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Voices

Of Flag and Faith on the Fourth of July

I rise to speak to you this morning as an elder of the church but not for any other elder or the session. I speak as an individual, a Christian, and a Presbyterian in a faith tradition going back thousands of years. I speak because, at the beginning of the service this morning, a member of our congregation, without permission, carried the United States flag down the aisle and placed it beside the altar.

Voices

America: the Last Best Hope of Mankind

Note - The following sermon was sent by Denton as a response to the guest viewpoint "Of Flag and Faith."

At a recent meeting of the Presbytery of the James, the Peacemaking Committee had stricken from its report this commendation to all the churches — "pray for those fighting in the name of our government. Pray for their protection and safe return home;" in its place was a more generic motion to "pray for all engaged in combat and for their safe return home.

Voices

A Reflection on the life of Edward A. Dowey Jr.

Like almost every pastor, my early years in preparing for ministry were somewhat chaotic, even a bit on the bipolar side, swinging from one theological pole to another — not unlike a steel sphere in a pinball machine — accompanied by swings of mood and attitude.

Start with a centrist Sunday-school theology from my home church; add some revivalist leanings from summer mission experience; then the shock of "higher criticism" in college religion courses, etc.

Movie Reviews

Life of David Gale

'The Life Of David Gale' is a polemic against the death penalty. It raises, and then answers, the question of 'What if someone executed by the state is actually innocent?' But the viewer finds out all the information only in bits and pieces, that is, at the same rate as the main character, Bitsy (Kate Winslett). She's a big-time magazine reporter who gets chosen for the exclusive rights to interview former philosophy professor David Gale, during his last three days on Death Row.

We, the viewers, get to witness her initial skepticism about the innocence of someone who was accused of rape and murder, and then convicted by three courts. She agrees to do the interview because they have appealed to her pride, as someone suitably high-profile who has proven that she will maintain confidentiality of sources (by going to jail). So she listens to the Gale (played by Kevin Spacey) unfold his story, and it's not pretty.

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Peaks Presbytery dismisses Lynchburg congregation

LYNCHBURG, Va. — Peaks Presbytery has voted to dismiss the almost 900-member Rivermont congregation to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The action came Tuesday, July 1, during a special meeting at First church, Roanoke, in response to an administrative commission recommendation of terms for the dismissal.

Voices

Leech defends as good stewardship abrupt changes in foundation’s focus

Ushered onstage with a glowing introduction at the 215th General Assembly in Denver in late May, Presbyterian Foundation chief executive officer Robert E. Leech asked the elders in the auditorium to remember the church with a gift in their wills. "Make it 10 percent — it's only money," Leech said.

Leech asked the ministers at the assembly to push their congregations to give even more generously. "Make it 20 percent — it's only money."

Editorials

A Steady Course

The recently concluded 215th General Assembly, convened in Denver, held to a steady course in this time of continuing division in the life of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We are and remain deeply divided, and the annual meeting of the General Assembly frequently becomes the arena in which the contending forces do battle.

Uncategorized

Outlook Editor Bullock announces retirement

Robert H. Bullock Jr., editor and CEO of The Presbyterian Outlook for 15 years, has announced his retirement effective Oct. 31.

Noting that his decision to retire followed more than a year of prayerful consideration and consultation with board officers, Bullock said, "At the heart of it is the firm conviction that the work that I was called to do has now been completed."

Book Reviews

Reconciliation: Restoring Justice

By John W. de Gruchy

Fortress. 2002. 255 pp. Pb. $29.95. ISBN 0800636007

— Review by Aurelia T. Fule, Santa Fe, N.M.

John W. de Gruchy, professor of Christian studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, is known and esteemed by many Western readers because of his earlier works. In Reconciliation he writes:

The relatively peaceful ending of apartheid and the transition to democratic rule in South Africa did . . . take the world by surprise. It also set in motion . . . the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) established to seek the truth about the past in order to facilitate national reconciliation (p. 10).

Voices

Timing is Everything

On May 14 it was reported that "a Virginia lawyer has accused a Presbyterian minister of heresy." The lawyer in question is Paul Rolf Jensen of Reston, Va. The minister in question is W. Robert Martin III, our pastor at the Warren Wilson church in Western North Carolina Presbytery.

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Cincinatti Presbytery says Van Kuiken has renounced the church

CINCINNATI — Some people say A. Stephen Van Kuiken got exactly what he asked for when this pastor of 18 years refused, out of conscience, to follow the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

On June 16, by a vote of 119 to 45, Cincinnati Presbytery voted to declare that Van Kuiken, pastor of Mount Auburn church, had renounced the jurisdiction of the PC(USA)

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Triumphing over hatred

When an elder from a suburban Chicago congregation read in the local newspaper that the Ku Klux Klan was planning a rally in a park nearby, the elder said: "If this is true, I think we should volunteer our church to have a prayer service."

So the congregation set to work, organizing ecumenical support. And at 1 p.m. on May 31, as the Klan was outside trying to light the fires of racism, about 200 people gathered inside the Presbyterian Church of Berywn to pray for unity.

Voices

Not now. Not Yet? Not Ever?

As the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) debated once again in Denver what direction to take in the ongoing debate over ordination of non-celibate homosexuals, minister commissioner Fitz Neal stepped to the microphone with a reminder:

"Justice delayed may be justice denied. But at the same time, decisions rushed are often decisions regretted."

In other words, let’s wait. Not now.

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Charles Hodge (1797-1878), Redivivus

In his study, Three Centuries of Presbyterians along the Potomac (1989), William E. Thompson sites 1774 remark of Nicholas Cresswell of Alexandria, Va.: 'Went to a Presbyterian Meeting. They are a set of rebellious scoundrels, nothing but political discourses instead of religious lectures.' Of course, those were rebellious years. The Spirit of '76 was in the air.

