Thanks, London.

Cornerstone URC of London was a gracious host. . .

Read more here.

Synod Wrap-Up, Odds and Ends

Synod has concluded and delegates have returned home to attempt to catch up on sleep.

So what was accomplished at Synod? In the end, Synod London may best be remembered for its clear rejection of Federal Vision and . . .

Read more about this here.

Official URCNA Press Release #4, 07/30/2010

Read the official URCNA press release for 07/30/2010 here.

Stated Clerk, Alternate Stated Clerk Elections & Next Synod

Election results and the time/location of the next Synod are up here.

07/30/2010, Evening

Being the last session of Synod, general session began after dinner with the PRJC business. The PRJC (Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel) recommended that Synod direct the Stated Clerk to the United States Armed Forces officials in accordance with the beliefs of the URCNA, urging them to maintain the current policy on homosexuals serving in the military. The Synod body . . .

Read more about this here.

07/30/2010, Afternoon

Early in the afternoon, Synod dealt with procedural matters. With minor amendments, Synod acceded to Overture 11 to amend Article 32 and Appendix 4 of Church Order. Ratification by the consistories shall be completed by March 15, 2011. Synod adopted the Regulations for Synodical Procedure as amended (minor amendments) and declared that the answer to Overture 4, Overture 10, and Recommendation 2 of the CERCU report. It also voted that these procedures will be on the federation’s website. The committee on credentials was up next. The recommendations of the advisory committee . . .

Read more about this here.

07/30/2010, Federal Vision Rejected/Justification Report Recommendations Adopted Without Dissent

Justification/Federal Vision Study Committee Report: The Justification/Federal Vision Study Committee presented to Synod a clear and strong report rejecting Federal Vision and all of its associated points as error. The advisory committee which dealt with the report was pleased with the report but made changes to make it stronger. That report was presented to the assembly late this morning. . .

Read more about this here.

07/30/2010, Morning

After a long night for the delegates last night (they were in plenary until nearly midnight), this morning’s plenary session started promptly at 8AM. After singing a hymn, a reading of Scripture, and listening to the representative from the GKSA, and then went straight into business.

Overture 5: This Overture sought to amend Arts. 44 and 45 of the Proposed Joint Church Order (what may be the CO if/when there is a URC/CanRC merger and if the PJCO is adopted). The committee had struggled . . .

Read more about this here.

Official URCNA Press Release #3 (07/29/2010)

Read the official URCNA Press Release for 07/29/2010 here.

07/29/2010, Late Afternoon and Evening

Following the rejection of Appeal 1 regarding the 9 Points of Synod 2007, the assembly turned to Overture 14 and its committee’s recommendations. This overture dealt with defining Synodical statements to determine what should be considered binding and what should not. The committee’s recommendation was the following . . .

Read more about this here.

Appeal #1: The 9 Points of Synod 2007

The 9 Points of Synod 2007 stand.

Read more about this here.

07/29/2010, Morning

After opening with two hymns, a reading of Scripture and a prayer, plenary session continued this morning with two 5-minute speeches, one from a representative of Redeemer University College introducing it to the delegates, and another from a representative of the ERQ, a church with which the URCNA is currently in Stage 1 of Ecclesiastical Relations. He expressed that . . .

Read more about this here.

Official URCNA Press Release #2 (07/28/2010)

Read the official URCNA Press Release for 07/28/2010 here.

Resolution to the “open meeting”

I want to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to Dr. Scott Clark, Dr. Brian Lee, Elder Eric Akiyoshi, and Rev. Danny Hyde, most of which I have never even met nor known until today. Each of these men served to bring forward the case of the inconsistency regarding open meetings and brought about resolution, most importantly, on behalf of upholding the standing rules of Synod, and less importantly on my behalf. For this, I am thankful.

