31 October 2007 - Reformation Day + 490

Headlines:

[1] Presbyterians Renew Relations in Eastern Europe
[2] Six Running for Next Scottish Moderator
[3] Eberhard Bush To Lecture on Karl Barth at Princeton Seminary
[4] Northeast Associate Reformed Presbytery


[1] Presbyterians Renew Relations in Eastern Europe

Gary Payton is a 57-year-old Missouri native, who prior to working for the PC(USA) served 24 years as an officer in the United States Air Force during the height of the Cold War. Appointed as a PC(USA) mission co-worker in January 2000 after previously serving as director of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, Payton works closely with the Russian Orthodox Church, the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of the Russian Federation, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States, the Reformed Church in Carpatho-Ukraine, and the Evangelical Reformed Church in Poland.

+ Presbyterian Church (USA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202 (888) 728-7228


[2] Six Running for Next Scottish Moderator

The list of candidates to become Moderator of the Church of Scotland is one of the longest in recent years, containing six nominees, with Kirk insiders claiming that the selection is one of the most open races they have seen. Those named were: David Arnott, of Hope Park Church of St Andrews; Barry Dunsmore of St Columba's, London; Alan Greig, of Kintore Parish Church, Kintore; David Lunan, Clerk to the Presbytery of Glasgow; Dr Marjory MacLean, Deputy Clerk to the General Assembly, and Colin Sinclair, of Palmerston Place Church, Edinburgh. While the list may be broadly representative of the Kirk as an institution, the political leaning of it has been described as being to the left of centre.

The Committee to Nominate the Moderator met 30 October to hear proposers and seconders. The Moderator Designate will be presented to the General Assembly on 15 May, 2008.

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4YN Scotland


[3] Eberhard Bush To Lecture on Karl Barth at Princeton Seminary

Eberhard Busch, professor emeritus in systematic theology at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany, will deliver a lecture at Princeton Theological Seminary on 8 in the Main Lounge of the Mackay Campus Center.

Titled “‘A Swiss Voice’: The Campaign of the Swiss Government against the Voice of Karl Barth during the Second World War,” the lecture will bring to light previously unknown archival documents relating to the Swiss government’s campaign to silence Barth’s political speech in the face of potential National Socialist retaliation.

Dr. Eberhard Busch is a world-renowned Barth scholar and was Barth’s last assistant. Busch’s research interests lie in Barth’s life and works, John Calvin and the history of the Reformed Reformation, Reformed confessions in past and present, the “church struggle” in Germany from 1933 to 1945, the history of pietism in the 18th Century, and Reformed identity.

Busch is the author of the definitive biography of Barth, Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiography Texts (first English edition by SCM Press, London, 1976). In 2004, he published The Great Passion: An Introduction to Karl Barth's Theology, which has since become a standard introduction to Barthian theology.

+ Princeton Theological Seminary, PO Box 821, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08542-0803

[4] Northeast Associate Reformed Presbytery

Approximately 50 presbyters and guests attended Northeast Presbytery's fall meeting 11 and 12 October at the Kirkridge Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Manchester, Maryland. The Presbytery received five Korean ministers into its membership who were received under care at the spring Presbytery meeting.

Also received into membership was the Rev. Y. H. Chung, missionary pastor of the Church of the Lord in Osaka, Japan, and Mr. S.S. Yim as a licentiate from the Korean American Presbyterian Church. Yim is a pastoral assistant at the Hyo Shin Church.

Presbytery also received the Rev. Ian Duguid upon letter of transfer from the Ascension Presbytery, Presbyterian Church in America, to labor out of bounds as a college professor.
The Presbytery received the Hyo Shin Bible Presbyterian Church, the Joyful Church, and the Yae Dam Presbyterian Church as member congregations of the Presbytery and received under care the Philadelphia Korean Presbyterian Church, Glen Burney, Maryland.

Northeast approved appointment of a commission to organize the Faith Presbyterian Church of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and to install the Rev. Ron Bell as pastor.

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1 Cleveland St., Greenville South Carolina, 29601-3696 (864) 232-8297

23 October 2007

Headlines:

[1] Malibu Church Destroyed
[2] Detterman Will Become Executive Director at Presbyterians for Renewal
[3] Papers of Dr. C. John Miller
[4] New Reformed Body To Be Formed
[5] Two Christians Murdered in Nigeria
[6] Churches Together in England Appoints New General Secretary


[1] Malibu Church Destroyed

A string of wildfires raging out of control in southern California claimed the Malibu Presbyterian Church in Pacific Presbytery Sunday 21 October. The 287-member congregation, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean in one of the Los Angeles area’s most exclusive communities, burned to the ground.

+ Malibu Presbyterian Church, 332 Malibu Canyon Road, Malibu, California 90265


[2] Detterman Will Become Executive Director at Presbyterians for Renewal

The Rev. Paul E. Detterman has been elected executive director for Presbyterians For Renewal (PFR). Founded in 1989, PFR’s mission is to mobilize leaders of congregations within the Presbyterian Church (USA) to be Biblically faithful and mission-minded in their service to Jesus Christ. Detterman has served as interim executive director of the renewal group since February 2007 and previously served on the national staff of the Presbyterian Church (USA) as associate for worship and as pastor of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Louisville, as well as congregations in Ohio and Kansas.

+ Presbyterians For Renewal, 8134 New LaGrange Rd. Suite 227, Louisville, KY 40222


[3] Papers of Dr. C. John Miller

The Presbyterian Church in America has acquired the papers of Dr. Jon C. Miller who was a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia from 1966-1980, founding pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and founding director of World Harvest Missions. The collection consists of 13 cubic feet of documents, with notable strengths in subjects such as evangelism, missions, and pastoral theology.

+ World Harvest Mission, 101 West Ave Ste 305, Jenkintown PA 19046-2039

+ Presbyterian Church in America Historical Center, 12330 Conway Rd., St. Louis, MO 63141 (314) 469-9077


[4] New Reformed Body To Be Formed

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) on 22 September agreed to unite with the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) to create a new global Reformed body representing more than 80 million Reformed Christians worldwide. The decision took place at WARC’s Executive Committee meeting being held in Trinidad and Tobago.

