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.