Now, more than 225 years later, the New York Avenue church in the nation's capitol is celebrating its 200th birthday. This provides an occasion to recall the importance of this congregation and its pastors to the Presbyterian church and nation.

Late in the 18th century a group of Scottish stonemasons who labored in the area, worshiped in a shed they built for their tools and used for a church on Sundays. But New York Avenuers identify themselves with the history of the F Street and the Second Presbyterian churches, organized around 1803. The F Street congregation grew under the long-term leadership of James Laurie (pastor 1803-1853), a Scottish emigrant who was not only an eloquent preacher but a supporter of the Bible, Tract, Mission and Reform Societies organized at the time to Christianize the new nation and the world. At tunes associate pastor Septimus Tustin served as chaplain in the House of Representative and Senate.

Voices

Showtime and Chair Days

"Wast Thou ordained, dear Father,/ To lose thy youth in peace,

and to achieve/ The silver livery of advisèd age/ And in thy reverence

and thy chair days . . . ." (II Henry VI. V.2. 45-8)

Because 94% of the land in Iowa is devoted to agriculture, the philosophy faculties of the various universities in that state regularly and predictably complain about so much attention paid to farm animals. Truth to tell, most Iowans do indeed put the horse before Descartes.

Voices

Dealing with Diversity

We flatter ourselves. No, it is true. Even the staunchest Calvinist among us sometimes thinks that we are in a mess so great that we will never get out of it. Name the issue and you will find voices that say, Woe is ours as Presbyterians in the U.S.A.!

Every generation faces this reality. While some issues truly are landmarks, issues of importance confront each of us in our own way. So it is also true that the issues that divide us today matter to us and to those that come after us. But let us not flatter ourselves too much. Our ancestors confronted this reality, and so will our descendants.

Voices

Despite War in Iraq, Muslims and Christians see ‘a realizable vision of a world at peace’

Can Muslims and Christians seriously engage with each other in these troubled times in creative, nonviolent ways? I am a witness to a community of 30 Christian and Muslim scholars who in early April, just beyond the sound of rockets and big guns, gave a resounding "yes" in answer to that question. We met and talked about our sacred Scriptures and how we view and interpret them. This was the second occasion for such an international gathering.

Editorials

Renewing the Covenant X: Summing Up

In three successive editorial series, which began late last year, titled The Real Presence, The Time Between the Times, and Renewing the Covenant, your editor has offered reflections on the state of the church, where we've been, where we are, where the Lord might be leading us. Such an effort is daunting and, perhaps, presumptuous, but has been undertaken in good faith to promote discussion about the most basic elements of faith, the church, life, the world.

Uncategorized

Jensen’s latest complaint: an allegation of heresy

Paul Rolf Jensen, the lawyer who has put in long hours over the past year filing Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) disciplinary cases, has filed another one — this time not involving ordination and homosexuality, but the theological views of a pastor trying to transfer his membership to another presbytery.

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Multiple strengths make successful congregations, says survey

Presbyterian researchers involved in a major study of U.S. congregations have found there isn't one "silver bullet" that will make a congregation succeed. Strong congregations can be large or small, there's no single formula for what works. But they say congregations that want to become extraordinary need to develop multiple strengths — to figure out what they do best — and to intentionally focus on those things.

Book Reviews

Soaring Where Christ Has Led: Innovative Worship Ideas for the 21st Century

By Richard Avery and Donald Marsh

CSS. 2002. 180 pp. Pb. $29.95. ISBN 0-7880-1906-6

— Review by Mary Ann Lundy, Santa Fe, N.M.

Many of us cannot remember a time when we did not know and sing what came to be a noun, "Avery-and-Marsh." "Let's do an 'Avery-and-Marsh,'" we'd say, or "I'll look in Avery-and-Marsh and see what there is for Easter." Going to national meetings and conferences meant that we could see them "do their thing" in the flesh, which meant arousing passive, stone-faced Presbyterians to move and clap and dance and, yes, sing with gust.

Movie Reviews

Bend It Like Beckham

'Bend It Like Beckham' is this year's 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding.' It's about a girl growing up in a very ethnic family, and how she struggles to honor her roots and yet find some independence. She's not perfect, but she's likable because she's so passionate. And she tries so hard. And while she cannot bend the world to her point of view, she can at least decide what to embrace and what to refrain from embracing (Ecclesiastes 3), and in the process discover something of who she is.

There are several refreshing elements to this film for the American moviegoer. First, it does not adhere to some of the silly Hollywood rules about what is glamorous. The lead character, 'Jess' Bhamra (Parminder K. Nagra), is neither tall nor skinny nor blonde nor blue-eyed; though her friend, Jules Paxton (Keira Knightly), is all those things. What the two girls have in common is a gift for soccer. Jess has just been playing 'football' with (guy) friends in the public park near her house. Jules is playing on a women's team. When she spots Jess' skill, she invites Jess to be on the women's team, as well. The coach, Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), is skeptical until he sees Jess play. And then he is ecstatic. And so is she, because she didn't realize how good she was until now.

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Atlanta lawyer initiates program to identify and promote a new generation of ministers

When Thomas Daniel signed up for the religion class his senior year of college, he did it for one reason: he wanted to take a class from John Kuykendall, then president of Davidson College (N.C.). "He is a truly fascinating guy and I wanted to take a course with him," Daniel said. "If he was teaching physics, I would have taken that."

Even at Davidson College — a Presbyterian-related school — Daniel didn't know anyone who went to church.

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