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Book Reviews

Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story

by Timothy B. Tyson. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2005. ISBN 1400083117.  Pb., 368 pp., $14.

 

Many words will be spilled over this review of Timothy B. Tyson's autobiography, Blood Done Sign My Name. All of them are intended to encourage you: read it; invite your congregation members to read it; listen deeply to what it says to you, in you, and about you.

Tyson provides one of the most engaging autobiographies this reviewer has read. He integrates his coming of age story into the crime of murder, committed in an apparent spirit of racial supremacy. He challenges us to see more than is comfortable and to admit all that we know but dare not speak.

Tyson's generous personal story, woven with his clear and accessible exposition of complex civil rights history, captivated me. He cleverly negotiates the distance between past and present, between his story and the story and laces it all with theological assertions, challenges, and hope. Tyson avoids the dangers of nostalgia by delving into the messy complexities of racism and our continuing grasp toward, but not of, reconciliation. Chapters are measured with insightful humor and grit, making the recounting of pain caused by the sins inherently consequent given racism in our culture and in our church more palatable.

Movie Reviews

Glory Road

It's 1965. Vietnam was on television, and so was Lyndon Johnson. Martin Luther King Jr. was leading the Civil Rights movement, and racism in America was both subtle and overt, particularly in the Deep South. Bouffant hairdos. Motown sound on the radio. And college basketball was a white man's game.

It's not that there weren't some black players. But the ones who toughed out the taunts from the stands had to endure the unwritten expectations of Division One competition: You can play one black at home, two on the road, and three if you're desperately behind. But a whole team of blacks would be undisciplined, would only be capable of the "playground" game, no teamwork, all "showboating."

Don Haskins was a successful high school girls' basketball coach. Sure, he had dreams of coaching a men's program at the college level, and he was amazed when he was offered the position at Texas Western (now the University of Texas at El Paso). He didn't realize they had no recruiting budget, little talent to work with, and few expectations even of itself. He set out to change all that. He wanted to go recruit some good players. So he scoured the playgrounds, not only in Texas, but also in places like Gary, Indiana, and Harlem. He told those black kids that if they followed his program, they would play. And so a dedicated group of seven black players all accepted scholarships. And Haskins (played capably by Josh Lucas) went about trying to shape them into a team.

Movie Reviews

Mrs. Henderson Presents

It's an old story: aging widow is left with lots of money and little to do. She tries needlework, charity work but finds the other old biddies dreary and tiresome. She definitely doesn't want to be like them. She visits the grave of her only son, who died at 21 years of age on some field in France, fighting the Germans. His headstone is in the middle of a neat, crowded row of other headstones, silent, mocking monuments to the "War to end all wars."  

Laura Henderson (Judi Dench) has a car, and driver, furs, an elegant estate, and all of one lady friend. She's sharp-tongued, sharp-witted, and is often construed as rude, selfish, and eccentric. She's also bored to tears. She desperately needs an occupation, and could really use a cause.

One day she happens upon an old, closed-down theater called "The Windmill." It's London, during the Depression. On a whim, she buys it. She then contracts with a local out-of-work but experienced manager, Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins). They like each other because every time they meet, it's a clash of wit and will. It gets the blood pumping for both of them.

Oh, and they hit on a formula that keeps the blood pumping for their patrons. It seems that the Windmill Theater initially enjoyed significant success with the modest innovation of the continuous musical revue. But then, all the other theaters copied them, and they were no longer unique. Sales slumped. Mrs. Henderson quite seriously suggests to Mr. Van Damm that a true innovation would be if their girls were nude. Mr. Van Damm acts shocked, but can't help but be intrigued by the idea. He says the authorities would never allow it. It turns out that Mrs. Henderson knows the particular government administrator, and she wears him down with her bargaining technique, until he finally allows it, but only if the women in question are completely still, like a sculpture in a museum.

