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Presbyterian News Headlines For December 2013

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Yes, I am going to attempt to do a whole month at once to get caught up. This does mean that by necessity I will be a bit selective about the headlines included.

The month began with a public safety helicopter crash in Scotland that saw the Church of Scotland on the front line with chaplaincy services and worship services of remembrance:

Chaplains at front line of Glasgow tragedy – from Church of Scotland press release

Prayers for helicopter victims – from BBC News

And in Kenya, ten youths were killed and thirty six more injured in a bus crash as they were returning from a Presbyterian Church in East Africa youth conference:

President mourns Mariakani accident victims – from Standard Digital News

In Louisville it was decided that the resources were not available to reopen the Presbyterian Community Center that had been closed a few months earlier:

No hope of reopening the Presbyterian Community Center in Smoketown, board says – from Courier-Journal

Concerning damage to churches, we have two fires and the theft of copper pipes:

Fire damage closes 900-year-old Aberdour church at Christmas – from Fife Today

160-Year-Old Long Island Church Goes Up In Flames – from CBS New York

Wyoming church recovering after copper pipe theft – from Times Leader, in Pennsylvania

In Africa, words from church leaders to politicians:

Ghana pregnant with bribery, corruption — Moderator – from CitifmOnline

ASUU Strike: Presbyterian Prelate urges government action – from WorldStage News; about a student strike in Nigeria

Two Presbyterian-related schools in the U.S. got court orders exempting them on religious grounds from the Department of Health and Human Services Affordable Care Act Contraception Mandate:

Judge rules Geneva College does not have to provide coverage for contraception – from Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Christian universities and seminary win against HHS mandate in federal court – from examiner.com (Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania)

And finally, two more articles. The first a gift that allows a Presbyterian camp to continue and the second a new high-profile hire in the Church of Scotland Communications Office:

Woman, 81, leaves church camp $2.5 million from her estate – from WBRC (Birmingham)

BBC’s Rob Flett to join Church of Scotland comms team – from allmedia scotland.com

And with that we close out the year. Best wishes for the new one and back with more headlines in a few days.

Top Ten (Plus) Presbyterian News Topics of 2013

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As we spend this day looking back I thought I would once again post my personal list of the top ten news topics related to Presbyterians around the world from 2013. In this list I deliberately use the term “topics” because, as you will see, there were a number of parallels in the different branches when it came to certain items.

And so here, in no particular order, are my picks for the top ten news topics of 2013…

Elections, Elections, Elections and a Referendum

This fall it seemed that various Presbyterian branches were regularly linked with elections happening in their state or country. The list includes the Presbyterian Synod in Mizoram state in India asking for – and getting – a change in polling dates, CCAP synods defining the terms for political involvement of clergy running for office and commentary from the Presbyterian Church of Ghana on election decisions.

Falling into this category is the work of the Church of Scotland running forums and debates ahead of next year’s Scottish independence referendum.

Disasters

Somehow the natural disasters, and the global Presbyterian response, for this year stick out more than in previous lists and it includes damage done in a tornado outbreak in the central U.S. in May and typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in November.

World Hotspots

The variety that could be included here is pretty large but let me mention Presbyterians speaking out to two of them – the response against attacks on Syria (e.g. PC(USA) ) and those speaking out about the violence in South Sudan (e.g. Presbyterian Church in Ireland).

In a particularly moving story, a Church of Scotland pastor lost many members of his family in an attack on a church in Pakistan and spoke of forgiving the attackers.

New Presbyterian Leaders at Seminaries

Four Presbyterian teaching elders were named, approved and/or installed at seminaries in the Presbyverse: Rev. Dr. Stafford Carson at Union Theological College, Belfast; Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes at Princeton Theological Seminary; Rev. Dr. Mark Labberton at Fuller Theological Seminary; Rev. Dr. J. Ligon Duncan at Reformed Theological Seminary.

Church of Scotland General Assembly Middle Way on Same-sex Issues

The Church of Scotland General Assembly dealt with ordination and marriage issues and rather than adopting one of the two options presented by their Special Commission chose a middle option that affirmed past teaching while opening the door to congregations being able to dissent. This led to their speaking against the proposed legislation in the Scottish Parliament that would permit same-sex marriage and asking for robust religious protections. In addition, the compromise solution was not completely satisfactory to the whole church and a few pastors and congregations have left.