In March, REC’s Executive Committee approved in principle of a new Reformed body tentatively called the World Reformed Communion. However WARC asked for more time to consider an alternative proposal for the name of the new group.

WARC is a fellowship of 75 million Reformed Christians in 214 churches in 107 countries. A survey of WARC’s member churches found that 41 churches supported the merger, while six churches raised some questions. No WARC churches opposed the move. REC represents 12 million Reformed Christians in 39 churches in 25 countries. Of its 39 member churches, 27 are also members of WARC.

The new Reformed body will be open to all members of WARC and REC who are not under suspension, as well as other Reformed, Presbyterian, Congregational, Waldensian, First Reformation, United and Uniting traditions who affirm the basis of the new entity. The new Reformed body will also invite movements, agencies and theological institutions of the Reformed movement into active affiliation with it.

+ World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 150 route de Ferney, PO Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland


[5] Two Christians Murdered in Nigeria

One man has been killed with a sword and another bludgeoned to death in central northern Nigeria’ city of Kaduna following Muslim leaders’ appeals to wage violent jihad against youthful Christians. Muslim extremists on 12 October murdered Henry Emmanuel Ogbaje, a 24-year-old Christian, at an area known as Gamji Gate. The following day, church leaders said, a young Christian identified only as Basil was killed by sword in the same area. Elder Saidu Dogo, secretary of the northern Nigeria chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Compass that Islamic leader Sheik Gumi had urged Muslims to wage jihad against Christians in televised broadcasts during the Islamic month-long observance of Ramadan. “He specifically called for a jihad,” Dogo told Compass, “and that when they go killing they should not kill the elderly people, because the elderly have spent their years already, but that Muslims should kill young Christians.”

+ Compass Direct News Service, PO Box 27250, Santa Ana CA 92799


[6 Churches Together in England Appoints New General Secretary

Churches Together in England (CTE) has this month announced the appointment of a new General Secretary. The Rev Dr David Cornick will take over leadership of CTE next spring from the outgoing Rev Bill Snelson, who has held the office for the last 10 years.

Cornick comes to the position with a wealth of experience in leadership. He has been General Secretary of the United Reformed Church since 2001 and prior to that was Principal of Westminster College, Cambridge, a ministerial training college of the United Reformed Church. During his time there, he also enjoyed a period as Vice-President of the Cambridge Theological Federation. Cornick was educated at Hertford College, Oxford, King’s College, London and Mansfield College, Oxford which awarded him a PhD in Church History in 1982.

+ Churches Together in England, 27 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HH

17 October 2007

Headlines:

[1] Diocese of Chicago Considering Lesbian Bishop
[2] Pastor Disappears, 10 Protestants Arrested
[3] Presbyterian Church Proposed for Hillsdale College
[4] Kaua'i Reformation Church Opens
[5] State of the First Amendment Survey, 2005
[6] 10 Commandments Good for Business
[7] Matthews Korean ARP Celebrates New Home

[1] Diocese of Chicago Considering Lesbian Bishop

An openly lesbian priest, who lives with a female partner, is among the five nominees for bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Chicago to replace William Persell, the outgoing bishop who plans to retire. Tracey Lind, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland will be on the 10 November ballot. Lind, who has served at Trinity since 2000, is also a city planner and author.

+ Ecumenical News International, PO Box 2100, CH - 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland


[2] Pastor Disappears, 10 Protestants Arrested


Christians in Eritrea confirmed that a pastor in Asmara who disappeared remains missing. Pastor Leule Gebreab of Asmara's Apostolic Church failed to return home to his family on 12 August. "His wife is greatly distressed about his disappearance," a local source said. Gebreab, 35, is married with two children.

In a separate development, Eritrean authorities issued an ultimatum to Roman Catholic church leaders on 16 August, ordering that all the church's schools, clinics, orphanages, and women's vocational training centers be turned over to the government's Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour.

More than 2,000 Eritrean Christians remain have been locked up and subjected to severe torture for their religious beliefs. A Kale Hiwot Church pastor and 20 members of his congregation arrested in the town of Dekemhare in late May and early June have yet to be released from custody.

However, the Rev. Zecharias Abraham and 80 worshippers at the Mehrete Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian Church, who had been arrested during Sunday services in Asmara on April 29, were all reported released during the fourth week of May.

+ Compass Direct News Service, PO Box 27250, Santa Ana CA 92799


[3] Presbyterian Church Proposed for Hillsdale College

A group of Hillsdale College students and professors plan start their own church in Hillsdale, near the internationally famous conservative institution. An answer to prayer for some, the Presbytery of Michigan and Ontario will help organize the church, which will meet on campus at 6 p.m. Sundays in the Dow Center. Eventually, the congregation hopes to build a church, but that could be a couple years down the road. By next year, the group hopes to at least be able to have morning and evening services in a more permanent location until a full–time pastor is called.
The beginnings of the church date to 2006, when Richard Gamble, a member of a Fellowship Orthodox Presbyterian church in Florida, became a history professor at Hillsdale College. After driving an hour or two each week to attend church, Gamble decided there should be a church closer to home.

Hamilton moved to Hillsdale from Texas this year and, along with Gamble, contacted Peter Wallace, the organizing pastor of Grace Reformed in Walkerton, Indiana, about starting a church in Hillsdale. Wallace agreed to serve as pastor until a full–time “church planter” can be hired, which organizers hope happens early next year. There are more than 200 Orthodox Presbyterian churches in the nation.

Founded in 1844, Hillsdale College is an independent, coeducational, residential, liberal arts college.

+ Hillsdale College, 33 East College St. Hillsdale, MI 49242


[4] Kaua'i Reformation Church Opens

Approximately 45 people participated in the first service of the Kaua‘i Reformation Church on 2 September. A handful of families from all parts of the island have been meeting on a weekly basis since early summer. This inaugural service was the culmination of hard work and dedication to forming Kaua‘i’s only distinctly Reformed congregation.

These local efforts are being supported by Oceanside United Reformed Church (Oceanside, California) and Grace Evangelical Church (Torrance, California), member congregations of the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA).
The URCNA is a federation of churches that traces its roots to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century. The body formed in North America from congregations which in large measure had emerged from the Christian Reformed Church.