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Former moderator discusses Middle East situation, lead up to General Assembly

Editor's Note: Fahed Abu-Akel, former GA moderator, Presbyterian minister, and executive director of the Atlanta Ministry with International Students, was speaking in the Richmond, Virginia area Jan. 6-8. He sat down with Martha Skelton, Outlook associate editor, to answer a few questions. This is part two of a two-part interview. Part 1 appeared in the Jan. 30 Outlook.

 

Q. If you are an Arab Christian in the Middle East what pressure do you feel from the Israeli/Jewish side, and from the Arab/Muslim side?

A. In the Israeli state, Palestinian Christians and Muslims have the right to vote, have the right for movement. The issue is you do not have the same opportunities. The situation in the West Bank is different. In Israel, Muslim or Christian, you are a citizen of the state of Israel. If you are a Palestinian in the West Bank, you are an occupied person. So if you are Christian or Muslim, you do not have the right of movement from your town.

As Presbyterians, historically we have always supported the state of Israel and people need to realize that. And after 1967, the GA always had actions that the Israeli occupation needed to end. At last year's GA, the only three things we added were, 1) The wall that Israel is building in the West Bank is illegal under international law and must stop ... because the wall is built to protect Israeli illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank. If you want to build a wall, you build it on your border, you don't build it in the land of other people ... Nobody got angry at the Presbyterians. Second, we said that Christian Zionism is not biblical and not Reformed. Nobody got angry with the Presbyterian Church. A third thing we said: because we have been praying 38 years for the occupation to end, the overture that came from Florida concerning divestment and the divestment issue said we are not going to divest from Israel proper. We are going to divest from American companies that are doing harm in the West Bank. If you take the issue of divestment from occupation, it is meaningless. The Presbyterian Church is not anti-Israel, we are not anti-Semitic, and we are not anti-Jewish. We are anti-occupation. That overture brought our attention to the illegality of occupation . . . (The pastor of the Florida church that sent the overture told me) "Americans will wake up when you talk about the dollar."

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Ex-PC(USA) missionary accepts advisory post in Sudan

(PNS) A former Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) missionary has been named one of 12 special advisors to the president of the interim government of a united Sudan.

Haruun Ruun, 65, a former executive director of the New Sudan Council of Churches, left mid-January for Khartoum, where he will assume his new post immediately. Ruun was appointed by President Omar al-Bashir.

Voices

Grow people and/or the church?

In his timely article this past June, Cliff Kirkpatrick confronted the statistics of our shrinking membership.  He offered some practical tips to respond effectively, and his emphasis upon outreach is on target.  He points out what we have been neglecting; now let us consider why we have neglected it.

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Is PC(USA) consensus emerging? TF members check report feedback

ATLANTA -- They've faced some tough questions in the presbyteries, but their reception has mostly been welcoming and positive, members of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are saying.

The task force, which began its work more than four years ago, is holding its last meeting Jan. 11-13 in Atlanta. Its 20 members are planning how to present their case when the assembly meets in Birmingham in June, in part through a special event focused on the report that will be held Thursday, June 15, before the assembly convenes.

People have asked them all sorts of things -- whether the task force report, if approved, would mean that more "practicing" gays and lesbians would be ordained or that the PC(USA) would essentially be divided into "red" and "blue" presbyteries.

If the denomination has a national standard which says those being ordained must practice fidelity if they're married or chastity if they're single, how can that not be considered "essential" and something that local governing bodies are required to follow? How can exceptions be granted?

What are the essentials of Reformed faith and practice anyway?

And what the task force wants to say back to the church in part is this:

We haven't proposed a new set of rules that will fix everything in the PC(USA). We can't make the battle over ordaining gays and lesbians magically go away.

But we are asking Presbyterians to consider lifting up a different and more faithful sort of spirit -- as Mark Achtemeier, task force member, put it,--to try to work through the differences in the denomination "loving one another as Christ has loved us."

