Beloved Congregation, August 15, 2010
As you may know, Elder John Van Muyen and I attended the URCNA Synod in London, ON from July 26-31. I thought it would be profitable to you if I updated you on our time at Synod. This was my first time to Synod as a minister, so it was a learning experience for me.
Synod met at the the University of Western Ontario in London, which meant that we stayed in apartments on campus. The accommodations were wonderful and the London URC should be commended for putting all things in place for 180 delegates to come and perform the work at hand.
The work of Synod was tiresome and mentally gruelling as we worked from 8:00 in the morning until sometimes past 11:00 at night. I was very encouraged by the feeling of love and commitments to the Lord's church by the brothers there. It was an encouraging time and I am thankful that we got through our 500+ page agenda.
There were a few decisions that I believe should be of interest to you. The first involves our relationship with the Canadian Reformed Churches. We voted to end two of our three Unity Committees that are working with the Canadian Reformed. Synod judged that the work of the Common Songbook and Theological Education committees have done all they can do at this time. The Joint Church Order Committee will continue on with its work. So, what does this decision say about our relationship with the CanRC? It means that a future merger is not as easy as some may have thought. We are continuing to go forward and we are encouraged by the CanRC's commitment and patience to and with us, but for now, we want to take it slowly, so that our churches do not feel like they are being pushed into something. I agree, shepherds ought to lead the flock, not drive them. Unity must begin in local communities and cannot be something a Synod declares, especially if it is not true in the lives of God's people.
There was much discussion about the doctrinal commitment of members of a congregation (can people be members of the URC and disagree with something in our Confessions?). No resolution came and we will have a new report from the committee studying this issue for the next Synod.
A very significant event took place in that Synod voted, without a single dissenting vote, to agree with the recommendation of the Report on Justification and the Federal Vision. The report is sent to the churches for further study and so, without agreeing to every formulation in the Report, we as churches can agree with its main conclusions, meaning that whatever might be taught concerning justification, must be measured according to the pertinent Articles of our Confessions and with the Word of God.
Synod also decided to set up a committee to study the emeritation (retirement) of ministers to answer questions such as: What happens to a minister who is older and the congregation he is serving disbands/closes? Or what if a minister "retires" in one church and moves to another, who is in charge of his needs and oversight? This committee will report to the next Synod.
In terms of our relationships with other federations, we voted to move into Phase 2 relations with the Reformed Churches of New Zealand. It think it was an excellent decision. Closer to home, we moved to Phase 2 (sister church) relations with the Reformed Churches of Quebec (ERQ), but we decided not to vote on the relationship we have with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), seemingly because of their 100 year old practice of having women deacons. The same is true about our relationship with the Reformed Churches of South Africa (GKSA).
In light of some questions some churches have with URC missionaries and a desire by some churches to have a more unified missionary effort a committee was set up to look into this matter of having a more unified Mission Board.
Finally, in terms of our songbook. When I arrived at Synod, I was give three copies of the Hymn section of our future songbook. The churches are supposed to look at this and then reply with feedback to our Songbook Committee. There are 278 hymns in these volumes, so we can see much work has already gone into this. At the next synod, we should receive a Psalm section for inclusion in the new book.
The next synod will be hosted by the Pompton Plains Reformed Bible Church in New Jersey in June of 2012. Notice that is two years away instead of three years as was previously done.
All in all, I had a wonderful and tiring week. If you have any questions feel free to ask me or Elder Van Muyen and we would be delighted to fill you in. The press releases for each day of Synod can be found in the synodical archive at the URC website www.urcna.org . I will close this pastoral letter with two verses that seemed to be the theme of the week.
Psalm 133:1 "Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
Ephesians 4:1, 4 "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called...endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
In His Service,
Rev. S. Swets
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