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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

The lesbian and gay liberation movement in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 1974-1996.

Since its founding in 1974, Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns (PLGC) has led the movement toward full participation and membership for lesbian and gay people in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is a story of that movement, told by a participant. It traces the development of current antigay policies in the church in 1976-78 in response to the first openly gay candidate for the ministry, PLGC's efforts to overturn these policies at annual General Assemblies, the growth of the pro-gay More Light Churches movement among Presbyterian congregations, the increasing number of antigay ecclesiastical court cases, study and dialogue on lesbian and gay issues across the denomination, and controversies over same-gender marriage, all culminating in the 1996 General Assembly, which endorsed civil rights for lesbian and gay couples, but also voted to send the controversial issue of lesbian and gay ordination to the 171 regional presbyteries of the church for an up or down vote. The battle for lesbian and gay equity in the church may well continue decades longer. Equity for gays and lesbians in society will not be fully won until the religious establishment learns how to apply its most basic principles of love, nurture, inclusive welcome, and support to lesbian and gay people.

Christianity↗
PubMed1994

[Analysis of services of medical missionaries during the late Yi-Dynasty and the era of the Japanese occupation of Korea].

Authors investigated the services of medical missionaries during the late Yi-Dynasty and the era of the Japanese Occupation in Korea. The information and materials were got from the following primary sources: The Searching Report on the European and American Residents in Korea (1907-1942); The Korean Mission Field, Vol 1 (1905.11)-Vol 37 (1941.11); Christian Newspapers, No 1 (1915.2)-No 1128 (1937.7). Through this study we found that 280 medical missionaries came to Korea to do the medical services during the period from 1884 to 1941. Among them were 133 medical doctors, 5 dentists, 6 pharmacists and 136 nurses. And it was found that 71 medical missionaries (25%) belonged to US Northern Presbyterian Church, 50 (18%) to US Northern Methodist Church, 38 (14%) to US Southern Presbyterian Church, each 32 (11%) to US Southern Methodist Church and Society for the Proppagation of the Gospel (Anglican Church), 20 (7%) to Canadian Presbyterian Church, each 12 (4%) to Australian Presbyterian Church and Catholic Church, 9 (3%) to Seventh Day Adventist Church, and 31 Western medical personnels without connection to any missionary society. ...

Christianity↗
PubMed2000

[The life of Dr. John William Heron, the second superintendent of Chejungwon].

The purpose of this paper is to overview the life of John W. Heron, M. D. who was the first appointed medical missionary to Korea by the Presbyterian Church USA. Although he was a competent doctor as well as a devoted missionary, he is not well-known yet, because he died early after 5 years' service in Korea. Dr. Heron was born in Derbyshire, England on June 15, 1856. His father, Rev. E. S. Heron, was a Scotch Minister of Congregational Church. His family emigrated to America in 1870 when he was fourteen years old and settled in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1881, he was admitted to the University of Tennessee Medical School and graduated with highest honors in 1883. After training in New York University Hospital, he refused the offer of professorship from the University of Tennessee to become a medical missionary to Korea. He arrived in Seoul on June 21, 1885 and began to work in Royal Government Hospital, Chejungwon, the predecessor of Severance Hospital. In 1887, he became the superintendent of the Hospital following Dr. Horace N. Allen. He also worked for the Royal family and sometimes traveled to the rural areas to care for the patients. He started Chejungwon Church which later became Namdaemoon Presbyterian Church. In 1887, Dr. Heron worked as a member of the Bible translation committee and in 1889, he was elected as the chairman of the Public Committee of the Presbyterian Churches. In 1890, he established 'The Korean Religious Tract Society (Chosunsyungkyoseohoi) with Underwood and Ohlinger. The society published and replenished Christian books, periodical magazines and booklets. In the Summer of 1890, Dr. Heron did his best to take care of the sick suffering from an epidemic dysentery and himself got infected because of the terrible overwork. He passed away on July 26th, 1890. On his deathbed, he told his soldier and native friends around him as follow: "Jesus loves you. He gave His life for you. Stand by Him!" The martyrdom of Dr. Heron should be remembered in the Korean history of mission, because he was the first victim among the foreign missionaries who had lived and worked in Seoul for Korean mission. Dr. Heron's mind of love, service and devotion should be remembered by the medical doctors working today in caring for the patients suffering from physical and spiritual illnesses.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1993

Exclusion, toleration, acceptance, integration: the experience of Dutch Reformed churches with homosexuality and homosexuals in the church.

