Category Archives: news

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending October 13, 2013

Just a quick update here to list a few of the news headlines that caught my attention. It was a generally quiet week and since I am in the middle of a couple of other analyses for this blog I will keep it short.

I saw a couple of articles this week about denominations selling off unused churches. The second is one that I don’t normally track but the pattern is worth noting.

Kirk’s historic churches for sale – from Herald Scotland; “BUYERS have been moving to secure a slice of Scottish heritage after a
surge in the number of historic churches being put up for sale by the
Kirk.”

Uniting Church puts properties up for sale to clear debts – from ABC News; “The Uniting Church is putting $100 million worth of property in
Victoria up for sale in an attempt to clear its debts by December 2014. The collapse last year of the church-run school, Acacia College, left the church with a $36 million debt.”

In continuing developments from the previous update:

Presbyterian Moderator pays a visit to graffiti-hit church – from the News Letter; reaction continues following the sectarian vandalism

ANC equal with God on earth? – from News24; President Zuma’s comments at the Presbyterian Synod meeting continue to draw critical reactions

And another from Ireland:

Presbyterians spend £6.2m on new projects – from the News Letter

A story linking Scotland and the church bombing in Pakistan

Kirk minister Aftab Gohar forgives his family’s killers – from BBC News

While in the South Pacific

Vanuatu Presbyterian Church calling for ban of same-sex marriage – from Radio New Zealand International

Finally in the PC(USA)

Largest Presbyterian Church’s (PC USA) Property Ownership Case Headed to Court – from The Christian Post; It was decided that the case would be heard in state, not federal, court. And note that the news outlet consistently gets the size rank wrong: while they are the largest in Texas they are the fourth-largest across the denomination.

Film reaches out to Presbyterians as Detroit prepares to host convention – from the Detroit Free Press; a film made by a local Presbyterian promoting the city for the General Assembly.

So there is a snapshot of that week. Hoping to get a couple of new posts up in the next few days.

Presbyterian Headlines For The Week Ending October 6, 2013

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And now for this past week’s – and yes, I really do mean this this past week singular – news headlines. A bit more than last week happening out there.

As I mentioned in the last post, the news from Mizoram is a bit of a hold-over because it hit as a developing story right at the end of the preceding week. So here are the headlines for the Presbyterian synod in northeast India related to the upcoming elections:

Church urges parties not to use insurgents in Mizoram polls – from Business Standard; “[T]he largest church in the state also urged all political parties,
candidates and campaigners not to indulge in character assassination,
baseless allegations against political opponents and use muscle and
money power to get elected.”

Mizoram sets up election watchdog – from The Morung Express; the watchdog group is supported by the Synod

Mizoram synod asks voters to shun poll prophets – from Times of India; “The Mizoram synod of the Presbyterian Church of India, in its poll
message to the masses, urged the voters to reject so-called
prophecies and predictions on which party would win the coming assembly
elections in the state. The synod said such self-proclaimed prophets did
not believe in God.”

Mizoram parties appeal to Election Commission for changing Assembly poll schedule – from The Economic Times; To move voting to more convenient times and move the counting day off of Sunday

Moving on, there was an important series of headlines from Northern Ireland this week as well:

Churches launch peace initiative in Northern Ireland – from Christian Today; An interdenominational effort that includes the Presbyterian church.

Graffiti daubed on walls of Ballyarnett Presbyterian Church – from BBC News; “Sectarian graffiti has been daubed on the walls of a Protestant church in Londonderry.”

Bishop Good condemns graffiti attack on Ballyarnett Presbyterian Church – from Diocese of Derry Raphoe press release

And near by in Scotland two Church of Scotland clergymen of some note left the Kirk and were received into membership in the Free Church of Scotland:

More ministers defect over gay clergy row – from The Scotsman

Moving to Africa:

Zuma: ‘Church must help with difference between right and wrong’ – from eNCA; in South Africa “Zuma urged the Evangelical Presbyterian Church to continue supporting government and helping to build a caring society.”

