NR #1995-2: For Immediate Release CRC Study Committee Recommends Delegation of Deacons to Classis and Synod, Scrapping of Canadian Council * Proposal May Allow Delegation of Women Deacons to Synod and Classis by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer Reformed Believers Press Service (January 3, 1995) RBPS - Questions related to women in office have been before almost all Christian Reformed synods since 1970, and questions related to the CRC's 240 Canadian congregations have been before synod since even earlier years. However, 1995 may be the first year both issues have been raised by the same synodical report. In its report, a study committee mandated by Synod 1993 "to develop a proposal for a more effective structure for ministry in Canada" has issued three surprising recommendations. The first two recommendations, that the Council of Christian Reformed Churches in Canada disband following integration of its ministries into the appropriate synodically-governed agencies and that each synodical agency establish separate US and Canadian boards, primarily affect the Canadian CRC congregations. The third, however, will have a direct effect on all 978 churches and ministries on both sides of the Canadian boarder. The committee is recommending that "synod better integrate the office and work of the deacons by providing diaconal representation at major assemblies and by including diaconal ministries, where desirable, in the classical and synodical structures." In subsidiary recommendations, the committee proposes changes to the Christian Reformed church order which would mandate that every church on both sides of the border delegate a deacon, elder, and minister to its classis, as well as that each classis delegate one deacon, one elder, and one minister to synod. The committee also asks synod to appoint another study committee to "work out a plan with diaconal conferences and organizations to integrate their work, where desirable, into classical and synodical structures." "These are three legs of a stool; any one of those legs is important," said Rev. Robert De Moor, chairman of the study committee. "If we were to drop that third point I think we would not be totally addressing the concern of doing ministry in Canada." Why is a committee which was mandated to develop a proposal for more effective structure of Canadian ministry recommending church order changes which would affect both United States and Canadian churches? "We are saying this is a significant Canadian issue, but it's one which is broader," replied De Moor. "Integration of diaconal ministry is very, very important in the life and leadership of the church and it's not really being recognized to the extent it should be." De Moor also noted that delegation of deacons to broader assemblies has been a concern to many Canadian churches for many years. Currently, the Canadian Council allows each Canadian classis to delegate one deacon to its meetings. "Our mandate was to come back as a Canadian committee and say, how do you do ministry," De Moor said. "We're word and deed. Certainly the CRC feels, at least on paper, that this is an important thing to do." The current CRC church order requires that each church delegate one minister and one elder to classis and that each classis delegate two ministers and two elders to synod. If adopted by synod, the net effect of the study committee's recommendations would be to double the percentage of laymen attending synod and classis meetings, cut the total number of synod delegates by 25%, and increase the total number of classis delegates by 50%. However, another effect of delegating deacons to classis and synod is likely to prompt more discussion: since 1984, Christian Reformed congregations have been legally allowed to ordain women to the office of deacon "provided that their work is distinguished from that of elders." Synod 1984 ratified a 1978 synodical decision which noted possible examples of deaconesses in Romans 16:1 and I Timothy 3:11, John Calvin's belief that women could serve as deaconesses, and the implementation of that view by the 1568 Synod of Wezel. Synod 1978 also noted that "the headship principle in which the woman (wife) is to be subject to the man (husband) is not violated as long as the office of deacons is expressed in terms of assistance and service." Current Christian Reformed practice allows churches to delegate a deacon to classis when no elders are able to attend, but in all such cases a vote of classis must be taken to seat the deacon. Motions to seat male deacons are normally carried without dissent, but the provision requiring that the work of deacons be distinguished from that of elders has resulted in some difficult scenes when churches attempted to delegate women deacons to classis meetings. In several cases delegates have walked out after women deacons have been seated, and in other cases classes decided not to seat women deacons after delegates threatened walkouts. To date, no classis has attempted to delegate a woman to synod, but a number of women deacons have been delegated to meetings of the Canadian Council and some have served as officers of that body. "Synod may say this is something we're not used to and would cause problems," said De Moor. "If there would be details such as the role of women the church would have to be careful on that issue, and we think that is a concern that needs to be addressed. What we do not find negotiable is the principle of integration of the diaconate in the total ministries of the church." While less controversial, implementation of the other two committee recommendations will have almost as far-reaching effects on the structure of Canadian ministry. Why disband the Council of Christian Reformed Churches in Canada? "It was our opinion that the CCRCC as presently constituted could never function well within the deliberative structure of the CRC," said De Moor. "The basic question for us is are we two churches trying to stay together or are we one church committed to doing ministry effectively in two nations. The CCRCC was a good start to doing that but we need to move beyond it." De Moor said there were a number of other possible ways in which Canadian churches could express their views on matters of common concern to churches north of the border. "Our committee basically felt we did not want to recommend any other legislative mechanism other than to suggest some other ways that could happen," said De Moor. "There could be a Canadian caucus meeting before synod functioning as an advisory committee on Canadian issues. There could be other ways to try to gain a sense of the mind of Canadian churches. Basically we felt that putting classical delegation to the [denominational] board of trustees in Canada would be a good mechanism to also gain the sense of the church in Canada." While less visible than the delegation of deacons to broader assemblies or the elimination of the Canadian Council, the recommendation that Canadian ministries be integrated into the ministries of the bi-national denomination will also have long-term effects. Due to requirements of Canadian law that funds gathered in Canada be under the "direction, supervision, and control" of Canadian church members, most Christian Reformed agencies have established separate Canadian boards to supervise their Canadian operations. However, according to the committee, some "have created boards for purely formal purposes [which are] not yet autonomous in any meaningful way," with the result that "staff in the Canadian office are answerable to the executive director of ministries, located in Grand Rapids." "At present, then, our structures may perhaps satisfy the letter of Canadian law, but they do not satisfy its spirit and intent," stated the committee report. "We need more satisfactory solutions." The committee proposal recommends that several separate ministries of the Canadian Council be integrated into their synodical counterparts, but that the synodically-governed agencies turn their Canadian boards into fully functional boards with staff answerable to "a full-time executive director of ministries (EDM) for Canada who functions on the same administrative level as an EDM for the U.S." How will the proposals be received? According to De Moor, while the proposal to disband the Canadian Council met with surprise, the overall reaction has been favorable in both the U.S. and Canada. "I've heard nothing but positive comments about this," said De Moor. "I don't sense that this is an issue that will polarize us, I sense in Grand Rapids and the U.S. that folks are saying, 'So you do want to be one church, you don't want to build a brick wall between Halifax and Vancouver, you really do want to be CRC.'" Contact List: Rev. Robert DeMoor, Chairman, Committee to Study Structure for Ministry in Canada 4760 - 203 St., Langley, BC V3A 5J7 * O: (604) 530-5959 * H: (604) 533-2318 Rev. Arie Van Eek, Executive Secretary, Council of Christian Reformed Churches in Canada 23 Niska Dr., Waterdown, ON L0R 2H3 * O: (905) 336-2920 * H: (905) 689-5226 * F: (905) 336-8344 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr95-002.txt .