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On Coalitions & Biblical Orthodoxy
A Critique by S. M. Hutchens
Comments by James M. Kushiner and Mary Podles
Responses by Mary Ellen Bork, Donna F. G. Hailson, Diane Knippers, Frederica Mathewes-Green, and Joy Moore
In the fall of 1997, the Washington-based Ecumenical Coalition on Women and Society issued a "Christian Women's Declaration," which was published in First Things in 1998. Touchstone Senior Editor S. M. Hutchens later that year wrote a critique of the declaration. After additional comments on the declaration were written by James M. Kushiner and Mary Podles, we invited several of the original signers of the declaration to write responses to the critique and comments.
Critique by S. M. Hutchens
Many years before we peevish and inscrutable fundamentalists began to fuss about it, in the days when it could still be written about whimsically, when the ordination of women was still only a gleam in the eye of a few dotty radicals, C. S. Lewis wrote his little essay "Priestesses in the Church?" With Jane Austen's Bingley he observed that just as a ball would not really seem a ball without dancing, so a church with priestesses would not really seem a church. The point of the piece was that women presbyters and the sexual egalitarianism from which they arise are not Christian institutions. In our own day his words are grimly prescient:
Suppose the reformer stops saying that a good woman may be like God and begins saying that God is like a good woman. Suppose he says that we might just as well pray to "Our Mother which art in heaven" as to "Our Father." Suppose he suggests that the Incarnation might just as well have taken a female as a male form, and the Second Person of the Trinity be as well called the Daughter as the Son. Suppose, finally, that the mystical marriage were reversed, that the Church were the Bridegroom and Christ the Bride. All this, as it seems to me, is involved in the claim that a woman can represent God as a priest does.
Now, a church whose pastor is not thought a priest might say that this does not apply, but Lewis is using the Anglican situation merely to illustrate his main point, that the ministries of men and women in the Christian Church cannot be "equal" because the male, simply because he is male, represents the Lord of the Church in a way a woman cannot. "It is painful," he says, "being a man, to have to assert the privilege, or the burden, which Christianity lays on my own sex. I am crushingly aware of how inadequate most of us are. . . . But it is an old saying in the army that you salute the uniform not the wearer."
Lewis writes here so offhandedly and with such good humor—a luxury, I think, of a day when lady ministers were still confined to the sectarian fringe—that the dreadfulness of what he is saying is easy to pass over: When women are ordained, it will open a fundamental rift between those who accept the practice and those who do not.
If Lewis is right, then egalitarians for whom the ordination of women is no problem, of whom there are many among professedly orthodox Christians, have set themselves up against not, as they typically think, a weak and obsolescent tradition, a cultural incarnation of the ministry appropriate to the first century that is an impediment in our own, but against no less than the Christian doctrine of God, man, and the Church.
What, then, can we say of a document, signed by women who are known to be on both sides of the egalitarian divide, a divide most of us at Touchstone think every bit as large as Lewis thought it was, that purports to be a manifesto of cooperation in the renewal of church and society? As remarkable as it may seem, such a thing has indeed appeared, and may be found in the February 1998 issue of that excellent journal First Things.
"Women of Renewal," a statement originally promulgated in 1997 by the Ecumenical Coalition of Women and Society of the Institute on Religion and Democracy as "A Christian Women's Declaration," outlines a reforming agenda terminating in a "Corporate Pledge of Action." Its signatories identify themselves and the character of their authority with supreme confidence, as "women of faith and principle whose Christianity is founded not on human invention but divinely revealed truth." The affirmation of this truth includes belief in the triune God, who is neither male nor female, but whom we are privileged to address by the name Father in emulation of Christ; the authority of Scripture; the natural, created order; human sinfulness, personal as well as structural; obedience to God as the pathway to fulfillment as women; and liberty that comes from the reconciling truth we have received in Christ.
The signers are grieved by the "disrespect, the abuse, the personal prejudice and institutional oppression by which humans so often dishonor the image of God in their fellow humans," particularly women, who have so often been "the targets of such disrespect, abuse, prejudice and oppression." While the abuse and oppression are denounced, recent advances for women are gratefully acknowledged. They pledge themselves in this statement "to stand in solidarity with all who have been denied justice, freedom, and opportunity."
Challenges faced by these women as forces for change and renewal include detrimental cultural trends such as epistemological and moral relativism, elevation of individual rights over personal responsibility, excessive state power and the utopianism that is so often behind it, materialism, and hedonism. They reject the radical feminism that "rather than liberating women by providing them with equal opportunity to develop to the fullest their God-given talents, abilities, and potential," leads them to deny biological realities and to define equality not in terms of equal opportunity but of artificially contrived quotas, or that presents women merely as victims of oppressive patriarchies. They deplore the idea that women are innately superior to, or radically different in ability from men, and they reject abortion on demand.
Against these ideas and trends the signers pledge to live holy lives in allegiance to the lordship of Christ, to develop strong families, to embrace their calling to authentic service to others and the Church, to be good citizens, to fulfill their worldwide obligations as promoters of freedom, peace, and justice, and to build the Church. Their corporate pledge of action is to work together to reverse detrimental cultural trends, affirming democracy, despite its manifest flaws, as the type of government that holds the most promise for the just and good ordering of society. They will provide leadership in public life, seeking "to serve as moral agents to build rightly ordered and just societies respecting the dignity of all persons." They will expose the faulty assumptions of the radical feminist agenda, particularly its declarations of absolute autonomy and denials of a transcendent God, "in whose image male and female are made, that insures the dignity and equality of women and men."
Finally, they will press for a renewal of biblical orthodoxy in the Church and a more central role for faith in society, uniting with "women of faith who will agree to press for reform and renewal of our churches." The selected endorsements listed in First Things include Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant women, many of whom are prominent in renewal movements within their own churches. Many of the Protestants listed in First Things have been ordained to the pastorate in various denominations; others are affiliated with such organizations as Focus on the Family, Presbyterians Pro-Life, the Institute on Religion and Democracy, Women for Faith and Family, the World Evangelical Fellowship, and this journal. Also included are women connected with seminaries such as Gordon-Conwell, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, and Union Theological Seminary of Virginia.
Despite the probability of being considered knaves or louts for criticizing these women who stand for so many good things, some of whom have paid dearly for their opposition to radical feminism, I, along with the other senior editors of Touchstone, must observe that a small but important detail has been missed in this call to arms: the radical incompatibility of the ultimate aims of the campaigners, something that is bound to complicate—in fact, quickly frustrate—cooperation on the means employed. The leveling grammar and substantive vagueness of this document effectively promote an egalitarianism we believe to be inimical to Christianity, papering over the gaping philosophical and theological rift of which Lewis spoke, the rift at which mere maleness stands as an indispensable signal of Christian and, indeed, human order, and to which the ordination of women—an inconceivably radical and ecumenically destructive change—is, with "inclusive language," one of the principal challenges to the Church in our day.
A Muslim and a Christian may deplore the spread of pornography together, a Trinitarian and a Unitarian may agree on sound fiscal policy, an egalitarian and an orthodox Christian can feed the poor together in Christ's name. But when the latter confront together the issue of what needs to be done to "renew" church and society along Christian lines, their agreement on the most basic issues will be limited, superficial, and rarely susceptible to programmatic implementation as a joint project. This is particularly true of attempts to renew the Church, for, if Lewis is right—and we think he is, since we are watching it happen—an egalitarian reformation will soon give rise to something that does not look like the Church at all, that is not in fact Christian. While the two parties will agree that the Kingdom will be founded on justice, equity, truth, fidelity to the Word of God, and the like—they will define these terms differently from the beginning.
Where, in the most critical issues that face the world and the Church, can an egalitarian and a Christian agree? The family is in crisis, but the solution of the traditional Christian will involve the re-establishment and renewal of responsible male headship, while the other resists this on principle.
The churches are in crisis, but the traditional response will be along the lines of restitution of the ancient landmarks, while the egalitarian will continue to press for more of the devastating symbolic changes that are presently being made in the conceptualization of God and mankind, the language of Scripture and worship, and the ministry, changes that make ecumenical activity, always difficult, now nearly impossible. (Do churches, for example, that have convictions that only men should be priests or ministers wish their youth to go on retreats where there are women present who preach, administer the Lord's Supper, and expect to be addressed as "Reverend," as mild and as decent as they may otherwise be?)
The seminaries are in crisis, but much of the current disruption centers around their dominance by doctrinaire feminism, which mere egalitarianism is insufficient to oppose, for they together deny or evade the Scripture and tradition of the only effective alternative to the present state of affairs: recognition of the pastoral headship of the man over the woman in the Church.
The world to which the Church addresses itself is in crisis, the most terrible symbol of which is the mass abortion of its children. The signers of the Declaration have agreed together to oppose abortion on demand, but how much practical cooperation on abortion can there be between women who regard it as a criminal act and a mortal sin, and those who can only agree so far as to oppose "abortion on demand"?
