] Has the Church of Scotland Discovered a New Evangelism Methodology?


[1] Two More New England States Endorse Homosexual Marriage

The legislatures of New Hampshire and Maine passed homosexual marriage bills on 6 May 2009, and the governor of Maine signed his state’s bill one hour after legislative passage.

+ CNN, One CNN Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, 404-878-2276, Fax: 404-827-1995


[2] More Light Presbyterians Come to Washington DC to Lobby for Hate Crimes and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act

As an outreach of their Presbyterian Equality Project (PEP), representatives of More Light Presbyterians (MLP), who describe their group as “a network of people seeking the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people [LGBT] of faith in the life, ministry and witness of the Presbyterian Church ([PC]USA)”, came to Washington DC the week of 4 May 2009 to lobby for enactment of the Hate Crimes Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

MLP describes the PEP as an initiative to “…end discrimination in civil society against LGBT people and their families and to secure equal rights and fairness for all.”

+ More Light Presbyterians, 4737 County Road 101, Minnetonka, Minnesota 55345, 505-820-7082, Fax: 505-820-2540, Michaeladee@aol.com

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


[3] Church of Scotland Accuses Wee Frees of Meddling in Church of Scotland Business

Craig Brown reports that the Free Church of Scotland (FCS) (Wee Frees) has placed a link on the FCS website to a statement on the Fellowship of Confessing Churches (FCC) website responding negatively to the Church of Scotland (COS) Presbytery of Aberdeen’s decision “…to induct into a charge a minister who has openly declared himself to be living in a homosexual relationship.” The appointment will be debated and voted upon at the upcoming May 2009 COS General Assembly.

Some within the COS have characterized the FCS placing the link on their website as “…interfering in [COS] private business.” Iver Martin, a spokesman for the FCS, responded that “…the issue had become a wider question of morality,” due to the views of the clergyman in question making his views “…widely known and [thus making] it a matter of principle.”

The FCC is a fellowship within the COS that has invited like-minded Christians and churches from around the world to add their names to the statement. As of 11 May 2009, 700 members of the FCS have signed the online statement, as have over 9800 others, more than 4000 of whom are from the COS.

+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 8AS, 0131-620-8620

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

+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk


[4] Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland Consider Closer Cooperation

David Ross reports that one hundred and sixty-six years after the Free Church of Scotland (FCS) split from the Church of Scotland (COS), the two denominations at their respective general assemblies later this month will present a report by the two denominations’ ecumenical relations committees that includes several examples of close cooperation between COS and FCS congregations in the north of Scotland.

The report expresses doubt concerning the possibility of the reunification of the two denominations because “…divergence in relation to the identity of scripture and the Word of God remain a serious stumbling block to co-operation….”

+ The Herald, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Scotland G2 3QB, 0141- 302-7000, Fax: 0141-302-7117, On-lineEditor@theherald.co.uk

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

+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk


[5] Letter Writer Reminds The Scotsman of Scots Church History

In response to a 7 May 2009 article in The Scotsman concerning possible reunification of the Free Church of Scotland (FCS) and the Church of Scotland (COS), David Stevenson of Edinburgh, Scotland explains that the denominational split in 1843 was over the issue of “lay patronage,” or “the right of wealthy local patrons or landowners to appoint Church of Scotland ministers…in contravention of the terms of…The Treaty of Union of 1706…[containing] guarantees to the Church of Scotland and to Scottish Law.”

Stevenson additionally questions whether or not “…the impending creation of a United Kingdom supreme court breaches the guarantees to the Scottish legal system [in The Treaty of Union of 1706].”

+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 8AS, 0131-620-8620

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

+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk


[6] Taliban Extorts Protection 'Tax' From Christians in Swat Valley

Hundreds of Pakistani Christians and other religious minorities including many Sikhs have fled the Swat Valley of Pakistan because of the Taliban imposition of the "jizya tax," a tax on those who refuse to convert to Islam that has been used throughout Muslim history to humiliate and impoverish non-Muslims in hope that they will convert to Islam.

