Summary of Synodical Decisions - Dr. Shirley Roels
CRC
Synodical decisions regarding women in ecclesiastical office, made
on Tuesday, June 12, and Wednesday, June 13, significantly alter
the future of the Christian Reformed Church. This is a summary of
Synod's decisions:
1.
Synod decided to ratify the 2006 recommendation to remove the word
"male" from Church Order Article 3-a. Synod has now declared
that "All confessing members of the church who meet the biblical
requirement are eligible for the offices of minister, elder, deacon,
and ministry associate". As a result congregations in any classis
may now choose women to serve in the office of pastor, elder, deacon
or ministry associate.
2.
Synod created a new regulation in the Church Order Supplement, Art.
3-a, stating, "all duly elected and ordained officebearers
may be delegated to synod." As a result, for the first time,
women can be chosen as delegates to the CRC Synod, beginning in
2008.
3.
Synod restored the provision that allows female ministers to serve
as Synodical deputies to neighboring classes. This will help ordained
women ministry leaders to expand their understanding of the church
at work and give them a greater voice in church decisions.
As
a response to CRC churches that do not approve of women in ecclesiastical
leadership, there is a provision for an individual classis, by its
specific local decision, to declare that women officebeareres not
be delegated to that classis-level assembly. There are also provisions
for those who do not approve to abstain from participating in the
ordination of a female candidate and to register their protest regarding
the seating of women delegates.
But
a seismic shift in the paradigm of the Christian Reformed Church
has just occurred. The opportunity for women and men to go forward
as equal partners in the gospel has now been implicitly affirmed
by this church circle. For the Christian Reformed Church, this is
an extraordinary moment.
In
1957, the year of the CRC's 100th anniversary, congregational voting
was opened to women members; and beginning in 2007, the year of
the CRC's 150th anniversary, both lay and ordained women can serve
in the center instead of at the margins of this church circle. Thank
the many women and men who have worked for this day over almost
four decades; and praise God for a new and different future.
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We are calling together all those with a vision of
a grace-filled future for the Christian Reformed Church, a future
that relies on the full ministry of both women and men. We love
the church, and believe that this world needs the work and witness
of our denomination more today than ever. This world’s profound
need animates us, requiring everything we have to give and everyone
who is called to serve.
We
praise God for raising up leaders to meet that need – young
and old, female and male. The challenges of our world tell us that
we cannot turn away anyone whom God is preparing for present and
future ministry. Women and men testify that they are blessed through
the ministry of women in powerful ways, shaping a world that belongs
to God.
We
believe that in this generation, and for the generations to come,
the picture of grace-filled ministry is one of partnership between
women and men, in service to our God through our church. It is a
picture of grace going forward together.
We
pray and work for the day when:
-
The church models, justice, grace and love to all its members,
remembering Micah 6: 8: "What does the Lord require
of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk
humbly with your God."
-
All members of the Christian Reformed Church join to meet
the ministry needs of the world, without one more person
leaving the denomination over issues of ministry.
-
Congregations
include women as well as men in the offices of elder and
deacon.
-
The
church responds to the pressing need for pastors by embracing
all who testify to God’s call.
-
Congregations
call women pastors.
-
A
genuine partnership between women and men mirrors our eschatological
hope for the fullness of the church.
It
is not enough to simply dream of such a church. In this, the 150th
year of the Christian Reformed Church, we are called to work and
witness for a future that frees us all to serve fully. We invite
you to gather at Synod 2007 from June 12-14 in Calvin College’s
Fine Arts Center. Your presence will serve as a visual testimony
to your desire for the full participation of all in denominational
life.
Synod
2006 proposed that the word male be removed from the Church Order.
It is right and timely that Synod 2007 adopt this proposal. Pray
that Synod 2007 accomplishes that.
Synod
2006 also proposed that women office bearers be prohibited from
serving as synodical delegates and synodical deputies and that church
assemblies not discuss this matter again until 2014, a period of
seven years. Pray that Synod 2007 adopts the Church Order change
without restrictions so men and women office bearers share the same
responsibilities and privileges as they join together in servant
leadership.
Join
women and men from all areas of the denomination as a positive Cloud
of Witnesses to celebrate the ministry work we do together, to call
the church to greater levels of partnership, and to dedicate ourselves
to serving God and this church in the decades to come.
Anticipated
date of Synod’s discussion of women’s gifts:
Tuesday, June 12 through Thursday, June 14, 2007.
Financial
support: U.S. and Canadian residents may offer tax deductible donations.
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