Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 18:00:54 -0400 From: Darrell Todd Maurina Reply-To: Darrell128@aol.com Organization: Christian Renewal/United Reformed News Service Subject: NR 99035: GKN-vrij. Synod Convenes: No Elders Among Synod Officers NR #1999-035: Synod Convenes for Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland - Vrijgemaakte: Again, No Elders Among Synod Officers Meeting in the Dutch city of Leusden, the General Synod of the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (Vrijgemaakt) convened April 7. Despite requests to consider electing an elder to the synodical board of officers, known in Dutch as the moderamen, only ministers were elected. The synod president is Rev. H.J. Boiten from Amersfoort. Rev. P. Schelling from Leeuwarden was elected vice-president. The first and second clerks are Rev. Luiten from Alkmaar and Rev. D.T. Vreugdenhil from Cappelle aan den IJssel. In his opening speech, Rev. J.H. Ulehake, pastor of the host church, warned that the synods in this century "in our Gereformeerde Kerken were witnesses of battle and progress, sometimes moving close to the abyss and many times enduring attacks on the Word of God and the confessions of faith." Ulehake touched shortly on one of the subjects that the synod will deal with: "Unfortunately, the issue of hymns threatens to split our church apart, even though the singing of God's praises should bring us together! For that reason, I sincerely hope that God will continue to sit enthroned on our songs of praise in the 21st century." The GKN-vrij. synod has 36 voting members, and is expected to meet periodically until September. The deadline for committee documents and correspondence is April 12, and items of business are expected to begin that week. NR #1999-035: For Immediate Release: Synod Convenes for Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland - Vrijgemaakte: Again, No Elders Among Synod Officers Copyright (C)1999 Reformatorisch Dagblad Translated by Simone Kennedy Distributed by United Reformed News Service EDITORS NOTE: The Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (Vrijgemaakt) are a conservative federation of churches which seceded from the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland following the 1944 deposition of Dr. Klaas Schilder, a professor at the GKN seminary in Kampen. At 121,000 members, the GKN-Vrij. is the third-largest Protestant denomination in the Netherlands, following the 740,000-member GKN and the 2.3 million member Nederlands Hervormde Kerk. The GKN-Vrij. have a number of sister-church relationships with other denominations that were founded by or assisted by GKN-Vrij. members, including the Canadian Reformed Churches, Free Reformed Churches in South Africa, and Free Reformed Churches of Australia, and were among the leaders and founding members of the International Conference of Reformed Churches. The GKN-Vrij. synod is expected to meet through September, with a summer recess. LEUSDEN, THE NETHERLANDS (April 8, 1999) URNS - Meeting April 7, the synod of the Gereformeerde Kerken (vrijgemaakt) of Leusden 1999 chose the Rev. H. J. Boiten, age 53, from Amersfoort as its president. The Rev. P. Schelling from Leeuwarden became vice-president, the Rev. Luiten from Alkmaar head secretary and the Rev. D. T. Vreugdenhil from Cappelle aan den IJssel assistant secretary. Once again no elder was chosen to be part of the synodical board. The Rev. J. H. Ulehake, pastor of the host church, opened the meeting of the General Synod of the Gereformeerde Kerken (vrijgemaakt) on the morning of April 7. "This synod which we just opened is the last one in this century," he reminded his audience. He said that the synods in this century "in our Gereformeerde Kerken were witnesses of battle and progress, sometimes moving close to the abyss and many times enduring attacks on the Word of God and the confessions of faith." Moreover, Ulehake said that, even though many people worry about Y2K and the end of a millennium is coming closer, "since we are gathered in the Koningshof [King's Court], we also show that the Lord rules and that the church is His possession." The minister touched shortly on one of the subjects that the synod will deal with: "Unfortunately, the issue of hymns threatens to split our church apart, even though the singing of God's praises should bring us together! For that reason, I sincerely hope that God will continue to sit enthroned on our songs of praise in the 21st century." Appointment of Elders as Officers Urged The minister of Leusden read a few letters of people who had asked if an elder could be appointed to the synodical board. "And if they could be presidents of committees." The answer that he gave was fully affirmative. Afterward, for the first time in history, he asked all members to introduce themselves before the vote was cast, "because you know who the ministers are, but the elders often do not know each other, nor are known by you." It turned out to be a diverse group of people, and synod members have a variety of hobbies. Among the elders were business people and city council members. The Rev. P. Schelling from Leeuwarden [capital of the province of Friesland] described himself as "a minister from a semi-rural town west of Groningen." Synodical Officers During the first round of open elections the Rev. H. J. Boiten was chosen to be president with 19 of the 36 votes. The Rev. P. Schelling was chosen with a majority during the second round of elections to become the vice-president. During the first round of open elections the Rev. J. Luiten was chosen to be the head secretary. He asked all the synod members to cooperate efficiently to finish the minutes speedily. To choose the assistant secretary a second election was again necessary, and the Rev. D. T. Vreugdenhil was chosen. The new president addressed the synod in name of the newly elected board. He remarked that, even though the issue of hymns had generated much response, it was not necessarily the most important issue on the agenda. He wanted to remind the members of the synod that their task is limited in certain respects, but "that we have to bear each other's burdens in the churches." Allocation of tasks Yesterday afternoon many tasks were assigned; committees were chosen and tasks allocated. It was, moreover, decided that the deadline to submit documents was to be "the 12th of April, exactly at midnight." The first plenary meetings with fixed topics are expected to be held during the week beginning April 12. Cross-References to Related Articles: [No related articles on file] Contact List: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (Vrijgemaakt) - Correspondence Address c/o Rev. J. Klamer, Goyerkamp 11, 8014 EH Zwolle, The Netherlands O: [31] (38) 659042 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive99: nr99-035.txt .