Free Republic

HUNTERDON COUNTY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – A tiny parasite could become a big problem this year in New Jersey. It’s an exotic tick that’s never been seen before in the United States. It was first spotted on a sheep in Hunterdon County, and efforts to wipe it out have failed. New Jersey has always been home to different species of ticks – five to be exact. But a new variety of the bloodsucking bug is now in the mix. It’s the East Asian tick, sometimes called a longhorned or bush tick. Originally found in Asia, thousands of them are now in...

SAN ANSELMO, CA — Elizabeth Liebert will become the first Roman Catholic sister named as dean of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seminary this summer when she takes over the position at San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS). With more than two decades of teaching experience at the 138-year-old seminary, Liebert will replace the Rev. Jana Childers, who will step down June 30 after nearly eight years as dean. “We are particularly pleased to be attaining a historic ecumenical milestone,” SFTS President Phil Butin said. “Dr. Liebert's deanship is a sterling example of SFTS's thoroughgoing commitment to ecumenical theological education.” “This seems...

San Francisco Theological Seminary has issued a statement saying the seminary group that met with Hezbollah on June 1, 2004, did so without knowing that such a meeting would occur and that the students and leaders felt uncomfortable in the presence of a Hezbollah representative and reporters from Mideast media. The statement was unsigned, but Phil Butin, president of the seminary, told The Layman Online that he wrote most of it after interviewing a number of students to find out what happened. Butin also said he talked with Charles Marks, the seminary's chaplain and leader, along with his wife Amal...