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Former moderator discusses Middle East situation, lead up to 2006 General Assembly

Editor's Note: Fahed Abu-Akel, former GA moderator, Presbyterian minister, and executive director of the Atlanta Ministry with International Students, was speaking in the Richmond, Virginia area recently. He sat down with Martha Skelton, OUTLOOK associate editor, to answer a few questions.  This is part one of a two part interview.  Part two was published in the Outlook Feb 6 issue.

 

Q. Because Ariel Sharon is no longer expected to be the leader of the nation, what impact do you see that having in relation to Palestinians both those who are Israeli citizens and those in the area of the Palestinian Authority?

A. First, I am praying for the recovery of Ariel Sharon. We need to pray for his family, for the nation during this critical time. As you look at the history of the prime ministers in the state of Israel, you can call it a land of miracles. You never dreamed that Menachem Begin would do peace with Egypt. He is the key founder of the Herut party, an extreme party. ... The next person, Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister of the state of Israel, is the one who ordered the Israeli military to break the bones of Palestinian children. The same general ... to oppress the first Intifada stood with Yassir Arafat on the White House lawn and said we need to do peace. And both got the peace prize in Oslo. You go to the next, Sharon, has a mixed history. He was born in Palestine, a fighter from the beginning, fought in every war of the state of Israel, but was also responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut. He was the architect of the Israeli-Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. (He) becomes the prime minister, as an extreme person. (Yet) he is the one who forced eight thousand settlers to get out of Gaza. I have mixed feelings on that situation. One, if he drew out of Gaza, to control the West Bank, it is not going to work. ... Second--only one that will have the power with his military background could say to the Israeli Jewish people that withdrawing from Gaza is best for the Jewish people.

Right now the state of Israel is moving toward two decisions: 1) Continue to occupy the West Bank against the will of the indigenous Palestinian people or withdraw. Israel is facing two questions: Do we continue to be a Jewish state and forget about the dream of Zionism, or become a secular democratic republic. A secular democratic republic means ending the military occupation, having Palestinians have equal rights with the Israeli Jews, and the constitution will be the rule of law. Right now if we take the U.S. Constitution and apply it to the State of Israel, it will blow it to pieces.

 

Editorials

A hearing heart

About a year ago, chest pains and breathing troubles prompted me to see the doctor. The diagnosis proved to be minor and the course of treatment easy. But the diagnostic process was memorable, to say the least.

The family doctor determined to run some tests. He marked a few items on his page-long checklist, placed the clipboard on a door hook, and while walking out, said, "I'll check back with you after the tests." 

A few minutes later the nurse marched me to the x-ray department where the technician took a few photographs.  She took me to another room, where I blew into a clear plastic thing that looked like an inverted saxophone. Then she took me back to the examination room, looked at the checklist, twisted her nose a bit, looked at me, twisted her nose again, shrugged and then asked, "Are your ears feeling plugged?"

"Not really, but maybe a little in my right ear."

She pulled out an otoscope, studied both ear canals, and commented, "Well, I see a little extra wax in your right ear." One warm water ear rinse later, she made a few markings on the chart, placed it back on the door hook, and walked out.

Upon his return the doctor looked at the first chart. "You're x-rays look good.  The lungs are clear." He looked at the next chart. "Your breathing is strong." He looked at the third chart. He twisted his nose a bit, looked at me, twisted his nose again, and then with a most puzzled look, asked, "Did the nurse flush out your ears?"

"Yes, sir."

"She was supposed to give you an EKG, not an ear flush." He looked at the checklist, saw that his mark was a bit off the mark, and said, "I'll send her back in to do the EKG." He shrugged and smiled. "For what it's worth, you just got a free ear flush. Hope it felt good."

A sheepish nurse returned, rolling in an EKG machine. Her embarrassment quickly turned into our shared laughing.

As I left the office my laughing turned reflective. Dumbstruck, I realized that in the spiritual life, plugged ear canals cause sick hearts.

What hardened the heart of Pharaoh? What hardened the hearts of Israel's enemies, and at times the hearts of the Israelites themselves? What hardened the hearts of Jesus' detractors? One simple answer: their hard-hearts grew out of their deaf ears. Referring to that history, three times the book of Hebrews warns believers, Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the day of rebellion.