Christian and Sikh families living in the Orakzai Agency of Pakistan fled their homes after the Taliban demanded the equivalent of US$622,200.

+ Assyrian International News Agency


[7] Pentagon Advisor Condemns U.S. Military’s Destruction of Bibles Sent to Troops in Afghanistan

Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis is a retired U.S. military officer, Pentagon adviser, and military and national security analyst, who is condemning the decision by the U.S. military to have their chaplains confiscate and then destroy Bibles in indigenous Afghan Pashto and Dari languages that had been sent to a soldier serving in Afghanistan, in order to make sure that troops did not violate rules against sharing their faith.

The Saudi Arabian-sponsored Al Jazeera television network was allowed onto the military base where they taped an American Bible study group and a stack of indigenous-language Bibles in the classroom. The U.S. military ordered the confiscation and destruction of the Bibles after the taped Bible study was shown on Al Jazeera television.

Maginnis characterized the official actions as "egregious" and "politically correct," and characterized as “a bit disingenuous…that you would have a Saudi Arabian-sponsored Al Jazeera television network making tapes on an American facility of a Bible group so that they could target and discriminate against our soldiers.”

Maginnis continued, “By and large, soldiers should have the right to share their faith wherever they are…and for the political correctness crew to come aboard and declare that we're going to destroy Bibles because of the sensitivity of the local command, I find egregious.”

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


[8] Louisiana Police Detain Man for “Don’t Tread on Me” Bumper Sticker on Car

A Louisiana man was recently stopped by a Louisiana town policeman and detained for thirty minutes while a background check of the man was conducted to determine whether he was a member of an “extremist” group. The reason for police stopping the man was because his car displayed a “Don’t Tread on Me” bumper sticker - based on the American Revolutionary flag designed by general and statesman Christopher Gadsden.

It is suspected that the policeman must have read and taken seriously the recent Department of Homeland Security publications that characterize “defenders of traditional American limited, constitutional government, free enterprise, and individual liberty” as “extremists.”

+ The American Vision, Post Office Box 220, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 770-222-7266, Fax: 770-222-7269, Mail@AmericanVision.org


[9] Two Calvin College Professors and One Student Win 2009-1010 Fulbright Scholarships

Calvin College (CC) geography professor Janel Curry, philosophy professor David Hoekema, and CC senior Eric Bratt, have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year.

The Fulbright Scholars Program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1946 with the aim "to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries, through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills."

+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org


[10] Sweden Rules Gender-Based Abortion Legal

After a woman from Eskilstuna, Sweden had previously aborted two unborn girls in separate pregnancies, and in a third pregnancy requested amniocentesis to check for both chromosome abnormalities and to determine the unborn child’s gender, doctors at Mälaren Hospital expressed concern and asked Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) to draw up guidelines for parental requests to determine the sex of an unborn child when there is no medical reason to do so.

The Socialstyrelsen ruled that such requests must be granted, and that doctors must perform any abortion requested where the unborn child is less than nineteen weeks old – even for gender-based abortions.

+ The Local Europe AB, Gjörwellsgatan 28, 112 60 Stockholm, Sweden, 46-0-8-656-6518, news@thelocal.se


[11] Canadian Doctors Perform Unique In-Utero Repair of Unborn Baby Girl’s Heart

Doctors at Toronto, Ontario, Canada’s Mount Sinai Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children performed heart repair surgery in-utero on thirty-one week-old unborn Océane McKenzie in order to fix her narrowed left ventricle, which if left alone would have prevented the left side of her heart from functioning.

Surgeons expanded Océane’s aortic valve using a balloon catheter inserted through her mother's abdomen, thus helping to reverse the baby's heart failure before birth. Without the in utero surgery, Océane would have needed three surgeries after birth, and would have faced a shortened lifespan and long-term complications.

Océane McKenzie was born at full term on 15 April 2009, and had several procedures performed on her heart that resulted in her having normal heart function three weeks after her birth. Océane may need to have heart-valve surgery as an adult if her left heart valve stiffens as she grows to adulthood.

+ Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 250 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5W 1E6, Canada, 1-866-306-4636, liaison@radio-canada.ca


[12] Memorial Services Audio for the Rev. Dr. Timothy Tow Available

Audio recordings of the memorial services for the late Rev. Dr. Timothy Tow are available at the Bible Witness Media Ministry website.

Dr. Tow was the founder of the Bible-Presbyterian Movement and the Far Eastern Bible College of Singapore.

+ Malaysia Bible-Presbyterian Church

+ Bible Presbyterian Church


[13] New England Reformed Fellowship Meeting 12 May 2009

The New England Reformed Fellowship met 12 May 2009 at the Immanuel Chapel in Upton, Massachusetts. Missionary to Central America, Gerry Wheaton, spoke about extraordinary changes in the shape, outlook, and center of gravity of the global church in recent decades.

+ New England Reformed Fellowship, c/o David Green, Pastor, Cornerstone Church, 14 McKinley Avenue, Beverly, Massachusetts, 01915, 978-927-8134, david.dovedge@gmail.com


[14] News of the Presbytery of the United States in the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)

The Presbytery of the United States in the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) has a new website called The Westminster Presbyterian at www.westminsterconfession.org. designed by Reformed blogger Tim Challies.

The Westminster Presbyterian features articles on the practice and theological identity of the Presbytery. The site also houses full information about the Presbytery's week-long family conference each August in the Shenandoah Valley, and about the Presbytery's Spanish-language missions. Issues of the Presbytery's periodical, known as The Master's Trumpet, are available, and an extensive treasury of classical Reformed articles and sermons provides further reading. There is information about our congregations, and links to audio and video of sermons.

+ Presbytery of the United States, c/o Sherman Isbell, Clerk of Presbytery, Post Office Box 2331, Fairfax, Virginia 22031-2331, 703-359-0192, rsisbell@gmail.com

+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org


[15] Erskine Seminary to Award D.Min. to Erskine Seminary Professor, Associate Dean, and U.S. Army Chaplain R.J. Gore, Jr.

Erskine Theological Seminary (ETS) Professor, Associate Dean, Director of the Master of Divinity Program, U.S. Army Reserve Chaplain, and ETS doctoral student R.J. Gore, Jr., Ph.D., will be awarded the D.Min. degree at ETS graduation ceremonies on 16 May 2009.

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


[16] Hungarian Reformed Church Plans Constituting Synod

A meeting is scheduled for 22 May 2009 in Debrecen, Hungary of a “Constituting Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church,” for the purpose of unifying the Hungarian Reformed Churches world wide under a common confession, constitution, and standards.

A website promoting the event is http://majus22.org/index_en.html.

+ Reformatus.Us

+ Reformed Church in Hungary, info@zsinatiiroda.hu


[17] Has the Church of Scotland Discovered a New Evangelism Methodology?

An 5 May 2009 article in The News of the World reports that long-time football (soccer to us Yanks) player Michael Owen has been offered by a Scots soccer team a pay-as-you-play deal worth UK£50,000 a week, plus huge bonuses for goals and success.

A 10 May 2009 response to the article by “Rob” expresses great skepticism about the deal, and writes that “If this story comes to fruition then I'll attend a Church of Scotland every Sunday for the next year.”

+ The News of the World, 1 Virginia Street, London E98 1XY, England, 0207-782-1001, newsdesk@notw.co.uk

