A Different Greeting for Candidates

Synod set guidelines for how congregations and their former pastors should relate, passed a series of recommendations on financial matters, watched a short video about faith formation in the church and, in a hastily revised ceremony, recognized the 48 men and women who were declared candidates for ministry of the Word.

In one of the first orders of business, Synod agreed Tuesday morning that there ought to be a written, reviewable agreement between a church and its former pastor when the pastor wants to remain as member of the congregation.

Rev. Paul De Vries, in his presentation to Synod, said guidelines are needed because there “is a tendency to minimize the potential difficulties” in these situations. De Vries is reporter for the committee that brought the report.

A document presented to Synod sets out the reasoning for more scrutiny on these relationships: “The decision of the former pastor to remain in his/her previous church (should) not be viewed as entirely the prerogative of the former pastor. Pastors and councils are advised to view the decision as having weight similar to that of the decision to originally call the pastor to this church.”

At mid-morning there was the presentation of candidates for ministry. But driving rain, coupled with a flu bug that has swept the campus of Trinity Christian College, forced staff to scramble to determine the best arrangement for the formal introduction of candidates.

In previous years, family members and friends would celebrate this milestone by gathering around and laying their hands on the candidates. This year, because of the sickness on campus, a decision was made to keep touching at a minimum.

That doesn’t mean that the ceremony was not moving.

“We want this to be a marvelous moment in your life,” said Rev. William T.

Koopmans, president of Synod. “You’ve gone through many steps and hurdles to get here.  We have approved you, but you really have been approved by Jesus Christ.”

Rev. Duane Kelderman, vice president for administration at Calvin Theological Seminary, told the candidates: “This is a significant event in your life. The CRC is acknowledging that God has called you to ministry.”

He challenged candidates to “be kind” and to “love the church more than you love your own dreams.”

 A Litany of celebration and dedication was read and people in the audience responded by raising their hands as a form of blessing. There were 29 of the 48 candidates in attendance.

In other business, Synod approved a ministry share of $307.53 for 2010. That is the same amount as in 2009, a year in which the CRC responded to an economic downturn by freezing salaries and reducing benefits for employees.

Synod also agreed to set aside one percent of ministry share revenue to help the denomination explain and educate churches about the significance of this revenue stream to the church.

“Ministry shares provide resources to help us build the Kingdom,” said Rev. Bruce A. Persenaire, reporter for the committee dealing with financial matters. “There are a number of ways to enhance and educate people about ministry shares in this denomination.”

From the floor, one of the delegates, Rev. David Kromminga, asked if there was a better way for the church to raise funds for denomination.  “I appreciate ministry shares, but it appears it is not producing what it’s meant to produce.”