The overwhelming majority of Protestant Christians in The Netherlands are members of denominations in the Reformed tradition (i.e., protestant churches characterized by Calvinist theology and a "presbyterian" church government by elected assemblies of elders). Comparable North American denominations are the Reformed Church in America and the United Presbyterian Church, both of which are facing some degree of internal controversy over homosexuality. In The Netherlands, the four major strands of the Reformed church have taken various positions on homosexuality, ranging from absolute rejection of homosexuality in the church and society, through one denomination which found itself in the curious position of approving the ordination of homosexual clergy while barring homosexuals from the Lord's Table, to creating "life covenants" which re-evaluate heterosexual marriage while also blessing relationships between homosexuals. All call upon the same set of principles for their varied stands. The two major denominational branches, the Netherlands Reformed Church (Hervormde Kerk) and the Reformed Churches in The Netherlands (Gereformeerde Kerken) have taken different approaches to resolving the issue, the former through internal political conflict and the latter through a more authoritarian (though progressive) stand. The article traces the political, theological, and juridical history of the evolution of these positions, and suggests various potential models, and their possibilities and pitfalls, for North American Protestant churches dealing with issues surrounding homosexuality and the church.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Prayer and health outcomes in church members.

CONTEXT: This study adds to the existing research on religion and health by focusing on the specific practice of prayer and its relationship to health outcomes. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this survey is to examine the relationship of frequency of prayer to 8 categories of physical and mental health. DESIGN: The Presbyterian Church, USA, performed data collection as part of an ongoing research program. Members of the Presbyterian Church were randomly selected from the national population and surveyed by mail on their frequency of prayer and their health status, as measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Short-form 36 Health Survey. RESULTS: Self-reports of health indicated a high level of functioning overall for all 8 categories of physical and mental health. People who prayed more often scored lower in their physical functioning and their ability to carry out role activities, and higher in their reports of physical pain. However, people who prayed more often also had significantly higher mental health scores than did those who prayed less frequently, despite their physical health problems. CONCLUSION: This study supports the relationship of a high frequency of prayer with a more positive mental health. Various explanations of the results are explored.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A critique of creationist homophobia.

In 1978, the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America prohibited the ordination of "practicing homosexuals" to the church's ministry. In this prohibition, by providing a pivotal role for homophobic interpretation of Genesis 1-3, Presbyterians linked up with the exclusionist policies of both the Roman Catholic and fundamentalist communions. The following article submits this use of the biblical narratives of creation to critical examination and provides an alternative liberationist perspective.

Bible↗
PubMed1993

[Medical education in Pyongyang (1890-1945)].

As early as the reign of King Taejo, the Choson Dynasty started medical education in Pyongyang by establishing a medical school under "uikwa" which was an independent governmental organization of the 10 bu. Toward the end of the Dynasty, a local medical organization called "uihakwon", which was independent of the "Hyeminso" and comparatively large as a local medical organization, was established in Pyongyang under the control of "Pusa" and "Chick chang". This educational organization was staffed by one professor and had an enrolment of 16 students. Around 1894, when the Sino-Japanese War broke out, American missionaries, medical and non-medical, chose Pyongyang as the base of their missionary activities and started medical and educational work. William James Hall, of the Northern Methodist Church, started medical work, sometime later, Rossetta S. Hall, who accompanied her husband to Pyongyang, opened a hospital for women. In the meantime, J. Hunter Wells, of the Northern Presbyterian Church, inaugurated the "Chejungwon" and launched medical service in Pyoungyang. These medical activities naturally needed trained medical assistants and missionary doctors came to embrace an idea of educating regular medical doctors in Korea where there were no Korean medical doctors. This occasioned Dr. Hall and Dr. Wells to launch medical education. Their medical education which began in 1897-1899 was a pioneer work for Western medical education in Pyoungyang. ...

