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Getting to Bethlehem — Again (The fourth Sunday of Advent)

I've always been a fan of Joseph.  Maybe it is because he reminds me of my own father. 

Later in the Gospel of Matthew we learn that Joseph was a tradesman, a carpenter. Jesus had returned home and had gone to the synagogue and he began to teach. He astonished them with his wisdom. He astonished them because none of us ever quite expect the people we know best to move beyond our expectations. They say of him, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" They are incredulous, but at least some new information surfaces about Joseph.

Advent and Christmas reading

Resources for Year A

Hunger for the Word: Lectionary Reflections on Food and Justice, Year A, Larry Hollar, editor. Liturgical Press, 2004. Pb., 240 pp. $19.95. 

In a world of hunger and starvation, Bread for the World's Larry Hollar has edited a resource that brings reflections on hunger issues to the forefront of consideration of lectionary texts. Through the perspectives included here, preachers and teachers will find their eyes opened to God's concern for the plight of the poor and hungry of the world. 

Isaiah, Interpreted by Early Christian and Medieval Commentators, translated and edited by Robert Louis Wilken. The Church's Bible. Eerdmans, 2007. Hb., 590 pp. $45.

PDA New Orleans coordinator Rich Cozzone dies Dec. 7

Richard Joseph "Rich" Cozzone, 61, Volunteer Village Coordinator for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was killed in an automobile accident in Mississippi on December 7. He resided in Bainbridge, Ohio.

U.S. Methodist leader says dismissal due to differences on vision

New York, 13 December -- The former head of the United Methodist Church's main ecumenical and inter-religious agency says his recent dismissal was due to disagreements over the future direction the body should take.

'They didn't agree with my vision or my ability to bring it forward,' Larry Pickens said of his December 5 dismissal as head of the denomination's General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, a post he had held since 2004.

Pickens, 49, described the decision as 'absolutely disappointing'. He told Ecumenical News International on December 12 it stemmed in part from disagreements between him and some commission members over his support for what he called the 'social justice dimension' of ecumenical work.

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Come and sit under the stars,

Come away from the bright lights of the stores, the displays,

the parties, even of the Christmas trees.

Come and sit.

Look for the star of Bethlehem.

Come and listen to the silence of the night.

Come away from the sounds of the stores, the blare of the muzak,

the non-stop music of the radio.

Come and listen.

Hear the brush of angels' wings.

College news

DANVILLE, KY -- Centre College won't host a 2008 presidential  debate -- most likely. The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced the locations of next year's three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate.

PDA New Orleans coordinator dies in car crash

LOUISVILLE- Rich Cozzone, Volunteer Village Coordinator for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been killed in an automobile accident in New Orleans.

Details are sketchy, but initial reports indicated that no other vehicles were involved in the crash. Cozzone was the only fatality.

Film in review: ‘The Golden Compass’

"The Golden Compass" has generated a lot of "buzz" because of its supposedly anti-Christian content (propelled by reports that the author of the book on which the movie is based advertises himself as an atheist). But "The Golden Compass" is merely a fairy tale. Like all fairy tales, in places it is extremely creative, in other places practically plagiaristic, and its apparent purpose is simply to entertain.

         We begin with a bit of overdubbing by way of introduction. There are several parallel universes, connected by some sort of cosmic dust. In each parallel universe, humans have different relationships to their souls, or spirits. In some, the soul lives inside the body. In others, such as this one, the soul lives outside the body, in the persona of a constant-companion animal, like a bird, or a cat, or a marmoset, or a ferret.

Churches in Middle East reaffirm dialogue with Muslims

Paphos, Cyprus (ENI)--Churches from the Middle East meeting in Cyprus have highlighted the importance of the Christian presence in the region and dialogue with Muslims.

The Middle East Council of Churches said in a statement on 4 December after a meeting of its highest governing body, 'The churches expressed their great concern about various land occupations and the perpetuation of the sufferings of the people caused by injustices and wars.'

US presidential hopeful Romney’s speech on faith gets big splash

Oxford, Ohio, 7 December (ENI)--Political and religious observers agreed on only one point regarding US presidential candidate Mitt Romney's speech about his Mormon faith: it was a brilliant tactic for garnering international media attention to his wavering standing as a leading Republican Party contender.

Beyond that, reactions to the 6 December speech ranged widely - from glowing comparisons to John F. Kennedy's address to Baptists in 1960 about his Roman Catholic faith to criticisms that Romney's speech lacked any significant account about the differences in theological views between Mormons and traditional Christians.

