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- Presbyterian church in Tennessee votes to leave Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Two Christian Pakistanis detained for alleged blasphemy
- Kate Middleton’s timely confirmation raises questions
- Evangelicals assist thousands of Tunisian refugees in Italy
- Philadelphia launches website offering free condoms to youth aged 11-19
- Laura Story’s new album redefines Blessings through struggles
| Presbyterian church in Tennessee votes to leave Presbyterian Church (USA) Posted: 17 Apr 2011 08:46 PM PDT
A Presbyterian congregation in Memphis, Tenn. voted recently to depart from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to join forces with a more conservative church body to which it felt more theologically aligned. The Advent Presbyterian Church voted 482-22 to seek dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is the largest Presbyterian body in the country, to join the much smaller Evangelical Presbyterian Church based in Michigan, the AP said. The PCUSA, which is based in Louisville, Kentucky, has some 11,000 denominations under its wing. By contrast, the EPC has only 300 congregations, according to the AP. This makes Advent the first church to choose to leave the PCUSA since its General Assembly approved in 2010 a proposal permitting homosexuals to receive ordination, the AP said. On its website, Advent said the local church formed a Study Committee in 2006 to observe and be updated on issues within its The website said, “This process continued until March of this year. The study and prayer of both the Committee and the Session involved both the issues and various past and potential future responses.” Advent said on its website that it believes “joining the EPC will best allow Advent to conduct its mission to share God’s love with others as we have seen it in Jesus Christ and to reach out in ministry and mission without having to divert energy into denominational conflict.” While stating in the website that the separation is only organizational and not spiritual, it added, “We differ in what we see as the best way for Advent to grow and develop in the Kingdom of God. Yet, Christianity is not a competitive sport–we hope and pray that the PCUSA will be successful in sharing the love of Christ, just as we will strive to do the same within the EPC.” It is expected that Advent’s request for separation will receive approval from the Mid-South Presbytery, which will give its response in May, according to the AP. Two other churches within the area are deliberating on leaving the PCUSA as well. They are Woodland United Presbyterian Church, which will have a congregational vote on May 1, and Grace Presbyterian in Bartlett, whose governing body will confer about this on April 19, the AP said. Although Advent is the first church to leave the PCUSA after its 2010 vote to allow ordination of homosexuals, two other churches had already split from the PCUSA. The Highland Heights Presbyterian Church left the PCUSA in 2008, and Faith Presbyterian Church, Germantown parted ways the following year. The EPC formed a presbytery for congregations that opt to leave PCUSA, the AP reported. These developments are perceived as a broader repositioning that is taking place within mainstream Protestant denominations in response to divergence over matters regarding church governance, scripture interpretation and the ordination of homosexuals, the AP said. On its website Advent noted “a number of areas in which there were differences between the beliefs and values of Advent and those held by many leaders of the PCUSA,” with regard to “biblical authority and interpretation, standards for leadership, and church government.” Advent said on its website, “Because our respective positions rest on separate theological presuppositions, we believe this conflict is unlikely to be peacefully resolvable.” Advent’s senior pastor, Dr. Chris Scruggs, told the AP, “We believe that joining the EPC will best allow Advent to conduct its mission to share God’s love with others as we have seen it in Jesus Christ and to reach out in ministry and mission without having to divert energy into denominational conflict.” While noting that “Christianity is not a competitive sport,” Advent said in its website, “[W]e hope and pray that the PCUSA will be successful in sharing the love of Christ, just as we will strive to do the same within the EPC.” |
| Two Christian Pakistanis detained for alleged blasphemy Posted: 17 Apr 2011 08:45 PM PDT
Two Christians in Pakistan were picked up by police and detained last Friday night for alleged violation of the country’s infamous blasphemy law. Mushtaq Gill, 60, and his son, Farrukh Mustaq Gill were picked up from the family home in Gujranwala city, some 28 miles away from Lahore, after a group of Muslims surrounded the house and tried to burn it, The International Herald Tribune said. The police took the two men into “protective custody” allegedly to avert violence, according to The International Herald Tribune. However, Scoop Independent News said the two men were detained. Gujranwala lies in an area which is considered to be the hub of Islamic radicals in Pakistan, Scoop Independent News said. It has been the site of previous burning of Christian churches, occupation of their properties, false accusations of the blasphemy law and murdering of Christians. Because of this hundreds of Christians have fled the area for fear of their safety, including the family of Phillip Dutt, a local pastor, according to The International Herald Tribune. Last Friday after prayers