Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:06:06 +0000 From: Darrell Todd Maurina Reply-To: Darrell128@aol.com Organization: Christian Renewal/United Reformed News Service Subject: NR 99069: Protestant Reformed Debate Interchurch Relations Policy NR #1999-069: Protestant Reformed Debate Interchurch Relations Policy In addition to relations with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, United Reformed Churches, the Hungarian Reformed Church, and the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council, the Protestant Reformed synod's Committee for Contact with Other Churches dealt with several matters affecting its own sister-church relationships and proposed a revision of Protestant Reformed policies on relations with other denominations. The Protestant Reformed Churches in America currently maintain full sister church relationships with only one other body, the Evangelical Reformed Churches of Singapore, but has called a missionary to Great Britain and is preparing to establish a sister-church relationship with the Covenant Protestant Reformed Churches of Northern Ireland, currently a single congregation. The Protestant Reformed also maintain a category of "less complete and fraternal relationships with foreign churches" which currently includes only the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia. Both bodies are quite small: the Singapore classis consists of only two churches and the Australian presbytery has six churches. At one point the Protestant Reformed also had a sister church in New Zealand, but that group consisted of only one congregation and has since disbanded. NR #1999-069: For Immediate Release: Protestant Reformed Debate Interchurch Relations Policy by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service HOLLAND, MICH. (June 9, 1999) URNS - In addition to relations with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, United Reformed Churches, the Hungarian Reformed Church, and the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council, the Protestant Reformed synod's Committee for Contact with Other Churches dealt with several matters affecting its own sister-church relationships and a proposed revision of Protestant Reformed policies on relations with other denominations. The Protestant Reformed Churches in America currently maintain full sister church relationships with only one other body, the Evangelical Reformed Churches of Singapore, but the denomination has called a missionary to Great Britain and is preparing to establish a sister-church relationship with the Covenant Protestant Reformed Churches of Northern Ireland, currently a single congregation. The Protestant Reformed also maintain a category of "less complete and fraternal relationships with foreign churches" which currently includes only the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia. Both bodies are quite small: the Singapore classis consists of only two churches and the Australian presbytery has six churches. At one point the Protestant Reformed also had a sister church in New Zealand, but that group consisted of only one congregation and has since disbanded. The Protestant Reformed synod approved holding a joint conference with the Australians on "Biblically Regulated Worship" in the year 2001 and invited them to send a fraternal delegation to the Protestant Reformed synod in 2000, the year one of their students, Mark Shand, will graduate from the Protestant Reformed seminary. The Australian denomination has experienced funding difficulties and the Protestant Reformed synod therefore offered financial assistance in attending the North American synod meeting. Although it has fewer churches, the Singapore denomination is largely composed of educated professionals and is preparing to open a theological school. The Protestant Reformed synod declined a request >from the Singapore churches to send a second Protestant Reformed missionary, but approved a request to send Prof. Herman Hanko for half a year to assist them following his retirement from the Protestant Reformed Seminary in Michigan. The synod also approved supporting one of two Singapore seminary students who will be enrolling this fall in the Protestant Reformed seminary. The synod also let stand without comment a decision by its Contact Committee not to send observers to the International Council of Reformed Churches, adopted a change in terminology from "less complete and fraternal relationships with foreign churches" to the more standard Reformed terminology of "corresponding churches," and sent a series of recommendations on relations with "corresponding churches" back to the committee for further review. "This language gives good, clear, and unambiguous guidance to prevent the Protestant Reformed Churches from being entangled in a whole mass of fraternal relationships that are no business of the church," said Prof. David Engelsma of the Protestant Reformed Seminary. "This synod is guarded pretty well with full sister church relations; the problem comes in with these 'less complete' relations," said Engelsma. "These can grow and expand to such an extent that Protestant Reformed Churches become entangled with a whole long list of churches that we should not be dealing with." Cross-References to Related Articles: [No related articles on file] Contact List: 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. David Engelsma, Rector, Protestant Reformed Seminary 4949 Ivanrest SW, Grandville, MI 49418 O: (616) 531-1490 * H: (616) 451-9907 * E-mail: engelsma@prca.org ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive99: nr99-069.txt .