Synod 2008 May Include Women as Delegates

June 13, 2007—Synod decided this morning that women will be allowed as delegates to Synod 2008. The action followed last night’s decision to delete the word “male” from the Church Order as a requirement for office bearers in the Christian Reformed Church.

“Let’s take note, pause and reflect,” said Rev. Bruce Persenaire from Classis Central California. “We will now be seating women delegates.

“There’s something historic about that on the 150th anniversary of the Christian Reformed Church.”

Other recommendations included a provision allowing delegates to classis or synod who believe that including women delegates is in violation of the Word of God may record their protest on the appropriate credentials.

“Thank you for a little bit of space,” said Rev. Warren Lammers of Classis Kalamazoo. “I’m very grateful for the toil that has gone into this.”

Synod president Rev. Joel Boot led the delegates in a concluding prayer. “Now we have made a far-reaching decision that will change a lot of things for our denomination for those on both sides,” he prayed, asking Christ to make it possible for the world to “see that we are one,” in spite of our disagreements.

Synod voted last night to remove the word “male” as a requirement for holding ecclesiastical office in the Christian Reformed Church. This opens the way for any CRC congregation to ordain women as ministers, elders, deacons or ministry associates.

The decision reflected synod’s desire to maintain unity in the church by respecting the convictions of those who believe the Bible prohibits women serving as office bearers. It allows classes to set restrictions on women serving as delegates to classis meetings.

Since 1995, congregations and classes had been allowed to ordain women as office bearers under a system of local option. Currently 26 of the 47 classes have exercised that option.

Sea to Sea Tour

Yesterday, synod heard about a proposed Sea to Sea 2008 bike tour, expected to take as many as 500 cyclists across 4,000 miles of Canada and the United States, in support of work to alleviate poverty.

Delegates watched a video highlighting the 2005 Sea to Sea bike tour across Canada, which raised approximately a million dollars for church planting across the country.

“We ask that you endorse it, that you encourage people to participate, and that you encourage people to support it financially,” said Claire Elgersma, chair of the Sea to Sea steering committee.

For more information on Sea to Sea 2008, visit www.seatosea.org.

Church Order Update Planned

Synod asked the denomination’s Board of Trustees to undertake an “orderly updating” of the Church Order and its Supplements. “Constant changes over the years have created a document that in some cases is not integrated with itself,” explained committee reporter Rev. Thomas Niehof, of classis Northcentral Iowa.

Rev. Henry De Moor, a faculty adviser to synod, was cautious about the proposal. “The last time we updated the church order, it took eight years: 1957 to 1965, ” noted De Moor. “A revision of the Church Order is a big deal—it can mean all sorts of things.”

Niehof emphasized to delegates that the updating is intended simply to incorporate past decisions into clearer, more coherent language.

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