On Zuma’s conflation of church and state – a commentary on the event from PoliticsWeb

Presby Church, traditionalists clash in Beposo – from GhanaWeb; A clash resulted when a local church did not observe a request for no noise making that is part of a traditional festival.

In Michigan, a group trying to save a presbytery camp has a new bid:

Camp preservation group ups ante $2.9 million – from The Commercial Record

And if US Presbyterians who are furloughed as part of the government shutdown are looking for something to do here is what some are up to:

Furloughed NASA workers volunteering their time – from WVEC.com; “About a half a dozen volunteers are renovating a wing at Yorkminster Presbyterian Church in York County.”

Finally, it is commentary and not journalism from a religious news outlet, but an interesting piece that may be of interest to some Presbyterians:

The Emergent Pope: Pope Francis Meets Frances Schaeffer – from The Christian Post

OK, so is it really Monday and I am now caught up on headlines? I guess I am getting a handle on this. Got a couple more things in draft form now so this might be a good week for blogging. We will see.

Presbyterian Headlines For The Week Ending September 29, 2013

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Well, this was a bit slower week for Presbyterian news but here are a couple of things that caught my attention.

Let’s start off with the PC(USA) and two headlines of note for the week:

Whitworth enters into new partnerships with Presbyterian church – from Whitworth University News; “Last week, Whitworth President Beck A. Taylor strengthened
Whitworth’s relationship with the Presbyterian church by entering into
formal partnerships with the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and
Universities, the North Puget Sound Presbytery, and the Presbytery of
the Inland Northwest. All three entities are a part of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.).”

Presbytery of Boise files lawsuit over Caldwell church – from Idaho Press-Tribune; “The Presbytery of Boise of the Presbyterian
Church USA filed legal action this afternoon in Canyon County to recover
Boone Memorial Presbyterian Church in Caldwell.“

Moving on to the Church of Scotland, a wide variety of headlines for the week:

Grangemouth-based minister mourns family Peshawar victims – from BBC News; “A Church of Scotland minister who lost several family members in
Sunday’s bomb attack on a church in Peshawar has taken part in a
memorial service at the Pakistani city’s cathedral.”

Kirk anti-poverty work wins European award – from Ekklesia;
“The Priority Areas Committee of the Church of Scotland has won the
European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Award 2013 for their role in
transnational inspiration and learning in the fight against poverty and
social exclusion.”

Church to meet over preacher’s lectures – from Herald Scotland; “PLANS for two Scottish lectures by a controversial
American preacher are to be discussed by Church of Scotland figures at a
meeting next week. Glasgow Presbytery is expected to seek to address
concerns raised by some Church figures over the booking of Bishop Jack
Spong – an Episcopalian who rejects the idea of a supernatural God and
does not believe Christ died for man’s sins – at Cairns Church,
Milngavie, and Orchardhill Parish Church in Giffnock.”

Unions join Kirk in plea for free meals – from Herald Scotland;
“TRADE unions and the Church of Scotland have joined a
call for all children in primaries one, two and three in Scotland to
receive free school meals. Scotland’s biggest teaching union, the EIS, public sector union
Unison, and the STUC joined children’s charities and anti-poverty
campaigners urging the Scottish Government to adopt plans for English
schools.”

Right at the end of the week there were a variety of headlines and statements from the Presbyterian Mizoram Synod in northeast India in advance of their elections. That spilled over into the next week so I will move those into my next installment.

Presbyterian Headlines For The Two Weeks Ending Sept. 22, 2013

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Well, the crazy part of my life continues, so here are two weeks worth of selected headlines related to Presbyterians around the world.

When we left Scotland last time there was great anticipation of the hearings before the Equal Opportunities Committee of the Scottish Parliament regarding the Marriage and Civil Unions Bill. While the Free Church of Scotland also testified, the media focused on statements by the Church of Scotland representative that due to potential legal challenges to their position of not preforming same-sex marriages they “may stop conducting marriages” all together.

