Plans Progessing for Canadian National Gathering

Preparations are progressing for a national Gathering of the CRC in Canada that will be taking place on May 6-8 at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON., said Rev. Darren Roorda, director of Canadian Ministries.

“Churches, stated clerks, councils and individuals are all asking what the next steps are and how they can ensure their involvement. That’s exciting,” said Roorda.

The goal of the CRC Gathering, whose theme is Keeping in Step with the Spirit, is to connect, share stories, and discern God’s leading.

Roorda asks people to pray for the leaders of the effort. Also, you can nominate one person from your congregation to represent your classis, he said.

Each classis will select and send 12 representatives with the goal of representative diversity in gender, age, and ethnicity. For more details and information, click here.

Along with CRC representation at the Gathering, said Roorda, “our agency/ministry partners are being told that there is opportunity for them to connect with the CRC.

“So they will be looking to have at least one person from each of their groups attend so as to listen to the voice of the church, bolster the joyous work of Canadian churches, and be available to serve in whatever way they can.”

So far, speakers for the Canadian Gathering include Sylvia Keesmat, an author and adjunct professor at the Institute for Christian Studies and the Toronto School of Theology.

Also speaking will be Glenn Smith, director of Christian Direction, a ministry that is in partnership with the CRC. In addition, Michele Visser-Wikkerink, director of the Indigenous Family Centre in Winnipeg will speak.,

The CRC in the U.S. will be holding two Gatherings this year and one early next year. The first U.S. Gathering is set for June 8-10 just before Synod 2016. A second Gathering is to occur later in the year; another one will take place early in 2017.

The Gatherings spring from a report, “Cultivating Binationality in the CRCNA,” that was adopted by the Board of Trustees in May 2014.

The report, among other things, states that the CRCNA in the U.S. and Canada should “intentionally and regularly gather in our respective national contexts to understand trends that are happening, the culture in which we are doing our living, and the implications for our ministry as a church.”