Muslim activists from Azizabad Colony “tried to incite a mob attack” against the victims’ home by making inflammatory announcements on the loudspeakers of mosques, The International Herald Tribune said. Led by clerics, a group of Muslim extremists surrounded the house of the victims with intent to set it on fire. According to The International Herald Tribune, police picked up the two men to avert violence. Accusations against the two men go three months back when some Muslims claimed they had found a package of burnt pages of the Quran outside of the Gill home, along their postal address, The International Herald Tribune reported. Included in the package was a statement allegedly from the Gills in which they “admitted” committing several blasphemous acts and planned to do more because no one has “enough guts to prevent them from doing so,” The International Herald Tribune said. Dutt told The International Herald Tribune that he knows both men well and said they were “clearly being framed by someone who wanted to get even in some unrelated matter or out of sheer jealousy.” It is not yet certain whether the Gills were victimized because of a personal score or as a reaction to the recent burning of the Quran by a cult in Florida. In recent weeks incidents of persecution of Christians in Pakistan were blamed on the Quran burning, Scoop Independent News said. Mushtaq Gill is vice principal of the Christian Technical Training Center which is with the Presbyterian theological seminary. According to Scoop Independent News he is an elder with his church. Farrukh is an MBA degree holder who works at the local National Bank branch as a welfare officer, according to The International Herald Tribune. The family of the victims called on the Masihi Foundation for legal help. The Foundation is known for assisting in the legal defense of Christians, including the defense of Asia Bibi, the first woman to be sentenced to death for blasphemy, Scoop Independent News said. Haroon Barkat Masih, chairman of the Foundation, told Scoop Independent News, “The government has failed to control the growing extremism, protect the properties and lives of the Christians in Pakistan. In the past few weeks we have witnessed the growing hatred towards the Christians. The Christians across Pakistan have been condemning the desecration of the Quran, but still they are targeted. If they condemn the desecration of the bible, still they face brutality. Without confirming the facts, the Christians are assaulted and subjected to the worst torture in the name of the blasphemy law.” |
| Kate Middleton’s timely confirmation raises questions Posted: 17 Apr 2011 08:45 PM PDT
Kate Middleton’s recent confirmation to the Anglican Church has raised questions and doubts about the reason why she did it. Middleton, who will marry Prince William on April 29, was baptized into the Church of England–but she had never undergone confirmation rites until just prior to her wedding, Alexander Chancellor wrote in The Guardian. Furthermore, Chancellor noted in The Guardian, “[N]either [Kate Middleton] nor other members of her family appear until now to have been regular churchgoers.” Middleton was confirmed by Bishop of London Richard Chartres, in private rites that were held in St. James Palace last March 10, according to The Telegraph. Also present were Middleton’s family and Prince William, Reuters reported. Chartres will also deliver the address during the wedding ceremony. Chartres confirmed William in March 1997 at Windsor Castle when the heir to the throne was 14 years old. At the time, this was a departure from tradition as such royal services were usually done by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Reuters said. The timing of Middleton’s confirmation raises speculation that the 29-year-old bride-to-be only did it because of her pending wedding. Chancellor wrote in The Guardian that if Middleton were truly serious about the Church of England she would have been confirmed much earlier. Chancellor wrote in The Guardian that Middleton attended private boarding schools such as Downe House and the posh Marlborough College, where she would likely have been given the chance to receive confirmation rites when she was still in her teens. Sources close to Middleton told The Daily Mail that the future bride was confirmed as a result of a “personal journey,” Chancellor wrote in The Guardian. However, he also muses on the fact that without the confirmation Middleton would not have been able to receive Holy Communion during the wedding ceremony. Furthermore, in marrying Prince William she also becomes the wife of the “future Defender of the Faith,” Chancellor wrote in The Guardian, which raises suspicion that “she did it more for convenience than from conviction.” Not so Others however say that it is not so. Rowan Pelling wrote in The Telegraph that she can understand why Middleton might sincerely choose to be confirmed just before her wedding, as that was her own personal experience as well. Pelling explains in her opinion piece in The Telegraph that in her personal case, it was the desire to have a church wedding that made her think it would be hypocritical on her part to do so without being personally committed to the church. Pelling wrote in The Telegraph, “Like Kate, I was baptized into the Church of England while I was a baby, but, although my family attended church throughout my childhood, my mother believed confirmation was a decision for the individual.” Pelling added that in her school there was “no real pressure to join the fold.” This, she says looking back, was a better approach as “it suffers the big children, as well as the little ones, to come unto it,” she wrote in The Telegraph. Pelling wrote in The Telegraph, “Kate may have had some of the same conversations and wobbles of conscience that troubled me 16 years ago: that solemn vows have little weight unless you trouble yourself to consider the splendid solemnity of the forces that underpin them. It seems to me that one part of becoming an adult is to take responsibility for your faith, or, indeed, your lack of it.” In the 16th century, King Henry VIII broke ties with the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself supreme head of The Church of England. Currently, Queen Elizabeth II holds this title, which will be passed on to William when he becomes king, Reuters reported. |