+ Kauai Reformation Church, Meeting at Kauai Veterans Center (Rooms 3 & 4), 3215 Kapule Highway, Lihue, HI 96766 (808) 821-1800


[5] State of the First Amendment Survey, 2005

The State of the First Amendment survey, conducted annually (since 1997, except for 1998) for the First Amendment Center, examines public attitudes toward the freedoms of speech, press, and religion and the rights of assembly and petition. Core questions, asked each year, include awareness of First Amendment freedoms, overall assessments of whether there is too much or too little freedom of speech, press, and religion in the United States, levels of tolerance for various types of public expression (such as flag-burning and singing songs with potentially offensive lyrics), levels of tolerance for various journalistic behaviors, attitudes toward prayer in schools, and level of support for amending the Constitution to prohibit flag-burning or defacement. Additional questions asked in the 2005 survey include attitudes toward religious freedom in the workplace, freedom of expression in the public schools, the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings, the confidentiality of library records, and government's ability to restrict various types of content in public broadcasts.

+ The Association of Religion Data Archives, Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802-6207


[6] 10 Commandments Good for Business

German-speaking business leaders in Paraguay have been encouraged to practice Biblical values. More than 300 leaders from the South American country took part in a Christian convention in Asuncion, 4-6 October. One of the main speakers was the chairman of the Christian Leadership Congress in Germany, Rev. Horst Marquardt, who described the Ten Commandments as an unrivaled code of conduct. According to leading economists economies flourish, when the Ten Commandments are heeded.

Marquardt quoted honesty, charity, faithfulness, and conscientiousness as core values for entrepreneurs and also admonished business leaders to keep their professional and their spiritual life in balance. The Christian leadership convention was held for the third time in Paraguay. Conference Director Siegfried Funk was pleased with the outcome. The convention was organized by the organizations Capellania Empresarial and MEDA in Paraguay.

Capellania Empresarial promotes Christian values at the workplace and MEDA offers micro-credits to the needy. Paraguay has six million inhabitants. Among them are 35,000 Mennonites of German descent. They are leaders in certain commercial fields, for example in dairy products. Mennonites trace their origins back to the Anabaptist movement during the time of the reformation. Their name goes back to the Frisian theologian Menno Simons (1496-1561

+ ASSIST News Service, PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609


[7] Matthews Korean ARP Celebrates New Home

A service of dedication for the Matthews Korean Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church will be held to celebrate its new facilities, 2024 Sam Newell Road, Matthews, North Carolina, at 3 p.m. 28 October. Eung Chu Lee is pastor

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland St Ste 110, Greenville SC 29601-3646

10 October 2007

Headlines:

[1] They Closed the Wrong Church
[2] Inverness Provost Tells God To Keep His Distance
[3] Count Down to Calvin's 500th Anniversary Begins
[4] Courts Back Abduction of Christian Girls
[5] Calvary Protestant Reformed Church Organizes in Hull
[6] School District Ends Discrimination Against Christian Club
[7] Departing Congregation Picks PCA Over EPC
[8] Evil, Egotism, and the Sacred in Film Come to Princeton Seminary
[9] Reformed Wing of UCC Aserts Itself
[10] Visit the Reformed Pulpit on the Internet


[1] They Closed the Wrong Church

At least the people of Govan Old Parish think the Church of Scotland closed the wrong church. The congregation occupying one of Scotland’s oldest religious sites is part of a three-church merger brought on by lack of resources in the national church.

Under the merger, parishioners at Govan Old and Linthouse St. Kenneth's churches will worship in Govan New Church. According to published reports, Govan Old Parish Church contains 31 highly decorated sculptured stones dating from the 9th and 10th Centuries, as well as an ancient stone sarcophagus.

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 4YN UK


[2] Inverness Provost Tells God To Keep His Distance

Bob Wynd, Provost of the Highland Council, has informed the Presbytery of Inverness that there will be no more Kirking of the Council and the Church of Scotland has told him it is not his decision to make. Since 1602, the people of Inverness have consistently invited civil officials to appear in church and affirm their intention to serve God and the people.

According to published reports Wynd refused to read the Scripture lesson during this year’s ceremony and instead delivered a message on the need for “inclusivity.” When a firestorm of public protest erupted, Wynd announced the discontinuance of the affirmation during the remainder of his term 2011.

According to The Scotsman, Wynd defended himself saying, "My whole point was to improve the turnout at the event. Last year there was a group of seven present, three councillors and four officials."

Upon further reflection, Wynd reportedly continued, “It was always at the invitation of the church historically and traditionally when the council elections were held annually, and it tied in with that. But now the council elections are held every four years and the church continued to hold the Kirking annually. In line with history and tradition, I suggested that it once again tied in with the election of the council. But if they want to continue to send out invitations annually they can - that's fine."

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 4YN UK


[3] Count Down to Calvin's 500th Anniversary Begins

America’s Calvin Synod at its 2007 meeting invited American Reformed communities to join in celebrating the celebration of John Calvin’s 500th birthday in 2009. The Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches is spearheading the celebration in Europe through sponsorship of a dedicated web site. <www.calvin09.org> provides a calendar and directions to celebrations and relevant educational materials for free download. Many churches will begin a two-year preparation with celebration of Reformation Day on 28 October.

+ Rev. Mr. Zsolt Otvos, General Secretary, Calvin Synod,365 E. Woodrow Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43207

+ World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 150 route de Ferney, PO Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland


[4] Courts Back Abduction of Christian Girls

It has been more than a year since Allabe Kaku Chibok lost his three daughters because he became a Christian – paradoxically, he lost custody of them only after his ex-wife died. An Islamic court in the northern Nigerian state of Born granted custody to Chibok’s wife’s Muslim relatives after a chain of events that began in November 2004, when he allowed his daughters to attend the funeral service of their mother; she had divorced him when he left Islam.

The girls stayed for a week with Muslim relatives at his former wife’s house, but when Chibok arrived there to take them to school, he found that a retired female police officer, Hajiya Maryam Aliyu, had helped his ex-wife’s Muslim relatives abduct them. On 4 August 2006, Borno Upper Sharia Court I ruled that under Islamic law a non-Muslim father cannot be a custodian to his children if the mother of his children is Muslim – or, in this case, if the deceased mother’s relatives are Muslim.

