Monthly Archives: November 2013

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending November 24, 2013


Here are a few of the things that caught my attention this week.

The first are the multiple articles about church buildings being re-purposed for other uses. Here is one in Scotland to be a residence:

Historic church building to be converted into home – from Kirriemuir Herald

From Northern Ireland a new restaurant:

Former Ulsterville Presbyterian Church ready for new lease of life as upmarket eatery on Belfast’s Lisburn Road – from Belfast Telegraph

And from Maryland, a deal that would convert a Presbyterian church into the new town hall:

University Park negotiating for heavenly home – from Maryland Community News Online

In one of the bigger headlines of the week, the Catholic Church of Scotland has begun releasing information about abuse allegations in the church. Associated with this, they have asked Dr. Andrew McLellan, the former chief inspector of prisons for Scotland and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland 2000 General Assembly, to conduct an external review.

Roman Catholic Church in Scotland reveals abuse case details – from BBC News

There seems to be a number of crime reports associated with Presbyterian churches this week including embezzlement in Ghana:

Ghana: Stealing in the House of God Two Billion Presby Cash Looted – from allAfrica

Missing handbells in Wisconsin:

Wisconsin man accused of stealing, pawning bells from Sheboygan church where he was elder – from Minneapolis Star Tribune

And an unknown woman trying to pick up children from a church Sunday School:

River Forest cops investigating attempted abduction at First Presbyterian Church – from Forest Leaves

Continuing stories from the Mizoram, India, elections, which were held this week:

Presbyterian Church holds key to campaign in Mizoram – from Hindustan Times

On Sunday, politics in Mizoram mingles with spirituality – from DNA India

Lalzirliana rapped for church ‘ploy’ – from The Times of India; complaints by the opposition that a candidate received endorsement by the church

There were two obituaries of note for pastors in the PC(USA):

Rev. Ben Martin dies at 82; worked to heal Kirkwood’s racial divides – from St. Louis Post-Dispatch (who attended a presbytery meeting the day before his death of a stroke)

Central Presbyterian pastor dies – from Merced Sun-Star (The Rev. Henry B. Greene III, who died of a heart attack while hiking in Yosemite.)

Finally, while I could note that a “son of the manse,” actor David Tennant, was voted “the nations’ favourite Dr. Who” in the UK as part of the 50th anniversary of that Sci-Fi series (and I would note that I am personally partial to the fourth Doctor), Mr. Tennant made news in another area this week as he is lending his support to fighting cystic fibrosis. He endorsed the book The Magic of Words: Humorous and Serious written by Dr. James A. Simpson and dedicated to the author’s granddaughter who died of the disease shortly before publication. Dr. Simpson served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland three years before David Tennant’s father, the Rt. Rev. Sandy McDonald, held that same position.

And so for my American readers, I wish you the best of Thanksgivings tomorrow. To all the liturgical out there a “happy new church year” and wonderful First Sunday in Advent this weekend. And to all, a good rest of the week and blessings this coming Lord’s Day.

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending November 17, 2013

Let me begin this week with information about the response to the typhoon that hit the Philippines:

Bruce Reyes-Chow, the Moderator of the 218th GA of the PC(USA) was in the Philippines when the typhoon hit and has been blogging about it on his personal blog and then his Patheos blog. In addition the PC(USA) Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is collecting relief money and the leadership of the church have issued a call to prayer.

In the Presbyterian Church in Canada their Presbyterian World Service & Development has issued an emergency appeal.

The Presbyterian Church in America is responding through their Mission to the World branch.

Similarly the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is reaching out through their Mission Overseas agency. The Belfast News Letter carries an article, “Superb Generosity of our Ulster Churches“, with comments by the Moderator of the General Assembly.

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has no direct mission in that country but is collecting funds to partner with similar Reformed bodies that are present there.

The Church of Scotland and others in the UK are directing donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee or the Tearfund. In the US some, like the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, are directing donors to World Relief.

In other headlines…

A determined woman leads Tripoli church – from The Daily Star (Lebanon); “TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Rola Sleiman never planned on running a church. But
when the opportunity came along five years ago, she embraced the chance
to serve a small Presbyterian congregation in Lebanon’s second city.”

Moderator: War on slavery ‘best way to honour Livingstone’s legacy’ – from STV News; Comments by the Church of Scotland Moderator of the General Assembly at a service marking the bicentennial of David Livingstone’s birth

Hillsdale Train Depot to experience new life as Presbyterian church – from Hillsdale Daily Times; “Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church will hold its first worship service at the Old Train Depot at 44 Monroe Street Sunday.”