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Kirkpatrick leads Reformed group in Vatican reconciliation talks

GENEVA -- Pope Benedict XVI said dialogue with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) is healing "tragic divisions" between Christians dating from the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. The Pope spoke on Jan. 7 after a meeting with a delegation of the alliance led by its president, Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

"I pray that our meeting will itself bear fruit in a renewed commitment to work for the unity of all Christians," said Benedict, who said after his election in April that promoting Christian unity would be his "primary task."

WARC has more than 200 Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed and United churches that trace their origins to the Reformation.

Kirkpatrick said after his meeting with the Pope that he hopes recent steps toward unity are the first of many.

"There is still much to be done to move beyond our past condemnations of one another, to truly respect one another as parts of the one body of Jesus Christ, serve God together without worrying about inhibitions in our nations and to come together at the table of our Lord," he said.

Kirkpatrick also urged joint action on social-justice issues.

"We are eager ... to pursue with you how Catholic and Reformed Christians might be partners together for God's justice in a world wracked by poverty, war, ecological destruction, and the denial of human freedom," he said.

Pope Benedict hailed the Catholic-Reformed dialogue, saying that it has "made an important contribution to the demanding work of theological reflection and historical investigation indispensable for surmounting the tragic divisions which arose among Christians in the sixteenth century."

Voices

Is the Presbyterian Church (USA) Anti-Semitic?

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has received intense criticism since July of 2004 when it passed a resolution calling for "phased selective divestment" from companies that are profiting from the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in Israel/Palestine. Most of this criticism has accused the church of being anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitism is a problem throughout the United States and throughout the world, so the question of whether the PC(USA) is contributing to such an evil needs to be taken seriously. Yet some of the harshest criticism has come not from outside the church but from within it.

One Presbyterian minister who has been outspoken about the PC(USA)'s actions wrote what many other pastors have expressed from their pulpits, "We are profoundly disturbed by our leaders and by the delegates who favored these anti-Israel, anti-Semitic actions." (https://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0 /module/displaystory/story_id/23583/edition_id/468/format/html/displaystory.html ) In an e-mail correspondence, one pastor went so far as to say, "The Presbyterian church must come to terms with the fact that it is an unrepentant denomination of anti-Semitism and hubris in its pronouncements." Ouch.

Yet even if most critics within the church aren't willing to go as far as this pastor, many more are concerned that while the church may be well intentioned, our actions may yet be perceived to be anti-Semitic. Those of us who are involved in Jewish-Presbyterian dialogs find this criticism puts us in a bit of a pickle because, while we are attempting to accurately represent the church's position, such criticism certainly lends credence to the expressed concerns of our Jewish partners. So the question that begs to be addressed is what might it mean for the PC(USA) or the actions of the church to be anti-Semitic?

Book Reviews

Back through the wardrobe: A Review Essay

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis.  New York: HarperTrophy, 2000. ISBN 0064409422. Pb., 208 pp., $8.99.

C. S. Lewis: Letters to Children, edited by Lyle W. Dorsett and Marjorie Lamp Mead. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985.

 

This season's opening of the film "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" has taken many of us back through the wardrobe into Narnia. My hope is that the new travelers have not only the film trip, but also the wonderfully imaginative one through the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which was the first of the seven books in the Narnia chronicles by C. S. Lewis.

Some wonder at the staying power of Lewis. He was a scholar, a medievalist, and professor of literature at both Oxford and Cambridge, and for some years an agnostic. His path to faith sets him as a premier example of one who reasoned his way to the brink of faith. One cannot reason all the way. He said the final step was like diving off the high diving board for the first time.

Lewis' writings ranged beyond excellent works in his professional field to the publication of his World War II radio talks -- now available as Mere Christianity. Countless Christians found their first doorway into faith through that book. Beyond these moving apologetic pieces (never out of print), he published novels and science fiction.