Chibok, now 50, had kept custody of the children after Malama Botul Grema divorced him in 1996, and when she remarried in 2000 he had maintained custody of Zara, now 14, Fati, now 12, and 11-year-old Aisha. A member of the Church of Christ in Nigeria in the Gambaru area of Maiduguri, Chibok told the police commissioner that his efforts to rescue the girls had met with the blunt assertion that he was no longer capable of being their father because he had become a Christian.

+ Compass News Direct, PO Box 27250, Santa Ana, CA 92799-7250


[5] Calvary Protestant Reformed Church Organizes in Hull

Hull, Iowa, will have a new Protestant Reformed Church on 11 October. Some 43 families, totally 150 people will transfer from the historic Hull Protestant Reformed Church to start the new congregation. Elections of elders and deacons will follow the formal meeting and the evening will close with the first consistory meeting.

+ Hull Protestant Reformed Church, 1006 Hayes Avenue, Hull, Iowa 51239


[6] School District Ends Discrimination Against Christian Club

After Liberty Counsel issued a demand letter and threatened legal action, the Round Lake School District gave Child Evangelism Fellowship of Northeast Illinois permission to distribute flyers about its after-school Good New Clubs. Secular organizations such as Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts were allowed to distribute their flyers through the teachers, but CEF was only permitted to leave its flyers in the school office. The local CEF director tried to resolve the issue but the school district would not allow CEF equal treatment until receiving Liberty Counsel's demand letter.

Through the Good News Clubs, trained CEF leaders provide religious instruction and teach good citizenship and moral values to students in public elementary schools. Good News Clubs are only one ministry of CEF, which operates many different programs in 158 countries.

Liberty Counsel has partnered with Child Evangelism Fellowship to help the organization establish after-school Good News Clubs in every school district in the nation.

+ Liberty Counsel, PO Box 540774, Orlando, FL 32854 (800) 671-1776


[7] Departing Congregation Picks PCA Over EPC

The Riverside Presbyterian Church in Linn Grove voted 74-0 to secede from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbyterian Church in America organization. That decision bucks a trend; most of the congregations departing the fragile PC(USA) are leaving for the provisional New Wineskins Presbytery or moving directly to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

In some cases the PC(USA) presbytery sets terms for withdrawal directing the group to which a congregation may move or setting a fee to avoid court action. This time the denomination went directly to the court with claims on the property.

+ Presbytery of Prospect Hill, 318 E 5th St, Box 1405 Storm Lake, IA 50588


[8] Evil, Egotism, and the Sacred in Film Come to Princeton Seminary

Jeffrey Stout, professor of religion at Princeton University and president of the American Academy of Religion, is delivering the Stone Lectures at Princeton Seminary in a series of five lectures and five film screenings which began 24 September and will continue through November.

The series is titled “A Light That Shines in the Darkness: Evil, Egotism, and the Sacred in Film,” and includes screenings of films by Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, Lars von Trier, Yasujiro Ozu, Nathaniel Dorsky, Stan Brakhage, and two rarely seen films by the late avant-garde filmmaker Gregory Markopoulos: his six-minute, 16mm 1968 film Bliss, and a 30-minute preview excerpt from his 16mm eighty-hour masterwork Eniaios, scheduled to premiere in June 2008 in Greece.

Stout who earned his Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University and joined the faculty there in 1975 is author of Democracy and Tradition (Princeton University Press, 2005), Ethics after Babel (Princeton University Press, 2001), and The Flight from Authority (Notre Dame, 1981). Ethics after Babel won the award for excellence from the American Academy of Religion in 1989.

Stout’s essays and reviews have appeared in such journals as Ethics, The Monist, New Literary History, Soundings, The Journal of Religion, Religious Studies, and The Journal of Religious Ethics.

+ Princeton Theological Seminary, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08542


[9] Reformed Wing of UCC Aserts Itself

ReformationUCC.org exists to remember, celebrate, and build upon the foundation of the Reformation Roots of the United Church of Christ. The First Issue of ReformationUCC.org is online at http://www.reformationucc.org/current-issue/. Articles include: 1) Reformation Day: That Most Protestant Of Holidays; 2) Jonathan Edwards And Me; 3) "Shrimp Anyone?" That Mainline Red Herring About The Bible; 4) Jesse Remington High School: Rebuilding Christian World View In The Mainline. Reviews include: 1) Pilgrim Press Titles Of Interest To Reformation Studies; 2) Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe In Christ.

+ Rev. Chuck Huckaby, First Presbyterian Church, 252 Admiral Circle, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee 38464


[10] Visit the Reformed Pulpit on the Internet

The President of the Christian Observer Foundation which produces Presbyterians-Week serves a suburban Washington congregation. Dr. Elliott’s sermons have been distributed in outline form over the Internet for many years. Interested Observers can now hear the actual sermons in MP3 format by downloading them from the web page of Reformed Presbyterian Church in Manassas, Viginia.

+ Reformed Presbyterian Church, 9400 Fairview Avenue, Manassas, Virginia 20110 http://www.rpchurch.org/MiscAudioSer.htm

3 October 2007

Headlines:

[1] Sheldon Jackson College Eyes Future
[2] Indonesian Church Joins Protestant Church in The Netherlands
[3] Myanmar Seminary President Defies Church a nd Locks the Gates
[4] Ministry Incentive Program at Calvin Grows
[5] Anglicans Propose New Structure


[1] Sheldon Jackson College Eyes Future

Acknowledging that beleaguered Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska, will not reopen again as a four-year institution soon, officials at the Presbyterian-related school are trying to build a future for the college by focusing on what it has to offer the region. That's why the fish hatchery and aquarium remain open on campus with plans to reinstate a rural village leadership-training program also in the works. The college recently learned that it has received a US$1.5 million grant from the US Department of Commerce to expand the fish hatchery operation.

With the closure of SJC expected to hurt Sitka's economy, the college will lead from its strengths to meet the articular needs of the community, said school officials.

"The fish hatchery is an indispensable part of what Sheldon Jackson will become in the future and is central to the economy of southeast Alaska," said the Rev. David Dobler, president of Sheldon Jackson. "Therefore we will continue operation of the hatchery as the linchpin of our future as an institution."