One might also ask if they refer to the same things when they complain of "disrespect, abuse, personal prejudice and institutional oppression," and precisely what they are going to strive together to achieve in the advance of their "fullest God-given talents, abilities, and potential." Do the Orthodox and Roman Catholic women, for example, and those who represent conservative Evangelical organizations like Focus on the Family, or magazines like Touchstone, join other signatories who are on record elsewhere as believing that the history of abuse and oppression includes keeping women from developing their God-given abilities as priests, pastors, and partners to egalitarian marriages?
What of the pledge to oppose radical feminism together? To be sure, all reasonable citizens should join the attempt to curb the political and social influence of radical feminism and its attendant homosexualism, which are manifestly perverse and genocidal. But the point of Lewis's "Priestesses" is that egalitarianism, as fair and innocent as it may seem to the unreflective, is as dangerous a solvent to the apostolic constitution of the Church as sexual radicalism is to that of the polis, and the church's message to its crumbling society must include its traditional teachings about men and women if it is to be like the Church at all. Senior Editor Leon Podles, upon reading a draft of this piece, pointed out that the primary problem in society is convincing men to act as husbands and fathers—that patriarchy, even of the oppressive sort, would improve the lives of women in the ghetto. This is why many blacks are turning to Islam.
The egalitarianism expressed and implied in documents like the Christian Women's Declaration, with its habitual tendency to dodge St. Paul, reduce male headship to mutual submission and creative tension, equivocate on the masculinity of God and the maleness of Jesus, neuter language, and separate the man from his proper office as head of church and family, is far more threatening to Christianity than the feminism of the more radical and unattractive sort that the signers have agreed to oppose. Few serious believers are influenced by the ravings of a Catherine Mackinnon or Mary Daly. Egalitarian feminism, however, which in the far more subtle and tempting mode of a classical heresy, asserts one truth (the equal worth and dignity of the sexes) to the harm of another (the divine order of male headship in family and church) is another matter entirely.
The Declaration appears a victory for egalitarians who now have the signatures of known traditionalists on a rhetorically intense but substantively vague declaration of common intent and purpose. It presents itself as a bridge to a better and more Christian future, but we think the voice with which it speaks is distorted and not very much like the Church. Either the collaborations—certainly the church-renewing collaborations—toward which it looks will collapse because there is insufficient agreement on the shape of Truth, or one side will win the other over, either to Christianity for Christian work, or to egalitarianism, to continue the work of destruction in the name of equality.
As we have said so many times in these pages, agreeing on this with the more radical (and clear-sighted) feminists: the Christian faith, if one defines it by its Scriptures and history, is not egalitarian. Among Christians rule is given to the man, who is to lay down his life for the woman, who for her part is to submit to him. As Lewis realized, anything that teaches otherwise is not Christianity, and must, with due process, be removed from the Church. Lack of clarity on these matters will only prolong the pain of the inevitable separation.
Comment by James M. Kushiner
Two of the signers of the Christian Women's Declaration critiqued by S. M. Hutchens are contributing editors to Touchstone. Some of the other signers are women with whom I have collaborated for several years in the Association for Church Renewal, an association of renewal group executives from mainline denominations. Knowing these women as I do, I can read the document as a reasonable attempt to build a coalition against what it calls "radical feminism."
Coalitions can be useful. There are a number of things upon which the signers of the Declaration can stand together—for example, the defense of marriage as a marital union only between a man and a woman.
Still, coalitions are not stable compounds and can only bear so much weight. The commitment of the signers to "Press for a Renewal of Biblical Orthodoxy in the Church" is one this coalition cannot fulfill since the signers disagree on the ordination of women. It is erroneous to think that the issue of ordaining women can be bracketed and ignored in any discussion of what is biblical orthodoxy. Just ask the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), which favors traditional views of male headship, and the opposing Council on Biblical Equality (CBE), which advocates Christian egalitarianism. For both, biblical orthodoxy is very much the question, one that is increasingly dividing evangelicalism.
Perhaps bona fide radical feminists such as Patricia Ireland, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), have figured out that the coalition is vulnerable on women's ordination. Not long after the Declaration was released, Ireland challenged religious women, particularly Roman Catholics and Orthodox, to press for the ordination of women. NOW literature pushes the point: "Ordain Women, or Stop Baptizing Them."
The signers of the Declaration are not merely prevented by their internal disagreement from corporately endorsing either CBMW or CBE; they also can offer no response to the challenge of radical feminists such as Ireland. Thus their stated opposition to radical feminism and their press toward biblical orthodoxy is hamstrung from the outset.
Furthermore, the radical feminism the signers are united against is not the real problem. Egalitarianism is the radical and destructive ideology, and it underlies both radical feminism and women's ordination. Feminists may be more extreme and explicit in their rejection of sexual differences, but the same rejection lies behind women's ordination, however moderately expressed.
The acceptance of women's ordination by some of the signers, coupled with the willingness of the others to sign a statement that implicitly treats this issue as relatively unimportant, makes the Declaration coalition vulnerable, both theoretically and politically. Hutchens's probing observations on this point are not pleasant because they have accurately identified a sensitive nerve.
Now, it is possible, but dangerous, to live on top of major fault lines. Some institutions or coalitions straddling them can do much good, but only until sufficient pressure comes along to produce a quake.
The Touchstone project itself depends in part on coalitions. But since coalitions for renewal in the Church must promote biblical orthodoxy, any such coalition will be weakened if there is internal disagreement over something as basic as egalitarianism. It is not possible to build an enduring church—or to renew one—over what has proven to be such a major fault line as the ordination of women. Renewal of the Church as Church can only come about through adherence to the truths upon which it was founded—and egalitarianism is simply not one of them.
Comment by Mary Podles
At first blush, there is much to admire in A Christian Women's Declaration. A group of women of firm Christian principles seek to identify a common ground, single out the most pressing issues facing today's Church and society, and resolve upon a common action. They call for an affirmation of traditional biblical teaching, for personal sanctification, and the exercise of responsibility in a spirit of service to the world: who could object?
It is of course unfair to criticize an author for what he does not say, and yet, in this case, that which is missing is also that which is most needed to meet the authors' goals, to combat the evils they perceive as most pernicious. Some of the omissions seem to be unconscious. For example, while rejecting the perils of radical feminism, the Ecumenical Coalition on Women and Society apparently embraces the notion of women as victims, and repeatedly singles out oppressed women as a particular concern. Don't get me wrong: I recognize that women are often oppressed, and it grieves me too. I do not think that women should be oppressed or children victimized; no one does.
I do think, however, that the facts need to be examined a little more closely. Most women, in both Christian and non-Christian societies, have mechanisms to protect them, for with the woman lies the future of the race. Most if not all of these protective mechanisms involve men. When women and children are put in a vulnerable position, it generally means that something worse has happened to their men: they have been imprisoned, conscripted, removed, rendered incapable of doing their proper job, or killed. Should we not address ourselves also to the deeper ills that cripple men? Of course it is terrible when the weak suffer unwillingly; is it not equally heartrending when the strong suffer willingly for them? Are women really dealt the harder lot? Are men less deserving of compassion and less in need of apostolate?
Here then is the underlying omission in the statement, the 90 percent of the iceberg that it fails to address. What Christian women and society at large need is a Christian anthropology that formulates the proper roles of men and women in the modern world. A revolution has taken place in the role of women in the last century that this statement does not address: childbearing has been made optional, and, beyond a bare minimum, most First World women have opted out.
More than any other factor, contraception has changed the nature of the woman's role, the nature of marriage, and the whole relationship between the sexes. Contraception makes possible all of the radical feminist premises the Statement deplores. It essentially removes the element of sacrifice for others from a woman's life. If women will no longer accept their given sacrificial role, why should men?
It is no wonder the protective mechanisms have broken down and the fabric of society unraveled. Yet beyond a nod to the natural created order ("we celebrate the . . . covenant of marriage between one man and one woman prepared to bear and rear each succeeding generation of children"), the Declaration signers treat the issue as if it does not exist. They actively denounce abortion, they decry sexual license and deplore hedonism, but the contraceptive mentality underlying those evils is apparently a taboo subject.
Dr. John Haas wrote an op-ed piece for the Boston Globe explaining that the Church opposes homosexual practices because they are harmful: spiritually, psychologically, medically, societally, they are bad for you. It is time for Christians to face the same fact about contraception. However good it may feel, however easy it may make your life, however much freedom it may give you, it is not good for you. Any affirmation of biblical teaching has to include a complete generosity towards all life; without that, we cannot hope to provide a convincing counterculture within the world at large. I wish the Christian Women's Declaration had not stopped so short of the mark.