This evening, thanks to these men, the chair of the Synod did, as you may have already read, affirm that meetings, both committee and plenary, are indeed open to the public and explained that new technology is something that the URCNA will need to adjust to. He offered an apology before the Synod this evening regarding the matter that occurred this morning. The open meeting policy being followed is the important matter and while I appreciate the apology and recognize it was likely not easy to make in front of an assembly, what was vital was that Synod was on record as upholding its own regulations instead of the inconsistent statement of this morning. And it is.

I should add that the chair of a committee that also asked me to “cease and desist” and not return to committee was very gracious with an apology and extended to me an invitation to sit in the committee should they be sent back to reconvene.

Thanks, too, for the support of so many readers of URCNASynodReports who also were involved in wanting to see the judgment of this morning overturned. It is much appreciated. I am amazed at the efficacy of the “new media!”

Having just met most of these gentlemen this evening, I have come to learn that two of them are also “reporting live” from Synod when they’re able (and not inundated with mountains of business to get through), and if you’d like to follow their updates, you can find them below. Dr. Scott Clark is also commenting on Synod at his blog.

Dr. Brian Lee: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-DC/Christ-Reformed-Church-Washington-DC/116137848410627

Rev. Danny Hyde: http://www.facebook.com/danielrhyde

Dr. Scott Clark: http://heidelblog.wordpress.com/

Check out what they have to say!

07/28/2010, Afternoon and Evening

One point of clarification before I move forward on the afternoon plenary session. Since this post will include Committee 9, I should reply, now, to a question that was posed, which was: what does the word “will” mean regarding the Psalter Hymnal Committee Report 3, recommendation 3? . . .

Read more about this here.

A Quick Comment

There will be no afternoon post today. Everything will have to come at the end of the day.

There has been an update to the “open meeting” issue, and that will updated this evening as well. Sorry for the lack of update, but there have many things to handle at once today.

07/28/2010, Morning

As referenced in my earlier post, this morning was devoted to the exhibit hall. Afternoon plenary begins shortly and there will be more updates this evening regarding afternoon plenary. The exhibitors present are:

Read more about this here.

An Apology

There are two things for which I must apologize.

First, I have been told this morning that this website was hacked last night, linking instead to a website that is in nature too embarrassing to mention. The same person who informed me of this also told me that it was fixed by this morning. I was working on the website until nearly 2AM last night and was back on the website this morning by 8AM, so it must have happened somewhere between 2-8AM. I apologize to any of you who may have been redirected to somewhere else. I have emailed customer service at WordPress for assistance in this matter. I hope it will not happen again and will take whatever precautionary steps they advise me to take. Also, just to be perfectly clear: URCNA Synod Reports is NOT the official website of the URCNA. As listed in the “about” page on this website, I am simply a member of a URCNA church who came to observe Synod. The official website of the URCNA is http://www.service-life.com/urcna/. There will be a disclaimer on this website from here on to make this perfectly clear.

Second, I have been asked not to report on the goings-on in the advisory committees. I had very carefully read the Regulations for Synodical Procedures which state that all advisory committees are open, unless voted into executive session or strict executive session. Because the committees I visited yesterday and this morning were not held in executive session, I did observe and wrote about my observations yesterday, with the assumption that “open” and “public” meant I could write about them. I had informed the Stated Clerk before Synod that I would be writing about what would happen. However, it appears that having me write about the discussions in committees has made some delegates uncomfortable. Had I known that what I was reporting was making delegates uncomfortable, I would have spoken to them earlier. I had not known, however. To those that I have made uncomfortable, please accept my apology. That certainly was never my intention. I recognize the important work that is taking place in committees as well as in general session and do not want to deter that work.

This period of time while committees finish their work will provide an excellent opportunity to write about other elements of Synod such as the exhibits. There will be more updates on that soon.

07/27/2010 Official URCNA Press Release

Read the official URCNA press release here.

July 27, 2010, Evening

This will be a long update, as there are many notes regarding the discussion with the Canadian Reformed professors this evening.

After dinner this evening, plenary sessions commenced. Some delegates (particularly on the PJCO/Overture 18/Church Order committee) were worn out after a full day of going back and forth without too much progress, so they were glad to begin plenary and take a break from committees. There are still some committees . . .