Anger Management Class Robbed At Spartanburg Church – from WSAV

And finally, to send you off into this coming week, how could I not conclude with this headline:

Cameroon: Christians Celebrate Presbyterian Church Day – from allAfrica

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Two Weeks Ending November 11, 2013

Well, I started out thinking I would do the one week version and then looked at how little I had flagged and decided it was probably just as well to consider them all in a two-week block.

Let me begin with the extra day here, November 11, and note that for those in Europe, and even in Canada, this is a much, much bigger day of Remembrance than our American observance of Veterans’ Day. For those of us in the U.S. we observe something similar on Memorial Day in May which has ties to our own Civil War about 150 years ago. However, in my own congregation our Veteran’s Day observance was marked by prayers over one of our members who is about to be deployed with the Marines to Afghanistan. But from other parts, here are a few of the headlines for Remembrance Day:

Fallen remembered at Sunday services – from Portadown Times

A tribute to all victims of war – from The News of New Glasgow, Canada

Scotland marks Remembrance Sunday – from BBC News

Remembrance Day – from Stornoway Gazette

Some other headlines…

Some details came out about the failure of the Presbyterian Mutual Society in Northern Ireland and its attempts to find another financial institution to take it over:

Co-op bank refused the PMS – from Belfast News Letter

In Ghana the calls for the church to help straighten out the state continue

Ghanaian youth must demand accountability – Kufuor – from GhanaWeb

Christians urged to support the government – from Ghana Business News

Otumfuo appeals to the church to fight against corruption – from Ghana Business

And while we are on church and  state issues, pieces about Mizoram state of India and the strong influence of the church in the elections:

Mizoram: Church imposes rules, controls poll – from Deccan Chronicle

Church-backed watchdog body has its own poll rules – from The Morung Express

And finally, the second Presbyterian installed as a seminary president in as many weeks. In Pasadena, TE Mark Labberton was installed as the new President of Fuller Seminary:

Renaissance man’ elected as fifth Fuller president – from Pasadena Star-News

So that is it for now. Take care

Moderator Designate Of The Church Of Scotland 2014 General Assembly


A couple of weeks ago the Church of Scotland completed their selection process and announced that the Moderator Designate for their 2014 General Assembly will be the Rev. Dr. Angus Morrison, pastor of the Orwell and Portmoak Parish Church.

The press release tells us that Mr. Morrison moved around as a child as his father tended different lighthouses. His college career began at the University of Glasgow with further studies at Pisa University and London University. He completed his Ph.D. at Edinburgh University’s New College. He was ordained by the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1979. (Note – not the Free Church as was originally reported in some accounts, although the branches share some of the same lineage.) He later transferred to the Church of Scotland. With the Free Presbyterians he served churches in Oban and Edinburgh. Before his current position he was at St. Columba’s (Old Parish) Church in Stornoway.

Beyond the parish he has served the church in several ways including as Moderator of the Presbytery of Lewis, member and Vice Covener of the Panel on Doctrine, Queen’s Chaplain, Covener of the Mission and Discipleship Council and as a member of the Special Commission on Same-sex Relationships and the Ministry.

He and his wife Marion have four children between the ages of 16 and 27.

Upon his selection he is quoted as saying “It is my great desire to encourage the Church in its vital God-given
mission to the people of Scotland and beyond. In these troubled times
the peace and unity of the Church are dear to me and I shall endeavour
to promote them in every way I can.”

So our congratulations to Rev. Morrison. We wish him well for the six months leading up to the Assembly and our prayers for him and the Kirk as he moderates and for his moderatorial year.

UPDATE 18 March 2014: Today it was announced that due to health issues Rev. Morrison would be stepping down as Moderator Designate. A new Moderator Designate will be announced shortly.

Moderator Designate Of The Free Church Of Scotland 2014 General Assembly

About a month ago at a meeting of the Commission of Assembly, the Free Church of Scotland announced that their Moderator Designate for the 2014 General Assembly is the Rev. David Miller, pastor of Cobham Presbyterian Church.

The Rev. Miller is the child of missionaries, born in Korea and spending most of his childhood in Tasmania, according to the Free Church news item. He was trained by the Free Church and ordained to missionary work in South Africa in March 1989. While in South Africa he worked with the Free Church of Southern Africa including teaching at its school, Dumisani Theological Institute and Bible School. Upon his return to the UK he was appointed as the first pastor of the extension Cobham congregation where he continues to serve today.

He is married to Margaret (Meg) and they have three teen-age children.

Two interesting things caught my eye about Pastor Miller and his background. The first is that the Cobham Church is not in Scotland but is in a district southeast of the center of London. As mentioned above, it is an extension, a church plant, of the London City Presbyterian Church. And upon the announcement they carried the news in a piece on their Facebook page.

