Panel to present summary report on Circleville church case May 18 The Layman Online, April 19, 2002 An administrative commission investigating a request by Circleville Presbyterian Church in Circleville, N.Y., to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) is scheduled to present its recommendation in the case May 18. The congregation, one of the first Confessing Churches,…
Despite wealth, liberal seminaries losing students The Layman Online, April 19, 2002 Men and women who are studying for the Christian ministry are shunning mainline Protestant institutions and enrolling in conservative seminaries in greater numbers. Seminaries ranked by enrollment1964 Rank1997Southwestern Baptist 1,036Southern Baptist 860Concordia (Missouri) 672Union (New York) 617Southeastern Baptist 555Princeton 506Yale 481Candler (Emory) 470Luther…
Alaska votes 24-15 against, ending referendum on Amendment 01-A The Layman Online, April 18, 2002 The Presbytery of Alaska, with a vote of 24 “no” and 15 “yes,” ended the referendum on Amendment 01-A, a proposal that sought to delete the “fidelity/chastity” ordination standard in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Amendment 01-Avote chartThe…
W. Va. church used as lab for New Age-like religion By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, April 16, 2002 A Presbyterian congregation in West Virginia was used in 2000 as a laboratory for a New Age-like religion that is led by a woman who named herself Sea Raven. She commends the former minister of…
Letter asks Presbytery of Baltimore to enforce the ordination standard By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, April 15, 2002 A group of 30 evangelicals has called on the leaders of the Presbytery of Baltimore to enforce the constitutional fidelity/chastity ordination standard that the presbytery majorities have strongly opposed. In a letter to the presbytery’s…
Overtures seek cooling off period, tougher rules on amendments By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, April 10, 2002 The 3-1 defeat of the proposal to delete the “fidelity/chastity” ordination standard from the Book of Order is not the last word on the issue. Presbyteries have sent nine overtures that bear on human sexuality to…
California minister: Enforce constitution or lose per capita By Paula R. Kincaid, The Layman Volume 35, Number 2, April 8, 2002 ATLANTA – Saying “enough is enough,” the Rev. John Huffman of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, Calif., has called for holding accountable those who have declared that they are defying the Constitution…
The Sebastian case: Words mean what? The Layman April 2002 Volume 35, Number 2, April 8, 2002 “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” – Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll. Yes, you can, declared the presbytery court in Central Florida in its ruling outlawing the Confessing…
A fair-play challenge The Layman April 2002 Volume 35, Number 2, April 8, 2002 The whole of the Presbyterian Church (USA) – not just the evangelicals – owes a debt of gratitude to the Presbyterian Coalition for its contributions to the ongoing discussion about the denomination’s constitution. The Coalition has carefully and prayerfully reviewed our…
Graham’s remarks unsettling The Layman April 2002 Volume 35, Number 2, April 8, 2002 Billy Graham, in a private White House conversation with former President Richard Nixon, said things about Jewish people he should not have said. His taped remarks were politically vicious and theologically unsettling. Graham’s comments to Nixon also reveal the sad reality…