Read more about this here.

July 27, 2010, Afternoon

Committees began their work late this morning. Some finished not long after lunch while others haven’t finished at all. Synod officials made a wise decision to devote the day to committees instead of having the delegates walk back and forth between buildings each time a committee finished. While there are a few that have not yet finished their work, many have. The assembly will convene in plenary session after dinner tonight. Presumably, they will begin to take up some of the recommendations from committees. Beginning a few minutes before 9pm tonight . . .

Read more on this here.

Elections

The chairman, vice-chairman, first clerk, and second clerk have been elected. They are . . .

Read more about this here.

Committee Assignments Are Up

Advisory Committee Assignments

Committee 1: Credentials, Report of the Convening Consistory and Stated Clerk, Overture 9, Overture 17

Members: . . .

Read all of the committee assignments here.

Appeals

There are four appeals to be considered at Synod. They are as follows:

From Hills URC — “An Appeal to Synod 2010″ — this appeal is regarding the “Nine Points” of Synod 2007. Recall that the “Nine Points” was a statement Synod 2007 made to reaffirm the current URCNA understanding of justification and was written in response to the Federal Vision movement as a rejection of it. . .

Read more about this here.

An Overview of Issues at Synod

There is quite a bit of business to sort through at Synod, so for the reader at home who doesn’t want to sort through all of the pages and just wants an overview, here are the big items coming to Synod:

The Report from the Study Committee on Justification and Federal Vision

The Report on the Proposed Joint Church Order

Overture 1 which seeks to amend the Justification/FV Report

Overture 6 deals with the possible merger of the URCNA and CanRC.

Overture 18 which seeks to receive the Proposed Joint Church Order (not adopt it) and disband the committee. This deals with the possible merger of the URCNA and CanRC.

Overture 13 also deals with the URCNA/CanRC merger.

Overture 14 to define Synodical statements. What does the URCNA want to consider binding?

The Hills URC Appeal to Synod 2010 regarding the Nine Points of 2007

07/26/10 Evening Worship Service and What’s Up For Tomorrow

After finishing registration and dinner, a worship service kicked off Synod this evening. The service was open to the public and there were a good number of folks from Cornerstone URC (the hosting church) as well as other local URCNA churches. Also present were ecclesiastical (fraternal) advisory delegates from New Zealand, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Africa, and Synod is expecting more from Indonesia and India. One particularly striking note . . .

Read more about this here.

Settling in

While the delegates and observers settle in here at the University of Western Ontario, the convening consistory is registering delegates and scrambling to finish tying up loose ends. Fortunately for all attending Synod . . .

Read more about this here.

New Legislation That Becomes Effective After Synod 2010

Because of the standing rules of Synod, changes to the church order (CO) recommended by one Synod and ratified by 2/3 of the consistories take effect at the next Synod, providing that second Synod does not overturn the item.

Providing that none of the following are overtured at Synod 2010, the following will go into effect at the conclusion of Synod 2010:

– Article 48 will be changed from:

Consistories shall instruct and admonish those under their spiritual care who are considering marriage to marry in the Lord. Christian marriages should be solemnized with appropriate admonitions, promises and prayers, under the regulation of the Consistory, with the use of the appropriate liturgical form. Ministers shall not solemnize marriages which would conflict with the Word of God.

to:

Scripture teaches that marriage is designed to be a lifelong, monogamous covenantal union between one man and one woman. Consistories shall instruct and admonish those under their spiritual care who are considering marriage to marry in the Lord. Christian marriages shall be solemnized with appropriate admonitions, promises, and prayers, under the regulation of the Consistory, with the use of the appropriate liturgical form. Ministers shall not solemnize marriages that conflict with the Word of God.

– Appendix 2 of Church Order, Guidelines for Candidacy Exam will be changed as follows:
a. In section 3.b. (Content), add this subsection: “(8) Church Polity: the history and principles of Reformed church polity, and the content of the Church Order.”
b. In section 3.b. (Content), in subsection 1 (Practica), delete “and church polity.”

