August 2019 New Horizons

Report on the Eighty-Sixth General Assembly

by Jesse Montgomery

On June 5, for the first time in the history of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), the General Assembly met in the state of Texas. The Presbytery of the Southwest and the OPC congregations in the Dallas area welcomed some two hundred commissioners, committee members, fraternal delegates, and visitors to the campus of the University of Texas at Dallas. A little over half of commissioners were ordained in the last two calendar decades; nearly a quarter of commissioners were attending their first assembly—while on one level a mere statistic, on another it brings to mind the reminder in Psalm 145 of the need for one generation to commend our Lord’s acts to another, that they may meditate on his wonderful works, proclaim his great deeds, and joyfully sing of his righteousness. Ruling elder David Haney was elected as moderator. Mr. Haney noted that he was honored to serve as moderator, his father, George Haney, having served in the same capacity exactly forty years prior. Mr. Haney served the assembly ... Read more

Garret A. Hoogerhyde: The Embodiment of a Ruling Elder

by Patricia E. Clawson

There is a reason why Garry Hoogerhyde is probably the longest continually serving ruling elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Whenever the OPC calls, Garry answers. During this year’s general assembly, Garret A. Hoogerhyde was recognized for serving as a ruling elder for sixty-three years in four New Jersey OPC congregations, sacrificing his time and talents and sharing his wisdom just twenty years shy of the OPC’s entire eighty-three-year history. His love for the church led to decades of service on committees of his presbytery and denomination, as well as, in 1976, being one of only nine ruling elders elected to serve as GA moderator. But this June, Garry, at 89, finally stepped down from the Committee on Home Missions after fifty-five years of service. At the request of John Shaw, general secretary for Home Missions, he agreed to remain on the OPC Loan Fund board as the last of its original members. Garry is the embodiment of a wise ruling elder, said Shaw. “He is humble, a man of ... Read more

A Blessed Providence after the Horror at Chabad of Poway

by M. Scott Johnson

Like the rest of us in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, I was stunned and sickened to learn that John T. Earnest, who opened fire on worshipers at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, on April 27, 2019, was a member of an OPC congregation. Our little denomination, virtually unknown to the world at large, was now associated in news articles with white nationalism, anti-Semitism, hatred, and terrorism. As much as we may argue that these evils are categorically opposite to our Christian and Reformed convictions, as indeed I believe they are, the fact is that an OP member committed this atrocity. And so we share the shame, if not the blame. Yet in the providence of God, the very next day and just a few miles away, another OP member was honored publicly by the Jewish community. Holocaust Remembrance The Community Holocaust Commemoration, held in connection with Yom HaShoah , or Holocaust Remembrance Day, took place in La Jolla, California. This event had been months in the planning, ... Read more