file:/ pub/resources/text/reformed: nr94-043.txt
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For Immediate Release
September 2, 1994
Release #1994-43
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

Second Woman Pastor to Serve Christian Reformed Church - Mary-Lee
Bouma to "teach, expound the Word of God, and provide pastoral
care" as unordained solo pastor of Trinity CRC, Mt. Pleasant,
Michigan 

by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer
Reformed Believers Press Service

(September 2, 1994) RBPS - On Sunday, August 28, 1994, Mary-Lee
Bouma became the second female pastor in the 300,320-member
Christian Reformed denomination, which still officially bans women
from being ordained to the offices of minister or elder. Bouma
will serve as the unordained solo pastor of Trinity CRC in the
northern Michigan community of Mt. Pleasant. Although the
Christian Reformed denomination has never allowed the ordination
of women in its 137-year history, Synod 1989 allowed women to
serve as "adjunct elders" without vote and Synod 1992 allowed
women to "teach, expound the Word of God, and provide pastoral
care, under the supervision of the elders" of the local church.
While a number of Christian Reformed congregations have used the
"expounding" provision to have women seminarians lead services and
a few have hired female seminary interns, Mt. Pleasant CRC is only
the second Christian Reformed congregation to hire a woman as its
full-time unordained pastor.

The first woman pastor in the CRC was Ruth Hofman, who in late
1992 began serving First CRC in Toronto, a congregation which has
had women elders for years. Mt. Pleasant CRC, by contrast, is a
small and quiet 95-member congregation whose campus ministry at
Central Michigan University is heavily funded by Christian
Reformed denominational and classical ministry shares. The church 
has no women elders and has no intention of disobeying synod. Rev.
Keith Tanis, coordinator of field education at the denominational-
ly-owned Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, conducted
the commissioning service at Mt. Pleasant. Tanis, who began his
ministry at Mt. Pleasant in 1975, said he was pleased Bouma could
fill the pulpit from which he preached until 1979.

"It's a good fit for her," said Tanis. "She's an outstanding
evangelist and I think she'll bring some good gifts to the
congregation as far as outreach goes."

Tanis said Bouma would be particularly effective in a college
town. "She really is an outstanding leader because of her campus
ministry background in Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship," said
Tanis. Tanis said the commissioning service for Bouma included
laying on of hands but carefully avoided language of an ordination
service. Tanis noted that prior to participating in the service he
had consulted with Rev. Wilbert Van Dyk, Calvin's academic dean,
and participated only with the understanding that his action was
not ecclesiastical disobedience. Other participating ministers
included Mary-Lee's father Rev. Henry Bouma and a black Lutheran
pastor from the area. As a seminarian, the younger Bouma served in
inner-city ministry in a predominantly black neighborhood of Grand
Rapids.

A number of female seminarians from Calvin also attended the
commissioning service. "It was very encouraging for the women
students to see that they could do ministry in the Christian
Reformed Church," Tanis said, noting that Synod 1994's decision
not to allow the ordination of women ministers or elders had
discouraged a number of Calvin's women seminarians. Bouma declined
comment on the record, but said she believed her new position did
not disobey synodical regulations and was in accord with the
decision of Synod 1992 allowing unordained expounders to do most
work of ministers other than administration of the
sacraments.

However, not everyone in the CRC agrees that the 1992 decision was
intended to allow women expounders to serve as solo pastors of
congregations. Confusion over the 1992 decision led to a number of
overtures in 1993 and 1994; Synod 1994 appointed a committee to
clarify the term "expound" which is scheduled to report back to
Synod 1995.

"I think it is not in accord with the church order or the
intention of synod that an expounder take the place of a pastor
and that seems to be what is happening in this instance," said Dr.
W. Robert Godfrey, president of Westminster Theological Seminary
in California and reporter for the Synod 1994 advisory committee
which successfully recommended nonratification of women in
office.

"I don't know Mary-Lee Bouma and I don't want to say anything
negative about her, but I think it's particularly unfortunate that
while a committee is studying this matter a church would take the
kind of action that this church has," said Godfrey. "I don't think
that it will contribute to the peace or unity of the
church."

Godfrey said the Mt. Pleasant action, coupled with an earlier
decision by Classis Grand Rapids East not to discipline churches
with women elders, would produce calls by his church and others
for strong synodical action. "I've spoken with some men who know
the church order very well and believe synod has the authority to
order classes to bring their congregations into conformity with
the church order, and if the classis or the congregation refuse,
that synod has the authority to discipline the classis and the
congregation," said Godfrey.

"The ultimate form of discipline would be to depose officebearers,
but I certainly hope it wouldn't come to that," said Godfrey. "But
if there is an utter defiance of the church order and synod that
might be necessary." 

Contact List:
Mary-Lee Bouma, Expounder
Trinity Christian Reformed Church
211 W. Broomfield
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
O: (517) 772-0664

Dr. Robert Godfrey, President
Westminster Theological Seminary
1725 Bear Valley Parkway
Escondido, CA 92027
H: (619) 741-1635
O: (619) 480-8474

Ruth Hofman, Expounder
Toronto First Christian Reformed Church
63-67 Taunton Rd.
Toronto, ON M4S 2P2
O: (416) 481-4912

Rev. Keith Tanis, Coordinator
Calvin Seminary Office of Field Education 3233 Burton St. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4387
O: (616) 957-6045
H: (616) 846-8752
FAX: (616) 957-8621