Congregational Loss in the PC(USA) and Gracious Dismissal

In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 2012 Membership Statistics for the first time ever the number of churches transferred out of the denomination (110 churches) was larger than the number of churches dissolved (86 churches).

Associated with this was the emphasis on presbyteries having Gracious Dismissal Policies and fairly generous allowances to be dismissed with property, although there was at least one PJC case and some civil litigation, e.g. Caldwell and Highland Park.

Re-purposing Church Buildings

Along with the dissolution of churches comes the question of what to do with the property? Although to be fair this also may be a question if the church outgrows their existing property. Answers this year include a residence in Scotland, a restaurant in Belfast, and maybe a town hall in Maryland. In addition, there were several, at least, demolished and controversy down under with a presbytery of the Uniting Church proposing to close churches and sell off the buildings to satisfy debts.

With that I have hit all the cross-branch and big-topic themes that I ranked highest and have to decide on the last three from a field of several worthy and interesting candidates. Well, this is my blog and I can adjust the rules so here are five more…

The BBC Northern Ireland produced a documentary on Irish Presbyterians called “An Independent People”

Also from Northern Ireland, there was an agreement that the leaders of the failed Presbyterian Mutual Society would be ineligible to head up other companies and word of at least one bank that declined the offer to take over the failing institution.

The work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission regarding the dark history of native residential schools continues in Canada and this year the Commission was addressed by the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and the church issued a formal apology to Kenora residential school survivors.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last year issued guidelines on what was required to be included in employee health care plans and several Presbyterian-affiliated organizations objected to the contraception mandate. This year at least two, Geneva College and Westminster Theological Seminary, won court cases exempting them from the HHS mandate. Review by the U.S. Supreme Court is expected so this may come back again next year.

And the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation issued a new hymnal, “Glory to God”, but not without a little controversy about one hymn that was originally to be included but deleted when a slight word change was not approved by the authors.

And there you have my suggestions for the top ten twelve Presbyterian news topics of 2013. Your mileage may vary.

So as we look ahead to 2014 – and many of my friends around the world are already there or now busy celebrating Hogmanay – I wish all of you a very Happy New Years and best wishes for the coming year.

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending November 24, 2013

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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 Two Weeks Ending November 11, 2013

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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

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending October 27, 2013

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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.

Presbyterian News Headlines For The Week Ending October 20, 2013

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Another week on the quiet side in my news stream, and the couple of active items that were there are “works in progress” that I will defer to the next round when there should be something more to report than “the committee is thinking about it.”

So to begin with, a few items from churches in Africa:

Malawi: Domasi CCAP Advises Faithful to Vote – from allAfrica.com; “Domasi Presbytery of CCAP Blantyre Synod has called on all its faithful
that registered for the 2014 Tripartite Elections to exercise their
rights and responsibilities by voting for leaders of their choice.”

M’mbelwa roasts Livingstonia Synod over Kanyika mine – from Nyasa Times; “M’mbelwa district council on Monday took a swipe at  CCAP Livingstonia
Church and Society for frustrating the mining of niobium at Kanyika mine
in Mzimba.”

Presbyterian University College Council inaugurated – from Ghana News Agency; “The
Right-Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey, Moderator of the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has inaugurated the 5th Presbyterian
University College Council at Akropong.”

A couple of notes from the Church of Scotland:

Have your say on Scotland’s future – from Carrick Gazette; The Church of Scotland is ramping up the discussion sessions ahead of the independence vote.

Church of Scotland proposes changing religious observance in schools to ‘time for reflection’ – from Christian Today; “The Church of Scotland has proposed changing religious observance to a ‘time for reflection’. The Kirk said a time for reflection in schools would help shift the
debate about religious observance in schools from an argument between
opposing views to learning together.”

And finally from the PC(USA) and the Presbytery of Chicago:

Wild patience: Years of discussion lead to signing of covenant between presbytery and Islamic communities in Chicago – from The Presbyterian Outlook

So there is what caught my eye for last week.

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