| Evangelicals assist thousands of Tunisian refugees in Italy Posted: 17 Apr 2011 08:45 PM PDT
Even as thousands of refugees from Tunisia have fled to a tiny island in Italy, causing dispute among some EU nations, Evangelicals are helping to minister to them by distributing aid and Bibles. Some 26,000 illegal immigrants from Tunisia crossed the Mediterranean in tiny boats in the last few weeks, causing what some officials in Italy call a “human tsunami,” the AP reported. Italy has said it will grant six-month permits for residency to the migrants, providing a chance for them to try to settle in neighboring countries through Europe’s visa-free Schengen zone, the AP said. Not everyone is happy about this. France, in an unprecedented move, set up guards along the Italian border and Germany said it may follow suit, the AP reported. France is only willing to honor permits of those migrants who have evidence of financial resources. French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the Tunisians should be repatriated adding, “There is no rule that says that illegal economic migrants should be welcomed here and allowed to travel freely in Europe,” the AP reported. In response, Italy’s interior minister Roberto Maroni said it seemed pointless to be a part of the EU if the nations within it could not collaborate on this and other issues, the AP said. Tunisia has undergone great destabilization recently, due to an uprising that culminated last January in deposing its longtime Meanwhile, the Evangelical Alliance Italy is collaborating with the island’s local authorities in assisting the migrants and helping them in fostering good relations with the local community, Christian Today said. According to Christian Today, Lampedusa, which is only 75 miles away from the coast of Tunisia, has long been a point of arrival for North African illegal immigrants who are seeking a better life in Europe. With the unrest that is prevailing in North Africa, some 50,000 migrants are expected to try to enter the island, according to Christian Today. In a statement, the Evangelical Alliance in Italy said this is a great opportunity to share the gospel. The migrants are willing to risk grave danger to leave their countries. The AP said that last Thursday two women drowned when their boat, loaded with 250 migrants, went off course then landed on Italy’s Pantelleria island. In another incident, a boat with some 300 illegal immigrants capsized, the AP said, and only 50 of them survived. EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is urging Tunisia to take their citizens back. Christian volunteers are doing what they can for migrants in both Lampedusa and a migrant center in Mineo, Sicily, by providing aid and distributing bibles and Christian literature, Christian Today said. They are also counseling the migrants and sharing the love of Jesus in suitable ways, Christian Today reported. The alliance is seeking prayer and joint cooperation in cultural mediation and humanitarian assistance, “in the hope that God will open further |
| Philadelphia launches website offering free condoms to youth aged 11-19 Posted: 17 Apr 2011 08:44 PM PDT
Philadelphia launched recently a website where young people aged between 11-19 years can have free condoms sent to them by mail. The website, Take Control Philly, was launched by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. It shows a drawing of a black woman who asks, “Why risk it?” and contains instructions on how to use condoms with a tab to receive them by mail. The website also shows a condom map with some 100 sites in the city where youths can access free condoms. There is also a list of free clinics where people over 12 years of age can get free exams, diagnosis and treatment for STDs, and be assured of full confidentiality. Youth risk survey The Philadelphia Department of Health launched the site in response to a 2009 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey which showed that 15 percent of the city’s high school youth had sex before they were 13 years old, and 26 percent had sex with four or more different partners, Christian Today said. Philadelphia youth aged 10-14 are 5.3 times likelier to have Chlamydia, and those aged 15-19 are three times more bound to have Gonorrhea, while those 10-14 years old are four times more likely to have Gonorrhea than other youths in the country, Christian Today reported. Some 37 percent didn’t use a condom the last time they had sex, the study reported. An ABC News report said that students in the city cut classes in the afternoon to have orgies, usually in a home where the parents are both out. Gary Bell of Bebashi Transition to Hope said, “[T]hey go there and have sex and trade partners,” Christian Today reported. Health officials of Philadelphia said they hope the website will help