Church of Scotland ‘may stop conducting marriages’ – from BBC News

Church of Scotland May Stop Performing Weddings to Avoid Gay Marriage Battles – from Charisma News

This led the Kirk to issue its own clarification

Marriage: Business as usual for the Church – Church of Scotland press release

Church of Scotland clarifies ‘there are no plans to stop weddings’ over same-sex marriage dispute – from PinkNews

And a major point of the legislation is the legal protection for conscience and religious viewpoints on the issue, and this also got some media coverage:

Ministers face legal warning over gay marriage – from The Scotsman

Scotland: Legal experts agree that a legal challenge against churches over equal marriage is unlikely – from PinkNews

Church of Scotland calls for ‘robust’ protection over gay marriage – From Christian Today

Moving to the other side of the world:

Drinking to the Gospel: Presbyterian Church in New Zealand Embraces Alcohol to Evangelize, Attract Members, Make Money – from Christian Post

Knox Church rebuild plan signed – from 3News NZ; “The landmark triple-gabled Knox Presbyterian Church
in Christchurch is to be rebuilt with a new lightweight cladding to
better withstand earthquakes. The brick and limestone building on the corner of
Victoria St and Bealey Ave was severely damaged in the February 2011
earthquake.”

Accuser backs church sex inquiry– from NZ Herald; in an ongoing church disciplinary case “The woman at the centre of a sexual misconduct complaint against a
Korean Presbyterian pastor is standing by her claims and is backing a
church investigation which found him guilty after a criminal court
cleared him of any wrongdoing.”

In the PC(USA):

Catholic, Presbyterian leaders oppose attack on Syria – from the Louisville Courier-Journal

Largest Presbyterian Church in Texas Filing Suit to Keep Property Should They Leave Denomination – from The Christian Post

And a couple of church fires, the first in the ARPC and second in the PC(USA):

Ballston church keeps the faith through two fires – from YNN

Firefighters extinguish massive flames at Walhalla Church – from Fox Carolina

And a few others:

Vanuatu church group here with helping hand – from Solomon Star; “A MEN’S fellowship group from [Sea Side Paama Presbyterian church in] Vanuatu is currently assisting Magdala
South Seas Evangelical Church (SSEC) in Honiara with the construction of
their new church building.”

Women’s group sends comfort to residential school survivors – from Kamloops The Daily News; “A group of compassionate Kamloops women
is hoping to lend comfort during emotional testimony at the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission in Vancouver this week. The St. Andrew’s
Presbyterian Church group members have been knitting prayer shawls that
will be brought to Vancouver and handed out to victims and families
impacted by the residential school system.”

Finally, a news article with a couple of familiar names from Scotland…

The Rev. John Chalmers, Principle Clerk of the Church of Scotland General Assembly, was inducted as a new Chaplain to the Queen and The Very Rev Ian Torrance, former Moderator of the Church of Scotland General Assembly and past President of Princeton Theological Seminary, was inducted as Dean of the Chapel Royal:

New Dean of the Chapel Royal and Queen’s Chaplain inducted – from Christian Today

There were a number of interesting articles in these two weeks that were interesting but here is what made the cut. I will try to keep it down to one week spans for a while.

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Two Weeks Ending September 8, 2013

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Well I have once again gotten behind in sharing a few of these headlines so I will again do two weeks worth and will be a bit more selective in what I include.

Let me begin by noting a couple of churches that have comments on economic issues. First, the Church of Scotland has initiatives for both local economic justice as well as for elsewhere in the world.

Church of Scotland concern over 36% Wonga profit – from The Scotsman; “Church of Scotland leaders today expressed concern over the antics of
“legal loan sharks” after pay day lender Wonga’s profits rocketed to
more than £1 million a week.” And later in the article “The Church of England is working with the Church of Scotland to
establish a churches mutual credit union as an alternative to such
firms.”

Churches call on shoppers to support Bangladeshi garment workers – from Ekklesia

And comments from the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana

Restructure economy – Presby Church – from GhanaWeb; “The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) has entreated government to
restructure the economy through well thought-out policies and implement
pragmatic plans and programmes for a turnaround of the economy.”

