CRC, RCA Synods Share Simulcast
Rev. Tom De Vries joined Synod 2016 by video link from the RCA synod
Karen Huttenga
Synod 2016 paused in its work on Monday to share greetings electronically with the general synod of the Reformed Church in America.
Steven Timmermans, executive director of the Christian Reformed Church and Tom De Vries, general secretary of the RCA, spoke by video link about the Pella Accord. That accord, made during the synods of both churches held in Pella, Iowa, in 2014, pledges that they will “act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel us to act separately.”
De Vries and Timmermans spoke of the work the CRC and RCA are doing together already and of their plans to do even more, including holding both synods at the same time at Calvin College in 2018.
The technology was less than perfect, but the friendship between De Vries and Timmermans—and increasingly between the CRC and the RCA—came through. The simulcast ended with a delegate from each synod praying for the other.
Following the simulcast, Lisa Vander Wal, an ecumenical delegate from the RCA, brought greetings to Synod 2016. She spoke about the World Communion of Reformed Churches, an ecumenical organization to which both the CRC and RCA belong. The communion is planning a celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation next year in Leipzig.
The theme of the Leipzig conference is “Living God: Renew and Transform Us,” which, Vander Wal said, is a prayer to the living God, a God who is still on the move. “We say as Calvinists,” she added, “that we want to be part of the transformation of the world, but we also need to be transformed and renewed.” In that, she said, there is much to study, much to pray, much to work for.
For continuous coverage of Synod 2016 including the live webcast, news, video recordings, photos, liveblog, social media links, and more visit www.crcna.org/synod.