Response from Mary Ellen Bork
The goal of the signers of the Declaration was to find grounds for agreement among Christian women concerned about the erosion of true faith in the Christian Church. The question of the ordination of women was not a point on which we agreed. The Touchstone critique rightly points out that ordination of women is important to any discussion of church renewal. But we focused on the corrosive effects of the dominant culture on the Church, which affect not only the question of ministry but also the content of belief about God and Christ.
As a Catholic I met with representatives from Christian churches to talk about the state of renewal in their churches and what women can do to counteract some of the radical practices they are experiencing other than ordination. Renewing the Church in a hostile culture has drawn many women together across church lines. Most Christian women are not ordained, although the feminization of Protestant denominations is a reality; about 80 denominations have women leaders.
The Women's Declaration is not a theological work but a statement of intent about the truths a group of Christian women are willing to defend. I learned a great deal about the situations facing the various denominations and felt pained at the deep fractures in so many communities. I think there is value in ecumenical conversations even when there is no agreement on some fundamental issues. We can learn the actual teachings of each church as well as the differences in doctrine and practice. That we cannot agree on ordination should not stop the conversation.
If we had discussed the ordination question, I would have proposed that the argument against women's ordination is a positive statement about the identity of the Church and not an anti-woman statement. The Church, as we have received it, rests on a theological understanding of authority and equality coexisting together not as warring contradictory principles but as the foundation of the authentic Christian Church. Priesthood is not a function of power but a service to the Church to help her grow in holiness. The relation of man and woman in the Christian dispensation is symbolic of the relation of Christ and his Church. Christ is the bridegroom and the Church is the bride. A male priesthood preserves the meaning of this symbolism and all of its implications. Christ's choice of male priests was not arbitrary.
The churches that have allowed women's ordination have created a problem for the Church at a time when the culture is redefining gender and reveling in godlessness. It is more difficult for these churches to give an ecclesial witness to the person of Christ without political tensions tearing up the community.
It was good that we could agree on some basic truths. It is disturbing that the question that touches on the identity of the Church was necessarily beyond our grasp. But I think it important that we agreed on other matters essential to Christian faith.
Response from Donna F. G. Hailson
In his critique of the Christian Women's Declaration, S. M. Hutchens implies that those who hold to an "egalitarian" position are promoting—in lockstep formation—mother language for God, neutering language for Jesus, and radically inclusive language that distorts the original intent of the biblical writers. These same egalitarians, he avers, also "tend to dodge St. Paul, reduce male headship to mutual submission and creative tension, and equivocate on the masculinity of God. . . ." He cites the ordination of women and the use of inclusive language as the principal challenges to the Church today. This is the egalitarianism that he claims is "expressed and implied in documents like the Christian Women's Declaration." And it is this egalitarianism that, he insists, has set itself up "against not, as they typically think, a weak and obsolescent tradition . . . but against no less than the Christian doctrine of God, man, and the Church." In essence, he declares the writers and endorsers of the Christian Women's Declaration heretics.
I write, I suppose, as a representative—as if that were possible—of the most vilified "group" in Hutchens's catalogue: a woman ordained to the pastorate (through the American Baptist Churches USA). Hutchens insists that women cannot be "priests" because they "cannot represent God as a priest does" but, with other Baptists, I look to the "priesthood of all believers" (see 1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 5:10) and do not see pastors of individual congregations as standing in the place of or as representing (uniquely from other believers) the Lord of the Church. Baptists do believe that the Holy Spirit may grant specific gifts to individuals that equip them for leadership in the Church. But these individuals are not held up as superior in any way to the congregations they serve. Each member of the local church is viewed as a minister of God, and each is equipped by the Spirit with a gift or gifts that are to be used for the building up of the Church.
I would identify myself as a conservative evangelical and, with Hutchens, would deplore androgynous mother/father God language, neutering language for Jesus, and the use of radically inclusive language that distorts the original intent of the biblical writers.
I believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God and assert that there is one God triune (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). I believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, his sinless life, his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, his bodily resurrection from the dead, and his ascension into heaven. I believe that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. I believe that there is only one means of reconciliation with God: faith in Jesus Christ. I believe in the justification, regeneration, sanctification, and glorification of the believer and look to the visible Second Coming of the Lord and life eternal in the presence of God. These are, in my view, the non-negotiables of the Christian faith.
There are, however, other doctrines on which Christians disagree. As a Baptist, I may differ with those in other expressions of the Christian faith on such matters as eschatology, ecclesiology, hagiology, and sacramental versus nonsacramental theology. And while we may still challenge one another on these issues, they should not be permitted to take center stage.
Those of us who are involved in the renewal and reform effort—especially within the mainline denominations—realize that we must set aside some of our differences to concentrate on the more important points of agreement: the non-negotiables. We have millions around the world who are dying apart from Christ and need to hear the message of salvation. Many of the women who signed the Christian Women's Declaration, for example, are trying to reach out to radical revisionists in the Church who are embracing the goddess and working to re-imagine the Bible and all the non-negotiables of the faith. I believe the Lord is now raising up faithful Christian women leaders to respond to these radical feminists. With the other signers of the Christian Women's Declaration, I affirm my belief that "the Bible is the most effective force in history for lifting women to higher levels of respect, dignity, and freedom." I am determined—as empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit—to stand for the faith and for my Lord and Savior.
Hutchens asserts that "among Christians, rule is given to the man, who is to lay down his life for the woman, who for her part is to submit to the man." Hutchens fails to note in this that the Bible also records the Lord's words: "Let us make man (adamah, 'humankind') in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule . . . God created man in his own image . . . male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:26,27). He also fails to note that we are to "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Eph. 5:21).
While Hutchens claims that "egalitarians" assert "one truth (the equal worth and dignity of the sexes) to the harm of another (the divine order of male headship in family and church)," I would suggest that Hutchens asserts certain biblical passages to the exclusion of others. His arguments against the leadership of women in the Church fail to take into account leaders in the Church whom Paul lauds as cherished coworkers: women like Phoebe, Junia, Lydia, and Priscilla.
Finally, Hutchens claims that the voice of the women speaking through the Christian Women's Declaration is "not very much like the Church." And isn't that finally the crux of his argument? It appears that if Hutchens had his way, women would have no voice—as members of the Church—at all.
Response from Diane Knippers
Reading these criticisms of our Christian Women's Declaration reminded me of the first time my husband and I visited Calvin College about 25 years ago. Ed and I had come from a conservative Wesleyan Holiness background, so we experienced culture shock when we saw all of those presumably upright Christians smoking and drinking. I was aghast. But it got worse. Slowly, I realized that no matter how nice and friendly everyone was to us, many of our hosts really and truly thought that we were heretics because we were, gasp, Arminians.
More recently, conservative friends of mine who sign joint Evangelical and Catholic statements have been pilloried for their compromise of essentials of the faith. Through these and other experiences I've learned a lesson: Those who would build Christian unity must live with the fact that one man's fundamentalism is another man's apostasy.
Yes, we intentionally avoided the issue of women's ordination in drafting the Christian Women's Declaration because we knew that we were deeply divided on that important question. Indeed, while Kushiner and Hutchens have misgivings because ordained women and their supporters could sign the Declaration, some evangelical women refused to sign it because we did not endorse women's ordination.
Truthfully, we have prior and even more serious divisions—on the nature of ordination in particular and our ecclesiology in general. Are individuals ordained as priests, or pastors, or preachers? All of the above? None of the above? Is the very concept of the priest as representative of Christ at the heart of Christian orthodoxy—or an extra-biblical aberration?
Could a woman officer in the Salvation Army and an Orthodox or Catholic woman sign a common statement on ordination? Not in my lifetime, I suspect. But could we still come together in a coalition to address some urgent problems in society and even in the Church? I am convinced we can.
I'm unapologetic in asserting that Christian women can work together to fight abortion on demand, even if we don't agree on contraception. That we can struggle to reverse horrifying rates of divorce and extramarital sex, even if we don't interpret headship and submission in the same ways. That we can oppose goddess worship and Wiccan ceremonies, even if we can't share the Eucharist. And that we can be apologists for the faith of Nicea, even if we don't agree on women's ordination.
I was a bit nonplussed that our document was accused of being egalitarian. I do think equality, properly understood, is an important political ideal—as in "equal opportunity" or "equal before the law"—that is consistent with biblical teaching. But the Christian Women's Declaration explicitly opposes some egalitarian excesses, such as defining "equality" as "identical." Therefore, we oppose quotas aiming at 50-50 representation of men and women in all walks of life. The only other reference to equality that I can find in our document is the phrase noting that "the grace of God is extended equally to women." Surely that is theologically unobjectionable.