In other news from Ghana

Churches are also corrupt – Murtala Mohammed – from GhanaWeb; The Deputy Minister of Information agreed with the PCG that there was government corruption to be cleaned up, but continued that the church has some cleaning to do too as well.

And headlines coming out of the CCAP Synod Assembly meetings from both Blantyre and Livingstonia Synods regarding mixing political and religious careers:

CCAP Church ministers with political ambitions asked to step down – from The Mavari Post; Blantyre Synod

CCAP Livingstonia Synod okays clergy to join front-line politics: Offers three options – from Nyasa Times; the three options are retire, resign or take a support position in the church

In my last set of headlines I mentioned the work of the Free Church of Scotland to try to improve a local highway for the safety of the motorists. They had a meeting with Scottish politicians and there is yet no movement to do the upgrades sooner:

Clergy ‘disappointed’ after meeting Minister over dualling of A9 – from STV News

In Northern Ireland there was a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the city walls of Derry. A local Presbyterian minister preached at an interdenominational service on the deeper meaning of walls in that part of the world:

‘Walls have divided city and its people‘ – from Derry Journal; “

In New Zealand a disciplinary case is making the news:

Pastor defiant in face of ban – from New Zealand Herald; “David Ock-Youn Jang was struck off the ministerial roll last Friday
after a church investigation found him guilty of sexual misconduct and abuse. But yesterday, he led a service – and says he will continue to do so with the backing of the parish council and congregation at his West Auckland church.”

Going back to Scotland the Moderator of the General Assembly got quite a discussion going concerning the place of women in the church, particularly in leadership roles. It began with an interview where she talked about the view of John Knox:

Women in charge of Kirk? Not if Knox had his way – from The Scotsman

There is a letter to the editor of the Herald Scotland defending Knox

Knox was not so monstrous – from Herald Scotland

But the Moderator continued her theme at the meeting of the Guild this past weekend:

Church of Scotland sexism ‘hindering women’ in office, moderator warns – from BBC News

In preview of Scottish Parliament hearings this week there were headlines related to the proposed Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill:

Scotland: 50,000 sign petition against redefining marriage – from The Christian Institute

Much, much more on this in the coming week.

Finally, it was announced – or at least made the media – the Rev. John L. Bell of the Iona Community will be awarded the Community of Christ International Peace Award next month.

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending August 25, 2013

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A bit of a busy week for me but I will try to crank this out before I settle in for the holiday weekend here in the states…

When last we heard from the Church of Scotland concerning their staff and changes to their benefits, there seemed to be a bit of confusion about the actual terms of the deal. This week brought reports of the workers considering the news:

Kirk workers to meet in row over pensions – from Herald Scotland

Church criticised by union over pension letter – from Herald Scotland

And the Church of Scotland has announced it is modernizing its Sunday School curriculum:

Church of Scotland to modernise Sunday school – from the BBC

A couple of headlines related to the Free Church as well:

Church joins pleas for an end to carnage on the A9 – from Scottish Express: One of several articles about the Free Church asking for improvements to a dangerous stretch of highway.

Inside Track: Free Church signals its determination to be heard – from Herald Scotland: a column about the Free Church now publicly engaging the wider world with the A9 improvements as an example.

From Ghana we have reports from two General Assemblies that outline a number of the actions taken at each but with an emphasis, at least in the media, on issues that involve the country as a whole:

E.P. Church requests return of property – from Ghana Business news: The Evangelical Presbyterian Church requesting to have some property in Accra returned so they can build offices in the capital as well as talk about partnering more closely with the government on hospitals and universities.

President Mahama lauds E.P. Church – from Ghana Business News: And they got some kind words back from the president

Ghana’s democracy will be strengthened by the SCV– Presby Church – from SPY Ghana: A review of the Presbyterian Church Assembly that highlights their hopes for positive change from the party in power.

