Rev. Jack Baca, moderator of San Diego Presbytery, will lead an Open Forum discussion of the presbytery's response to the PC(USA)'s Theological Task Force on Peace Unity and Purity (PUP) Report on February 21 at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church.

Focus of the forum will be a new document drafted by a writing team composed of pastors and elders drawn from both the Resolution Team and the Open Letter team. (See December and January issues of PresbyNewsOnLine for details.) The session will begin with a dinner at 6 p.m.; presentation of the new document at 6:45; and open discussion from 7 to 9 p.m. Check the Home Page or Meetings Page to make reservations.

The Presbytery of Newton in New Jersey has asked the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to affirm "a common Abrahamic heritage" among Christians, Islam and Judaism.

The overture asks the General Assembly "to accept and proclaim that Muslims, Jews and Christians worship the same God - the God worshiped by Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Moses, Mary, Jesus and Muhammad - and ask the one true God to bless efforts in dialog, building bridges of harmony and fighting violence and terror."

As noted by The Layman Online, neither Islam nor Judaism recognizes the Trinitarian Father, Son and Holy Spirit of Christianity as the "one true God." For more commentary, visit www.layman.org.

The overture quotes partially from section 9.42 of the Confession of 1967 - "The Christian finds parallels between other religions and his own and must approach all religions with openness and respect."

The rest of that section adds, "Repeatedly God has used the insight of non-Christians to challenge the church to renewal. But the reconciling word of the gospel is God's judgment upon all forms of religion, including the Christian. The gift of God in Christ is for all men. The church, therefore, is commissioned to carry the gospel to all men whatever their religion may be and even when they profess none."

Whereas the First Presbyterian Church of Rockaway, N.J. has just completed a Mission study which, in part, states, "We are called to work for reconciliation, peace and justice for all God's children, and whereas members of that congregation have been involved in People for Peace and Justice, an ad hoc group that has participated in interfaith dialog and initiated several incentives for creating understanding, and whereas those involved have gained a better understanding of Christianity. Islam and Judaism, to wit, that they are all derived from the same Abrahamic roots and that they adhere to many similar tenets, all three religions believing in one true God, professing adherence to the same commandments and desiring to live in peace and harmony; and

Whereas the Presbytery of Newton accepts these principles espoused by one of its churches and wishes to promote them through out the Presbyterian denomination, calling for similar dialog to open our hearts to those who believe in One God and adhere to the great commandments; and

Whereas The Confession of 1967 states, "The Christian finds parallels between other religions and his own and must approach all religions with openness and respect;" now

1. To affirm a common Abrahamic heritage among the three faiths, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, to accept the principle of unity and harmony among them and to encourage all congregations to do the same.

2. To accept and proclaim that Muslims, Jews and Christians worship the same God - the God worshiped by Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Moses, Mary, Jesus and Muhammad - and ask the one true God to bless efforts in dialog, building bridges of harmony and fighting violence and terror.

3. To promote the common effort of Christians, Muslims and Jews to work together for peace, justice and righteousness which is an equal concern of each of the three faiths.

Roland and Kay Taylor, long-time members of La Jolla Presbyterian Church and founders of Native Missions which became Baja Presbyterian Missions, Inc., in 1993, had a vision for a church in the Otay Section of Tijuana -- a middle class area near the airport and university. The church was established and became Dios Con Nosotros (God with Us).

As part of their estate, Roland and Kay created the Taylor Memorial Fund at the Presbyterian Foundation with the yield going toward construction of new churches in Baja California. Building a new 120-seat sanctuary for Dios Con Nosotros became the primary goal of the Taylor Memorial Fund.

Final cost estimate was $180,000; the goal was reached last August and work commenced, actually finishing ahead of schedule in early January.

A worship service to celebrate and dedicate the new sanctuary was held Sunday, January 29. Representing San Diego Presbytery were Baja Presbyterian Missions board members Bob Battenfield, Jim Hancock and Gary Hubbard; Patsy Battenfield; and Rev. Bill Soldwisch of Pueblos Hermanos, Presbyterian Border Ministry.

More than 150 church officers and leaders took part in what has been described as "the strongest leadership training yet" Saturday, January 28th at the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Spring Valley.

Sponsored by the Presbytery of San Diego, the seminar, titled "For Such a Time as This," was designed to offer training workshops for both new and returning church officers. Representatives from 27 of the 30 churches in the San Diego Presbytery took part in the day long program including church officers from as far away as Westmorland and Brawley.

It was the largest number of church leaders to take part in the workshop in recent years.

Executive Presbyter Rev. Dr. Andy Smith said his office phone has been ringing off the wall with messages of thank you and strong words of praise for the content and strength of the workshop programs.

"The content of the program was timely and certainly showed the courageous leadership put forth by the officers of our churches," Smith said. There was strong interest in all of the workshops with attendance about equal at each session throughout the day he said.

New and returning Elders, Deacons, Clerks of Session, and other church leaders and officers were able to choose from a variety of workshops intended to assist them in their theological and practical ministry of leadership in the church.

Smith also had strong praise for Trinity Presbyterian Church which hosted the event.

"Trinity Church is on a hill and it was a clear, beautiful day," Smith said. "Adding this to the fact that Trinity did a wonderful job of hosting made it a very upbeat day."

Rev. Debbie Rundlett has accepted the call to serve as General Presbyter of the Muskingtum Valley Presbytery in New Philadelphia, Ohio. She formerly served as Pastor of Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church and was chair of the Presbytery Committee on Ministry.

The fourth annual Celebrating Art! exhibit, featuring works on canvas, sculpture and photography created by artists from within and around the Point Loma community, will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 18, in the Family Life Center at the Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church.

Church and community members are invited to spend the evening meeting the artists and enjoying music and refreshments with fellow art lovers. Admission is free. Initiated by the Assimilation and Renewal Committee of the Point Loma Church, the event focuses on community outreach through the celebration of local artistic talent.

Some 40 to 50 artists are expected to take part in this year's show. Some of the art pieces are for sale, others are for exhibition only. Thanks to the generosity of participating artists, a silent auction has become an additional part of the evening. This year the auction will include 50 to 60 items with all proceeds going to local and international mission projects sponsored by PLCPC.

Anyone interested in displaying a water color or oil painting, sculpture or photograph in the show may obtain an entry form in the Point Loma Church office. Deadline for submission of entries is Wednesday, February 15. The church is located at 2128 Chatsworth Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92107.

For more information, please contact Martha Stauderman at 619-224-3155 or by e-mail at stauder@sbcglobal.net.