So what caught my attention the first half of this month? Here are a few of the item I found interesting.

One of the headlines caught my attention because of its implications for other current events:

Representative carries bill to help church he leads: Reps say congregations have concerns about bill to disallow ecclesiastical law in disputes – from Topeka Capital-Journal

The bill would introduce a form of neutral principles to Kansas law for deciding church property cases. There are numerous comments from presbytery and synod leaders about the nature of the bill and the implications as well as the representative’s motives. The comments that his church was considering requesting dismissal from the PC(USA) lead to another article the next day where his pastor denied it:

Pastor of state rep’s church: We’re not splitting: Pastor of Rep. McPherson’s congregation disputes church leaders’ characterization of bill
– from Topeka Capital-Journal

I had mentioned last time about the pressure raised by the Presbyterian Church in Mizoram state of India to continue prohibition on alcohol and the church is now organizing prayer meetings related to this effort:

Mass prayers to keep Mizoram prohibition – from The Times of India

An event to mark International Women’s Day in Cape Coast, Ghana, included remarks by a Senior Lecturer at Presbyterian University that became the headline for this piece about the event:

Change of name after marriage not obligatory – from Ghana News Agency

A particular congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland is involved in a project to examine its region’s troubled history:

New project will look at plantation and penal laws – from Derry Journal; “A new cross-community project will examine
the impact of the penal laws and the plantation on Catholics and
Presbyterians in Derry. The project is being funded by the Department of
Culture, Arts and Leisure and will involve the congregation of First
Derry Presbyterian Church and senior citizens from the Bogside area. When completed, the work will form part of a new website looking at the period.”

As the South Seas Evangelical Church celebrates its 50th Anniversary the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu sends greetings and a fraternal delegation:

Moderator Ova congratulates Ambu community – from Solomon Star

A couple of fires at Presbyterian-related institutions:

Fire guts Charlieville Presbyterian School – from Guardian Media; about a school in Trinidad

Weekend fire damages children’s home: Water from sprinklers causes more problems than flames – from Daily Journal; about a Presbyterian Children’s Homes facility in Farmington, Missouri

And a building that some time ago was a Presbyterian church in New Rochelle, NY, gets a high-profile renovation for a Pentecostal congregation:

Baseball star Rivera rescues, renovates NY church – AP story, here published by ESPN

And a church loaning out space to the local library during renovation in Lewisboro, NY:

Library begins new chapter – from Lewisboro Ledger

Finally, an honor for recognition of mission work:

Pastor wins medal from Ethiopian government – from The Korea Times; “Pastor Kim Sam-hwan of the Myungsung Presbyterian
Church was conferred a medal of appreciation by the Ethiopian government
for his contributions to the development of Ethiopian medical services.”

So I will hold it at that for this group. I may include one or two more from this time period in the next group as logical groupings suggest.