Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 08:13:53 +0000 From: Darrell Todd Maurina Reply-To: Darrell128@aol.com Organization: Christian Renewal/United Reformed News Service Subject: NR 99068: Internet Reports About Hungarian Reformed Church Lead to Concerns at Protestant Reformed Synod NR #1999-068: Internet Reports About Hungarian Reformed Church Lead to Concerns at Protestant Reformed Synod What had been expected to pass as a quiet recommendation of the Contact Committee turned into a long debate at the Protestant Reformed synod as numerous delegates raised questions and objections based on widely-circulated Internet letters criticizing the work of retired Protestant Reformed minister Rev. Bernard Woudenberg among the Hungarian Reformed churches. Official contact between the PRC and the Hungarian Reformed has been minimal, mostly involving the underwriting of free subscriptions to the Protestant Reformed Standard Bearer for the Hungarian Reformed seminaries. Woudenberg's work with the interdenominational Transylvania Reformed Assistance Committee has been much more extensive, focusing on raising money to rebuild churches, provide diaconal aid, assist in educational work, and help provide pastoral services for ethnic Hungarian churches outside the nation of Hungary. The Contact Committee and synodical advisory committee recommended only that "synod mandate the Contact Committee to pursue further contact with the Hungarian Reformed Church." However, even that recommendation ran into trouble due to reports distributed on the Internet by Dr. Robert Rapp, a Presbyterian Church in America minister who serves as president of Karolyi Gaspar Institute in Hungary under the auspices of Westminster Biblical Missions. The seminary's students and graduates are currently working to establish a separate Hungarian Reformed denomination after they were denied ordination in the Hungarian Reformed Church. NR #1999-068: For Immediate Release: Internet Reports About Hungarian Reformed Church Lead to Concerns at Protestant Reformed Synod by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service HOLLAND, MICH. (June 9, 1999) URNS - What had been expected to pass as a quiet recommendation of the Contact Committee turned into a long debate at the Protestant Reformed synod as numerous delegates raised questions and objections based on widely-circulated Internet letters criticizing the work of retired Protestant Reformed minister Rev. Bernard Woudenberg among the Hungarian Reformed churches. Official contact between the PRC and the Hungarian Reformed has been minimal, mostly involving the underwriting of free subscriptions to the Protestant Reformed Standard Bearer for the Hungarian Reformed seminaries but also involving a meeting between the Contact Committee and the library director of one of the Hungarian seminaries while he was in the United States assisting in the work of the American Hungarian Reformed Church of Allen Park, Michigan. Woudenberg's work with the interdenominational Transylvania Reformed Assistance Committee has been much more extensive, focusing on raising money to rebuild churches, provide diaconal aid, assist in educational work, and help provide pastoral services for ethnic Hungarian churches outside the nation of Hungary. Many of those churches in Romania and Ukraine were severely persecuted under Communist domination by nationalist governments which sought to exterminate both religion and ethnic minorities. While the TRAC organization is headed by Woudenberg, its supporters include well-known conservatives from a wide variety of denominations and the organization has no official tie to the Protestant Reformed synod. The Contact Committee and synodical advisory committee recommended only that "synod mandate the Contact Committee to pursue further contact with the Hungarian Reformed Church." However, even that recommendation ran into trouble due to reports distributed on the Internet by Dr. Robert Rapp, a Presbyterian Church in America minister who serves as president of Karolyi Gaspar Institute in Hungary under the auspices of Westminster Biblical Missions. The seminary's students and graduates are currently working to establish a separate Hungarian Reformed denomination after they were denied ordination in the Hungarian Reformed Church. Rapp's Internet reports accused TRAC of compromise due to its willingness to work with the Hungarian Reformed Church despite its support for bishops, women ministers, membership in the World Council of Churches, and alleged advocacy for a number of liberal doctrines. "In other words, judged by biblical standards, the HRC is not a faithful church," wrote Rapp in a May 19 letter distributed via the Internet nine days later. "It is apostate. To use biblical imagery, it is an 'unrepentant women whose adultery is under the wrath of God Almighty.'" Rapp didn't limit his criticism to the Hungarians but also took aim