Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 08:14:38 +0000 From: Darrell Todd Maurina Reply-To: Darrell128@aol.com Organization: Christian Renewal/United Reformed News Service Subject: NR 99070: Protestant Reformed Declare Candidate for PR Ministry NR #1999-070: Protestant Reformed Declare Candidate for PR Ministry After a seven hour exam stretching through two days of morning synodical sessions, the Protestant Reformed synod voted to declare that Garrett Eriks, a graduate of the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches, would become a candidate for the ministry of the Protestant Reformed Churches. Eriks, a 1995 Dordt College graduate and Chicago native, grew up in South Holland (IL) Protestant Reformed Church and his family became charter members of Peace PRC in Lansing, Illinois, when the church organized in 1988. Eriks went directly from Dordt College to the Protestant Reformed Seminary in Grandville, and is the only member of the 1999 seminary graduating class. NR #1999-070: For Immediate Release: Protestant Reformed Declare Candidate for PR Ministry by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service HOLLAND, MICH. (June 10, 1999) URNS - After a seven hour exam stretching through two days of morning synodical sessions, the Protestant Reformed synod voted to declare that Garrett Eriks, a graduate of the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches, would become a candidate for the ministry of the Protestant Reformed Churches. Eriks, a 1995 Dordt College graduate and Chicago native, grew up in South Holland (IL) Protestant Reformed Church and his family became charter members of Peace PRC in Lansing, Illinois, when the church organized in 1988. Eriks went directly from Dordt College to the Protestant Reformed Seminary in Grandville, and is the only member of the 1999 seminary graduating class. The seminary currently has five other regular students, two of whom are Protestant Reformed students in their first year of study preparing for licensure. Two other students are full-time second year men not preparing for ordination in the Protestant Reformed Churches but rather in the PRC's sister churches in Northern Ireland and in Australia; a fifth is a part-time student from the Gereformeerde Bond (a conservative group within the mainline Nederlands Hervormde Kerk) who has now transferred to the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids. The Puritan Reformed Seminary, operated by the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregations, has worked with the Protestant Reformed in past years to provide some instruction for its students but will not be sending its students to the Protestant Reformed seminary next year. Eriks said he benefited from instruction in a small school where many of his classes are one-on-one. "There are advantages and disadvantages to having a professor to yourself," said Eriks. "The advantage is that the instruction is very individualized; if you have a question they stop and answer it. The disadvantage is you might want some discussion, and that's difficult to have if you only have one student or a few students in the class." Both Eriks and his wife are lifelong PRC members; the couple have two young daughters. Since the Protestant Reformed Churches currently have only one vacant congregation, Eriks said it may take some time for him to receive a call. The Protestant Reformed synod won't have another examination for several more years until the two current first-year students graduate. Next year, the seminary will have three new incoming students, two of them members of the denomination's sister churches in Singapore and one regular Protestant Reformed student. Cross-References to Related Articles: [No related articles on file] Contact List: Protestant Reformed Seminary 4949 Ivanrest SW * Grandville, MI 49418 O: (616) 531-1490 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive99: nr99-070.txt .