Ecumenical Guests Visit from Madagascar and the RCA

Rev. Perline Cooper, pastor at-large for the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, a church in dialogue with the Christian Reformed Church, brought news of her church to Synod 2015.

The church she represents has more than six million members and six thousand churches. About 40 percent of the population of Madagascar is affiliated with the church.

The relationship of the Madagascar church with the CRC has been fostered by the extensive work in that country by World Renew. In addition, the president of the denomination studied at Calvin Theological Seminary.

Rev. Lisa Vander Wal brought greetings from the Reformed Church in America (RCA). She mentioned with appreciation her own deep roots in the CRC and talked about the many ways that the RCA and CRC work together, such as World Renew, Kingdom Enterprise Zones, and church insurance programs. She expressed the hope that these initiatives will grow more numerous and deeper.

She also spoke of her work with the World Communion of Reformed Churches, a worldwide council of Reformed churches “called to communion and committed to justice.” Both the CRC and the RCA are members.

For continuous coverage of Synod 2015 including the live webcast, news, video recordings, photos, liveblog, social media links, and more visit www.crcna.org/synod.