Sterling, Kan., RPC

Derek Miller, pastor

Christy West, wife of Jason West, was received into membership upon profession of faith on Aug. 29, the day their baby was baptized. Sam Klaassen and Megan Klaassen, son and daughter of David and Margaret Klaassen, were received into membership upon profession of faith on Sept. 12.

Heather Klaassen was blessed to be able to go to the RP International Conference at Calvin College, and from there she went on a short-term mission trip to Japan for three weeks. Heather gave a moving report of her experiences on Oct. 31 after the fellowship meal at the end of the youth retreat weekend for the presbytery. Twenty-three youth attended that retreat. The theme for the retreat was “Called to Be Salt of the Earth: A Study in Evangelism.”

Quarterly social times have been planned this year. In June, the congregation had a picnic at a park in Hutchinson, Kan. They held a game night in October.

There are three students doing postgraduate work this year: Justin Klaassen at the Des Moines Osteopathic School of Medicine in Des Moines, Iowa; Aaron Klaassen at Kansas State University for an MBA in management; and Kim Reed in physical therapy in Wichita, Kan.

—Sue Wilkey, correspondent

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Ridgefield Park, N.J., RPC

J. Bruce Martin, pastor

On Sept. 12, the congregation welcomed Duran Perkins to the pulpit while Pastor Martin was on vacation. Mr. Perkins is an elder in the Elkins Park, Pa., RPC and a student of theology under the care of presbytery. A fellowship lunch followed the morning worship service.

Oct. 2-3 was fall communion, with Pastor Courtney Miller preaching. The preparatory service was on Saturday. The communion service was held after morning worship and a fellowship luncheon on Sabbath afternoon. Pastor Miller is from the Hudson–St. Lazare RPC near Montreal, Quebec. He was here with his wife, Barb, and family of five.

There was a work day at the church building on Oct. 9.

On Oct. 17, the Women’s Missionary Guild had its monthly meeting after the morning worship service.

—Joan Hammond, correspondent

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News of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland

The 2003 Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland met in the renovated Drimbolg (Co. Londonderry) meetinghouse, with Edward McCollum (pastor of the Knockbracken church, Co. Down) serving as moderator. The 2004 Synod met in the Knockbracken meetinghouse, taking advantage of the attractive hall that was recently built there. Pastor Stewart McMahon of the Newry church (Co. Down) was the moderator. Edward McCollum is replacing Pastor Drew Gregg (Ballenon and Ballylane congregations in Co. Down) as clerk of synod. Rev. Bob Tweed was the fraternal delegate of the RPCNA to the 2004 meeting.

Other congregations have also been active in building projects. Loughbrickland (Co. Down), pastored by David Silversides, reopened its meetinghouse after very extensive repairs were completed. Fairview (Co. Monaghan) is finishing a new church building, and neighboring Tullyvallen (Co. Armagh) is proceeding with work on a new hall adjacent to its meetinghouse. Both congregations are pastored by Philip Murphy, who was ordained just a few years ago. Ballymoney (Co. Antrim) has refurbished its meetinghouse, and several other building projects are being pursued by various congregations.

Many changes in the pastoral corps have occurred in recent years. Professor Adam Loughridge and Pastor Tom Donnelly (an uncle of Ted Donnelly) both passed to their eternal rewards.

In honor of Prof. Loughridge, a memorial fund has been set up in honor of Prof. Loughridge at the Reformed Theological College, where he served as professor and principal. Already, twenty-five thousand pounds sterling have been donated to this fund.

Harold Cunningham retired from the Shaftesbury Square, Belfast, congregation, and as convenor of the Bookshop and Publications Committee of the Synod. Rev. Cunningham and his wife, Olive, had worked mightily to maintain and expand the witness of the bookshop during the past two decades.

