Sudden Death of Convenor of Government & Morals Committee

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15).

On Tuesday afternoon, 21 May 2013, our esteemed colleague in Gospel ministry and faithful servant of Jesus Christ, Rev. Robert Ormerod, received his home calling.

While travelling with three of his sisters along the M6 in England to visit his seriously ill brother in Coventry, Rev. Ormerod suffered a heart attack and died.

Mr Ormerod became Student Minister in our Cloughmills congregation in January 1983 and celebrated 30 years of ministry in Cloughmills at the beginning of this year.  Having served as secretary of the Government and Morals Committee for many years, Rev. Ormerod was appointed Convenor of this Committee by our Presbytery in September 2012.

To those who most keenly feel the pain of his passing – his wife Julie, sons Jonathan and Timothy, and daughters Naomi, Hannah and Danielle – we extend our deepest sympathy and assure them of our continued prayers.

Truth is, Rev. Ormerod will be sorely missed right across our denomination.  We will cherish every memory of him.  We will remember his godly example.  We will strive to emulate that in some way.  But above all we will praise the God of grace who saved him; the Lord Jesus Christ who came into this world to bear his sin on Calvary; who rose from the dead that he too might one day rise with Him; who went into heaven to prepare a place for him; and who, on Tuesday past, welcomed him there with the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”

Tonight, another tragic step on the road to ruin has been taken by our country.

As if previous measures designed to promote a perverse lifestyle in our nation were not enough, our Parliament has voted to pass legislation to facilitate 'gay marriage' by a majority of 400 to 175.

Sadly, the process to remove another "ancient landmark" that sets the standard for moral behaviour within our shores is now well under way.  The next step to press this vote into effective legislation will occur when this debate is taken to the House of Lords.  Many supporters are fuelled with fresh confidence, given the scale of the "yes" vote in the Commons, that it will now be much more difficult for the House of Lords to obstruct this measure.  

Hebrews 13:4 provides a pertinent couplet – 

"Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled:  but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." 

- reminding us that,

(i) The marriage of one male and one female, as instituted by God (Genesis 2), retains His blessing;

(ii) but immorality – of which homosexual activity is a chief and grievous form – falls under His curse (Romans 1).

Tonight sends a signal to all true Christians:  we need to intensify our efforts in prayer so that God would intervene in the affairs of our nation in the grace of salvation and rescue rather than the judgment of devastation and ruin. 

Led by the supposedly 'great and the good' who, given the incidence of atheists, humanists and deviants within their ranks, are currently further from God than most previous Parliaments have been, the majority of our MPs have blindly steered the nation in the direction of the ditch of depravity.

However, if we can urgently grasp the offer of divine aid as revealed in Hosea 13:9-10 – 

"O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine help.  I will be thy King:  where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities?"

- we may live to see our nation turned around and back to God.

Let us intercede for a merciful awakening by the power of the Holy Spirit in these dark days when our government seems so intent on morphing evil into good!


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FACTS TO NOTE ABOUT TONIGHT'S VOTE:

• The majority of Conservative MPs rejected this measure:  136 to 126.  A poor result for the Prime Minister.  He led – but fewer than half his MPs followed.  No personal victory in this.

• 'How the Minor Parties voted' ... 

The bill was also opposed by: 

Democratic Unionists Gregory Campbell (Londonderry East), Nigel Dodds (Belfast North), Jeffrey Donaldson (Lagan Valley), Rev William McCrea (Antrim South), Ian Paisley Junior (Antrim North), Jim Shannon (Strangford), David Simpson (Upper Bann), Sammy Wilson (Antrim East), and independents Nadine Dorries (Bedfordshire Mid) and Lady Sylvia Hermon (Down North). 

It is tremendously encouraging to note the high level of opposition to 'Same Sex Marriage' within our own province.  Our thanks is extended to all those who have registered their vote for traditional, biblical marriage.





• Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Patterson also voted against.

Of great concern is the fact that this bill was supported by: 

Two local MPs – Alliance MP Naomi Long (Belfast East) and the SDLP's Mark Durkan (Foyle).

• Labour leader Ed Milliband has announced:  

"Proud that Parliament voted in favour of equal marriage today.  This is an important step forward in the fight for equality in Britain."  

By this he simply cements his position within the ranks of those who "glory in their shame" (Philippians 3:19).

MPs Vote To Protect Marriage Beliefs

MPs have voted 86-31 in favour of a proposal to protect people’s beliefs about marriage.
The vote, which is not binding, came at the end of a debate led by Edward Leigh MP who wants changes to be made to the Equality Act 2010.

It was inspired by the case of Adrian Smith, a housing manager who was demoted for saying privately that gay weddings in churches would be “an equality too far.”

Beliefs

Mr Leigh also referred to the recent European Court of Human Rights decision against a Christian registrar who was pushed out her job because of her beliefs about marriage.

He said the ruling means “an employee who is ordered to go against their conscience on marriage has few, if any, legal rights to protect them; that is why we need an amendment to the Equality Act”.

Mr Leigh said this problem will become “much worse” if the Government redefines marriage.

Conscientious

He said the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, “as presently drafted, does nothing to protect ordinary people’s conscientious views.”

He called for the legislation to undergo the proper scrutiny of the whole House of Commons, rather than being “fast-tracked.”

Though the Bill is unlikely to become law, the vote shows that MPs believe more needs to be done to protect those who support traditional marriage.

Chalke Another Sin Out Of Scripture, Steve!