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

5 May 2009

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] May 2009 Christian Observer Highlights
[2] Department of Homeland Security Domestic Extremism Lexicon Lists Wide Range of Definitions for Analysis of Non-Islamic Domestic Extremism
[3] U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy and Patrick Leahy Introduce House-Passed Hate Crimes Bill
[4] Missouri House Passes Amendment Allowing Pharmacies Not to Dispense Abortifacients
[5] Montana Physicians Required to Assist in Patient Suicides by Order of District Judge
[6] Fellowship of Confessing Churches Garnering Worldwide Support to Urge Church of Scotland General Assembly to Reject Openly Homosexual Minister
[7] Forward Together Issues Apology to Homosexual Minister, Partner, and Family for Unfactual Statements
[8] Caribbean WARC Meeting Calls for End to Cuba Sanctions
[9] EPC Presbytery of Mid-America Approves Affinity Presbytery Overture for Upcoming General Assembly Meeting
[10] Reformed Bible Study Near Tacoma, Washington has Goal of United Reformed Church Plant
[11] CRC Employees and Calvin College Musicians Try Out New Hymnbook
[12] May, 1888 CRC Riot in Grand Rapids, Michigan Recalled
[13] Sixth-Grader in Taiwan Donates Entire Savings to Community Ambulance Maintenance and Fuel Fund
[14] Sprinkle Publications Republishing The Works of John Robinson, The Pilgrim Father, Volume I
[15] Gospel for Asia Quantifies 2008 Hindu Violence to Christians in Orissa, India
[16] Reformed Presbyterian Witness Celebrates 125^th Anniversary in 2009


[1] May 2009 Christian Observer Highlights

New articles for May 2009 in the Christian Observer include two articles concerning God’s call to the pastorate:

R2K and Milk or Where is the Gospel? By Dr. Chuck Baynard; and
Running Unsent by Dr. Carl W. Bogue;

plus,

The Moral Core to Learning by Dr. Joe Renfro;
Sabbath School Lessons by Dr. Robert LaMay; and,
Daily Devotionals by T.M. Moore.

+ Christian Observer, 9400 Fairview Avenue, Manassas, Virginia 20110, 703-335-2844, christianobserver@christianobserver.org


[2] Department of Homeland Security Domestic Extremism Lexicon Lists Wide Range of Definitions for Analysis of Non-Islamic Domestic Extremism

A 26 March 2009 document issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis titled “Domestic Extremism Lexicon,” now recalled by DHS from state and local law enforcement agencies, lists more than fifty “…definitions for key terms and phrases that often appear in DHS analysis that addresses the nature and scope of the threat that domestic, non-Islamic extremism poses to the United States.”

Among the definitions for “Aryan prison gangs,” “neo-Nazis,” and “skinheads,” are terms such as:

“alternative media” – defined as “…various information sources that provide a forum for interpretations of events and issues that differ radically from those presented in mass media products and outlets;”

“antiabortion extremism” – defined as “A movement of [those] virulently antiabortion [that] advocate violence against [abortion providers]. Some cite various racist and anti-Semitic beliefs to justify their criminal activities;”

“patriot movement” – defined as “A term used by rightwing extremists to link their beliefs to those commonly associated with the American Revolution. The patriot movement primarily comprises violent antigovernment groups such as militias and sovereign citizens. (also: Christian patriots, patriot group, Constitutionalists, Constitutionist);” and,

“single-issue extremist groups” – defined as “[Those] who focus on a single issue or cause—such as…anti-abortion extremism—and often employ criminal acts. Group members may be associated with more than one issue;”

DHS defines the all-inclusive term “extremist group” as:

“An ideologically driven organization that advocates or attempts to bring about political, religious, economic, or social change through the use of force, violence, or ideologically motivated criminal activity.” [Ed. emphasis]

+ The Daily Beast, 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, editorial@thedailybeast.com

+ Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC 20528, 202-282-8000


[3] U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy and Patrick Leahy Introduce House-Passed Hate Crimes Bill

U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Patrick Leahy of Vermont have introduced into the U.S. Senate HR 1913, the “Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009,” passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on 29 April 2009.

The bill would provide federal money to train law enforcement officers to identify and criminally prosecute speech and thought offensive to homosexuals, and denies conscience protections to pastors, Christians, and missionaries.

Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel has spoken out against HR 1913 a number of times, saying: ”As has proved to be true in both Europe and Canada, this Orwellian piece of legislation is the direct precursor to freedom killing and speech chilling ‘hate speech’ laws.”

+ Council of Conservative Citizens, Post Office Box 221683, St. Louis, Missouri 63122, 636-940-8474, cofcc@cofcc.org

+ Liberty Counsel, Post Office Box 540774, Orlando, Florida 32854, 800-671-1776, Liberty@LC.org


[4] Missouri House Passes Amendment Allowing Pharmacies Not to Dispense Abortifacients

The Missouri House of Representatives on 28 April 2009 approved an amendment to a state medical board-related bill that would prevent pharmacies from having their license revoked for not dispensing the “Plan B” morning after pill and RU-486 abortifacients.

