file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr94-042.txt ------------------------------------------------ For Immediate Release September 2, 1994 Release #1994-42 For Further Information Contact: Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer Reformed Believers Press Service Voice: (616) 674-8446 FAX: (616) 674-8454 E-Mail: Darrell128@AOL.com PO Box 691, Lawrence, MI 49064-0691 CRC's Classis Lake Erie Sends Blistering Letter of Rebuke to Midwest Presbytery of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church - Classis Lake Erie: "Unsubstantiated allegations against our denomination have joined the Westminster Confession as an integral part of [OPC] identity." by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer Reformed Believers Press Service (September 2, 1994) RBPS - If fiery letters burned with literal flames, the po st office in Pastor George Vander Weit's town of Troy would be a raging inferno by now. In one of the most heated communications yet to come out of Classis Lake Erie, Vander Weit has sent a blistering three page letter on behalf of the classical interim committee to twenty classes in the Christian Reformed denomination which were sent a letter of rebuke by the OPC's Presbytery of the Midwest. "In the last three decades unsubstantiated allegations against our denomination have joined the Westminster Confession as an integral part of your denomination's identity," wrote Vander Weit. "We are grieved that you send such a letter and that you sign it 'your brothers in Christ.' The one who is Truth would hide his face in shame." Classis Lake Erie's three-page response follows an April 19 letter from the stated clerk of the Presbytery of the Midwest, who was directed by the presbyt ery's spring meeting to express concern to the CRC about "a lack of clear teaching on the creation/evolution issue," "the failure to discipline a homosexual minister within your denomination," and "the direction your church has chosen to take regarding women in ecclesiastical office." "With deep respect for you and out of a desire to maintain our ecclesiastical fellowship with you, we write regarding our deep concern at what for us is your departure from the faithful, biblical, and confessional position which you have maintained in the past," said the presbytery. The presbytery closed its letter with an admonition: "Brothers, we again plead with you to repent of your sins and return to the biblical and confessional standards which bind us together." "[The letter] dates back to our previous stated meeting in 1993 where a question was raised from the floor whether our committee had given any thought to communication with classes that overlap our presbytery with regard to issues that divide us," said Rev. Pete Stazen, chairman of the OPC presbytery's ecumenicity committee. "At the March 1994 meeting, our committee put together an overture that was sent up to the General Assembly and along with that was a call to the overlapping classes of the CRC to give some consideration to the issues that divide us." The result was that the stated clerk of the OPC presbytery sent the letter to 21 different classes of the CRC which are within the bounds of the presbytery. Since the OPC presbytery runs all the way from Iowa to Michigan and includes some of the heaviest concentrations of CRC members in North America, the OPC letter was sent to almost half of the classes in the denomination. Vander Weit said lack of substantiation by the presbytery prompted the response. "You know the phrase, all it makes for evil men to prevail is for good men to do nothing," said Vander Weit. Vander Weit confirmed that even though the letter was sent between meetings it has official standing as a document of classis. "Our rules say the classical committee 'shall act on behalf of classis on all matters which cannot responsibly await the next meeting of classis,'" said Vander Weit. Classis Lake Erie scored the presbytery in particularly strong terms for defamation of Rev. Jim Lucas, the celibate homosexual minister. "Of what sin is Rev. Jim Lucas guilty? Has he had sexual relations with another man?" asked the classis, challenging the presbytery to either produce evidence of sexual misconduct so Lucas could be disciplined or to publicly apologize for defaming him. Other items cited by Classis Lake Erie included complaints that the presbytery used information from "organizations whose very existence and strength depend on the creation of division within our denomination" and that the Orthodox Presbyterian denomination as a whole is guilty of "unbrotherly dealings" with the CRC by paying the expenses of ecumenicity committee member Rev. G.I. Williamson to attend the Alliance of Reformed Churches while claiming that he is not an official Orthodox Presbyterian representative to the Alliance. "That's playing games," said Vander Weit. "To say that you pay all of the expenses to send a guy someplace but he's not your delegate is very strange. Let them send me to Europe that way!" According to Williamson, the confusion originated with erroneous statements in the minutes of the Alliance of Reformed Churches. "I can see that there is not great care exercised there at the Alliance," said Williamson. "They look at you, know you're OPC, and assume you are an observer from the OPC. It happens to be a fact that our committee has never wanted us identified as official observers, it has never asked for that and never approved of that, and I know the first time that was seen in print there was objection in the committee." Partly due to criticism from CRC and other sources, the 1994 OPC General Assembly voted to stop paying Williamson's way to attend the Alliance. The next step will be up to the presbytery. Rev. Donald Clawson, stated clerk of the presbytery, said three responses had been received so far: the Classis Lake Erie letter and two letters from individuals. Each will be dealt with at the presbytery's fall meeting on September 16 and 17. "What will happen is as stated clerk I will make a note that it was received," said Clawson. "We used to read letters in their entirety; now what will happen is I will give a summary to the presbytery unless they want it to be read. It will probably be given to our ecumenicity committee." Contact List: xRev. Douglas B. Clawson, Stated Clerk Presbytery of the Midwest (OPC) 7602 D Bristol Lane Hanover Park, IL 60103-2557 O: (708) 837-1699 H: (708) 213-1045 Rev. Jim Lucas Note to Editors: This information will be provided should you wish to contact Rev. Lucas for an interview. We request that it not be published to protect his privacy. Rev. Pete Stazen, Ecumenicity Chairman Presbytery of the Midwest (OPC) 58 West High Metamora, MI 48455 O: (810) 678-2171 H: (810) 678-3503 Pastor George Vander Weit, Stated Clerk Classis Lake Erie 2901 Waterloo Dr. Troy, MI 48084 O: (810) 645-1990 H: (810) 649-5388