Nevertheless, my own view is that egalitarianism is not a particularly helpful concept within the family and the Church. When I'm looking for principles by which to live, my concordance lists scores of references to justice, righteousness, holiness, calling, covenant, discipline, faithfulness, forgiveness, honor, love, obedience, service, sacrifice, and trust. All of these are more helpful than "equality" in building godly homes and churches. Indeed, when I am tempted to demand my own "equal rights," I'm quickly brought short by the example of Christ, "who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. . . ." (Phil. 2:6).
Kushiner and Hutchens appear to assume that egalitarianism is the only reason to support women's ordination. That's no more fair than to argue that all opposition to women's ordination is rooted in prejudice. If we are going to "achieve disagreement," we need to be clear about one another's arguments. My husband's grandmother's ordination in the Evangelical Methodist Church early in this century had nothing to do with egalitarianism. Her church found that Scripture and the record of the early Church are not unambiguous regarding the role of women, and they concluded that they could not limit the Holy Spirit in whom he called and ordained.
Nor is it any longer true that egalitarianism is a major force in feminism, particularly in the Church. Feminist theology holds that patriarchy or men are the oppressors. It is impossible that women's savior can be male, so women must look to themselves for salvation. They don't want equality, they want autonomy.
Finally, to those unwilling to sign the Christian Women's Declaration, either because we neglected to condemn women's ordination or because we refused to espouse it, let me nevertheless invite you to participate in our activities. You might discover that, like me, you are blessed by Mary Ellen Bork's Catholic spirituality, or enlightened by Rev. Donna Hailson's articulate critique of neo-paganism, or challenged by Baroness Caroline Cox's passionate defense of the persecuted Church. You'll certainly find women willing to hear you with respect and engage you forthrightly. You might even change some minds.
Response from Frederica Mathewes-Green
I am sorry I don't have time to contribute in depth to this conversation. Briefly, it seems that critics are saying that the women who signed the Statement will not be able to work together to achieve any practical or programmatic goals because we have ignored certain fundamental issues that divide us and that, in some cases, are essential to resolving the problems we address. This is true. The point of the Declaration was to make a Declaration, and we agreed to what we could agree to. As far as I know, there is no plan for this group of women to work together on anything further. Those working independently may well choose different or even opposing tacks in fighting what is perceived as a common enemy.
Response from Joy Moore
When I was asked to review the Christian Women's Declaration, I feared I would read yet another document that would again argue the validity of women's rights and an egalitarian posture. I expected the Christian preface would diminish a vicious tone, but the women's declaration would hint of angry women intent on male bashing, restructuring the family, and crying victim. How encouraged I was to read a unified voice pledging to live holy lives in allegiance to the lordship of Christ.
The Declaration is a response to the muck of immorality and the confusion of cultural relativism espoused by nonscriptural ideologies. For too long the strident voice of feminist ideology has been uncontested in its proclamation of the radical opinions of a vocal minority. Challenged to move beyond agendas of equality and issues of personal experience, Christian women must distinguish themselves from those who share their concerns for justice but not their conviction to proclaim Jesus Christ. The time has come for women to call to accountability the duplicity of radical feminist thought. It is here that the lines must be drawn.
We who have the label "Evangelical" must frame the arguments of society, rather than only within our Christian community. The evangelical Church seems powerless to transform the public arena. At issue are not the divisions within evangelical Christianity, but the chasm of cultural chaos resulting from relativism, universalism, and secularism. Evangelicals are lost in managing tradition rather than leading with the power of God to transform this culture. In the tsunami of immorality, we cannot drown in the legalism of the representative priest. On the wake of heresy, we must not meander in the maze of denominational distinctions.
I decline the thought that Christians cannot speak in a unified voice because we don't yet fully agree on what is faithful as the exercise of institutional leadership. For generations past, orthodoxy referred to belief in the scriptural witness of Jesus Christ as Son, Savior, and Lord. Can it be said today that Christians would be silent with the gospel message in order to invalidate the testimony of women called clergy speaking in this coalition against the menaces of society?
The moral insensitivity of the culture is overshadowed by a pharisaic legalism that deprives the Christian voice of the capacity to influence society. Our society is in a crisis of cultural authority, and we who are to witness to Christ choose to silence each other rather than band together with a message of the sovereignty of Christ, the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, and the ethical boundaries of the Church.
An appeal for tradition cannot overshadow the call to contend for the faith entrusted to us to guard and cherish. While we may disagree on who can witness to this faith, the Declaration reflects an agreement on what can result if we view the world through the lens of Scripture. As women of faith, we desire to live as a countercultural people, proclaiming biblical values and impacting the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Renewal has always come about as the people of God trust that God can never be limited by human understanding, trapped by denominational disagreement, changed by legislated lawlessness, or stopped by theological arguments. God's poured-out Spirit is evident as women focus on the responsibilities of the faithful.
The Declaration is neither a prelude nor a postlude to a treaty on women's ordination. That can be argued in a different arena. We are convinced of the unique divine inspiration, entire trustworthiness, contemporary relevance, and authority of the Bible. Women can embrace this statement across denominational lines, because its foundation acknowledges the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the work of transforming society.
Mary Podles, a Roman Catholic, lives in Naples, Florida, with her husband Leon, a Touchstone Senior Editor. They have six children. She is the retired curator of Renaissance and Baroque Art at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland.
Mary Ellen Bork, a Catholic writer and lecturer living in Washington, D.C., is also on the board of Catholic Campaign for America.
Donna F. G. Hailson is a researcher, writer, and speaker on contemporary culture, new religious movements, Christian apologetics and church renewal. A visiting lecturer in missions and evangelism at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, she has edited, authored, or coauthored several works, including The Goddess Revival and From Truth to Myth (forthcoming from Bristol House). She serves on the board of directors of the American Baptist Evangelicals.
Diane Knippers is President of the Washington-based Institute on Religion and Democracy. An Episcopal laywoman, she serves on the boards of the National Association of Evangelicals, the American Anglican Council, and Five Talents, a micro-enterprise initiative in the Anglican Communion. She is an Advisory Editor for Christianity Today. She is married to Ed Knippers, a painter and print-maker.
Joy Moore is Director of Student Life at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. She is a clergymember of the West Michigan Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois.
S. M. Hutchens is a senior editor and the book review editor of Touchstone.
James M. Kushiner is the Executive Editor of Touchstone.
Frederica Mathewes-Green is a columnist for Beliefnet.com and a contributor to the Christian Millennial History Project multi-volume series. Her books include At the Corner of East and Now (Putnam), The Illumined Heart (Paraclete Press), and The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer (Paraclete Press). She lives in Linthicum, Maryland, with her husband Fr. Gregory, pastor of Holy Cross Orthodox Church. They have three children and three grandchildren.
Mary Podles is the retired curator of Renaissance and Baroque Art at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. She and her husband Leon, a Touchstone senior editor, have six children. They live in Naples, Florida.
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text:
Robert "Bob" James Kish Sr.
Robert "Bob" James Kish Sr., passed away unexpectedly on August 6, 2014. Robert was born on August 17, 1937 in Clymer, PA, to Helen and Lewis Kish. He moved out to Kent at the age of 19, where he lived for most of his life.
Robert was a member of St. Patrick's Church. He was also a member of the Kent Canadian Club. At the age of 19, Robert started working at Educational Equipment in Kent. He worked there for 47 years until his retirement. Robert was a member of the Carpenters Union.
Robert' greatest joy in life was fishing with his son, Bobby. They fished all over Ohio and Pennsylvania and took trips to New York for salmon. Robert and his son also hunted every fall and enjoyed many good times with family and friends. Robert was a huge Pittsburgh Pirate and Pittsburgh Steeler fan, spending many hours watching these teams on television with his wife, Kathryn, and his children. In recent years, Robert spent some of his time at Spin 'N 'Win, where he would meet up with his close buddy, Richard (Buc) McBride and try their luck at the machines. Robert was a generous, honest and hard- working man who was always helping others. He was outgoing and friendly and never knew a stranger. He had a great sense of humor and always made others smile.
Robert was preceded in death by his wife, Kathryn. He will be sadly missed by his children, Lisa (Rod) Poor of Akron, Paula (Bill) Henderson of Upper St. Clair, PA, and his son, Robert "Bobby" (Erin) Kish of Kent; grandchildren, Hallie, Jenna, Carly, Wilson, Bennett, and Angel, and his great granddaughter, Raena; brother, Louis (Rita) of Seven Hills; sisters, Joan Palchesko of Sterling Hts., MI and Francie (Bob) Deosky of Spangler, PA; and many other family members and friends.
Calling hours will be held 6-8 PM Monday, August 11th at Bissler & Sons Funeral Home in Kent. Funeral services will be held 10:00 AM Tuesday, August 12th at St. Patrick Church with Father Richard Pentello officiating. Burial will be held at Standing Rock Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Catholic Charities, 206 W. Main St., Ravenna, OH 44266.