Missouri Representative Cynthia Davis commented, "I have trouble understanding why anybody who is an American, who is not in favor of Communism, would want us to dictate what we're going to say people can and cannot stock," Davis said. "I fear for all the businesses in Missouri if we're going to start telling them what they can sell and what they cannot sell."

+ Columbia Missourian, 221 South Eighth Street, Columbia, Missouri 65211, 573-882-5720, Fax: 573-882-5702


[5] Montana Physicians Required to Assist in Patient Suicides by Order of District Judge

On 5 December 2008, Montana First District Court Judge Dorothy McCarter, in the Baxter et al. v. Montana case, rendered the opinion that physician-assisted suicide is legal, and requires that doctors participate in these suicides.

The Christian Legal Service and the Christian Medical Association have filed briefs asking the Montana Supreme Court to protect the conscience rights of healthcare professionals by reversing the earlier decision and recognize a right not to participate in assisted suicide.

+ ANSWERS for the Faith


[6] Fellowship of Confessing Churches Garnering Worldwide Support to Urge Church of Scotland General Assembly to Reject Openly Homosexual Minister

The Fellowship of Confessing Churches (FCC) describes their organization as “a fellowship of congregations of the Church of Scotland (COS), united in the communion of the one Spirit and committed to work, pray and support one another in the common mission of Christ to the people of Scotland and beyond.”

In this regard, the FCC is expressing concern over the appeal to be addressed in the upcoming COS General Assembly against the decision of the Presbytery of Aberdeen to induct into a charge a minister who has openly declared himself to be living in a homosexual relationship.

The FCC has prepared a statement about the upcoming May 2009 COS General Assembly meeting, which expresses concerns including, “[That] [i]f the Assembly votes to support the Presbytery of Aberdeen, it will publicly declare such behaviour as acceptable and honourable for a leader in Christ’s church. This would mark…a radical deviation from the clear Scriptural pattern that recognises the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman as the only proper place for sexual intimacy…”

The FCC requests that Christians and their churches worldwide sign the statement online at http://www.confessingchurch.org.uk/general-assembly-2009/ga09-support/, that concludes: “…affirm[ing] our continuing solidarity in fellowship with Christian churches worldwide who hold and maintain the historic faith, doctrine, and discipline of the one holy, catholic and apostolic church, once for all delivered to the saints in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

+ Fellowship of Confessing Churches

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


[7] Forward Together Issues Apology to Homosexual Minister, Partner, and Family for Unfactual Statements

Forward Together (FT) describes themselves as “…a group for evangelical members of the Church of Scotland who share a desire to serve our Lord Jesus Christ within the Church of Scotland.” (COS)

In an earlier communication to FT members concerning minister Scott Rennie, whose appointment to an Aberdeen, Scotland COS church is on hold pending action by the upcoming May 2009 COS General Assembly meeting, FT said that Rennie had left his wife and young daughter to live with another man. In fact, Rennie’s wife had left him, and Rennie did not meet his current partner until two years later.

In addition to paying Rennie’s legal expenses, FT apologized “…unreservedly for giving the impression that Mr. Rennie left his wife and child for his present male partner and for any distress this may have caused Mr. Rennie, his wife and his family.”

Affirmation Scotland, which describes itself as “…a group…within the Church of Scotland…seek[ing] the affirmation and dignity of lesbian and gay Christians within the church…,” described FT’s apology as “inadequate.”

+ Press and Journal, Lang Stracht, Mastrick, Aberdeen AB15 6DF, Scotland, 01224-343311, pj.newsdesk@ajl.co.uk

+ Forward Together, 2 Lanark Road, Kirkmuirhill, Scotland ML11 9RB, 01555-892409, office@forwardtogether.org.uk

+ Affirmation Scotland, 37 Main Street, Invergowrie, Scotland DD2 5AB, 0141-8837405, info@affirmationscotland.org.uk

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


[8] Caribbean WARC Meeting Calls for End to Cuba Sanctions

Representatives from six Caribbean countries met 22-25 April 2009 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica “to develop a Caribbean theology of life in response to economic and environmental challenges in the region.”