to lower the STD rate among the youth, Christian Today said. Abstinence, anyone? Chad Hills of Citizen Link said the website provides, at best, “irresponsible teaching.” He told The Christian Post, “Most 11-year- old kids must be told to brush their teeth before bed; to take a shower at least several times a week; to put on clean clothes and comb their hair before walking out the door. Now we’re handing them condoms and instantly transporting them into the world of adult sexual activity – awakening their curiosity and sexual passions before they can even think for themselves?” A study by the University of Pennsylvania showed that teaching abstinence is more effective than is commonly believed. The study was published in the Feb. 2010 Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine (American Medical Association), Christian Today said. The study surveyed 662 public middle school youths of low-income communities and found that those who received abstinence-only education were less likely to become sexually active, with only a third of the students having sexual intercourse within two years of the class. This compares favorably to those who had a condom use-only program, where more than half said they had engaged in sexual intercourse. More than 40 percent of students who had a class which combined both methods had sex within the next two years, Christian Today said. Focus on the Family, citing seven different researches on abstinence, said on its website that 47 percent of students nationwide had sex adding, “in contrast to contraceptive-based sex education claims, teens are capable of abstaining from sex; they just need the right motivation and support.” |
| Laura Story’s new album redefines Blessings through struggles Posted: 17 Apr 2011 08:41 PM PDT
What do you do when you have written the No. 1 worship hit, married your perfect man, won major music awards, but beyond the dazzle, your life is falling apart? That would seem to summarize the life of Laura Story, who recently released her new album, “Blessings.” In 2004 she penned the No. 1 Worship song, “Indescribable.” She got married in 2005, and in 2008 won a Dove Award for Inspirational Album, and was nominated twice as Female Vocalist of the year, her website said. During those same years God landed a shocker in her married life, Story’s website said. Her husband, Martin Elvington was hospitalized in 2006 and diagnosed with a brain tumor. How does one inspire others while watching her husband undergo memory loss and significant vision loss? Story admits on her website that she was lonely, afraid, and had swings of faith and unbelief. Then after a difficult spiritual journey she realized that she had to redefine her notion of blessings, her website said. Story told The Trades, “Initially, I thought God was going to bring about this miraculous healing, and He was going to get all the glory. But instead it was, okay, God’s going to partially heal Martin, and we’re going to limp along for the next five years — and God’s going to get all the glory.” Eventually Story realized, “Either way, God gets all the glory. We don’t know what the next five years will look like, but we’re trusting that He’s faithful and we’re saying, ‘Here we are, God. You tell us what’s next,’” The Trades reported. Her turmoil became the inspiration for her new album. On her website Story said, “Life is filled with things you don’t expect, but the Bible tells us to respond by trusting God and continuing to worship him. Martin hasn’t received complete healing – and that can be hard at times when we view God as all-powerful and all-loving. But here we are now saying, ‘Yes, this is how faith works.’ God has proven to be faithful. We have been truly blessed out of a circumstance that at first didn’t seem like much of a blessing at all.” A new voice Story is slated to cross the country to promote Blessings, as well as visit churches in South America and Europe. She believes the timing is no accident saying on her website, “[W]e have a voice that wasn’t there prior to this suffering.” She also cites James 1:2 (Consider it a great joy … whenever you experience various trials), and notes in her website that she and She told The Trades, “[T]his world continues to go through such turmoil — whether it’s tsunamis and earthquakes, or whether it’s just seeing the growth in materialism or how sin has marred creation so much.” Story said to The Trades, “[Many ask] ‘Why does God allow such hard things to happen?’ ” But in redefining Blessings, she realized it could not simply be “health, wealth and prosperity.” “It has to be something different, because there’s too many people that don’t fear God that are living seemingly prosperous lives, She added, “Think about missionaries, people that we’ve never heard of, that are giving their whole lives to the cause of Christ. They’re never going to get these material blessings, but there’s a blessedness that they know just from an intimate walk with the Lord that is far more valuable than anything that money can buy. I truly believe that,” The Trades reported. One of her songs in Blessings asks: “What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life At another point in her website she quotes Jim Elliot, a martyred Christian missionary who said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Blessings was produced by Nathan Nockels and recorded in Chris Tomlin’s studio in Georgia. Story wrote most of the songs, but in a few worked with co-writers like Mac Powell of Third Day and Brenton Brown, the website said. |
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