Other possibilities include turning vacant dormitories into temporary housing for throngs of fishermen that pour into the small seaside town each year, or training Alaskan residents as teacher's aides.

After struggling financially for years, Alaska's oldest educational institution announced in late June that academic operations would be suspended for the 2007-2008 academic school year as trustees explore options for SJC's future. One hundred employees were laid off as a result.

Sheldon Jackson College has more than US$35 million in assets, primarily land and buildings, but has virtually no cash and US$11 million in debts.

+ Presbyterian Church (USA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202 (888) 728-7228


[2] Indonesian Church Joins Protestant Church in The Netherlands

The Indonesian Christian Congregations (PERKI Nederland) decided at its Sixth Congress on 30 September to join the Protestant Church in The Netherlands (PKN). PERKI gathers nine congregations of about 2,500 long-term ethnic Indonesian people living in the Netherlands and has had relationships with the predecessors of the PKN since 1930.

From its side, the PKN expressed its joy at this important step. Bas Plaisier, General Secretary of the PKN, said it was important for the PKN to include churches from immigrant groups. The PKN, Plaisier said, should be "a place for people of different cultures. I am happy that we can intensify our long-standing cooperation with PERKI in this way."

PERKI will join the PKN as a separate classis, a step that will require the PKN to change its church order. The PKN hopes this step will lead to others joining. In November, the PKN will also consider an associative relationship with the Alliance of Free Evangelical Congregations. (PKN)

+ Dr. B. Plaisier, General Secretary, PO Box 8399, 3503 RM Utrecht, The Netherlands

+ Reformed Ecumenical Council Secretariat, 2050 Breton Rd, SE, Suite 102, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546


[3] Myanmar Seminary President Defies Church a nd Locks the Gates

David Khobal, locked the doors of the Myanmar Seminary to all students, following a decision by the Christian Reformed Church of Myanmar not to reappoint him as president of the institution. Students coming into Yangon from the Chin State hills had to be housed at rented homes. The other teachers of the seminary are conducting classes in the living quarters of Chan Thleng, the CRCM General Secretary, who also houses about 15 female students there. Khobal, became Acting President in 2003, and then was appointed to a three-year term. Although the board recommended his continuation for a second term, the synod earlier this year voted down the recommendation. Khobal, apparently believing he had the strong support of a group of American donors, refused to accept the decision, and put a lock on the gates, after moving some of his relatives on to the campus. Now, the campus is empty except for these families, and the library, computers, student residences and classrooms remain unavailable.

Prior to 2003, Khobal was supported for study at the Mid America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. An ad hoc committee, known as the Christ Mission to Myanmar Committee (CMMC), had existed to support an earlier student from the CRCM, Aung Lai Matu, and it offered financial support to Khobal as well. It further invested in the seminary after Khobal was appointed President.

CMMC encouraged Khobal to find a way to make the seminary independent of the CRCM. The church resisted such moves. It had founded the seminary and governed it through its own synodical authorities. The property remains in the name of the treasurer of the church (a necessity under the Myanmar legal system, since only individuals, not churches, can own property), and the equipping of the property came through many donors, not just the American committee.

+ Reformed Ecumenical Council Secretariat, 2050 Breton Rd, SE, Suite 102, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

[4] Ministry Incentive Program at Calvin Grows

The largest single gift in Calvin Theological Seminary's history will boost a tuition loan fund that could help replenish the ranks of Christian Reformed Church pastors over the next 35 years. The Ministry Incentive Program, which provides student loans that forgive up to 50 percent of the principal for students who become ordained Christian Reformed Church ministers, is getting a US$2.05 million influx.

Sid Jansma Jr., president of Wolverine Gas & Oil Corp., and his late wife, Joanne, are the donors.

Students typically receive US$2,000 to US$3,000 per year from the loan fund. That amount now will increase to US$4,000 or US$5,000 per year, about half the cost of a year's tuition.

+ Calvin Theological Seminary, 3233 Burton Street SE, Grand Rapids MI 49546


[5] Anglicans Propose New Structure

Anglican bishops from ten jurisdictions and organizations took their first steps toward a "new ecclesiastical structure" in North America, it was announced by Common Cause Council of Bishops in Trinity Cathedral, Pittsburgh today.

Calling it an "historic time" in the life of the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, chair of Common Cause, said that 51 bishops will act as a "college of bishops" representing more than 600 Anglican congregations that make up Common Cause Partners which also includes a dozen mission leaders.

"This is a significant step towards a new Anglican province that will be recognized by a number of Anglican provinces and primates which embraces Common Cause Partners with a separate ecclesiastical structure called for by the bishops in Kilgali, Rwanda," said Duncan

The bishops laid out a timeline for the path ahead saying they have committed themselves to working together at local and regional levels agreeing to interchangeable deployment of clergy. The bishops gathered here included leaders from the Anglican Province of America, (the Most Rev. Walter Grundorf), the Reformed Episcopal Church, (Presiding Bishop Leonard Riches), the AMIA (Bishop Chuck Murphy), the head of the Canadian Anglican Network, and newly elected bishops from some 15 offshore jurisdictions in Africa, Asia and the Southern Cone now with ecclesiastical bases in North America, as well as Forward in Faith, NA.

+ Dr. David Virtue, VirtueOnline, 1236 Waterford Rd., West Chester, PA 19380

26 September 2007

Headlines:

[1] DRC Sri Lanka Changes Name
[2] Gerald W. Sovereign
[3] Presbyterians Today To Remain Under GAC
[4] New Persian Bible Translation
[5] Murphy Presbyterian Church Turns EPC
[6] Phillip Radmer Could Get 16 Years for Fraud
[7] Rex Humbard Pioneer TV Evangelist
[8] Gay Partnership No Block to Office Says Norwegian Church Body
[9] Odenor St. Cyr[
[10] American Brethren Turn 300
[11] Christians in Chiapas, Mexico Town Deprived of Water


[1] DRC Sri Lanka Changes Name

After several years of waiting, the Sri Lankan Parliament has passed a bill officially changing the name of the Dutch Reformed Church to the Christian Reformed Church. The church had decided to change its name earlier, hoping to have it completed by its 350th anniversary in 1992. However, it needed a private members motion in Parliament to make the change legal, and such motions are considered only rarely.