A statement was issued at the end of the meeting calling for a new economic model for the Caribbean based on regional experiences and draws particular attention to Cuba: "We are inspired by the resilience and creativity of the Cuban people. We continue to pray and advocate for the full lifting of the blockade against Cuba. We undergird the principle of Caribbean integration and reaffirm our commitment to playing our part in making it happen."

The Caribbean meeting was jointly organized by Caribbean and North American Council and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) Office for Church Renewal, Justice, and Partnership. WARC is beginning a series of regional consultations aimed at supporting churches worldwide as they seek to bring about change in their communities and nations.

+ World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 150 route de Ferney, Post Office Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, 41-22-791-6240, Fax: 41-22-791-6505, warc@warc.ch


[9] EPC Presbytery of Mid-America Approves Affinity Presbytery Overture for Upcoming General Assembly Meeting

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s (EPC) Presbytery of Mid-America (PMA) on 25 April 2009 by a vote of forty-six to four approved an overture to the EPC’s 2009 General Assembly, requesting that the PMA be permitted to experiment with an affinity presbytery structure for a period of three years beginning in July 2009.

If approved by the EPC 2009 General Assembly, the presbytery would create two ministerial committees. One would examine and receive candidates and ministers who are not in favor of women as Teaching Elders. The other committee would examine and receive candidates and ministers who are in favor of women as Teaching Elders. All other activities and ministries of the presbytery would remain unchanged during the three years of experiment. The EPC Permanent Judicial Commission will review this overture as part of its 29-30 May 2009 meeting.

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


[10] Reformed Bible Study Near Tacoma, Washington has Goal of United Reformed Church Plant

Mark Vander Pol, an M.Div. candidate at Westminster Seminary California, on behalf of the Bellingham (Washington) United Reformed Church (URC) Consistory has begun the Gig Harbor (near Tacoma, Washington) Reformed Bible Study with one goal being the establishment of a URC church plant at that location.

This Bible study will follow the historic Reformed Confessions commonly known as The Three Forms of Unity, The Belgic Confession of Faith (1561), The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and The Canons of Dort (1618-1619).

Please access the Gig Harbor Reformed Bible Study blog or contact gigharborreformed@gmail.com for further information.

+ Gig Harbor Reformed Bible Study

+ United Reformed Churches in North America, C/O Mr. Bill Konynenbelt, 5824 Bowwater Circle Northwest, Calgary, Alberta T3B 2E2, Canada, 403-286-0521, Fax: 403-286-0759, urcna@shaw.ca


[11] CRC Employees and Calvin College Musicians Try Out New Hymnbook

About fifty Christian Reformed Church (CRC) staffers at the Grand Rapids, Michigan office and a few instrumentalists from Calvin College gathered on 29 April 2009 to try out the preview edition of Contemporary Songs for Worship, a new songbook published by Faith Alive Christian Resources (FACR), the publishing agency of the CRC. Three other preview hymnbooks have yet to be published in the process of publishing a new CRC-Reformed Church in America hymnbook scheduled for release in 2013.

Joyce Berger of FACR said that the preview book, “…is one way to help us figure out the best way to deal with contemporary songs in the [2013] hymnal.”

Hymnbook editor Paul Ryan of Calvin College said that most of the songs in the new book are less than twenty-five years old, and said, “The tunes are popular. They are born out of the pop-rock genre. There are songs by popular and emerging artists….All of the songs in the new book are consistent with our Reformed confessions. In it, we try to represent all the different movements in worship – gathering, praise, confession. There are songs of assurance and celebration.”

Contemporary Songs for Worship is available for US$5.00 per copy from http://www.faithaliveresources.org/Contemporary-Songs-for-Worship. Information about the new hymnal project is available at http://www.crcna.org/pages/hymnal.cfm.