Education, Medical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Medicine and public health. Whose agenda?

My grandfather was a general practitioner in a rural midwestern town during the first half of this century. His office consisted of a single examining room in the family home, a tiny waiting area, and little envelopes in which he dispensed medications. Patient hours were in the evening, no appointment necessary. Mostly, folks chatted in the living room with my grandmother while waiting to see "Grandpa Doc." My grandfather's nights often included trips to neighbors' kitchens to deliver babies. Days were time to serve as the county health officer, student health director for the local college, and organizer of the town's free clinic for indigent patients, based in the Presbyterian church.

Clinical Medicine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Altruistic social interest behaviors are associated with better mental health.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether altruistic social interest behaviors such as engaging in helping others were associated with better physical and mental health in a stratified random sample of 2016 members of the Presbyterian Church throughout the United States. METHODS: Mailed questionnaires evaluated giving and receiving help, prayer activities, positive and negative religious coping, and self-reported physical and mental health. RESULTS: Multivariate regression analysis revealed no association between giving or receiving help and physical functioning, although the sample was highly skewed toward high physical functioning. Both helping others and receiving help were significant predictors of mental health, after adjusting for age, gender, stressful life events, income, general health, positive and negative religious coping, and asking God for healing (R2 =.27). Giving help was a more important predictor of better reported mental health than receiving help, and feeling overwhelmed by others' demands was an independent predictor of worse mental health in the adjusted model. Significant predictors of giving help included endorsing more prayer activities, higher satisfaction with prayer life, engaging in positive religious coping, age, female gender, and being a church elder. Frequency of prayer and negative religious coping were not related to giving help. CONCLUSIONS: Helping others is associated with higher levels of mental health, above and beyond the benefits of receiving help and other known psychospiritual, stress, and demographic factors. The links between these findings and response shift theory are discussed, and implications for clinical interventions and future research are described.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

[Early missionary medicine in Taiwan].

Taiwan, as mainland China, first received modern medicine from Christian missionaries. Although Western medicine was introduced by the Dutch in the 17th century, it disappeared after their expulsion by Zheng Chenggong. It was not until 1865 when the British Presbyterian Church sent Dr. James Laidlow Maxwell to Taiwan to engage in medical and missionary work that Western medicine was able to take root in Taiwan. The last three decades of the 19th century were a key period in the development of modern medicine in Taiwan. This paper discusses three major figures in early missionary medicine in Taiwan, Dr. James Laidlow Maxwell, Rev. George Leslie Mackay, and Dr. David Landsborough and their contributions to the development of modern medicine in Taiwan.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1999

[One hundred years history of surgery in Korea].

Introduction of western surgery into Korea is closely related to the introduction of western medicine itself into Korea. In December 4th, 1884 Allen, who came to Korea as a Missionary Doctor of North Presbyterian Church of America, had a chance to treat a patient with severe stab wounds. The patient was a nephew of Queen Myungsung. The patient, Min Young Ik was recovered completely. These happenings led to the establishment of 'Kwangheywon (renamed to Jejoongwon 2 weeks later)', the first westernized hospital in Korea. With the great financial aids from Severance family, Jejoongwon developed into Severance Hospital and Medical School in 1904, and greatly contributed to education of Surgery for Korean medical students. Meanwhile Korean Government established the Medical School and Hospital to train Korean Doctors in 1899. But the original intentions became to be impaired by occupation of Korea by Japan in 1910. As a colony, many Japanese Surgeons came to Korea as professors of Kyungsung Medical College, and gave only few chances for Koreans to become a professor. On the contrary, several surgeons became professors in the private, missionary 'Severance Union Medical College'. After liberation from Japanese occupation in 1945, American medical system was introduced into Korea, and many surgeons had a chance to be trained in America. There was great advancements in the field of surgery, especially of neurosurgery, during a tragic Korean War. With the restoration of economy after the 1960s, surgery in Korea continued to develop toward an independent and consolidated fields of medicine.