And two more headlines from the week that are interesting for the cultural insights they give. First from the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian:

Religious madness! Livingstonia Synod to force Ngoni chiefs back to CCAP – from The Maravi Post: “MZUZU(MaraPost)—Livingstonia Synod general secretary the Reverend Levi
Nyondo has said that all Mzimba Ngoni chiefs belong to the Church of
Central African Presbyterian (CCAP) and those chiefs going to other
churches are wasting their time and declared that his synod will bring
all Ngoni chiefs who have gone to other denominations back to their
mother church, CCAP.” This is based on a 1978 treaty.

And from Mizoram Province of Northern India:

Mizo church may do away with infant burial taboo – from The Times of India: “AIZAWL:
The Presbyterian Church of India, Mizoram Synod, the largest church in
the state, is likely to do away with one of the oldest traditional
taboos associated with infant deaths. In Mizo tradition, infants
below three months are not accorded a decent burial like adults in
village cemeteries. Instead, they are buried in kitchen gardens of the
bereaved families. This practice is called ‘Hlamzuih’.”

So that’s it for this week. See you next week.

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Two Weeks Ending August 18, 2013

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I am going to take a bold step and cover the last two weeks so I get this listing caught up through the time I was off with a family event.

Here are a few of the interesting items that caught my eye since my last set of headlines:

First the controversy about the non-inclusion of a hymn in the new Presbyterian hymnal continues at only a slightly less active rate than a couple of weeks ago. Much of what I have seen covers the well-trod territory but two new twists have emerged. First, the discussion has spilled over to the Baptists:

Editorial Ignites Atonement Debate – from ABP News

And another article that takes the chair of the hymnal committee to task for shifting the focus of the discussion, whether for clarity or cover-up:

Committee Head Covers Up “In Christ Alone” Controversy – from First Things

And Keith Getty, the co-author, spoke with the Belfast Telegraph

My song of praise was dropped from a US hymn book …all because of one word

On to other news…

Two stories from New Zealand:

Presbyterian head seeks gay-wedding ban for unity’s sake – from New Zealand Herald as same-sex marriages become recognized in that country

Sad and excited Mayman heading to Sydney – from GayNZ, talking about one of the church’s progressive advocates who is moving to a new call with the Uniting Church in Australia

Three stories from The Presbyterian Chuch of Ghana:

Presbyterian Church to hold General Assembly – from Ghana Web, 16-22 August in Abetifi-Kwahu

Presbyterian Church commissions 41 new ministers – from Ghana Web

Presby church of Ghana inaugurates branch in Atlanta – from Ghana Web

From Scotland:

Kirk care staff caught up in zero-hours contracts row – from Herald Scotland; this is regarding Crossreach, the care arm of the Church of Scotland. In a statement the church said it was only for their relief staff who are employed on an as-needed basis to fill vacancies.

Kirk tells workers accept deal or face being sacked – from Herald Scotland; for Kirk staff in its main offices to take a pension cut. UPDATE: A response from the Convener of the Central Services Committee published saying the facts were wrong

Thomas Chalmers memorial unveiled in Anstruther – from The Courier; a garden in memory of the leading figure in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland

Cameron Highlanders veterans fall in line for special events – from Highland News; a new memorial area is dedicated to the former regiment at Old High Church, Inverness, which was the regimental church

From Canada:

Church apologizes to Kenora residential school survivors – from CBC; “The Presbyterian Church issued a specific apology on Wednesday to former students of a residential school in Kenora, Ont., where medical and nutritional experiments had taken place.”

Community ministries struggling in the US:

Chester ministry reluctantly curtails operations – from The Inquirer; a ministry of the Presbytery of Philadelphia

Presbyterian Community Center closing Aug. 30 over financial problems – from Louisville Courier-Journal

A major announcement over the weekend related to theological education:

Reformed Theological Seminary Appoints Dr. J. Ligon Duncan as New Chancellor – from Crossmap

And a Presbyterian church in Northern Ireland hosts a royal wedding for one of its own as a local girl who is working in a school in Nigeria marries a co-worker… who happens to be the Crown Prince of Lagos:

Royal wedding makes Loughgall girl a princess – from the Belfast News Letter

I am now done with the crazy part of my summer schedule and anticipate that blogging activity will become more regular. And I have a pretty good backlog of interesting stuff to comment on.