Of prime importance to us is the series of the Narnia Chronicles. Here the children wander through a wonderful wardrobe into the land of Narnia, where it is always winter but never Christmas. The White Witch rules and her kingdom is defeated only by the quite remarkable lion, Aslan (pronounced by Lewis Ass-lan).  Many have seen in Aslan a Christ figure. He suffers ("velveting his paws," emptying himself of his power) and lays down his life for others. He comes bouncing back to life and breathes life into countless elves, dwarves, and animals that have been turned to stone by the White Witch. One of the children (Edmund) is a Judas figure, a sneak and a traitor. The fearful children (like the disciples) join the risen Aslan to do battle against evil.

Some ask whether we have "read in" our Christian theology here. Did Lewis intend to tell the Jesus story? In this essay I share Lewis' own words in the revealing book C. S. Lewis: Letters to Children. We do not have the children's letters, but to our great pleasure we have C. S. Lewis responding to them.

A child asked in 1953 about Aslan's other name (is he Jesus?). Lewis responds: "Has there never been anyone in this world who (1.) Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said he was the son of the Great Emperor. (3.) Gave himself up for someone else's fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb (see the end of the Dawn Treader). Don't you really know His name in this world?" (p. 32)

Uncategorized

GAC downsizing proposed; vote at Feb. 7-11 meeting

LOUISVILLE -- The General Assembly Council would be skinnier, trimmed down from the current 71 members to 47.

The budget for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) would be organized around eight priority goals -- which means existing programs will have to make a case for how they fit in to one of those priorities, if they are to survive.

And the denomination's budget will be less in 2007 and 2008 than it has been for the current biennium. The PC(USA)'s budget now stands at just over $116 million.

It's "too early to say" what level of budget cuts might be announced this spring or how many jobs might be lost, said Joey Bailey, the denomination's chief financial officer. But "we absolutely will have less money to spend in '07 and '08 than we had in '05 and '06."

John Detterick, the council's executive director, put it this way: "We do know that there will be a major reduction in funding for the next biennium." 

When it meets Feb. 7-11 in Louisville, the General Assembly Council will vote on the gist of these proposals -- which are the results of the work of two council task forces that have been meeting to consider how the denomination can do its work more efficiently and more in line with the realities of mainline denominations in the 21st century.

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Half of Americans report life-transforming experiences; their stories encouraged

Telling stories.

Powerful, personal, "God at work in the messy real world" stories.

In the buttoned-down, orderly Presbyterian world, that doesn't always happen.

But a new survey indicates that many believers have stories to tell about how God or things they can't explain have transformed their lives. And in some places -- in books, in churches, on the Internet -- Presbyterians have begun to tell their own stories of faith, stories of doubt and searching and power and peace.

Author Anne Lamott, a Presbyterian from California, in 2005 released the best-selling book "Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith," which is studded with stories of everyday life, of struggle and joy and a hard-won faith in God.

Preachers often weave stories into their sermons -- sometimes recycling anecdotes that have made the rounds, but other times drawing from their own encounters with ordinary people searching for meaning.

And some Presbyterian congregations have encouraged people in the pews to share their own faith stories -- stories which make it clear that for many folks the walk of faith comes complete with detours, dead-ends and surprising, joyous discoveries

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Center for Church Leadership planned at Hanover College

To more completely address the vocational needs of students and the vocational and leadership needs of regional churches and denominations, Hanover (Ind.) College launched the Center for Church Leadership (CCL) Jan. 1. A $500,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment, matched by the institution's resources, created the CCL, allowing the college to build on the success of its vocational mentoring program.

"Through this new Center we will serve the college's historical Presbyterian constituencies and tradition in meaningful and valuable ways," said Jane Jakoubek, Ph.D., vice president and dean of academic affairs. Under the direction of Michelle Bartel, Hanover College chaplain and associate professor of theological studies, the CCL will develop collaborative programs that provide opportunities for students, clergy and laity in congregations in and around Indiana. The Center will recruit and engage more students who wish to enter Hanover's pre-ministry program, students who will graduate to serve the church as ordained or lay leaders. At the same time, it will serve the needs of individuals and the church by strengthening relationships with those who recognize the value of producing leaders educated in the liberal arts.