The CRCSL wanted its new name to present a clearer identity. During the Dutch occupation the church was the home for the colonialists and for the class known as Burghers, who mostly worked in civil service. In the last few decades, however, even as the Burgher class declined, the church has expanded into both the Sinhalese and the Tamil communities in Sri Lanka. Services now occur in all three languages each Sunday.

Because Christians are a minority, the CRCSL determines it would be a more effective witness to have the word Christian in its name instead of Dutch. Still, the leaders retain an appreciation for their heritage.

The CRCSL President, Roshan Mendis, wrote in a letter announcing the change, "We certainly thank God for our ‘Dutch’ roots and for the ‘faith of our fathers and mothers,’ and trust the Lord to lead us in this ‘life changing moment.’"

+ Christian Reformed Church in Sri Lanka, c/o 363, Galle Road, Colombo 6, Sri Lanka


[2] Gerald W. Sovereign

Ruling elder Gerald W. Sovereign, 82, died 23 August 23, 2007 in Daytona, Florida. Mr. Sovereign was the moderator of the 15th Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly (1987). A member of Spruce Creek Presbyterian Church in Port Orange, Florida, Sovereign is survived by his wife of 60 years, Kathleen.

+ Spruce Creek Presbyterian Church, 1705 Taylor Road, Port Orange, FL 32128


[3] Presbyterians Today To Remain Under GAC

The General Assembly Council (GAC) unanimously approved a report that keeps Presbyterians Today (PT) magazine under the jurisdiction of the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and not under Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC). The vote came during the opening day of work of the GAC meeting in Louisville 17-21 September and takes the monthly magazine off the hotplate of uncertainty about its future.

The task force “unanimously concluded that the GAC should retain control of the magazine,” the group said in its report. The Presbyterians Today Task Force was appointed in 2006 by the GAC executive committee to study an offer by the PPC to take over publication of Presbyterian’s Today.

+ Presbyterian Church (USA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396 (888) 728-7228


[4] New Persian Bible Translation

"Today's Persian Version” was officially dedicated in Istanbul, Turkey, in August. The last Persian translation of the Bible was done in the 1890s. Persian is the language of more than 100 million people worldwide, with the majority of them living in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

The translation was a project of United Bible Societies, a world fellowship of Bible societies. The New Testament appeared in 1975 and work then began on the Old Testament. The project was interrupted in 1980 and did not resume again until 1991.

The Presbyterian Church sent missionaries to Iran in the middle of the 19th Century.

+ Bible Society, Stonehill Green, Westlea, Swindon SN5 7DG United Kingdom

[5] Murphy Presbyterian Church Turns EPC

The Murphy Presbyterian Church has transferred into the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The congregation joins a migration which began in 1981 and has gained speed as the Presbyterian Church (USA) has declined.

Murphy obtained title to its property in exchange for US$10,000, to be paid to the Presbytery of Western North Carolina. Presbytery commissioners voted 31 July to let the congregation go in exchange for a US$2,000 payment each year for five years to the presbytery's mission initiative.

+ Murphy Presbyterian Church. 252 Valley River Ave. Murphy, NC 28906-2921


[6] Phillip Radmer Could Get 16 Years for Fraud

Disbarred lawyer Phillip Radmer was found guilty 23 September of stealing land from a South Side church. Prosecutors alleged Radmer sold land that legally belonged to the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago and reaped more than US$600,000 from the bogus transactions. After a three-day bench trial, Cook County Judge Stanley Sacks agreed.

"For Sale by Non-Owner -- that's the five-word biography of Phillip Radmer," Sacks said according to reports published by the Chicago Sun-Times First Presbyterian, at 6400 S. Kimbark, owns several vacant lots on the South Side. According to prosecutors, Radmer formed his own corporation called First Presbyterian Church of Chicago and sold four of the lots to people who did not exist. The land was then sold back to a company Radmer controlled.

When confronted by authorities, Radmer allegedly claimed to have a philosophical objection to churches not paying real estate taxes. Records show that First Presbyterian was paying taxes. The Rev. Jerry Wise, pastor of the 174-year-old church, said it discovered the sales in part because it began receiving fewer tax bills.

Radmer, 53, faces up to 16 years in prison after being convicted of forgery and theft by deception.

+ First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, 6400 S. Kimbark Ave, Chicago (773) 363-0505

[7] Rex Humbard Pioneer TV Evangelist

Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard, who has been called the world's first televangelist, and who conducted the funeral of Elvis Presley, has died at the age of 88. A former itinerant preacher who settled in Akron, Ohio, in the early 1950s, Humbard was the first US evangelist to build a ministry through television programming. He made his first on-screen broadcast in 1949, the BBC reported after Humbard's death on 21 September. "The vast majority of people do not go to church and the only way we can reach them is through TV," Humbard explained in his autobiography, "Miracles in My Life".

By 1952, Rex Humbard was broadcasting weekly to millions of viewers from his 5,400 seat church the Cathedral of Tomorrow in Akron, Ohio. His weekly program was carried for nearly three decades by 360 stations across the US and Canada and over 2,000 stations worldwide in 91 languages.

+ Ecumenical News International, PO Box 2100, CH - 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland

+ Cathedral of Tomorrow, 2700 State Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio


[8] Gay Partnership No Block to Office Says Norwegian Church Body

The national council of the (Lutheran) Church of Norway is recommending to the denomination's general synod that it allow homosexuals in registered partnerships to serve as bishops, priests, deacons, or catechists. However, a bishop should still be able to refuse to ordain people in same-sex registered partnerships if the bishop believes it would be a violation of church teaching to do so, the council stated.

Current Church of Norway policy is that people in same-sex partnerships should not hold consecrated offices. Still, several dioceses already have priests and deacons living in same-sex partnerships, as some bishops have chosen not to follow existing church policy.

The latest statistics indicate that 86 percent of the population belongs to the national church and three percent attend services regularly.

+ Council of Norwegian Bishoprics, POB 1937 Gronland, 0135, Oslo, Norway


[9] Odenor St. Cyr

Odenor St. Cyr, the long-time director of the Haitian Program for Training Diaconal Organizations (PWOFOD), was shot to death in Port au Prince 18 September. Leanne Geisterfer, Latin America team leader for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, reports that the attackers shot St. Cyr several times while he and his wife were driving away from church on Tuesday evening.