at American pastors. "Here in this country, the battle goes on," wrote Rapp. "The bishops of the HRC recognize the Christian Observer run by Edwin Elliott and TRAC (Transylvania Reformed Assistance Committee) run by Bernie Woudenberg. Both these organizations do all they can to promote the HRC and oppose us." It's not often that Protestant Reformed ministers are accused of fellowship with liberals, and those accusations didn't pass without notice when the Protestant Reformed synod debated whether to "pursue further contact with the Hungarian Reformed Church." "Is this a group of churches that are members of the World Council of Churches and have women officebearers?" asked Rev. Gise Van Baren of Loveland (CO) PRC. "I ask this because on the Internet these letters are going around in support or nonsupport of these churches." "It can be said at least to some extent these are the churches that Rev. Woudenberg is involved with," said synod president Rev. Ron Cammenga, who also serves as secretary of the PRC interchurch relations committee. "However, Rev. Woudenberg works mostly with the Hungarian churches in Romania and in Ukraine, not primarily those in Hungary itself, and while they are all Hungarian Reformed, there seem to be differences from place to place." Several other delegates expressed similar concerns. In response, Rev. Wayne Bekkering of Pella (IA) PRC cautioned that the synod should take care in evaluating the Internet reports. "I read the reports on the Internet, too; there seems to be quite a bit of difference, varying on the locality, and if we work with them and we send them materials we could be helpful in encouraging them to change some of these things," said Bekkering. "We need to remember that these churches have spent forty years under Communism, are coming out of that, and are seeking to find their way." Synodical second clerk Rev. Ronald Van Overloop expressed similar cautions, noting that the Protestant Reformed contact with the Hungarian Reformed has been primarily with individuals, not with churches. However, Van Overloop concurred on the need for more evaluation. "I've read the information on the Internet too, it is helpful, these are things we did not know," said Van Overloop. Rev. Arie den Hartog of Hope PRC in Redlands, Calif., told synod that some members of the denomination did know about the situation and have been concerned for some time. "There are men in our congregation who are well-read on the situation in Hungary, and are reading Christian Observer, and who are asking me, 'What on earth is a Protestant Reformed minister doing working with these people?'" said den Hartog. "I had a hard time answering that question." Prof. Robert Decker of the Protestant Reformed Seminary voiced similar concerns. "If this is the denomination we are talking about, the only contact we can have with them is to say, 'We can have no contact with you until you get out of the World Council of Churches and start having only male officebearers,'" said Decker. After hearing the debate, Bekkering moved to amend the proposal by directing the Contact Committee to "seek more information concerning" the Hungarian Reformed Church. Bekkering's motion passed and the committee will now seek to learn more about the denomination in light of the accusations made about it. Cross-References to Related Articles: [No related articles on file] Contact List: Rev. Wayne Bekkering, Pastor, Pella Protestant Reformed Church 1314 Main St., Pella, IA 50219 H/O: (515) 628-4747 * E-mail: bekering@kdsi.net Rev. Ron Cammenga, Secretary, Protestant Reformed Committee for Contact with Other Churches 4895 Ivanrest Ave., Grandville, MI 49418 O: (616) 532-6876 * H: (616) 532-4846 * E-mail: 74631.2535@compuserve.com Prof. Robert Decker, Protestant Reformed Seminary 4949 Ivanrest SW * Grandville, MI 49418 O: (616) 531-1490 * decker@prca.org Rev. Arie den Hartog, Pastor, Hope Protestant Reformed Church 1307 E. Brockton Ave., Redlands, CA 92374 O: (909) 792-6776 * H: (909) 792-0307 * E-mail: 104311.27766@compuserve.com Rev. Edwin P. Elliott, Jr., Managing Editor, The Christian Observer 9400 Fairview Ave., Manassas, VA 22110 O: (703) 335-2844 * F: (703) 368-4817 * E-mail: elliott@xc.org Dr. Robert Rapp, Westminster Biblical Missions, Inc. P. O. Box 602, Carbondale, PA 18407 (717) 656-9870 * E-mail: rsrapp@epix.net Rev. Gise Van Baren, Pastor, Loveland (CO) Protestant Reformed Church 709 E. 57th St., Loveland, CO 80538 H/O: (970) 667-1347 * E-mail: 71242.1216@compuserve.com Rev. Ronald Van Overloop, Second Clerk, Synod 1999 of the Protestant Reformed Churches 4510 Bridgeville Ct., Hudsonville, MI 49426 H/O: (616) 662-0257 * E-mail: rvo@iserv.net Rev. Bernard Woudenberg, Director, Transylvanian Reformed Assistance Committee 1355 Bretton Dr., Kalamazoo, MI 49007 H/O/F: (616) 345-4556 * E-mail: 73611.2244@compuserve.com ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive99: nr99-068.txt .