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week (Plus Some) Ending August 4, 2013

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This past week was an eventful one for Presbyterians and here are some of the relevant news headlines that caught my attention. I have added a couple of days since I am about to become preoccupied with a family event and may not get this post out next week. There is also one headline not included that I am hoping to blog on separately.

The PC(USA) held their Big Tent event and there were a couple of headlines that came out of that, at least in the hometown paper.

Presbyterians in the ‘Big Tent,’ thinking out of the box – from the Louisville Courier-Journal

Faith & Works | Presbyterians talk renewal – from the Louisville Courier-Journal

At the same time a discussion in the PC(USA) — a discussion that actually started a few months ago — went viral and hit the mainstream media. The discussion is about one particular hymn, In Christ Alone, not appearing in the new hymnal because the authors would not agree to an alteration in one line.

Presbyterians’ decision to drop hymn stirs debate – from USA Today

Mainline Protestants Abandon Orthodoxy, Exhibit XXXVI – from National Review Online

And news about a PC(USA) affiliated school

Montreat College plans merger with Point University – from Asheville Citizen-Times

Across the pond a headline concerning the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland visiting a now-closed infamous prison as development of the site is considered:

Top Presbyterian set to visit Maze site – from News Letter

And next door – the Moderator of the Church of Scotland begins tweeting and quickly has something to tweet about from her holiday in Spain:

Moderator’s tweet success on first day – from Herald Scotland

Holidaying Moderator tweets about bag theft on Barcelona beach – from Herald Scotland

Finally, three headlines about African Presbyterians:

Ghana: Let’s Seek God’s Face On National Challenges – Moderator – from allAfrica

CCAP Nkhoma Synod warns Malawi govt. against legalizing abortion – The Maravi Post

Nigeria: Presbyterian Church Lauds National Assembly for Criminalising Same-Sex Marriage – from allAfrica

That’s it for now. Have a good week.

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending July 27, 2013

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Getting caught up on reading, and I may post a summary of a few of the earlier articles of interest, but here is the summary for the past week.

Claremore’s Christ Presbyterian Church burns to ground – from Tulsa World

Just one week after Claremore church burned down, Christ Presbyterian Church comes back together – from KJRH

Presbyterian Group Appoints First Openly Transgender Director of Mainline Protestant Organization – from Sojourners

Ghana: Women Challenged to Take Leadership Roles – from allAfrica; “The Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana
(PCG), Rev. Dr. Samuel Ayete-Nyampong, has called on women in Africa,
with specific reference to Ghana, to challenge themselves to take up
leadership positions in the running of the country.”

Clergyman urges Ghanaians to accept Supreme Court ruling – from Ghana Web;
the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana urged the country to accept the soon to be announced court ruling regarding the presidential election following the death a year ago of President Mills.

Kirk joins forces with CofE to take on payday loan firms – from Herald Scotland

Petition calls for chaplains move at Antrim hospital to be scrapped – from the Belfast News Letter; the plan to assign hospital chaplains to wards and work with patients across denominations is protested

This seemed to be a busy week for church demolition stories, although one is also an expansion

Klondyke Welsh Presbyterian Chapel can be demolished, High Court rules – from Liverpool Echo; the Court has cleared the way for development on the site

End of an era – from Price County Daily; “The First Presbyterian Church in Phillips will soon be demolished to
make room for a new multi-purpose building that will serve a variety of
needs for the community.”

Demolition and expansion at Milwaukee’s oldest congregation: Slideshow – from The Business Journal; old offices of Immanuel Presbyterian Church to add parking and two new wings on the church

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Category Archives: news

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending October 13, 2013

Presbyterian Headlines For The Week Ending October 6, 2013

Presbyterian Headlines For The Week Ending September 29, 2013

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Two Weeks Ending September 8, 2013

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending August 25, 2013

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Two Weeks Ending August 18, 2013

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending July 27, 2013