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College class on U2 explores religious influence of a rock band

Dwarfed by a giant bank of TV monitors, the rock star Bono gyrates across the arena stage -- a dancing shaman channeling the ecstasy of thousands of U2 fans. "In waves of regret, in waves of joy, I reached for the one I tried to destroy," he sings passionately. "You said you'd wait till the end of the world."

Hands reach out to him as he walks among the faithful. Video clips show tidal waves crashing, lightning flashing and a woman wailing.

The soundtrack to apocalypse? No, it's a splice of a TV special about a U2 tour of the early 1990s. It's also a sign of increased interest in the spiritual significance of this immensely popular Irish rock group.

The images are taken in by a class of Calvin College students, who are probing what Bono and his band have to say as Christians to the world of pop culture.

Plenty, Sharon Bemis says.

"You hear U2 everywhere," said Bemis, one of 14 students gathered in a Calvin video theater on a recent morning. "They have so much more influence as Christians than most other people who claim to be Christian."

Tim Gruppen calls them "brutally honest."

"They say a lot of things many Christians would be ashamed to 'fess up' to, some of the struggles they have," Gruppen argues.

But why a class on U2, one of the world's most adored rock bands, at a conservative Christian college? "Religion and rock 'n' roll can meld together," insists Katie Arbogast. "U2 does the best job of it."

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Animated characters provide modern-day parables of morality and immorality

 

When he was growing up, Mike Mignola had two great loves -- monster movies and superheroes. So when Dark Horse Comics offered him the chance to write and illustrate his own comic book, Mignola decided to combine the two.

The result is "Hellboy," a wisecracking, good-hearted, old-fashioned superhero with one small problem: He's a red-skinned, cloven-hoofed demon summoned by the Nazis to bring about the end of the world. When the Nazis' plans are foiled, the then-infant Hellboy is taken in and raised by human beings. He forsakes his demon heritage and pledges to fight for good.

But can he really escape his destiny? Mignola, who has been writing Hellboy comics since 1993, isn't sure. "It's the ultimate question of predestination versus free will," said Mignola from his home in New York City.

Mignola has discovered one of the untold secrets of the comic book world -- it's the characters, not the costumes and secret identities -- that matter most. From Superman to the recent Pixar film "The Incredibles," comics have served as social parables, with superhuman characters revealing insights about the human condition.

In "The Incredibles," superheroes are forced into hiding when public opinion turns against them. Mr. Incredible turns in his costume and "Incredible-mobile" for a Yugo-sized commuter car and a desk job at an insurance company. But he can't give up the desire to save people, no matter what it costs his family.

"It's not about super powers," says H. Michael Brewer, lifelong comics fan and author of "Who Needs a Superhero?", a book about "finding virtue, vice and what's holy" in comics. "It's about finding your place in the world and, dare I say, family values."

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Churches embrace `New Urbanism’ as antidote to Isolation

Eric Jacobsen speaks passionately about things like sidewalks and storefronts. But he's not an architect or developer. He's a Presbyterian pastor.

As Jacobsen sees it, city planning has an important influence on religious experience. He is an advocate for New Urbanism, the architecture movement that calls for interdependence among residents, with neighborhoods where shops and homes coexist, streets that are pedestrian-friendly and parks that are gathering places for residents.

New Urbanism has become a mantra for people interested in restoring urban centers and reconfiguring suburban sprawl. Its designs have sprouted across the country, from new towns like Seaside, Fla., to redevelopment in existing places like Gaithersburg, Md., or West Palm Beach, Fla. The Congress for the New Urbanism started small 12 years ago and now has more than 2,300 architects, developers, planners and urban designers.