Stephen Wright (a great-nephew of Dr. J. Renwick Wright) completed his studies at the Reformed Theological College in Belfast and was ordained and installed as pastor of the Convoy and Stranorlar churches in Co. Donegal. David McCullough finished his ministry in Faughan, near Londonderry, and took up the pastorate in Dromore (Co. Down, not to be confused with the nearby Dromara church). Established in the early 19th Century, Dromore had been a preaching station for generations until revitalized in recent years. Harry Coulter left the Kilraughts church (Co. Antrim) to start a new congregation in Carrickfergus, a daughter work of the Trinity church (Ted Donnelly, pastor). Professor Norris Wilson has left the Dervock church (Co. Antrim) for the Drimbolg church, and Pastor Samuel McCollum has moved from the Bready church (Co. Omagh) to the Glenmanus church (Portrush, Co. Antrim).

At the 2003 Synod, the decision was made to enroll new students every three years at the college in Belfast, meaning that the next intake will be in the autumn of 2005. This change was implemented to help reduce the workload of the professors, who are also full-time pastors. Several young men have expressed an interest in commencing theological studies, including Tim McEwen, son of Pastor George and Mrs. Heather McEwen, of the Bailiesmills church (Co. Down). Andrew Blackburn has entered his final year at the college. A building for the college is taking shape on the grounds of the Knockbracken church in the southern suburbs of Belfast.

The long-term outreach work in Galway, on the west coast, has progressed to the point that some organization of the group is being seriously considered. The forty or so attendees now gather for worship at the building of the Bridge Club, but are looking for a more permanent home.

Some congregations have been through difficult times. Creevagh church (Co. Monaghan) has now been vacant for ten years, and many other churches need pastors. Loughbrickland church has been touched by controversy over women’s head coverings. The Ballymacashon church (Co. Down) has been reduced from a congregation to a monthly preaching station. Several other congregations have become quite small.

Some churches have been marking anniversaries. Convoy church is 200 years old. Cregagh Road (in east Belfast), pastored by Prof. David McKay, is a century old. And the Shaftesbury Square church near downtown Belfast recognized its 25th anniversary. It was formed by the merger of the Dublin Road and Grosvenor Road congregations after the latter’s building was destroyed in an IRA bombing. Also, a conventicle in June 2003 honored the bicentenary of the birth of Thomas Houston, probably the most outstanding minister of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Ireland during the 19th Century.

“Go” teams have been serving in a number of congregations, as well as in the foreign mission work in Nantes, France. Several Irish young people have ministered as part of RPCNA mission teams in North America and elsewhere. Tom Blackwell, of the Trinity congregation, has become the manager of the Covenanter Bookshop in the university district of Belfast.

RPTS student Brian Hasenkopf (of the Meadville, Pa., RPC) and his family spent three months in the summer of 2004 ministering in the Glenmanus church. Retired RPCNA pastor Bob McFarland, with his wife, Georgia, has served several different vacant congregations in recent years, and Bob and Elaine Tweed have also ministered in Ireland this year. A small group of Irish Reformed Presbyterians attended the International Conference in Grand Rapids this past summer, where Prof. Ted Donnelly was the featured preacher.

—Tom Reid, correspondent

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News of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland

For many years, the Reformed Presbyterian churches have been organized as both a presbytery and a synod, although both judicatories had exactly the same membership. This anomaly has now been corrected, and the three Reformed Presbyterian churches in Scotland now function only as a presbytery.

The future of the Wishaw church seemed in doubt last year, but the Lord has brought some improvement in its life and ministry. Attendance at the Airdrie church has increased to over fifty in both the morning and evening worship services. The Stranraer church has overcome their financial difficulty by reaching an agreement with their pastor, Gerald Milligan, which means that they will be solvent during the remainder of his ministry.

As usual, a short-term missions group ministered in the Wishaw and Airdrie congregations each of the past two summers. Rob and Jessica Edgar, of the Covenant Fellowship (Pittsburgh, Pa.) RPC, are living in Scotland for several years, in order to help out in the work of the RPC there. Both have found employment in the Glasgow area. American Beth Bogue, who has worked with the churches for several years, is seeking permanent residency in the United Kingdom. Karen Reyburn of the Phoenix, Ariz., RPC has extended her time of helping the ministry in Scotland. Michael and Heather LeFebvre of the Second Indianapolis, Ind., RPC also continue to help as Michael moves toward completion of his Ph.D. in Old Testament.

Six students have studied at the Covenanter Theological Institute in the past year and four more are expected this autumn.

—Tom Reid, correspondent