The second item was included in the Free Church announcement but was the lede in the article from the Stornoway Gazette: “The brother-in-law of Point Free Church Minister Rev ID
Campbell is to become the Moderator Designate for the 2014 General
Assembly.” Yup, Rev Miller was upstaged by his wife’s brother. It is noted in both articles that the marriage of Meg and David was the first wedding that Rev. Campbell preformed. And if the name sounds familiar, the Rev. Iain D. Campbell was the Moderator of the 2012 Free Church General Assembly.

And so our congratulations and prayers for Rev. Miller as he prepares to assume this role and our best wishes for his work at the Assembly and his moderatorial year.

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending October 27, 2013


Well, I do realize that I am two weeks behind on these but I want to take these in bite-sized pieces (this is my lunch hour after all) so I am only going to do one week and try to do the second one tomorrow or the next day.

There were two developing situations that I did not catch up on last time as I was waiting for some resolution before I did so. I think the time is right to do that now (and yes, there is a little spill-over to the next week).

The first is a series of headlines chronicling the sale and development of a camp the Presbytery of Chicago is selling:

Lake Michigan luxury homes on site of former Saugatuck church camp face opposition – from m-live

Presbyterian Camps’ fate may be on line tonight – from Allegan News Online

Million-dollar Lake Michigan waterfront home development tentatively approved in Saugatuck – from m-live

Planners OK camps development, with strings – from Allegan News Online

The second situation was related to elections in Mizoram state of India, and the Presbyterian Church’s Mizoram Synod was pressuring the election commission to change the voting and counting dates, including moving the latter off the Lord’s Day. The Election Commission made the changes:

Change in Mizoram poll dates under consideration by Election Commission – from NDTV


EC revises Mizoram assembly election schedule, polling now on November 25
– from The Times of India

In other news…

From Ghana the Presbyterian Church in Ghana celebrates an anniversary and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church raises economic concerns:

Central Presbytery celebrates silver jubilee – from Ghana Business News

Strikes not good for national development – Rt Rev. Amenu – from Ghana Web

At a court case in Nashville involving a PCA church:

Church Accused of Covering for Molester – from Courthouse News Service

And finally…

A celebration:

PRINCETON: Seminary president installed – from Packet Online; “The Rev. M. Craig Barnes, a Presbyterian pastor and educator chosen to
lead one of the nation’s oldest seminaries was inaugurated and installed
Wednesday as the seventh president of Princeton Theological Seminary.”

And a passing – TE Ben Haden, former pastor of Chattanooga First Presbyterian Church (PCA):

Longtime First Presbyterian pastor Ben Haden dies – from Times Free Press

Television Preacher Ben Haden Dies at 88 – from WDEF News

So there is one week. Now so get caught up on last week.

Feast Of All Saints 2013

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

It is once again November 1 – commemorated in some traditions as the Feast of All Saints or All Saints Day. I have traditionally observed this not as a day of religious obligation but a day of thanksgiving for the numerous Saints that I have known in my life that have guided me, influenced me, and helped me on my own spiritual journey. It is a day on which I particularly remember those who in the last year left the Church Militant and joined the Church Triumphant!

Under the shadow of thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.

But for me and my family this year is very different.
We remember not just the friends around us who are no longer with us, but we now remember parents who have gone to be with the Lord.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.

Two months ago my mother lost her near decade-long battle with cancer. There is much I have said about her and much more that I could say. For some of us we wonder “what is the next ministry we should be involved in?” She was faithful in one specific ministry for many years, volunteering once a week in her church’s pastoral care office and organizing the funeral and memorial services at her church. She was a model of, among many things, how an ordained officer of the church can continue serving even when not currently serving on that board. “Once a deacon, always a deacon.” She had an impact on many people and the church honored her by dedicating the next issue of their church newsletter to her.

Thy word commands our flesh to dust,
“Return, ye sons of men:”
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.

We also lost my wife’s father about ten months ago. I had commented on that at the time, but today we remember not his quirkiness but his faithfulness. He and my mother-in-law were also fixtures at their church, teaching confirmation class for many, many years. He was a ruling elder and faithful in those duties as well. And he was one who was certainly “not ashamed of the Gospel” and would share it with anyone who would listen.

A thousand ages in thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.




I also remember three other friends we lost this year:

  • Sylvia – who lived a long and faithful life serving the church and community in so many ways
  • Susan – she was tried in many ways but had the joy of the Spirit and faith in a Sovereign God
  • Clinton – who constantly put others first and was an inspiration in the midst of his own troubles and who we lost way too soon

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op’ning day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower’s hand
Lie with’ring ere ’tis night.



