From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 04:21:38 -0400 (EDT) NR #1996-097 Alliance of Reformed Churches Leaders Meet to Plan Future The federated churches won't be the only ecclesiastical gathering of ex-CRC congregations meeting this fall. At an ad hoc meeting held on August 7 at the facilities of Messiah's Independent Reformed Church of Overisel, Michigan, fourteen ministers and elders from the non-federated churches in West Michigan decided to keep the originally-scheduled date for the Alliance of Reformed Churches and to accept an offer from Messiah's IRC to host the meeting on November 12 and 13. According to ARC interim committee chairman Elder Peter Elzinga, the future goals of ARC are likely to focus on promoting unity between confessionally Reformed congregations from a variety of denominational backgrounds while avoiding a strict synodical structure. NR #1996-097: For Immediate Release Alliance of Reformed Churches Leaders Meet to Plan Future by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service OVERISEL, Mich. (September 11, 1996) URNS - The federated churches won't be the only ecclesiastical gathering of ex-CRC congregations meeting this fall. At an ad hoc meeting held on August 7 at the facilities of Messiah's Independent Reformed Church of Overisel, Michigan, fourteen ministers and elders from the non-federated churches in West Michigan decided to keep the originally-scheduled date for the Alliance of Reformed Churches and to accept an offer from Messiah's IRC to host the meeting on November 12 and 13. According to ARC interim committee chairman Elder Peter Elzinga, the future goals of ARC are likely to focus on promoting unity between confessionally Reformed congregations from a variety of denominational backgrounds while avoiding a strict synodical structure. "One of the things we fear about these types of organizations if they become too restrictive is potentially turning off those we should be seeking brotherly contact with," said Elzinga. "We want to be open to any we have a common faith with, we don't want to build barriers." In keeping the original date, the ad hoc group declined a request from the Ontario Regional Fellowship to reschedule to meeting to be held concurrently with the federation conference at Lynwood CRC (Indep.) from October 1 to 3. Elzinga emphasized that the decision to decline the request was not intended to build a barrier. "I did contact representatives of the federation and urged them to consider holding their meeting in conjunction with our already scheduled ARC meeting," said Elzinga. "The benefit obviously would be more churches could attend the Alliance meeting. The difficulty is the date had already been set by vote of the Alliance last year. In order to change that date properly all of the churches would have to be contacted and a majority approve the date change." Elzinga also noted that Lynwood was unavailable to host both the ARC and the federation meeting and that they had received no other offer from a church in the Chicago area to host the meeting. Elzinga said the Alliance has already received five overtures from three churches and expects more to be presented in November as late overtures. According to the 1996 Alliance yearbook, the federation has 33 churches with a total of 7619 members; the nonfederated churches total 26 congregations with 5130 members. Much of the difference occurs along national lines: 20 of the 26 nonfederated churches are in the United States, whereas 22 of the 33 federated churches are in Canada. The combined membership of both groups, 12749 members in 59 churches, shows a marked increase from earlier years: last year's ARC yearbook reported 10805 members in 55 churches. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1995-110: Former Christian Reformed Congregations Federate to Form "Fellowship of Uniting Reformed Churches" #1995-111: Alliance Minority Declines to Join Federation; Meeting Convened by Interim Committee Chair Gathers Fifteen Percent of Delegates to Continue as Alliance of Reformed Churches #1996-098: Official Statement of Drafting Committee Regarding Alliance of Reformed Churches Purpose Contact List: Elder Pete Elzinga, Interim Committee Chairman, Alliance of Reformed Churches 10532 Paw Paw Dr., Holland, MI 49424 H/O: (616) 772-2918 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-097.txt .