subset: commoncrawl


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How Do I Get White Candy Melts Metallic Silver Or Gold!
Sugar Work By hedge Updated 12 Jun 2013 , 3:05pm by rita282
I have tried mixing gold luster dust with lemon juice and painting on but it just wipes off. Help I'm new at this!!!!! Thanks
Have you tried dry brushing it on?
Yes, but it looks like powder on top. The look I'm trying to achieve is for the entire top of the candy to be silver or gold. Do you think that can be achieved by painting or do i need to try airbrushing? Thanks
Honestly, I don't know if it's possible to do what you are trying to do.
It's possible. I just did it tonight on an entire white choc candy melts picture frame. Looks like pure gold.
What I do is first paint the piece with airbrush gold with a paint brush. You may be able to also use vodka and yellow (I've had the best success with the airbrush gold though because it's thicker, maybe?). Let it dry until it is slightly tacky to the touch but not at all wet. If it's too wet your dust will clump on it and just pull off in a clumpy clump. Then take your dust and brush it thickly but gently over the top. As you brush, the excess dust will come off. The more you brush over it the more rubbed in or buffed it looks and you have a perfect bronze, gold, silver whatever metallic finish you want.
If you don't have the airbrush gold you could even try painting on yellow gel directly or just slightly thinned with vodka and follow the same instructions. Play around with it and you'll see that it works.
take a flat brush.. put americolor gold on one side.. americolor on the other side.. i,m saying..dip each corner of the brush with these 2 colors.. then blend these 2 colors together.. do this several times. stay in the same blending spot.. then use more gold on the gold corner.. and less white on the white corner.. then paint the white candy object.. see if it does what you need it to do.. this is in one stroke painting technique... let us know if it works.. that is how i paint on a candy object.. hth
Thanks for the responses!
CakeDiosa - I tried to follow your instructions but the gold airbrush paint is not staying on the candy. Which brand of airbrush paint did you use? do you have any other tips to help me? what kind of brush did u use?
Anytime I have tried to paint or even airbrush candy melts the color tends to bead...someone once told me to airbrush in layers but I didn't think it looked that good.
I recently made a toolbox with the tools being silver. I tinted the chocolate gray by adding a few drops of black. When hardened, I simply dry brushed it with silver luster dust.
I just painted a plaque gold this past weekend, I used a very tiny amount of vodka and gold luster dust and it looked beautiful. I had to use a higher ratio of dust because it would paint on thin or just plain look like water with some gold particles. Had to keep stirring it too because it kept trying to separate.
I'm wondering if you can mix the gold lustre dust with melted cocoa butter and paint that on? Would it work as well as luster dust and vodka?
Which brand do you use? I have tried with wilton (candy melt and dust) and I could not see any difference!
Luster dust works! My friend just did some chocolates (regular, not white) and then put gold luster dust on. I will ask her today if she mixed it with anything, but they looked bronze when she brought one into me!
To get a good gold or silver look, first paint your pieces either yellow or gray. This will make the sparkle or luster dusts look more authentic. Lightly brush over the painted pieces with confection glaze and sprinkle on your coloring. By using confection glaze it will allow your dusts to adhere well and you will be able to handle them without getting it all over you.


text: On Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 11:33 AM, Jarrod Millman <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote: > On Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 1:50 AM, Sebastian Haase <email@example.com> wrote: > > Hi, > > Accidentally I'm exactly trying to do the same thing right now ..... > > > > What is the best way of memmapping into a file that is already open !? > > > > I have to read some text (header info) off the beginning of the file > > before I know where the data actually starts. > > I could of course get the position at that point ( f.tell() ) close > > the file, and reopen using memmap. > > However this doesn't sound optimal to me .... > > > > Any hints ? > > Could numpy's memmap be changed to also accept file-objects, or there > > a "rule" that memmap always has to have access to the entire file ? > > I am getting a little tired, so this may be incorrect. But I believe > Stefan modified memmaps to allow them to be created from file-like > object: http://projects.scipy.org/scipy/numpy/changeset/4856 > > Are you running a released version of NumPy or the trunk? If you > aren't using the trunk, could you give it a try? It would be good to > have it tested before the 1.0.5 release. > Hi Jarrod, Thanks for the reply. Indeed I'm running only N.__version__ '1.0.4.dev4312' I hope I find time to try the new feature. To clarify: if the file is already open, and the current position (f.tell() ) is somewhere in the middle, would the memmap "see" the file from there ? Could a "normal" file access and a concurrent memmap into that same file "step on each others feet" ? Thanks, Sebastian Haase


text:
Made for excellence
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The must-have frames
Be proud to wear a unique masterpiece:
Enzzo works always in step with technology experimenting and combining new materials.


text:
Arcadja Auctions > Artists Database > T.C. Randell
Sloans & Kenyon /Feb 24, 2012
€301.52 - €452.28
Find artworks, auction results, sale prices and pictures of T.C. Randell at auctions worldwide.Go to the complete price list of works Follow the artist with our email alert
Artworks in Arcadja2
Some works of T.C. RandellExtracted between 2 works in the catalog of Arcadja
T.C. Randell - Country House On Pond
Other WORKS AT AUCTION
Sale 65 Lot 1042 C. T. RANDELL (American, 19th/20th century). COUNTRY HOUSE ON POND, signed lower left. Oil on canvas - Framed, 12 in. x 24 in.
T.C. Randell - Landscape
Other WORKS AT AUCTION
T.C. Randell (20th Century) Landscape, Oil on Canvas, Signed Lower Right Note Condition: Four punctures to canvas, minor losses to paint and surface dirt. See Photos. h:12.50 w:23 in. Estimate $ 200-400


text: HARTING Sensor-equipped passive UHF RFID transponder system comes with temperature registration in a real application that demonstrated data acquisition and visualization in a web interface. Product's technology stands up to harsh environmental conditions and reliably registers rapidly moving objects with metal surfaces. A read range of 5 cm – 12 m ensures maximum flexibility for tracking and other such applications. Endowing passive transponders with sensors can enable goods to register ambient conditions such as temperature.


