From: Darrell128 Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 07:56:22 EDT Subject: NR 98027: CRC Committee Nixes Proposal to Cancel Synod May 4, 1998 * Contents: NR #1998-027: Christian Reformed Committee Nixes Proposal to Cancel Synod Should there be a procedure in place to cancel the Christian Reformed synod when denominational officials judge that it doesn't have enough business on the agenda? That question by CRC General Secretary Dr. David Engelhard was considered and rejected by the executive committee of the CRC Board of Trustees. "There's almost nothing to do," said Engelhard. "We've got nineteen overtures, you've got candidates to approve, and a couple of other items, but my judgment is that there should be some procedure in place when on a given year the agenda is so thin that it could be judged not to be stewardly to pull together two hundred delegates from all over to do the business that is there." NR 1998-027: For Immediate Release Christian Reformed Committee Nixes Proposal to Cancel Synod by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service (May 4, 1998) URNS -- Should there be a procedure to cancel the Christian Reformed synod when denominational officials judge that it doesn't have enough business on the agenda? That question by CRC General Secretary Dr. David Engelhard was considered and rejected by the executive committee of the CRC Board of Trustees. "There's almost nothing to do," said Engelhard. "We've got nineteen overtures, you've got candidates to approve, and a couple of other items, but my judgment is that there should be some procedure in place when on a given year the agenda is so thin that it could be judged not to be stewardly to pull together two hundred delegates from all over to do the business that is there." "The Board does have the authority to call a special or separate session of synod should the board judge that to be necessary. Why would the reverse not be a possibility?" asked Engelhard. "It came to my mind, I addressed it to the executive committee, they decided not to proceed." William Weidenaar, a Chicago-area attorney who serves as president of the CRC Board of Trustees, said the executive committee found three main problems with the idea of canceling synod. "The difficulty with the suggestion is number one, no matter how light the agenda is, if there is one overture on the agenda and it's your agenda, maybe it's not light for you," said Weidenaar. "Number two, to cancel a synod is an extraordinary measure. The church order says there can be special meetings of synod convened but only under the most extraordinary circumstances, and you would also seem to need extraordinary circumstances to cancel synod." Weidenaar also noted that the church order provides for annual meetings of synod. "That ought not to be contravened by a board or committee unless directed to do so by synod itself," said Weidenaar. "If there is to be a cancellation of synod, it should be the synod that does it, not a board." However, Weidenaar said Engelhard was within his rights to make his proposal. "The suggestion about considering not having a session of the 1998 synod was brought to the executive committee by David as the General Secretary," said Weidenaar. "At that point he was simply making an observation as a staff person, and that was well within the scope of his authority as a staff person to say this was something we should look at," said Weidenaar. "There is a certain cost to have synod and you ought to think about whether holding a synod is a prudent use of resources, if you have a very light agenda, and the agenda is very light." In addition to the regular reports of the CRC's boards and denominational agencies, Synod 1998 will consider nineteen overtures, two appeals, and two communications. Four overtures ask Synod 1998 to reject Synod 1997's proposal to revise the property rules for new CRC congregations and those receiving denominational funding; three overtures ask synod to make various adjustments in response to the potential loss of $11.5 million of denominational funds invested with the California-based IRM Corporation; three overtures address women in office by asking Synod 1998 rather than Synod 2000 to make the final decision on allowing women's ordination, preventing a separate vote on male and female candidates for the ministry, and allowing denominational agencies as well as local churches to hire women ministers. Other overtures include: * Classis Thornapple Valley proposes a denominational study committee to revise the Form of Subscription to the CRC's doctrinal standards. * Classis Lake Erie asks for the deletion of Question 80 from the Heidelberg Catechism specifying that the Roman Catholic Mass is "a condemnable idolatry." * Classis Zeeland asks synod to declare that abortion is an "American holocaust." * Classis Atlantic Northeast asks synod to adopt an "inactive membership" category based on RCA procedures. * Classis Lake Erie asks synod to carefully review the terminology used by classes when processing ministers leaving the denomination. * Classis Grand Rapids East proposes an "independent assessment of readiness for ministry" for ministers separated from their churches * Classis Lake Erie proposes another minor revision to the abuse guidelines * Classis Pacific Hanmi (the CRC's Korean classis) asks Calvin Seminary to offer specialized courses for the Korean ministerial context. * Classis Wisconsin proposes a minor revision to the recent rule allowing delegation of deacons to classical sessions. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1998-003: Classis Zeeland: Abortion is an "American Holocaust" #1998-004: Classis Zeeland Rejects Lamont's Effort to Maintain Local Church Property Rights #1998-006: Classis Chatham asks Top Christian Reformed Administrative Committee to Appoint Independent Investigators of $11.5 Million in Questionable Investments #1998-019: Classis Lake Erie Asks CRC Synod to Review "Honorable Release" Declarations for Seceding Ministers #1998-020: Christian Reformed Synod Asked to Delete Anti-Catholic Statement from Heidelberg Catechism #1998-021: CRC Synod to Consider Inactive Membership Category (not sent) #1998-022: Church Property Rights Focus of Four Synodical Overtures (not sent) #1998-025: Classis Thornapple Valley Proposes Revising Form of Subscription to Christian Reformed Doctrinal Standards Contact List: Dr. David Engelhard, General Secretary, Christian Reformed Church in North America 2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560 O: (616) 246-0744 * H: (616) 243-2418 * FAX: (616) 246-0834 * E-Mail: engelhad@crcna.org ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive98: nr98-027.txt (reformatted 5-6-98) .