Geisterfer said she believes the shooting was a random act of violence and likely started as a kidnapping attempt. "This is a hard blow for the Christian community in Port au Prince. We have lost a cherished leader," Geisterfer said.

St. Cyr was employed by PWOFOD for 15 years, most recently as its director. PWOFOD is a Christian community development organization working with churches in the poorest urban neighborhoods of Port au Prince, empowering church leaders to reach out into the community with capacity-building training in small business ownership and adult literacy, among other programs....

+ Henry Hess, Christian Reformed Church, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue, SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560 (616) 241-1691


[10] American Brethren Turn 300

On Sept. 15-16 Germantown Church of the Brethren in Philadelphia hosted the opening event of a year-long celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Brethren movement, which began in 1708 in Schwarzenau, Germany.
Events took place at the "mother church," the first congregation of Brethren in the Americas, and featured worship, workshops, tours, exhibits, and music. Participants came from across the country and from across the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren, as well as from several of the different Brethren denominations and faith groups. Close to 220 people attended worship on Sunday, filling the Germantown sanctuary to capacity.

Throughout the weekend, the historic setting remained at the center-- alongside recognition of the current ministry of the Germantown church. "For 285 years...the gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached" at Germantown, said pastor Richard Kyerematen as he led worship Sunday morning.

The congregation was founded on Christmas Day 1723 by German immigrants to the Americas, and its meetinghouse built in 1770 was the first Brethren meetinghouse in the United States. Today the predominantly African-American congregation includes several members from African countries, with pastor Kyerematen himself coming originally from Ghana.

+ Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120, (800) 323-8039 ext. 260

[11] Christians in Chiapas, Mexico Town Deprived of Water

More than five weeks after town bosses in Chiapas state, Mexico, signed an agreement to restore water lines cut off from Christians since January, the Protestants still rely on dirty, distant, wells and puddles for washing and drinking.

The 23 April agreement calls for the autocratic rulers or caciques of Los Pozos, near San Cristobal de las Casas, to withdraw a threat to expel 65 Christians, cease forcing them to pay for “traditionalist Catholic” festivals and restore electricity and water services of several Protestant families.

The caciques and other traditionalist Catholics showed up for the April signing with a proposal of their own negating nearly all the terms of a verbal agreement reached 28 February. Their proposal would have obligated the Protestants to pay for past festivals and fines accumulated for refusing to contribute to previous traditionalist Catholic events, but state officials nixed it.

Evangelical pastor and attorney Esdras Alonso Gonzalez told Compass that water lines cut since 30 January had not been restored. “Everyone in the municipality is respecting the agreement, except in the matter of water – it’s horrible,” Alonso said. “We don’t know when they’re going to restore the water; the brethren have not been able to get good information.”

+ Compass Direct News, PO Box 27250, Santa Ana CA 92799-7250

19 September 2007

Headlines:

[1] New Presbytery Formed in Wisconsin
[2] Van Marter Will Head NCC Communications Commission
[3] Ten Commandments Display Can Stay in Kentucky Courtrooms
[4] General Social Survey, 2006
[5] Chinese House Church Leader Cai Zhuohua Released
[6] Turkish Judge Pressured to Withdraw from Christians' Trial
[7] Agencies Sued for Firing Case Worker
[8] Church Vigilantes Raid Hostels


[1] New Presbytery Formed in Wisconsin

Reflecting a trend toward decentralization, a new regional church court, Reformation Presbytery of the Midwest, held its inaugural meeting in Oostburg, Wisconsin, on 14-15 September 2007. Elected Moderator was Pastor Marty Waltho, one of the world’s leading experts on desalination equipment.

The new judicatory is committed to classic Christianity, as expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, the historic standard for Presbyterianism. The court adopted the original version of the Westminster Standards, formulated at an international assembly in London in the 1640s.

Among the actions taken the first day was the adoption of an Address to the Christian World from the Reformation Presbytery of the Midwest. The document declares the presbytery’s “intention of affiliating with and ultimately joining with other believers, so as to heal some of the brokenness of the visible church in a broken world.” It continues: “At the same time, we announce our desire to cultivate the portion of the Lord’s vineyard in which we have been planted. We will seek to do so not with an arrogant spirit, but with love for the brethren and with respect for what the Lord is doing in and through our fellow believers around the world; not in a standoffish fashion, but with cooperation so long as such does not entail compromise of the doctrine of Scripture or of the gospel.”

The Presbytery also adopted an agreement with the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly (RPCGA) for the handling of appeals and complaints, and approved exploring the possibility of merger with the RPCGA.

+ Rev. Dr. Frank J. Smith, Stated Clerk, Reformation Presbytery of the Midwest W2941 County Highway A South, Oostburg, Wisconsin 53070 (920)564-6501


[2] Van Marter Will Head NCC Communications Commission

The Rev. Jerry Van Marter, coordinator for news services for the PC(USA), has been elected chair of the Communications Commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) effective January 2008.
The NCC’s Communications Commission brings together communications professionals of the council’s 36 member communions to address issues such as news and media relations, Web design and content, electronic media production and distribution, and media education and advocacy. As well as sharing “best practices,” the commission seeks to coordinate the member churches’ efforts in those areas.

+ Presbyterian Church (USA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202


[3] Ten Commandments Display Can Stay in Kentucky Courtrooms

Federal District Court Judge Karl Forrester of the Eastern District of Kentucky ruled 18 August that a display of the Ten Commandments, together with other historical documents in the Rowan County Fiscal Courtroom, is constitutional. Liberty Counsel represents Rowan County, Kentucky, in a lawsuit that was filed in 2001 by the ACLU of Kentucky, claiming that the display violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

The display that Judge Forrester upheld is a "Foundations of American Law and Government" display including the Ten Commandments, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Charta, the Star-Spangled Banner, the National Motto, the Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution, and a picture of Lady Justice.

Public displays of the Ten Commandments have enjoyed unprecedented favor in both the courts and the legislatures since Mathew Staver argued the McCreary County, Kentucky, case at the US Supreme Court in 2005. McCreary County involved the exact display that was upheld by Judge Forrester yesterday. The McCreary County case is back at the district court for another ruling but is likely to return to the Supreme Court, where a majority is expected to uphold the display.