text:
By Rob Wright
With the World Cup just days away, Irish players' thoughts will unfortunately be more focused on securing themselves a good sunbed by the hotel swimming pool rather than preparing for their opening game.
Fear not though, because help is at hand to help you choose a team to support in Brazil, and maybe you too can bask in some of the reflected glory when Chile overcome the might of Spain or those plucky Algerians hold out for a heroic draw against Belgium.
So first things first, Ivory Coast are out of the reckoning. Yes, yes we know, turn their flag upside down and you have the Irish tricolour or vice-versa, but that's too easy and let's be honest, no-one wants to be doing handstands just so they can read 'Davy Keogh says hello' on your flag.
So sticking with Africa for the moment, let's cast our eye to the allures of Cameroon.
On a basic level there's the jersey. Having experimented with a sleeveless little number a few years ago, Cameroon are now back to the standard football jersey, albeit one plastered in little pictures of lions. Nevertheless, it's almost the exact same shade of green as our own jersey and with a little creative doodling a decent facsimile can be attained.
That not enough for you? Well take a look at the Cameroon crest of arms and tell me that it wouldn't look at home smack bang in the middle of a Carlow GAA jersey .
They like a drop of the black stuff too - Cameroon is one of the five biggest consumers of Guinness in the world, so you won't be stuck for a pint if you find yourself in a Cameroon pub, cheering on the Indomitable Lions.
Then there's the fact that former Cameroon international Joey Ndo is pretty much one of our own by now. The Sligo Rovers forward has been plying his trade in the League of Ireland for over a decade now with great success, having played for all four major Dublin clubs since signing for St Pat's in 2003.
Maybe you're looking to support someone a little closer to home? Across the Irish Sea perhaps? Yes, I know it may be still slightly controversial, but given that none other than President Higgins has revealed that he hopes "England go all the way" in Brazil, maybe it's time we throw our support behind the Sassenachs?
Lets face it, most football fans in Ireland, rightly or wrongly, support an English Premier League team. You spend nine months of the year cheering on Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and the rest of them, so why not extend that to the World Cup?
The hype and hubris that has surrounded England teams of the past is gone now, thanks mostly to the lowering of expectations once that kindly owl/man hybrid Roy Hodgson took over and there's no sign of Terry Venables or Harry Redknapp cockneying it up on television, telling everyone who'll listen that "our 'triffic boys will be bringing home the trophy". Hodgson has moulded his England team into one that actually looks and plays like Irish teams of past World Cups.
Their expectations are similar too, try to get out of a tough group and see where the knock-out stages take them – a penalty shootout exit most likely. Irishmen supporting England at the World Cup is never going to be met with universal acclaim but you know, when even Martin McGuinness has a sneaky vested interest in them doing well, then you can too.
Cannot be serious!! In office draw for the World Cup I drew....... pic.twitter.com/rPkmtI5wa5— Martin McGuinness (@M_McGuinness_SF) June 4, 2014
For the footballing hipsters among you, those who have been wearing Borussia Dortmund jerseys for the last four years but are giving up on them because they're getting too mainstream now, there's only one real choice – Belgium.
An unfashionable European country most famous for beer, chocolate and Jean Claude Van Damme, there's been something of a footballing revolution in the country and they suddenly have a team with some rather brilliant players, just keep it to yourself right?
You can sit back content in your annoying smugness as Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and the rest tear teams apart with their quick attacking football, and if anyone looks like joining you on the bandwagon, just remind them that they've got no full-backs to speak of and that the conditions will catch up with them.
It's the football equivalent of telling everyone you used to like a band before they became famous and that their earlier stuff was much better.
You could of course go the opposite way and plump for one of the tournament favourites, and if you're so inclined there's no better team to go for than Argentina.
With a wealth of attacking options, a slightly leaky defence and one of the world's best players in Lionel Messi, you're guaranteed goals and excitement, but there are also several convincing reason for the Irish supporter to get behind them.
There's some strong links between Ireland and Argentina and we can make a claim on one of their most famous sons. Che Guevara's people came from Galway and his father said of him: "The first thing to note is that in my son's veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels."
Then there's William Brown, or Admiral William Brown to you. From Foxford in Mayo, Brown is regarded as one of Argentina's national heroes after he helped to create the Argentina navy and led it to numerous victories in the Argentine War of Independence.
There are roughly 1,200 streets in Argentina named after him, along with a museum dedicated to him in Foxford, and statues and memorial commemorating him in Buenos Aires.
There's a certain affinity with Argentina among many Irish football fans, especially those of a certain generation who will remember Diego Maradona lighting up Mexico in 1986 when he helped to drag his side to World Cup glory and dumped England out with one of the best goals ever scored - and another, slightly more dubious effort.
For our final suggestion, we're going to keep things South American and let you in on a secret. Our allegiances are going to lie with Chile in this World Cup.
Not only do the Chileans play an exciting brand of attacking football, with much of the slick passing of Spain but with more aggressive intent, but like Argentina there are some pretty significant historical links with Ireland.
With a father born in Sligo, Bernardo O'Higgins – we can only surmise that he added the extra 'o' to fit in – is often referred to as the 'Father of Chile'. Helping to free Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence, he later became the first leader of the independent nation.
With statues of him in Merion Square, Dublin and in the Garavogue River Walkway in Sligo, along with a top-flight football team in Chile named O'Higgins FC, the bould Bernardo has left his mark both here and in Chile.
But he wasn't the only one - Patricio Lynch, grandson of Patrick Lynch from Galway and a distant relative of Che Guevara, was a famous Admiral in the Chilean navy and nicknamed the 'Red Prince' because of his red-hair. You know what they say, you can take the boy out of Galway....
There's a fair few MacKenna's who have made their mark there too. Juan MacKenna (born John MacKenna in Monaghan) is considered to have been the founder of the Corps of Military Engineers, while his grandson Benjamin Vicuna MacKenna was a writer and the mayor of Santiago.
Chile have it all to do at this World Cup after being landed in a group with Spain, the Netherlands and Australia, but after a shaky start and a change of manager they stormed through qualifying and look certain to cause a few upsets in Brazil.
As Bernardo himself famously said once: "Lads! Live with honour, or die with glory! He who is brave, follow me!" Vamos Chilenos!


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More than 25 percent of consumers in the United States own and use logoed drinkware every single day. This data alone makes these products a powerful mechanism to promote your event, raise your brand awareness, and lift the ceiling on revenue earning potential for years to come. At ePromos, we believe in offering glassware and other products that stand up to repeated use, are simple to clean, and won't dull over time, giving your promotional efforts the longevity they deserve. Whether you're looking for shatterproof plastic or printed pint glasses, our selection offers a robust catalog that won't send you away in search of better options.
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text:
Duncan Aviation has selected Houston-based AV8 MRO as its preferred provider for the repair and overhaul of all Hawker landing gear.
"This agreement allows Duncan Aviation to take advantage of our complete in-house repair and overhaul capabilities, while also giving them the opportunity to offer an overhaul exchange program to their customers," said Yoel Arnoni, one of the MRO's principals.
The newly established FAA and EASA repair station offers maintenance, repair and overhaul services for all variants of the Hawker 125 series landing gear, including the option to have the components sent in, overhauled and returned to the customer, or an overhaul exchange. If no overhaul is required, AV8 MRO can provide the specific repairs.
The company has specification approval to make replacement parts and currently has approval for almost 400 parts for the Hawker 125 landing gear.


text:
by Ian Mahar, Rosemary C. Bagot, Maria Antonietta Davoli, Sharon Miksys, Rachel F. Tyndale, Claire-Dominique Walker, Marissa Maheu, Sheng-Hai Huang, Tak Pan Wong, Naguib Mechawar
The influence of developmental nicotine exposure on the brain represents an important health topic in light of the popularity of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) as a smoking cessation method during pregnancy.
In this study, we used a model of NRT during pregnancy and breastfeeding to explore the consequences of chronic developmental nicotine exposure on cerebral neuroplasticity in the offspring. We focused on two dynamic lifelong phenomena in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus that are highly sensitive to the environment: granule cell neurogenesis and long-term potentiation (LTP).
Pregnant rats were implanted with osmotic mini-pumps delivering either nicotine or saline solutions. Plasma nicotine and metabolite levels were measured in dams and offspring. Corticosterone levels, DG neurogenesis (cell proliferation, survival and differentiation) and glutamatergic electrophysiological activity were measured in pups.
Juvenile (P15) and adolescent (P41) offspring exposed to nicotine throughout prenatal and postnatal development displayed no significant alteration in DG neurogenesis compared to control offspring. However, NRT-like nicotine exposure significantly increased LTP in the DG of juvenile offspring as measured in vitro from hippocampal slices, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying nicotine-induced LTP enhancement previously described in adult rats are already functional in pups.
These results indicate that synaptic plasticity is disrupted in offspring breastfed by dams passively exposed to nicotine in an NRT-like fashion.


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Koschei the Deathless is to Russian folklore what devils or wicked witches are to Western European culture: a menacing, evil figure, the villain of countless stories that have been passed on through story and text for generations. But Koschei has never before been seen through the eyes of Catherynne Valente, whose modernized and transformed take on the legend brings the action to modern times, spanning many of the great developments of Russian history in the 20th century.
Deathless, however, is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei's beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way, there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death, which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.
©2011 Catherynne M. Valente (P)2013 Audible Ltd
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"Enthralling and an excellent reading"
I'm not a huge fan of magical fantasy, but Deathless is a definite exception.
The main female character, throughout the story. So human, despite her surroundings.
A literally warts-and-all re-imagining of life as it is lived when magic infuses the world.
Valente invokes the old style of fairytales without sounding clichéd. Original and thoroughly enjoyable. This is one audio-book that I am very likely to listen to again. So much happens and the reading is so enjoyable. A real pleasure.
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Campaign of the Month: January 2011
Honour Among Thieves
Emory Trinh
A blue-collar worker who's in way over his head.
Agi – d8 Str – d6 Vit – d6 Ale – d8 Int – d8 Wil – d6
- Initiative – d8 + d8
- Life Points – 12
Traits – Coward [m], Born Behind The Wheel [m], Dead Broke [m], Hooked [m]
Skills – Influence d6/Administration d8, Knowledge d6, Mechanical Engineering d6, Perception d6/gambling d8, Planetary Vehicles d6/cars d8/trucks d10, Technical Engineering d4
Emory Trinh is a truck driver for XCOR Technologies. He also owes quite a bit of money to a certain loan shark with an extra-flashy smile.