Having gained notoriety in 2004 on account of his denial of a doctrine that lies at the heart of Christian theology - the penal substitution of our Lord Jesus Christ (he described this truth as God the Father engaging in "cosmic child abuse" when He sent His Son to the cross for us) - Steve Chalke is playing fast and loose with Scripture again.

On this occasion his assault is on the biblical teaching on the subject of homosexuality.

As a regular contributor to the magazine 'Christianity,' his latest submission argues that we must step outside of the boundaries of Scripture and declassify homosexuality as a sin.

His article can be sourced here:

http://www.christianitymagazine.co.uk/sexuality/stevechalke.aspx

As may a contrary view, published alongside Chalke's poorly reasoned and biblically redundant piece:

http://www.christianitymagazine.co.uk/sexuality/gregdownes.aspx

An excellent – and important – discussion of the Scripture passages that treat homosexuality is found here:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2013/01/29/pro-gay-theology

The Cost of Having Biblical Convictions

The Baltimore Sun (Maryland) has reported how an Annapolic company whose old-fashioned trolleys are iconic in the city's wedding scene has felt compelled to abandon the nuptial industry rather than serve same-sex couples.

The owner of Discover Annapolis Tours said he decided to walk away from $50,000 in annual revenue instead of compromising his Christian convictions when same-sex marriages become legal in Maryland at the turn of the year. And he has urged prospective clients to lobby state lawmakers for a religious exemption for wedding vendors.

Wedding vendors elsewhere who refused to accommodate same-sex couples have faced discrimination lawsuits — and lost. Legal experts said Discover Annapolis Tours sidesteps legal trouble by avoiding all weddings.

The trolley company's decision, publicized by a straight groom offended by what he called "repressive bigotry," offers a snapshot of a local business navigating a new landscape in Maryland's wedding industry, and leaving it behind for a competitor to swoop in.

The head of the Maryland Wedding Professionals Association said the trolley company is the second vendor to refuse business over the state's same-sex marriage law, which voters upheld in November. 

The Maryland clergyman who led opposition to same-sex marriage called the trolley company's choice to abandon profits on principle "gutsy" and predicted that more businesses would quietly follow suit.

"That's a bold and noble statement," said Derek McCoy, executive director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance. "The other option would have been just to become a legal case."

Frank Schubert, the political strategist who ran campaigns against same-sex marriage in Maryland and three other states this year, said opponents predicted collateral damage from legalizing same-sex unions.

"This is exactly what happens," Schubert said, adding that religious liberty is "right in the cross hairs of this debate. … The law doesn't protect people of faith. It simply doesn't."

Schubert pointed to a handful of other examples publicised in news reports across the country of wedding vendors sued for refusing to accommodate a same-sex ceremony: a pair of Vermont innkeepers, a New Jersey church group and a New Mexico wedding photographer.

A Christian conservative group financed an appeal in the case in New Mexico — where same-sex marriages are not recognised but, as in Maryland, "public accommodation" laws prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.  A lesbian couple tried to hire the photographer for their commitment ceremony, but the photographer's attorneys argued that artists have a constitutional right to refuse to endorse a message they do not support, according to the Religion News Service.  Two New Mexico courts have sided with the lesbian couple who sued, and the state's highest court agreed to hear the case.

In Maryland, the homosexual-rights group Equality Maryland said the trolley company's decision appears to be an isolated case of a business owner exercising his rights.

"As long as he doesn't discriminate against other people, he's free to do what ever he wants to do, including withdrawing his business from the industry," executive director Carrie Evans said.

Discover Annapolis Tours owner Matt Grubbs declined repeated requests to discuss the move, beyond acknowledging its economic impact to his business, which also operates historic tours endorsed by the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitors Bureau.

Grubbs said he expects to post a full explanation on his company's website by Jan. 1, and confirmed he sent an email to prospective client Chris Belkot last month that said "we used to do weddings until recently. But we're a Christian-owned business, and we are not able to lend support to gay marriages. And as a public accommodation, we cannot discriminate between gay or straight couples, so we had to stop doing all wedding transportation."

Grubbs' message went on to suggest Maryland residents contact their lawmakers to "request they amend the new marriage law to allow an exemption for religious conviction for the layperson in the pew. The law exempts my minister from doing same-sex weddings, and the Knights of Columbus don't have to rent out their hall for a gay wedding reception, but somehow my religious convictions don't count for anything."

Chick-Fil-A president Dan Carthy's public statements against same-sex marriage brought both backlash and huge crowds this year as patronizing or boycotting the fast-food chain became a political statement.

Gosnell, who said he has not met Grubbs, added that the trolley company's decision on same-sex weddings does not necessarily reveal Grubbs' feelings about gay people or transporting them to other events.

"It could be that it's not so much that he's against people, so much as he's against a policy or law that has been put in place," Gosnell said. "That is not abnormal for any business owner to take a position about any law that affects them."

Legal experts said the state law forbidding discrimination against sexual orientation has been on the books since 2001. Back then, the General Assembly added sexual orientation to the list of protected classes that already included race, gender, disability and marital status. Business owners can no more refuse a trolley for a same-sex wedding than they can refuse to serve an African-American at a lunch counter.

Grubbs' trolleys, with their interior lighting and quaint feel, had nearly become a staple in Annapolis' wedding scene, wedding planners and photographers said.

"You will see trolleys every Saturday in Annapolis, and most of them will have a bride," said Mike Busada, owner of Mike B Photography. "Fifty percent of the weddings I do in Annapolis have a trolley. … Someone else will come in and fill that niche. There's definitely a demand for it."