To Reach United Reformed News Service Staff, Contact: Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer [For news tips or content-related inquiries] DURING SYNOD 1995 ONLY: (Monday, June 12 to Friday, June 23): Voice: (616) 451-4205 * FAX: (616) 698-9265 * E-Mail: Darrell128@AOL.com 1214 Fountain NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 PERMANENT ADDRESS: Voice: (616) 674-8446 * FAX: (616) 674-8454 * E-Mail: Darrell128@AOL.com PO Box 691, Lawrence, MI 49064-0691 Laurie Vanden Heuvel, Circulation Manager [For missing or back issues, subscription inquiries, or address changes] Voice: (616) 878-9278 * FAX: (616) 878-3256 * E-Mail: TomLaur@AOL.com 2475 - 85th St., Byron Center, MI 49315 June 13, 1995 * Contents: NR #1995-061: Synod 1995 Elects Officers, Recesses to Advisory Committees Synod 1995 has elected an experienced team of officers to guide it through its deliberations over the next few weeks. Rev. Cal Bolt, pastor of Twelfth Avenue CRC in the Grand Rapids suburb of Jenison, will preside over synod for the sixth time in ten years. The other synod officers will be Vice-President Rev. Jack Vos, pastor of First CRC in Barrie, Ontario; First Clerk Dr. Howard Vanderwell, pastor of Hillcrest CRC in the Grand Rapids suburb of Hudsonville, and Second Clerk Dr. W. Robert Godfrey, president of Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. Godfrey is the only synodical officer elected this year who has not previously served as one of the officers of synod. As the reporter for the 1994 advisory committee which drafted synod's declaration that "the clear teaching of Scripture prohibits women from holding the offices of minister, elder, and evangelist," Godfrey has become one of the CRC's most prominent conservative spokesmen. NR #1995-061: For Immediate Release Synod 1995 Elects Officers, Recesses to Advisory Committees by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (June 13, 1995) URNS -- Synod 1995 convened for its first business session today in the auditorium of the Fine Arts Center at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Following the election of synodical officers, the 184 delegates recessed into ten advisory committees which will review communications, agency reports, and over eighty overtures urging that synod take actions or adopt positions. Much of the work of the Christian Reformed synod is done in committee and the reports of these advisory committees will be crucial in framing synodical debates which will take place later this week and early next week on such matters as women in office, discipline of ecclesiastically disobedient churches and classes, children at communion, the future of the fund for smaller churches, the structure for ministry in Canada, and relations with the CRC's mother church in the Netherlands. The four officers elected this morning will guide synod's deliberations over the next few weeks. The most influential of these positions is that of the president of synod. While the CRC synod president's term expires at the end of synod and he does not wield as much power as the moderators of many Presbyterian denominations who serve for a full year, the president will chair most plenary sessions of synod and his role can be crucial in deciding procedural questions. Rev. Cal Bolt, who also served as president pro tem due to his role as pastor of Synod 1995's convening church, Twelfth Avenue CRC in the Grand Rapids suburb of Jenison, was elected to continue as president of synod for the remainder of its sessions. This year will be Bolt's sixth time at the helm of synod, having served as synod president four times during the 1980's and once in 1991. Synod also elected Rev. Jack Vos, pastor of First CRC in Barrie, Ontario, as its vice president; Dr. Howard Vanderwell, pastor of Hillcrest CRC in the Grand Rapids suburb of Hudsonville, as its first clerk; and Dr. W. Robert Godfrey, president of Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California, as its second clerk. Godfrey is the fresh face on the slate, being the only man who has not previously served as a synod officer. Godfrey, who served as reporter for the advisory committee which produced the 1994 synodical declaration that "the clear teaching of Scripture prohibits women from holding the offices of minister, elder, and evangelist," has become one of the leading conservative spokesmen in the 294,000-member denomination. An expected challenge to the credentials of the delegates from two classes which have declined to discipline churches with women elders did not materialize. Delegates who had previously indicated their intention to challenge the seating of Classis Grand Rapids East and Classis Muskegon indicated that they will wait to see how synod rules on six overtures asking for disenfranchisement or other actions against these classes rather than pressing their case at the beginning of synod. In other business, synod welcomed fraternal delegates from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria, the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, the Nederlands Gereformeerde Kerken, the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, the Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka, and the Reformed Churches in Australia, as well as the president of the Council of Christian Reformed Churches in Canada and the general secretary of the Reformed Ecumenical Council. Many of these men will address synod at a later date and bring messages from their denominations or organizations. Other fraternal delegates will likely arrive at a later date. After recessing for lunch, synod spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening in advisory committees. Delegates will reconvene tomorrow morning at 8:30 am and the synod officers may be prepared to present a tentative schedule for discussion of issues at that time. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1995-051: ANALYSIS: What's Coming to the Christian Reformed Synod? #1995-060: Christian Reformed Synod Begins with Packed Prayer Service Contact List: Mr. Tim Penning or Mrs. Bonny Wynia, Christian Reformed Synodical News Office Calvin College, 3201 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 * O: (616) 957-8652 * FAX: (616) 957-8551 To Reach Delegates During Synod: (616) 957-6000 Pre-Recorded CRC Synod Hotline: (616) 957-8654 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr95-061.txt .