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This property has been removed by the agent. It may be let or temporarily removed from the market
4 bedroom flat to rentCumbernauld Road, Muirhead, Glasgow
£600 pcm| £138 pw
Property Description
Letting information:
|Furnished or unfurnished, landlord is flexible
|Added on Rightmove:
|07 March 2012 (2024 days ago)
Full description
HomeLink are delighted to offer to the market this 4 Bedroom traditional upper flat. The property is well placed for all local amenities.
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Inspections, Compliance, Enforcement, and Criminal Investigations
Mountain Vista Dairy 12/21/12
Department of Health and Human Services
|Public Health Service
Food and Drug Administration
Seattle District
Pacific Region
22215 26th Ave SE, Suite 210
Bothell, WA 98021
Telephone: 425-302-0340
December 21, 2012
In reply refer to Warning Letter SEA 13-08
John M. Ficher, Owner
Mountain Vista Dairy
8680 Sollie Smith Road
Tillamook, Oregon 97141
Dear Mr. Ficher:
On October 15-18, 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted an investigation of your dairy operation located at 8680 Sollie Smith Road, Tillamook, Oregon. This letter notifies you of the violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) that we found during our investigation of your operation. You can find the FD&C Act and its associated regulations on the Internet through links on FDA's web page at www.fda.gov.
We found that you offered for sale an animal for slaughter as food that was adulterated. Under section 402(a)(2)(C)(ii) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 342(a)(2)(C)(ii), a food is deemed to be adulterated if it bears or contains a new animal drug that is unsafe under section 512 of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360b. Further, under section 402(a)(4) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 342(a)(4), a food is deemed to be adulterated if it has been held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health.
Specifically, our investigation revealed that on or about May 9, 2012, you sold a dairy cow, identified with back tag #(b)(4) (ear tag #(b)(4) yellow), for slaughter as food. On or about May 10, 2012, (b)(4), located at (b)(4), slaughtered this animal. United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS) analysis of tissue samples collected from this animal identified the presence of 0.25 parts per million (ppm) of penicillin in the kidney tissue. FDA has established a tolerance of 0.05 ppm for residues of penicillin in the uncooked edible tissues of cattle as codified in Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), 556.510 (21 C.F.R. 556.510). The presence of this drug in edible tissue from this animal in this amount causes the food to be adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(2)(C)(ii) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 342(a)(2)(C)(ii).
Our investigation also found that you hold animals under conditions that are so inadequate that medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. For example, you failed to maintain complete treatment records and a drug inventory system. In addition, expired veterinary drugs were observed in your supply cabinet, available for use on your livestock. Food from animals held under such conditions is adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(4) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 342(a)(4).
We also found that you adulterated the new animal drug Pro-Pen-G® Injection (Penicillin G Procaine Injectable Suspension, NADA #065-505). Specifically, our investigation revealed that you did not use Pro-Pen-G® Injection as directed by its approved labeling. Use of this drug in this manner is an extralabel use. See 21 C.F.R. 530.3(a).
The extralabel use of approved animal or human drugs in animals is allowed under the FD&C Act only if the extralabel use complies with sections 512(a)(4) and (5) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360b(a)(4) and (5), and 21 C.F.R. Part 530, including that the use must be by or on the lawful order of a licensed veterinarian within the context of a valid veterinarian/client/patient relationship.
Our investigation found that you administered Pro-Pen-G® Injection (Penicillin G Procaine Injectable Suspension, NADA #065-505) to your dairy cow without following the dose and amount per injection site as stated in the approved labeling. Your extralabel use of Pro-Pen-G® Injection was not under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian, in violation of 21 C.F.R. 530.11(a). Because your use of this drug was not in conformance with its approved labeling and did not comply with 21 C.F.R. Part 530, you caused the drug to be unsafe under section 512(a) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360b(a), and adulterated within the meaning of section 501(a)(5) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 351(a)(5).
The above is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of violations. As a producer of animals offered for use as food, you are responsible for ensuring that your overall operation and the food you distribute is in compliance with the law.
You should take prompt action to correct the violations described in this letter and to establish procedures to ensure that these violations do not recur. Failure to do so may result in regulatory action without further notice such as seizure and/or injunction.
FDA acknowledges your firm's written response, received following our inspection. A letter was received by our office on November 5, 2012, addressing the observations made during the inspection we conducted at your firm. Although your letter indicates that your firm has taken steps to address our observations, your response is partially adequate. Your response states that you will be administering penicillin in multiple injection sites; however, your response does not address if you will be administering the dosage specified by the drug's approved labeling. Your response states that you have implemented new drug treatment records; however, your response did not address how your firm will ensure proper implementation of these records by your employees.
You should notify this office in writing of the steps you have taken to bring your firm into compliance with the law within fifteen (15) working days of receiving this letter. Your response should include each step that has been taken or will be taken to correct the violations and prevent their recurrence. If corrective action cannot be completed within fifteen (15) working days of receiving this letter, state the reason for the delay and the time frame within which the corrections will be completed. Please include copies of any available documentation demonstrating that corrections have been made.
Your written response should be sent to Jessica L. Kocian, Compliance Officer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 22215 26th Ave SE, Suite 210, Bothell, Washington 98021. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact Compliance Officer Jessica Kocian at 425-302-0444.
Charles M. Breen
District Director
cc: Dr. Brad LeaMaster, State Veterinarian
Oregon State Department of Agriculture
Animal Health and Identification Division
635 Capitol Street NE
Salem, Oregon 97310-2532
(b)(4) DVM


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Stolen Computers Contain Patient Information
If you're new here and like what you read, you may want to subscribe to my email alerts or RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Protect yourself and your family, guaranteed!
Health-care services company, McKesson, is alerting thousands of its patients that their personal information is at risk after two of its computers were stolen from an office.
The company, which helps pharmaceutical manufacturers set up assistance programs for patients in need, sent out a letter alerting patients that the computers were stolen on July 18. The names of the people being alerted were on one of the two PCs, but it's not known how much of their accompanying identifying information was also contained on the machines.
"Your personal information may have been on one of the two computers that were stolen from a McKesson office," wrote Patrick Blake, president of McKesson Specialty Pharmaceutical, in the letter to one patient. "At this point, we have not determined if your personal information was on either stolen computer. However, we are taking the precaution of notifying every patient whose information might have been on the computers, just to be safe."
Written by MCruz on September 7th, 2007 with
no comments.
Read more articles on Identity Theft and Patients.
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It only takes a minute to get started. Fill out our simple sign up form and login to the site.
This step is voluntary but will greatly boost your chances of getting interest from other over 50s members on the site. Tell people about yourself, your pasttimes and upload your best photograph.
Use our website's sophisticated search to spot over 50s members who match your requirements. Or just scan through listings and spot people that interest you.
Found someone who ticks all the boxes? Send them a message or just a wink and take it from there. With a little luck you'll be on your way to true love.
It only takes a few minutes


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Financial services giant ING is cutting 100 Minnesota workers from its payrolls.
The Dutch company is slashing 750 jobs or 7 percent of its total U.S. Workforce. Nearly 90 workers in Minneapolis and about 10 workers in St. Cloud are getting pink slips.
The company employs about 1000 workers in Minnesota.
ING has a number of business lines, including life insurance, banking, and investment management.
Spokesman Dana Ripley said the weak economy is prompting the layoffs, which span the country and the company's businesses.
He said ING is trying to avoid cutting positions that involve direct contact with customers.
"We recognize in these unsettling times that we need to take very good care of our customers and our distribution partners. And so the impact on 'customer-facing jobs' is minimal, and we'll continue to focus on helping out customers to navigate through these challenging times as well," Ripley said.
Ripley said layoffs will take place over the course of the first three months of this year.


