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Editorials

The Time Between the Times III

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is entering a critical period in its history: life-and-death decisions must be made. The future shape and form of our denomination, its very existence, is in the balance. The PC(USA) will not cease to exist altogether. We know that because there is enough strength for some remnant to last indefinitely, as witnessed by smaller Presbyterian bodies that continue to endure with limited numbers.

Voices

Worsh-o-tainment: A Needed Neologism?

The new Archbishop of Canterbury, His Grace Rowan Williams, is a highly intelligent man. In his most recent book , Lost Icons he discusses the function of "play" in Western society. "Games," he writes, "are unproductive." By this he means that the purpose of a game is not to manufacture a product. Its goal is not "competition for limited goods."

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Moderator Abu-Akel says he will not call 214th GA into special session

LOUISVILLE — Saying he wants the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to focus on mission and ministry, Fahed Abu-Akel, moderator of the denomination's 214th General Assembly, announced Monday morning that he will not call the Assembly back into session.

He told a news conference that 13 commissioners who signed a petition asking the Assembly to reconvene — six ministers and seven elders — indicated they wanted their names removed.

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Four Former Moderators’ Open Letter to the Church

An Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

A recent statement declaring intent to take the Moderator of the General Assembly to civil court for impeding progress toward a called meeting of the commissioners to the 214th (last year's) General Assembly is deplorable. It constitutes not merely a threat but a defamation of character. Fahed Abu-Akel was not only elected by the church but shaped by life history to be a voice of reason, tolerance and forbearance. That any Moderator would be so treated is unthinkable.

Book Reviews

When Religion Becomes Evil

By Charles Kimball
HarperSanFrancisco. 2002. 256 pp. Pb. $21.95. ISBN 0-06-050653-9

— Review by Gerald A. Butler, Eureka, Ill.

Religion can nurture and lead people closer to God. It can also destroy body and soul. Charles Kimball deals with that paradox in this book, which is timely, informative and easy to read.

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Alex Metherell’s letter to Fahed Abu-Akel

Delivered by hand.

The Rev. Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel, Moderator
214th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (USA)
100 Witherspoon Street, Room 4631
Louisville, KY 40202-1396
Dear Mr. Moderator:

Because I am disheartened at the disappointing responses from you and from the Stated Clerk to my delivery to you in Louisville on January 14th of the written requests of more than the minimum number of commissioners for you to reconvene the 214th General Assembly into special session, I am taking the liberty of writing you one last time to outline my position, and in the hope of avoiding litigation in the secular courts.

Book Reviews

Searching for Home: Spirituality for Restless Souls

By M. Craig Barnes
Brazos Books. 2003. 191 pp. $17.99

— Review by John A. Dalles, Longwood, Fla.

 In a society in which almost everyone is from somewhere else, and where they are likely to move on again before very long, how does one combat or respond to a profound longing for home? This is the problem M. Craig Barnes addresses in this timely book.

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214th Assembly will not be recalled until names on petition are verified

LOUISVILLE - Fahed Abu-Akel, moderator of the 214th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which met last summer in Columbus, Ohio, still has not issued a call for that Assembly to come back into session.

Alex Metherell, a physician and elder from California, on Jan. 14 presented Abu-Akel with 57 signatures from commissioners asking that the Assembly reconvene to address issues of defiance of the denomination's constitution, apparently enough signatures under the rules to make that happen.

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