+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org

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

+ Calvin College 3201 Burton Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49546, 616-526-6000


[12] May, 1888 CRC Riot in Grand Rapids, Michigan Recalled

Charles Honey, calling the situation, “devotion versus debauchery, pure and simple,” in a 2 May 2009 story, recalls the night in May 1888 when 1000 members of the Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church (EACRC) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, set out to destroy a new railroad line that’s passengers included persons bound for the drinking, dancing and gambling goings-on at Reeds Lake on Sundays.

An EACRC history recounts, "They did not want the nuisance to pass noisily by their church and create a dangerous hazard for their children, to say nothing of the all too common rowdyism and drunkenness prevalent among the merry-makers on Sunday.”

Honey writes that a newspaper of the time reported that the police arrived and threw a few "deluded, ignorant Dutchmen" into a patrol wagon, but friends came to their rescue and released them.

Calvin College historian James Bratt observes that nowadays the EACRC members’ actions look radical, but Bratt points out that, in its time, the riot was a socially accepted response to an industrial bully intruding on a close-knit community, saying, "This was a long-standing tradition of enforcing the implied moral contract of society by mass action."

Retired city historian Gordon Olson points out that the growth pains of a rapidly expanding community of 60,000 that did not all follow the CRC's strict Sabbath rules was a major reason for the riot, saying,
"Their frustration may have been partly with the changes they saw around them and people who didn't have the good sense to stay home on Sunday.”

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


[13] Sixth-Grader in Taiwan Donates Entire Savings to Community Ambulance Maintenance and Fuel Fund

Lydia Ma reports that rural Yunlin county, Taiwan, sixth-grader Tsai Ming-hsuan had saved the equivalent of $US290 so that he could buy video games. Tsai’s father is in the habit of reading Bible stories to his son, then applying the stories to examples from everyday life.

After Tsai’s father shared the story of the kernel of wheat, which, if sacrificed and planted in the ground, can produce more seeds to help others, then told Tsai about his community’s financial inability to maintain and supply gasoline for the ambulance that transports the elderly to schools where visiting doctors come to offer medical care to the seniors, Tsai happily donated his entire savings for use in maintaining and supplying fuel to the community ambulance.

Tsai and his fellow school students have learned about generosity that seeks nothing in return by the example of the many people that make donations to their rural school, so much so that the students recently donated to charity a portion of prize money they had won in a competition.

+ Presbyterian Church in Taiwan


[14] Sprinkle Publications Republishing The Works of John Robinson, The Pilgrim Father, Volume I

Sprinkle Publications is republishing The Works of John Robinson, The Pilgrim Father, Volume I, which will be ready for shipping in mid-June 2009. Volumes II and III are scheduled to be available later in 2009. Volume I consists of sixty-two short sermons or long devotionals.

Sprinkle Publications is offering Volume I for US$29 with free shipping for USA orders if placed before 10 June 2009.

Sprinkle Publications, Post Office Box 1094, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22803, 540-867-9618, Fax: 540-867-9618, sprinklepub@planetcomm.net


[15] Gospel for Asia Quantifies 2008 Hindu Violence to Christians in Orissa, India

A recent Gospel for Asia (GFA) report estimates that the Hindu violence against Christians in Orissa state, India that began in the summer of 2008 left 500 Christians killed by the rampaging mobs, 1000 Christian homes destroyed, and 50 thousand Christians driven from their homes into the jungle. GFA further reports that 30 thousand of the Christians driven into the jungle remain living in the jungle in fear for their lives.

+ Gospel for Asia, 1800 Golden Trail Court, Carrollton, Texas 75010, 972-300-7777, info@gfa.org


[16] Reformed Presbyterian Witness Celebrates 125^th Anniversary in 2009

The Reformed Presbyterian Witness, the official publication of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, celebrates its 125^th anniversary of publication in 2009.

Predecessor publications to the Reformed Presbyterian Witness are Christian Nation: A Journal of Enlightened Statesmanship that was published from 1884 to 1928, and The Covenanter Witness: To the Truth, Jesus Christ as Saviour, Lord, Head of Men, the Church and Nations published between 1928 and 2002.

+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861