So to these Saints who have touched my life, through the tears I say “Thank you.” We rejoice that you have received your eternal rest and reward but we truly miss you here. And for the rest of us, we look to God for, as the contemporary version of the hymn lyrics say, “Be thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home.”

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

Text of Isaac Watts paraphrase of Psalm 90

To every action… (A Reformation Day Reflection)

…there is always an equal and opposite reaction.

That is Newton’s third law of motion as translated from the Latin of his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, often noted by the shorthand Principia.

That is the rule in Physics, so on this Reformation Day I wanted to consider the ecclesiastical reaction to the Reformation. Whether it was “equal and opposite” is left as an exercise for the reader.

The personal consequences of Martin Luther’s questioning of the Roman church that is commemorated on this day are fairly well known: The papal bull, his excommunication, his stand before the Diet of Worms, the protection by political authorities who may have had motives more or less theological versus political, and the resulting split with Rome in parts of Germany have been regularly chronicled in the popular media.

But what about broader and longer-term reactions to the Protestant Reformation?

There was a reaction in the Roman church which goes by a few different names but is commonly called the Counter-Reformation. And as I began researching this I found that the Roman church laid claim to Martin Luther in this, at least to a point…

[T]he name [Counter-Reformation] suggests that the Catholic movement came after the Protestant; whereas in truth the reform originally began in the Catholic Church, and Luther was a Catholic Reformer before he became a Protestant. By becoming a Protestant Reformer, he did indeed hinder the progress of the Catholic reformation, but he did not stop it. It continued to gain headway in the Catholic South until it was strong enough to meet and roll back the movement from the North. [from Catholic Encyclopedia]

They go on to argue that it was not a reaction but continuing process, even talking about how the movement continues today since the heresies from the time of Luther still continue. (I guess they figure that there are still Lutherans running around.)

This idea is echoed in a scholarly article from The Catholic History Review (Vol. 75, No. 3 (Jul., 1989), pp. 383-404 ) by Wolfgang Reinhard titled “Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and the Early Modern State a Reassessment.” He writes:

Traditionally, German, and to a certain extent European early modern
history as well, is divided into three periods: the “Reformation” 1517-
1555, the “Counter-Reformation” 1555-1648, and the “Age of Absolutism” 1648-1789. This division has become almost indestructible
because of the simple and convincing dialectical pattern it is based
upon: a progressive movement, the “Reformation,” as thesis, evokes a
reaction, the reactionary “Counter-Reformation,” as antithesis; their contradiction leads to extremely destructive armed conflicts, until Europe
is saved by the strong hand of the absolutist early modern state, which because of its neutrality in the religious conflict is considered the synthesis, a synthesis which opens the way to that culmination point of
world history the modern national power state. This view of history is
wonderfully convincing, but quite incorrect. If only we were able to free
ourselves from its grip, we might easily learn from recent research that
“Counter-Reformation,” if a reaction, was still not simply reactionary.
But we would also recognize that the relation between “Reformation”
and “Counter-Reformation” was not just that of action and reaction, but
much more that of slightly dislocated parallel processes.

The article goes on to talk about the modern state making this a mildly interesting article. But that is not the point today.

Returning to the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, I am willing to grant that on one level these were movements in much broader developments across Europe at this point in time and that there were reform movements clearly working within the Roman church (such as the Society of Jesus). But there are two historical developments that I am not sure would have developed as they did were it not for the Protestant Reformation, leading me to see the Counter-Reformation as truly “counter” to the Reformation.

The first event occurred on 21 July 1542 when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was founded under the original name of the Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition. According to that web site it has the “duty… to defend the Church from heresy.” (It should be noted that Inquisitions had existed before in local or regional settings but now it was, and its successor is still, based in Rome for the whole church.)

The second event followed a couple of years later when on 13 December 1545 the Council of Trent was opened. According to the abstract of the article in the Catholic Encyclopedia the Council is described thus:

Its main object was the definitive determination of the doctrines of the Church in answer to the heresies of the Protestants; a further object was the execution of a thorough reform of the inner life of the Church by removing the numerous abuses that had developed in it.

My point is not to call the Roman church to task for defending its doctrine and correcting abuses – it has every right to do that although the methods were sometimes extreme to our modern sensibilities. The point is that even if there were certain internal reform movements already in place, the unprecedented success of Martin Luther’s challenge to the Roman church certainly got the church’s attention and the Roman church decided that a response in the form of some major and targeted action was necessary.

Equal? Maybe or maybe not. Opposite? Not entirely as it did address some of the same internal abuses that got Luther going.

But a response to the action? From my reading of history there clearly was. But you can be the judge for yourself.

Happy Reformation Day. May we always be Reformed and always being reformed according to the Word of God.