From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 11:52:06 EDT Subject: NR 98086: Four of Six URC Classes to Meet in October NR #1998-086: Four of Six United Reformed Classes to Meet in October During the month of October, four of the six classes of the United Reformed Churches in North America will meet for business. Agendas for the classes include a wide variety of items such as admission of two churches which have recently seceded from the Christian Reformed Church, appointment of a denominational "minister at large" to represent the denomination to interested churches, publishing classical and synodical minutes on the Internet, and beginning a daily devotional for congregations in one classis. NR #1998-086: For Immediate Release: Four of Six United Reformed Classes to Meet in October by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service (September 10, 1998) URNS - During the month of October, four of the six classes of the United Reformed Churches in North America will meet for business. Agendas for the classes include a wide variety of items such as admission of two churches which have recently seceded from the Christian Reformed Church, appointment of a denominational "minister at large" to represent the denomination to interested churches, publishing classical and synodical minutes on the Internet, and beginning a daily devotional for congregations in one classis. Classis Michigan's October 6 meeting at Trinity URC of Caledonia has the heaviest agenda, including four overtures, a request from a small church for advice on its continued existence, and a request for a special meeting to examine a seminary graduate for ministerial candidacy. The classis will also consider two matters from its classical rules of procedure: paying its clerk, Rev. Wybren Oord, and appointing a credentials committee. In an effort to promote the growth of the United Reformed Churches, Beverly URC of Wyoming is asking Classis Michigan to endorse an overture to the United Reformed synod asking the synod "to call a minister-at-large (or engage a retired pastor) to represent the United Reformed Churches in North America" in a variety of circumstances. The minister-at-large is "to be supported by all the churches of the federation and to be under the supervision of his calling consistory/council," according to the overture. The overture lists six proposed duties for the minister-at-large, among them "to represent, provide information about, and promote the United Reformed Churches to interested individuals, groups of people interested in forming a United Reformed congregation, and congregations desirous in joining the URC" and "to develop, obtain, and provide attractive and pertinent materials about the URC, useful in the expansion of the federation." Other duties include conducting worship services or making arrangements for preaching at emerging congregations, surveying and making recommendations to classes and synod concerning "possible expansion of the federation in underrepresented areas of the United States and Canada," working "in close cooperation with the pastor(s) and councils/consistories in any area in which contacts are developed and preaching services are conducted," and "to engage in any other activity determined by synod in consultation with the calling church." In two separate proposals for promoting the growth of the URC, Covenant URC of Kalamazoo is overturing Classis Michigan "to allow us to post the classis meeting agendas and minutes on our web site" and asking classis to overture synod "to give us permission to post a list of URC churches, synodical agendas and minutes, and similar documents on our Web site." Covenant URC noted that the former Classis Midwest, which Synod 1997 divided into Classis Southwest United States, Classis Central United States, Classis Michigan, and Classis Eastern United States, had already given permission for posting its documents on the Internet. "Ecclesiastical assembly meeting agendas and minutes are ordinarily made available for public distribution," noted Covenant URC. "Publishing such documents on the World Wide Web lowers the cost of publishing and improves the speed of distribution of these agendas and minutes." The church offered its services to classis at no cost, and noted that it "has received a number of requests from independent groups expressing desires to affiliate with the URCNA after they visited Covenant URC's web site." "The comments that we have received from such groups include expressions of admiration and respect for our form of church government," wrote Covenant URC. "Posting classical agendas and minutes on the web allow those outside our federation to see how we govern ourselves, can improve our public relations through showing openness, and can serve to encourage those outside our federation to affiliate with the URCNA." A final overture from Trinity URC of Caledonia makes a different type of request by overturing Classis Michigan "to instruct its ministers and/or laymen to begin a daily devotional for distribution among the congregations of Classis Michigan, with possible expansion to other United Reformed Churches." The church cited three grounds for beginning a new daily devotional: that "there is currently a drought of solidly Reformed family devotionals available," that "many members are currently using devotional material put out by other denominations or organizations (ex. Today, Words of Hope, Tabletalk), while we neglect this need," and that "a daily devotional put together by our ministers would further unity among the United Reformed Churches." While Classis Michigan is concerned to promote future growth of the