Now Christian leaders are adopting the movement. They say the philosophy behind New Urbanism is a possible antidote to the isolation experienced by many churches and Christians. Across the country, influential Christians are thinking theologically about urban design and applying its principles to the church. They advocate for New Urbanist concepts because they force people to share with one another, dwell among their neighbors and allow for a healthy exchange of ideas.

Voices

How to select the right VBS program for your congregation

The annual summer tradition of Christian education called Vacation Bible School or Vacation Church School began at the end of the 19th century with a clear vision and mission. An enterprising Baptist laywoman, whose idea was to get children off the streets in New York City and teach them something about the Bible, rented a beer hall on the East Side of the city and held her Bible School. The entire summer for the next two years was filled with activities, Bible Stories, memory verses, and snacks. According to my research, her venture was very successful for those years. Then her pastor insisted the program be moved into the church building. This was done for several weeks but participation dropped so drastically that the program was moved back to the beer hall, where it continued as an example of a church reaching out into the community to share its faith.

What began as a social program to get children off the streets has grown in many denominations to be a primary educational/evangelistic summer endeavor that takes many forms.

People often make the mistake of thinking all that is involved in planning Vacation Bible School is going to your local Christian bookstore, buying packets of material, recruiting a few leaders with the famous words "there won't be anything to it," putting up posters, waiting for the beginning date to roll around and anticipating the arrival of the kids. That buy-the-resource approach misses an important first step. The CE Committee, the Educator, and others concerned about the overall educational ministry in a congregation need to answer a few questions.

Editorials

Children of the covenant?

"I want to transfer to the Presbyterian Church because in this denomination children matter." I don't remember the name of the speaker. It has been 20 years or so. But his words left their imprint.

We were proceeding through routine approvals of minister transfers in a stated presbytery meeting. Interest picked up when this longtime military chaplain, a Baptist, shared how his journey of faith had led him to the Reformed theological camp. "In my former tradition, we dedicated infants and educated children in the hope that they someday would profess faith in Jesus Christ. Upon their profession, they would get baptized and thereby be welcomed into the body of Christ. In the Reformed tradition you all baptize them into the body and educate them into personal faith. I think that's the right sequence."

As a fairly recent convert to Presbyterianism at the time, I found his words reassuring, especially so, since the one theological sticking point for me had been the practice of infant baptism. Exercising my office under the Presbyterian Church's constitution, I had learned well how to present to parents the covenantal concept of baptism, rooted as it is in the practice of infant circumcision dating to the eighth day of Isaac's life. But I still harbored some doubts about such a practice. This chaplain helped convert me into a passionate advocate of our denomination's sacramental theology.

Voices

2006 Vacation Bible School Overview

It is Vacation Bible School planning time in many churches. This year's curricula from the following publishers are included:

Augsburg Publishing

Cokesbury

Concordia

Congregational Ministries

Cook Communications

Group Publishing

Standard Publishing

 

Voices

Repelling insult

Editor's Note: This guest viewpoint is a critique of stories and an editorial in the Outlook relating to torture. It originally appeared on Presbynet and is used by permission.

 

As I read the allegations and accusations of torture and abuse posted by Jack Haberer, editor of The Presbyterian Outlook, Princeton Seminary professor George Hunsinger, and the Moderator of General Assembly Rick Ufford-Chase, I felt weary; a weariness born of reading the same tired arguments repeated endlessly.

Jack Haberer, in "Clichés and truisms," an editorial appearing in The Presbyterian Outlook, first asks if the United States of America as the world's "lone superpower" has "sufficient character and courage to contain the corrosive effects of unchecked power in this new world"? He then lauds the US for "withdrawing" after the completion of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. This, according to Haberer, encouraged "the hope of other nations that we would not over-assert our power."

