Presbyweb - Daily news that impacts ministry



Come to Presbyweb first – it is the quick and easy way to miss nothing of All the National PC(USA) news Something we may have overlooked? Please, tell us

George, Kathy Todd receive top PHEWA award
	The Rev. George and Kathy Todd, Presbyterian pioneers in urban ministry at home and abroad, were named winners of the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA) John Park Lee Award at a luncheon in their honor Jan. 13 during the association’s 2007 social justice biennial conference.

NCC says Bush Iraq troop increase plan is immoral Stated Clerk urges administration to use ‘other means’ By Chris Herlinger / ENI
	The NCC’s Jan. 17 statement described the call for more troops as “morally unsupportable.” There are currently about 130,000 US troops in Iraq. “The surge as recommended by the president is immoral,” the group asserted.

Is human life sanctified by the life-giving Spirit or the life-giving womb? – by Inkyu Parks / Presbterians Pro-Life
	When I heard about the Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (January 21, 2007), I was reminded of the Report received by the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). There was one sentence in particular from the trinitarian paper that I distinctly recalled. It reads: “The overflowing love of God finds expression in the biblical depiction of God as compassionate mother (Isa. 49:15; 66:13), beloved child (Mt. 3:17), and life-giving womb (Isa. 46:3)”... This is the Trinity, portrayed in a new and novel way, seemingly well-suited to the American culture of the 21st century. "It is no secret that we are living in an age of feminism and religious pluralism. And it is understandable that the General Assembly would instruct the Department of Theology and Worship to produce materials to introduce female imagery of the Holy Trinity into the worship of the triune God. In fact, it was reported that the attending commissioners and others offered their prayers in the name of the triad “Mother, Child, and womb.”..."

PW document shows embarrassment about Jesus and the Bible By Viola Larson and James D. Berkley
	"...The Presbyterian Women leadership has placed on their web site a document entitled “Guidelines for Avoiding Anti-Semitism”. While providing such guidelines is an excellent idea in general, this particular document demeans Christianity, the Scriptures, and even the Jewish people... "The guidelines’ authority is not the Bible; rather, the Bible is seen as the chief problem..."

Presbyterians in their local news
•	Penitence not enough for Williamsport, Pa. church embezzler Judge sets jail time, probation for six-figure, multiyear theft Beginning Monday, a former member of the city’s Police Civil Service Commission will spend the next nine months in the County Prison and the next five years on probation for stealing more than $140,000 from his church. William H. Gehron III, 60, of 736 Arch St., was sentenced Thursday for one felony count of theft for stealing funds from the Lycoming Presbyterian Church that he was entrusted to invest between 1992 and 2004.

Scripture lessons for today – from the Lectionary
	"...If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered..." "...Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other..." "...fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord..."

Today in the Yearbook for Prayer and Study Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery
	"Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery is doing its part to combat the glut of bad news with the publication of its own newspaper, The Connector, which publishes good news that otherwise would go unnoticed by the larger world. "The Connector, with a circulation of over 7,500, reaches nearly every household in the presbytery..."
	Group subscriptions made (very) easy and affordable Click Subscriptions button (see above) for info and instructions

News of all churches.
in the USA and worldwide.
and their interaction with the world around them.
Included: opinions, resources

Voices from the entire spectrum
Therefore:
Always something to like.
always something to dislike.
always something to ponder...

Genocide in democratic South Africa
By Ilana Mercer / WND

"...Journalists for "Carte Blanche," the South African equivalent of "20/20," conducted a six-month investigation into what has become known as farm murders... The short documentary opens with a funeral, Elsie Swart's. Elsie was one of three farmers killed in the span of only seven days. She died after being "severely tortured, burned with an electric iron, beaten and strangled to death."...
"The victims of this ongoing onslaught, we are told, are invariably elderly, law-abiding, God-fearing whites, murdered in cold blood, in ways that beggar belief... their assailants are always black..."

Bernanke: U.S. needs to act fast or face budget 'crisis'
By Sue Kirchhoff / USA TODAY

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that the U.S. economy faces a budgetary "crisis" that threatens U.S. growth and living standards unless Congress quickly tackles spiraling costs in Social Security and Medicare.

Former Salvation Army leader named to NAE post
By Adelle M. Banks / Religion News Service

The National Association of Evangelicals has chosen a former top official of the Salvation Army to serve as its new executive director.
     W. Todd Bassett, the former national commander of the Salvation Army, has been a member of the NAE’s Executive Committee for four years.
     “We’re thrilled to have him do this,” said interim NAE President Leith Anderson, pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, MN, on Jan. 17. “He brings enormous stature and experience and is well-connected with the evangelical community.”
     The Salvation Army is one of 60 member denominations in the organization.

Gay Lutheran minister in US faces church trial after announcing he's got a partner / AP

ATLANTA: A minister who disclosed that he was gay before Atlanta's oldest Lutheran church hired him as its pastor could now be defrocked for announcing he has a partner.
The Rev. Bradley Schmeling was chosen in 2000 to lead St. John's, though some worried his sexuality could threaten its standing with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. But last year, the 350-member congregation threw a party for him and his partner, when Schmeling announced he had found a lifelong companion.
Bishop Ronald Warren of the ELCA's Southeastern Synod, however, asked the 44-year-old pastor to resign. When Schmeling refused, Warren started disciplinary proceedings against him for violating church rules barring sex outside of marriage.


Letters from readers – email us
•	Robert D. Dooling "... I am intellectually offended by [Dr.R. Milton Winter's] treatment of my Presbyterian evangelical brothers and sisters [in his Perspectives article, “Presbyterians and Separatist Evangelicals: A Continuing Dilemma]... "...the Presbyterian Church deserves better than this from one of its official publications."
•	Joseph Cejka "Goodness me, is Viola Larson angry at the Rev. Dr.R. Milton Winter! "Unfortunately she read more into his essay than he wrote..."
•	Daniel Vraa "I am surprised at the simplicity and ingenuity of John Foreman’s “Perfect Compromise.” Disposed to assail it as silly, I became convinced otherwise. If we do this, I believe our dysfunctional Presbyterian family will be forced to tell the truth about ourselves..."