These displays are spreading throughout the Nation. In 2006 the Georgia legislature passed a law allowing a similar display in government buildings.

+ Liberty Counsel, Box 540774, Orlando, FL 32854 (800) 671-1776


[4] General Social Survey, 2006

The General Social Surveys (GSS) have been conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) annually since 1972 except for the years 1979, 1981, and 1992 (a supplement was added in 1992), and biennially beginning in 1994. The GSS are designed as part of a program of social indicator research, replicating questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time-trend studies. The 2006 GSS includes a topical module for mental health. Items in the 2006 GSS include questions on religious self-identification, denominational affiliation, personal beliefs, and religious upbringing.

+ Association of Religion Data Archives, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802


[5] Chinese House Church Leader Cai Zhuohua Released

Chinese house church leader Cai Zhuohua, jailed since 2004 for “illegal business practices” by distributing Christian literature, has been released with stern warnings to stop practicing his faith outside of the government-sanctioned church. Bob Fu of China Aid Association told Compass that on 13 September, three days after Cai’s release, officials of the Public Security Bureau took the well-known Beijing pastor to their offices and tried to intimidate him with threats. “They warned him to be careful – not to be interviewed, to obey the law and not attend religious activities,” Fu said.

Officials from the National Security Bureau – China’s equivalent of the US Central Intelligence Agency – on two occasions gave Cai similar warnings before he was released, Fu said. As an ex-convict whom the government is especially interested to control, Fu said, Cai must report to the PSB once a month.

Deprived of his Bible while in prison, Cai was forced to make soccer balls for the 2008 Beijing Olympics for 10 to 12 hours a day, according to the CAA.

+ Compass Direct, PO Box 27250, Santa Ana CA 92799-7250


[6] Turkish Judge Pressured to Withdraw from Christians' Trial

A Turkish judge announced his withdrawal this week from the case of two Christians charged with “insulting Turkishness.” Judge Neset Eren said at a hearing on 12 September that he was quitting to “distance the court’s decision from any form of indecision or doubt.” Eren’s announcement came after the plaintiffs’ ultranationalist lawyer submitted a written request that he resign; Kemal Kerincsiz accused Eren of failing to deal impartially with the case. Eren had been expected to deliver a ruling at the hearing on 19 September.

Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal have been charged with insulting Turkish identity, but at a previous hearing, State Prosecutor Ahmet Demirhuyuk said there was “not a single piece of credible evidence” against the two converts from Islam.

A new state prosecutor, Adnan Ozcan, replaced Demirhuyuk at Wednesday’s hearing. “If [Tastan and Topal] had been acquitted, there would have been a large protest,” said the Christians’ lawyer, Gursel Meric.

Scores of Turkish academics and writers have been charged in the past two years under article 301 of Turkey’s penal code for insulting the Turkish Republic, institutions of state or “Turkishness.”

A recent European Commission report said that indictments related to non-violent expressions of opinion had doubled in Turkey in 2006, the Turkish Daily News (TDN) newspaper reported today. The report noted that more than half the incidents were raised under article 301.

+ Compass Direct, PO Box 27250, Santa Ana CA 92799-7250


[7] Agencies Sued for Firing Case Worker

Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit 18 September in federal court on behalf of Dennis Hughes against a youth services agency that terminated him when he refused to stop allowing troubled teens in its program to attend his church and church-sponsored activities. Also named in the lawsuit is the agency that manages the program and orchestrated his dismissal, the University Area Community Development Corporation (UACDC).

Hughes was a case manager for Bay Area Youth Service (BAYS) in the Prodigy Cultural Arts Program, a program which provides case management services to juvenile offenders. If a juvenile enrolls in and completes the program, the State's criminal charges are dropped. BAYS receives virtually all of its annual revenue from the State of Florida. The program essentially operates as an arm of the State, but Florida has no law forbidding church leaders from attending functions with juvenile offenders in state programs.

For several years BAYS accommodated Hughes' religious activities during his free time, while he served first as youth pastor then as assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel of Tampa. During that time, some of the juveniles under his supervision voluntarily attended church services and sports activities sponsored by Calvary Chapel. One of the activities was held at the University Area Community Center Complex. UACDC, which also manages the Community Center, objected to the religious content of the Calvary Chapel youth activities, banned the activities from the Center and insisted Hughes end his participation.

Since UACDC also funds and manages the Prodigy program, BAYS adopted a policy that juveniles in the program could not attend any event where Hughes was present, even though no problems had ever arisen with the juveniles because of the church events. BAYS terminated Hughes, although he had excellent performance reviews, only because he would not agree to either stop attending his church or prohibit juveniles in the program from attending.

After Hughes was terminated, BAYS sent him its newly adopted policy, stating that staff members are not allowed to "oversee, supervise, coach, mentor, counsel, or recreate with any active program youth or families as part of any outside activity or organization." The policy is so broad that it prevents any church leader or youth activities volunteer from working in the juvenile program, because the leader would have to either leave a church meeting or make a juvenile and their family leave. It even prevents church leaders from attending the same church or participating in any church-related activity with a family member.

+ Liberty Counsel, Box 540774, Orlando, FL 32854 (800) 671-1776


[8] Church Vigilantes Raid Hostels

Instead of attending church on Sunday 16 September, a congregation of about 900 people rampaged through Nyanga hostels, businesses and informal settlements in search of articles stripped from their church at the weekend.

The congregation had been shocked to find their church, the WPT Ndibongo branch of the Presbyterian Church, stripped of doors, chairs, tables, electrical wiring and other movable items by thieves who seemed to have gained entrance through the roof. The toilets and basins had also been maliciously broken.

So, instead of holding their church service, the congregants, many of them pensioners, dressed in white jackets, and with the ward councilor David Tshambula in tow, went looking for the stolen items.

Church member Noluntu Mda said that during their search in the area, congregation members had seen people selling the church's chairs, doors and tables on the streets.

+ Ntomboxolo Makoba, St Georges Street Chambers, 118 St Georges Street, 1st Floor (IOL), PO Box 4116, Cape Town, 8001 South Africa