Synod 2015 to Address a Range of Issues

Delegates to Synod 2015, which opens this week, will be addressing issues ranging from same-sex marriage to religious persecution and from the role of elders and deacons to how to best structure the boards that govern the shared ministries of the church.

Delegates will also discuss the Belhar Confession, meet candidates for ministry in the Christian Reformed Church, and take up a series of overtures from churches across the denomination.

Synod 2015 is meeting June12-18 on the campus of Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. Bringing in delegates from all over North America, synod will begin its sessions at 8:30 a.m. on Friday in the B.J. Haan Auditorium on the Dordt campus.

The various issues and recommendations coming before Synod 2015 are included in the 2015 Synod Agenda or the 2015 Synod Supplement which are available on the Synod Resources page.

CRC Communications plans to webcast all plenary sessions of synod, including worship time each morning. The sessions can be streamed to your computer, tablet, or phone.

In addition, you can sign up to have news stories emailed to you, read blogs, read coverage in The Banner, see photos, download reports, view webcast recordings, and more. Visit www.crcna.org/synod for complete coverage.

One report coming before synod is from the Task Force Reviewing Structure and Culture. This report asks synod to approve ways in which denominational agencies will be governed.

The Task Force to Study the Offices of Elder and Deacons will be taken up by Synod 2015. This report clarifies the roles of these office bearers and asks that deacons starting next year be allowed to serve as delegate at classis and synod.

Several overtures address this report.

In addition, synod will discuss the proposal to join Christian Reformed Home Missions and Christian Reformed World Missions into one agency.

Synod will also discuss the process the CRC will undertake to find a new editor for The Banner, the CRC’s monthly magazine.

In addition, there will also be an update from the Diversity in Leadership Planning Group, which was constituted by Synod 2013 and will be discussing its work in the area of promoting greater ethnic diversity in leadership in the CRC.

Two study committees will report to Synod 2015.

One is the Committee to Provide Pastoral Guidance re Same-sex Marriage. The committee was mandated by Synod 2013 to explore issues related to this topic. In addition, the committee was asked to provide advice for pastoral ministry and to identify resources and recommend best practices for use by the churches in regard to this issue.

The other study committee is the Committee to Study Religious Persecution and Liberty.

Also constituted by Synod 2013, this committee was asked to provide “a Reformed framework that establishes a biblical and theological grounding for religious liberty and the injustice of religious persecution.”

Also before synod is a request from the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee to incorporate the Belhar Confession’s themes into the discipleship and liturgical life of the CRC.

The EIRC asks synod to reaffirm the decision of Synod 2012 to recommend the Belhar Confession to the churches for study and for incorporation of its themes into their discipling and liturgical ministries.

The EIRC also asks synod to instruct the Board of Trustees to ensure that denominational Ministry Support Services, Faith Formation Ministries, and Worship Ministries provide consultative Belhar Confession assistance to congregations and make related materials available through their service, marketing efforts, and web-based access.