The Presbytery of the Northern Plains will meet Jan. 25 by video conference from four sites across North Dakota, including First Presbyterian Church, 5555 S. Washington St., Grand Forks.
Elder Patricia O'Donnell, Grand Forks, will be installed as vice moderator of the Presbytery, which includes 64 congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota, plus one in Montana.
Also serving as video conference sites are congregations in Jamestown, Minot and West Fargo, N.D. The conference will include live interaction from all four sites, with facilitators at each site running the show, according to the Presbytery's December newsletter, "Light of the Northern Plains."
The Rev. David Thompson, Jamestown, will be installed as the new moderator of the Presbytery. The conference will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and include celebrating Holy Communion simultaneously at each of the four sites. The future form of the Presbytery's Fargo office also will be discussed.
Following the interactive, electronic nature of its fellowship, instead of mailing out conference packets to all members, the Presbytery advises to get the packets online at the group's Web site, www.northernplainspresbytery.com . The Rev. Chuck Traylor is executive presbyter of the Presbytery.
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Long-serving
K.C. priest diesA Roman Catholic priest died Christmas Day after leading his parish for 63 years, ending what is believed to be the longest active tenure at a U.S. Catholic church. He was 98.
Monsignor Heliodore Mejak became a priest in 1935. He said his first Mass in Holy Family Church on Aug. 1, 1944, and never left. The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas believes Mejak was the nation's oldest active priest.
He celebrated Mass until about a week before his death despite failing health and eyesight.
"He couldn't see," said Kevin Fogarty, a Wyandotte County firefighter who had attended the church for about 10 years. "He wore 'welding goggles' with huge magnifiers. When he said Mass, it was obvious he was reciting from memory. He couldn't read it at all."
State cracks down
on 'Amish taxis'The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is cracking down on operators of "Amish taxis" who regularly serve as drivers for members of the religious group but are not certified to carry passengers.
The PUC this fall began targeting the unlicensed "English" or non-Amish taxis serving more than 350 Amish families in Clearfield, Indiana and Jefferson counties. Amish religious beliefs bar owning or operating motor vehicles, so they rely on outsiders to drive them long distances or along roads that are too dangerous for horse-drawn buggies.
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The commission is responding to complaints, including some from drivers who paid to become state-certified to carry passengers, a PUC spokeswoman said.
- Herald staff and wire reports
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