Giving and Receiving — An Update from Marianne Vermeer and Robert Johnson of Forman Christian College, Lahore, Pakistan

I suspect that many of you who have heard missionaries say 'I have received far more from the people of __________ than I could have possibly given them,' think they are being coy, or politically correct. I used to think this too. However, I want to tell you about a recent two week stretch I had that illustrates why missionaries have said this as long as there have been cross-cultural missions.

First, you should know something about Pakistan, and Pakistan's Christian population. By and large, Pakistan's Christians are converts from the Dalit or 'untouchable' caste of Hindus in the last part of the nineteenth century. As is often the case with marginal populations, the stigma and disadvantages of being from a despised class have persisted long after the 'official' reasons for discrimination have disappeared. Now, instead of being looked down upon by Hindus for being unclean, Christians are disdained by many in the Muslim majority for being infidels (as well as for having the lingering cachet of the ritually polluted).

Update: Torrance remembered as greatest Reformed theologian since Barth

Thomas Forsyth Torrance (1913-2007), who died of a heart attack in Edinburgh on December 2, was arguably the greatest Reformed theologian since Karl Barth, with whom he studied, and an eminent 20th century ecumenist.  Having served for 27 years as Professor of Christian Dogmatics at New College, he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1976; and in 1978, he was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion for his contributions to the emerging field of theology and science.

Thomas Forsyth Torrance, 94, dies Dec. 2 in Edinburgh

Thomas Forsyth Torrance, 94, a twentieth century Protestant Christian theologian who served for 27 years as professor of Christian Dogmatics at New College, Edinburgh in the University of Edinburgh, died December 2 in Edinburgh.

Torrance was born to Scottish missionary parents while they were serving in Chengdu, Szechuan, China. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and University of Oxford before receiving an academic scholarship to the University of Basel in Basel, Switzerland. There, Torrance studied under theologian Karl Barth. Years later, Torrance translated into English Barth's Church Dogmatics.

Former GA vice-moderator and Board of Pensions chair Gene Sibery dies. Was one of the 20th century’s ‘most influential health care thinkers’

LOUISVILLE -- D. Eugene Sibery, a Presbyterian elder and health care executive who served as vice-moderator of the 1997 General Assembly and for six years as chair of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Board of Pensions, died Nov. 29 in Cape Coral, FL. Sibery, 78, had been in declining health for a number of years.

Born Sept. 29, 1929 in Muncie, IN, Sibery was named one of the most influential health care thinkers of the 20th century and was an architect of Medicare. He strongly believed that every citizen should have good health care, especially the elderly and the poor, and worked to achieve that.

Self-Development of People announces grant recipients

WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) of the Presbyterian Church  (U.S.A.) has approved grants totaling $495,250 to 21 self-help projects in the United States. 

Money for the grants comes from the PC (USA)'s One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering. 

SDOP, funded primarily through the OGHS offering, enables members and non-members of the PC(USA) to establish partnerships with economically poor, oppressed and disadvantaged people in order to help them achieve sufficiency.

Grants were approved at a meeting of SDOP's National Committee last month in Washington, DC. Projects funded range from learning how to plant and operate an organic farm using produce sales to reinvest in equipment, seeds and tools in South Carolina to supporting a cooperative of Mexican Americans in rural Arkansas seeking to create and operate a thrift store and restaurant. 

Form of government changes, options to be presented at General Assembly

LOUISVILLE -- Recognizing there is opposition to some of what it has proposed, but still confident that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) needs a more flexible form of government to navigate in a post-modern world, the Form of Government Task Force is recommending significant changes in the denomination's constitution, but providing opportunities for amendment if the broader church disagrees.

Presbyterian Heritage Center to open at Montreat

For those who love Montreat and the sweep of Presbyterian history, it was a painful moment when the 2006 General Assembly voted to close the office of the Presbyterian Historical Society at Montreat, N.C.
But now another chapter is being written
The formal archives of the southern branch of the Presbyterian church have been moved.
Most of the material went to the Presbyterian Historical Society offices in Philadelphia, and some to Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., and other places.  
But now a nonprofit group that wants to keep the sense of Presbyterian history alive for visitors to Montreat is working, in cooperation with the Montreat Conference Center, to create a new Presbyterian Heritage Center.

“Historic breakthrough” for first Global Christian Forum

LIMURU, Kenya -- After four days of meetings, some 240 leaders of a broad range of churches, confessions and interchurch organizations from more than 70 countries agreed to carry forward what they call "the Global Christian Forum process," an open platform for encounter and dialogue whose goal is to "foster mutual respect, explore and address common challenges."

Participants broke into a spontaneous doxology when the final draft of a "Message from the Global Christian Forum to Brothers and Sisters in Christ Throughout the World" was approved at the last session of the meeting, which took place Nov. 6-9 in Limuru, near Nairobi, Kenya.