Mr. Haberer should be aware that the objective of Operation Desert Shield/Storm was to eject Iraqi forces from Kuwait, not remove the regime of Saddam Hussein. Effecting regime change subsequently became US policy during the Clinton administration. Furthermore, while the bulk of US ground, air and sea forces were re-deployed, a significant US and Allied presence remained in the Persian Gulf to maintain the "no fly zones" and deter any further aggression by Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile, after 1992, the Clinton administration increased the military's operational tempo by 300-percent with humanitarian and peacekeeping missions to Somalia, Haiti, the Balkans and Rwanda while maintaining an active presence in Europe and South Korea as well as the Persian Gulf. Throughout the 1990s, on any given day, US Army forces were deployed in approximately seventy countries world-wide accomplishing missions as varied as keeping Serbians from murdering Muslim Albanian Kosovars, removing landmines and other explosives from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and helping the Vietnamese identify their missing-in-action from nearly thirty years of war between 1946 and 1975.

Voices

Torture is terrorism

Editor's Note: This guest viewpoint is a response to Earl H. Tilford Jr. (printed this issue) and Dean Waldt, who had written a critique of stories and an editorial in the Outlook relating to torture. These materials were written before two meetings on torture in mid-January. This story originally appeared on Presbynet and is used by permission.

Outlook Article Links:

     "Clichés and truisms,"  editorial by Jack Haberer
     "Why the torture abuse scandal matters" by George Hunsinger
     "No2 Torture" by Rick Ufford-Chase
 

"Americans have tortured prisoners in several locations around the world, the U.S. government has moved prisoners to countries where torture is practiced by American allies, the Bush administration has at times sought to justify torture, and all of this is the tragic fruit from a war that violates traditional Christian "Just War" doctrine. Presbyterians and all people of faith need to be concerned and actively working to change our governmental policies."

The recent Presbyweb writings of Earl H. Tilford Jr. and Dean Waldt, and the notes by their supporters, have been very critical of some church leaders who are concerned about torture being done by Americans. The thoughtful leaders being attacked include the popular PC(USA) General Assembly moderator, the new evangelical editor of the independent The Presbyterian Outlook magazine, and a professor of theology at Princeton Seminary.

Dean Waldt is critical of the GA moderator's concern about torture and asks, "Where is this clear and compelling evidence? I've been reading the newspapers and watching cable news along with everyone else. How did I miss this?"

Today's news (December 30) is that "the number of Guantánamo Bay prisoners taking part in a hunger strike that began nearly five months ago has surged to 84 since Christmas Day, the U.S. military said on Thursday. ... The detainees began the strike in early August after the military reneged on promises to bring the prison into compliance with the Geneva Conventions, their lawyers said. Detainees are willing to starve to death to demand humane treatment and a fair hearing on whether they must stay, the lawyers said."

The New York Times had previously reported that "The International Committee of the Red Cross has charged in confidential reports to the United States government that the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion ''tantamount to torture'' on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba."

Uncategorized

Lilly awards $6 million grant to FTE for vocations initiative

With a $6 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., The Fund for Theological Education (FTE) will expand its work with congregations nationwide as vital partners in identifying and cultivating gifted young candidates for vocations in Christian ministry.

The Endowment grant will fund "Calling Congregations," a regional FTE initiative involving local churches in grassroots programs to find and support the next generation of outstanding pastoral leaders for Christian denominations. 

"We know that congregations are critical to the faith maturation and vocational discernment of young men and women," said Craig Dykstra, senior vice president for religion at Lilly Endowment Inc. "This grant is an investment in engaging congregations more deeply in this work. Given FTE's broad expertise, we are confident this can make a significant contribution to developing future leaders for the church."

Concerns about the need for professional clergy in mainline religious denominations have been growing for some time, as large numbers of "baby boomer" pastors prepare to retire and local congregations seek qualified young ministerial candidates. Statistics by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate clergy vacancies rank among the highest for professions requiring an advanced degree, with many denominations reporting significantly lower numbers of clergy under age 35. 

FTE's program will establish a national network of 500 congregations and church-related institutions from four regions across the U.S. by 2009. These congregations will be members of an ecumenical partnership committed to supporting vocational discernment among their young church members, and the consideration of ordained ministry in particular. At least one-third of the member congregations will be from racially and ethnically diverse and rural communities.

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