Colonialism↗
PubMed1998

Religion and age in Australia.

"The age profiles of religious groups in Australia are changing at different rates. Most mainstream Christian denominations have a higher proportion of adherents aged 60 or more than does the population as a whole. In most cases the age profile of people who actually attend services is older again. This is especially true of people who attend the Uniting, Anglican and Presbyterian churches. The proportion of Jews who are 60 or more is also high. In contrast, it is very low for Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists."

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2000

Internal fixation of fractures in a peripheral set-up in Kenya.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the pattern of fractures in Nyeri and the types of operations done for their treatment. DESIGN: A simple retrospective descriptive study. SETTING: Five of the main hospitals in Nyeri metropolis, namely, Central Provincial General Hospital, Mount Kenya Hospital, Nyeri Nursing Home, Jamii Hospital and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa Hospital, Tumutumu. SUBJECTS: One hundred and twenty patients with 134 fractures who were admitted and operated on by the author at the above hospitals between July 1995 and July 1998. RESULTS: There were 80 males and 40 females. The youngest patient was a seven year old male and the oldest an 83-year old female. The highest number of fractures involved the femur followed by the tibia. Road traffic accidents accounted for 56.6% of the fractures, falls 31.7% and assault 6.7%. Various forms of plates constituted the commonest implants used followed by Kuntscher nails. The complication rate was 14.2% with a deep infection rate of three per cent. Four deaths were recorded. CONCLUSION: Operative treatment of fractures can safely be done in our peripheral hospitals. These hospitals should therefore be adequately equipped for this form of treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

[Neurological diseases in late 19th century Taiwan--medical reports of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs].

Western medicine was introduced to Taiwan in 1865 when Dr. James L. Maxwell, a missionary doctor of the English Presbyterian Church, established a hospital in nowadays Tainan. The period of the missionary medicine lasted for over 30 years until Japanese took over. During this period, however, official records of diseases in Taiwan that were based on Western medicine were scanty or not available. Fortunately, port surgeons stationing respectively in Tamsui and Kelung in the north and in Takow and Taiwan-fu in the south reported semi-annually diseases seen in the ports, foreign communities and missionary hospitals that they volunteered to work. The diseases reported by port surgeons were either cases or summary of cases with classification and statistics. Their medical reports covered from 1871 to 1900. The data show that neurological diseases and/or disorders in the late 19th century Taiwan were uncommon, comprising only 2-3% of total diseases. The data further show that common neurological diseases were leprosy, opium smoking, syphilitic dementia (GPI), paralysis, hysteria, neuralgia, epilepsy, mania, sciatica, meningitis and ataxia. Stroke was uncommon while Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease were not mentioned, indicating that neurological diseases related to old age and neurodegeneration were not yet a threat to health. Similarly, headache, insomnia, anxiety and depression, hallmark of functional disorders of the modern society, were also not mentioned, suggesting that these disorders were indeed rare or did not cause sufficient concern for patients to seek help from doctors of Western medicine.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed2006

Mukden Medical College (1911-1949): an outpost of Edinburgh medicine in northeast China. Part 1: 1882-1917; building the foundations and opening the college.

Scottish physician Dugald Christie, an 1881 licentiate of both the RCPE and the RCSEd, was the first medical missionary sent to China by the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. He commenced practice in the city of Mukden (Shenyang) in Manchuria in 1883. In 1892 he started to train student assistants and in 1911 founded the Mukden Medical College (Fengtian yi ke da xue). Edinburgh-trained physicians and surgeons largely staffed this college, the first Western medical school in Manchuria.

China↗