URC, one of its churches is struggling with its future and asking the advice of classis. Zion URC of Grand Rapids, formerly known as the Christian Reformation Church, became the first group to leave the Christian Reformed Church when it seceded from Godwin Heights CRC in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming in 1970. A number of families left the church after its former minister, Rev. Mark Scholten, accepted a call to a Presbyterian Church in America congregation in Connecticut. Reporting 115 members and 40 families in 1995, the church dropped to 73 members in 29 families by 1998. In a letter to classis, the church noted that "a number of families have left to join other churches (some in United Reformed churches)" and that "recently two more large families have left with the intent to find a church home elsewhere." "We hope to continue as a church and are in the process of seeking to extend a call to fill our pulpit, and would appreciate suggestions and/or advice from classis for our church," closed the letter from the church. In addition to the busy agenda at its October 6 meeting, Classis Michigan may be meeting again in a few short weeks. Cornerstone Church of Hudsonville overtured the classis to have Dale Van Dyke, a recent graduate of Westminster Seminary in California, examined for URC ministerial candidacy. Noting that Van Dyke cannot meet with classis on October 6, Cornerstone Church proposed the classis call a special meeting for November 10, November 19, or December 1. Although Classis Michigan won't be admitting any new churches, that won't be the case for Classis Eastern United States or Classis Central United States, each of which expect to admit a church which has recently seceded from the CRC. Meeting October 14 at the United Reformed Church of Champlain Valley, Vermont, Classis Eastern United States will conduct an examination of Terra Ceia URC in North Carolina, representing the majority of Terra Ceia CRC, a North Carolina church which was denied admission to Classis Hudson after its own Classis Hackensack decided to allow the ordination of women. Classis will also conduct the ordination examination of Adrian Korevaar, pastor-elect of Preakness URC in Wayne, New Jersey, elect a permanent clerk and alternate clerk for a three-year term, and take the final vote on adoption of rules of procedure for classis modeled on those of the former Classis Midwest. Classis Central United States will have a similar agenda for its October 2 special meeting at Lynwood URC in the Chicago suburbs. The classis wasn't scheduled to meet until next March, but decided to hold a special Friday evening meeting to examine Hills Christian Reformed Church in Minnesota, which has voted to leave the CRC, and its newly-called pastor, Keith Davis. Classis will also examine Todd Joling, a recent graduate of Mid-America Reformed Seminary who has accepted a call to Faith URC of Beecher, Illinois. The Beecher church until recently was known as Grant Park CRC but changed its name when it moved from one rented facility to another in a different town. Two URC classes won't be meeting this fall. Classis Western Canada isn't scheduled to meet until next spring, and Classis Southwest United States was scheduled to meet on September 15 until it canceled its session due to lack of business. "Nothing's going on, so I guess classis is going well," said Classis Southwest US clerk Rev. Bradd Nymeyer. "If it's not broke, don't fix it." While Zion URC of Ripon, California, is now sponsoring a church plant in Fresno, that wasn't known by the time of the agenda deadline and Ripon decided it could wait until the next meeting in March before formally bringing the new church into the URC. "The interim committee made a recommendation to the churches that the classis be postponed to the following spring," said Nymeyer. "That was sent out to the churches, it was determined that at least two-thirds of the classis should agree with that recommendation, and that was obtained and the churches were informed that the classis meeting would be postponed until next March." One other URC classis will be meeting in October. Classis Southern Ontario will meet in the last week of October, but the agenda was not yet available as of press time. Cross-References to Related Articles: [No related articles on file] Contact List: Rev. Art Besteman, Pastor, Beverly United Reformed Church 2420 Avon Ave. SW, Wyoming, MI 49509 O: (616) 532-1708 Rev. Robert DeVries, Stated Clerk, Classis Eastern United States PO Box 393, Georges Mills, NH 03751 H/O: (603) 763-4695 Rev. Bradd Nymeyer, Stated Clerk, Classis Southwest United States (URC) 2418 North 127th Ln, Avondale, AZ 85323-6575 Study: (602) 935-2200 * E-Mail: BLNymeyer@aol.com Rev. Wybren Oord, Stated Clerk, Classis Michigan (URC) 12191 Polk St., Holland, MI 49424 H/O: (616) 875-4654 Rev. Ralph Pontier, Stated Clerk, Classis Central United States (URC) 4608 Jackson Ave., Orange City, IA 51041-7446 H/O: (712) 737-4901 * FAX: (712) 737-3350 * E-Mail: rpontier@rconnect.com Rev. Brian Vos, Pastor, Trinity United Reformed Church of Caledonia 694 Gardenview Dr. SW, Grand Rapids, MI H/O: (616) 455-2186 * E-Mail: bdvos@juno.com Rev. Phil Vos, Pastor, Covenant United Reformed Church 7724 Hampton Oaks Dr., Portage, MI 49024 O/FAX: (616) 324-5217 * H: (616) 324-5132 Rev. Jay Wesseling, Administrative Pastor, Cornerstone Church of Hudsonville 6442 - 36th Ave., Hudsonville, MI 49426 O: (616) 669-2190 * H: (616) 662-2029 * FAX: (616) 669-4321 * E-Mail: domine@iserv.net Elder Claude Wierenga, Vice-President, Zion United Reformed Church of Grand Rapids 6150 Hanna Lake Road, Caledonia, MI 49316 H: (616) 698-6262