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I'm a child of the 80s, and let me tell you… we ALL used press on nails at one time or another! The main reason my friends and I would don the fakes was to achieve a look much like the gleaming gold half moon on the MAC Ruffian Manicure set in Demilune. This true-metallic finish is just not achievable with standard nail polish.
MAC Ruffian Manicures
Our choice was to wear one gold press on nail on each ring finger, as an accent nail. This collection, created by Brian Wolk and Claude Morais of Ruffian, features 24 nails with a gilded gold half moon and matte black finish. They're easily applied with a self-adhesive strip on each nail. The look is something most couldn't create on their own!
Retail price is $25.
Click HERE to check it out at MACCosmetics.com!
The author of the Raging Rouge Beauty Blog received press samples for purposes of this makeup review / product review. Some of my beauty reviews also contain affiliate links. For more information on sample policies, please click HERE to read my full disclosure.


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SEFFNER — James Pope didn't just teach social studies, he encouraged his students to get involved in them.
During the six years he taught eighth-grade U.S. history at Mulrennan Middle School in Valrico, he created an annual Veterans Day celebration —Mulrennan Salutes — where the students dressed in red, white and blue and stood together to create a giant flag that the school photographed each year, said Tim Ducker, Mulrennan's principal.
On Monday, Pope, who had just begun a new position at Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace this fall, was on his way to work when he died in a three-way crash in Seffner, deputies said. He was 33.
Pope, of Mulberry, was driving north on County Road 579 about 8 a.m. when Virginia Fleming, 67, ran a stop sign on Pruett Road, deputies said. Fleming, driving a Buick, hit Pope's Ford Fusion on the passenger side. The collision turned the car around, and a Ford F-150 traveling south on CR 579 hit Pope's car on the driver's side. The driver of the F-150, Mark Knowlton, 41, is a Gator Ford mechanic who was test-driving the truck.
Deputies said Pope died at the scene. Neither Knowlton nor Fleming was injured.
At Greco, Pope taught eighth-grade social studies and U.S. history.
"He was a very passionate man in regards to civics, the community and the Constitution," Ducker said. "He taught social studies for a reason: He loved it," the principal said.
Pope hoped that having events such as Mulrennan Salutes would show the students Veterans Day meant something and should be honored, Ducker said.
"It was completely his concept; he started and organized the whole thing."
But as much as Pope loved social studies and his students, he loved his family even more, Ducker said. Pope was married and had two young boys, he said.
Shelley Rossetter can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or (813) 226-3374.


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Site ColumnsBy Caillan
December 21, 2001 - 9:39 AM
Hello World!
As my brother and I were constructing his Hogwarts Castle LEGO set the other day, we started discussing how much better it was than many of the sets in recent years.
I haven't been a big fan of many of their latest 'themes' - they just can't compare to the classics like early 90s castle and pirates sets. I always loved the pirates theme - I never owned any of the big sets, but my next door neighbour had Governor Broadside's Fort, which made me eternally jealous.
Truth be told, I didn't always build what I was supposed to - I must have been the only 12 year old who spent their time constructing monasteries.
Many of the older sets are available on eBay, but after checking out the horrendous prices ($300 USD for a ship - eeek!), I'll confine my nostalgia to looking at pictures online.
Trek BBS Today
Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:
- Has Enterprise's first season so far lived up to 'Broken Bow'.
- Which is your favourite race introduced by Voyager?
- How do eBooks work?
More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!
Trek Two Years Ago
This was the major news item on December 21, 1999:
- Harve Bennett On 'Academy'
The official site posted an interview with producer Harve Bennett in which he talked about his proposed idea for the sixth Star Trek film - set at Starfleet Academy. "I had a romance between Kirk and a cadet named Cassie, who dies bravely in his arms," he said, "which explains how he never came to love that way again."
More news can be found in the archives.
Today's Television Listings
- TNN will be showing will be showing the Next Generation episodes 'The Ensigns of Command' at 8:00 p.m eastern time, 'All Good Things (part 1 of 2)' at 9:00 p.m, 'All Good Things (part 2 of 2)' at 10:00 p.m, and 'Suddenly Human' at 11:00 p.m.
- The Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the Original Series episode 'The Deadly Years' at 6:00 p.m eastern time.
- In Canada, Space! will be showing the Original Series episode 'And the Children Shall Lead' at 10:00 a.m and 2:00 p.m eastern time, followed by the Next Generation's 'The Vengeance Factor' at 3:00 p.m, DS9's 'What You Leave Behind-Pt.2' at 4:00 p.m and Voyager's 'Ex Post Facto' at 5:00 p.m.
- In the United Kingdom, E4 will show the Original Series episode 'Errand of Mercy' at 14:00 and 18:00 GMT. Sky One will show Voyager's 'Projections' at 17:00. Thanks go out to the Great Link for this!
- In the Netherlands, RTL5 will show DS9's 'Meridian' at 18:00 ECT. NET5 will show Voyager's 'Fair Trade' at 18:30. Thanks go out to StarTrek.nl for this!
- In Australia, Tv1 will show Voyager's 'Maneuvers' at 10:00. Thanks go out to the Australian Babylon 5 & Star Trek air schedule
Tomorrow's Television Listings
- TNN will be showing TNG's 'The Icarus Factor' at 3:00pm Eastern Time, TNG's 'Family' at 4:00pm, TNG's 'Dark Page' at 5:00pm, TNG's 'Inheritance' at 6:00pm, TNG's 'Bloodlines' at 7:00pm.
- In Canada, Space! will be showing the Original Series's 'And The Children Shall Lead' at 10:00am Eastern Time, TNG's 'The Vengeance Factor' at 11:00am, DS9's 'What You Leave Behind, Part 2' at 12:00pm and Voyager's 'Ex Post Facto' at 1:00pm.
- In the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing TNG's 'Justice' at 14:00 GMT, TNG's 'The Battle' at 15:00, TNG's 'Hide and Q' at 16:00 and Voyager's 'Elogium' at 17:00. Thanks go out to the Great Link for this!
- In Australia, TV1 will be showing the Original Series's 'Day of the Dove' at 19:30, TNG'S 'Transfigurations' at 20:30, Voyager's 'Innocence' at 21:30, DS9's 'Babel' at 22:30. Thanks go out to the Australian Babylon 5 & Star Trek air schedule
Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!


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Community SuPort
As avid sports fans and community activists, we at Port decided to donate to the Long Beach City College Soccer Team for the Fall 2013 season. We offered up some Port branded "pinnies" for their practices and got to take a first hand look at the team.
Come out to support them any way you can and check their fall schedule of games here!
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply.
"Based in Long Beach California, We are a unique group of minds set out to deliver our lifestyle through our creativity and our merchandise.
Our curated boutique atmosphere is home to the Port label clothing and accessory and is also supported by our favorite bands:
Broken Homme, Quiet Life,
Wonderland Sun, Ebbets, Bellroy Wallets and few other complimentary brands.
January 2016


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Global Aviation Holdings, the largest commercial provider of charter lift to the U.S. military, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization February 5 in New York. The company cited reduced rates paid by the military, the end of the war in Iraq, the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan and decreased demand for commercial cargo services as driving its decision to seek relief from creditors.
Global Aviation is owned by private equity firm Matlin Patterson. It operates through two subsidiary airlines: World Airways, based in Peachtree City, and North American Airlines, based at New York JFK Airport. World Airways operates four 747-400 and nine MD-11 freighters and seven MD-11 passenger aircraft. North American is a passenger carrier with five Boeing 757-200s and five 767-300ERs. Global Aviation employs 1,782 people and has had annual revenues of more than $1 billion. Its contract with the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command represents the largest portion of that revenue.
The company has outstanding debt of $244 million, according to documents filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization declined from $115 million in 2010 to $35.7 million last year, the company reported, leaving it without the capacity to service its debt. "The company needs to complete its comprehensive restructuring due to having too large a fleet, labor costs that exceed industry standards given the current global economic environment and the necessity to align the capital structure with the size of the company," Robert Binns, Global Aviation chairman and CEO, said in a press release.
As part of its reorganization strategy, Global Aviation said it will relocate North American Airlines headquarters to Peachtree City. It is also seeking the bankruptcy court's approval to secure aircraft lease modifications and reject certain unnecessary leases. Some 140 employees will be laid off by April, and salary reductions will be instituted at the manager level and above.
According to the bankruptcy filing, military passenger revenue for 2011 decreased by $80.2 million, or 11 percent compared to 2010. Military cargo revenue decreased by $41 million, or 29 percent. Hourly rates paid per mile under the 2011 Air Mobility Command contract were down 5.2 percent for widebody passenger aircraft, 5.5 percent for narrowbodies and 2 percent for large freighter aircraft compared to the 2010 contract. The decline in rates was due mainly to a combination of lower costs from other airlines and changes in the mobility command's allowable costs, Global Aviation said.