–Church Order Article 44 will be changed from:

Persons coming from other denominations shall be admitted to communicant membership only after the Consistory has examined them concerning doctrine and life. The Consistory shall determine in each case whether public profession of faith shall be required. Their names shall be announced to the congregation two weeks prior to reception, in order that the congregation may have opportunity, if necessary, to bring lawful objections to the attention of the Consistory.

to:

Persons coming from denominations other than those with which we have ecclesiastical fellowship shall be admitted to communicant membership only after the Consistory has examined them concerning doctrine and life. The Consistory shall determine in each case whether public profession of faith shall be required. Their names shall be announced to the congregation two weeks prior to reception, in order that the congregation may have opportunity, if necessary, to bring lawful objections to the attention of the Consistory.

– Art 11 will be changed from:

If, for reasons other than such as warrant ecclesiastical discipline, either a minister of the Word or the congregation he is serving desires to dissolve their pastoral relationship, that dissolution shall occur only upon mutually satisfactory conditions and only with the concurring advice of the classis. If the released minister desires to receive a call to serve another congregation, the council from whose service he is being released shall announce his eligibility for call, which eligibility shall be valid for no more than two years, whereafter he shall be honorably released from office. If the minister released from his congregation desires to leave his office in order to seek non-ministerial labor, he must receive the approval of the classis before doing so.

to:

When for weighty reasons and in exceptional circumstances a pastoral relationship has been irreconcilably broken, and a minister of the Word or the council of the congregation he is serving desires to dissolve their pastoral relationship, that dissolution may occur only when all the following conditions have been met:
a. this dissolution shall not occur for delinquency in doctrine or life, which would warrant church discipline;
b. this dissolution shall occur only when attempted reconciliation, with the involvement of both the church visitors and the classis, has been unsuccessful, resulting in an intolerable situation;
c. this dissolution shall occur only with the concurring advice of the classis; 35
d. the council?s provision for the adequate congregational support of the minister and his family shall require the concurring advice of the classis.
The council of the congregation with which the pastoral relationship is dissolved shall announce his eligibility for call. This eligibility shall be valid for no more than two years, whereafter he shall be honorably discharged from office.

Church Order Article 36 will be changed from:

The federation may enter into ecumenical relations with other federations by synodical decision. Such a decision must be ratified by a majority of the Consistories.

to:

The federation may enter into ecumenical relations with other federations by synodical decision. Such a decision with respect to ecclesiastical fellowship shall require ratification by a majority of the synodically-approved Consistories in the federation. Such a decision with respect to church union shall require a two-thirds vote of a synod and shall require ratification by two-thirds of the synodically-approved Consistories in the federation.

Article 66 would be changed from:

These articles, relating to the lawful order of the church, have been so drafted and adopted by common consent, that they ought to be observed diligently. If it be found that God may be more honored and the churches better served by changing any article, this shall require a two-thirds vote of a synod and shall be ratified by two-thirds of the Consistories prior to the next synodical meeting, after which meeting they shall take effect.

to:

These articles, relating to the lawful order of the church, have been so drafted and adopted by common consent, that they ought to be observed diligently. If it be found that God may be more honored and the churches better served by changing any article, this shall require a two-thirds vote of a synod and shall be ratified by two-thirds of the 44 synodically-approved Consistories of the federation prior to the next synodical meeting, after which meeting they shall take effect.

Incomplete Overtures

The Ad Hoc Committee has created the Regulations for Synodical Procedures which are the “rules” under which the Synod body operate. In Appendix A, Guidelines, Point 4, the standing procedures state:

Since an overture is a written proposal requesting a definite action regarding a specific matter for the benefit of the churches, an overture must:
a. Provide a brief background of the matter being proposed.
b. Provide specific grounds for the adoption of the overture.

Since there is no “and” nor “or” at the end of a., the assumption would be “and.” Looking at several of the overtures submitted for business at Synod, several of them lack explicitly-stated background sections.

The URCNA Synod is quite a bit less formal than the PCA or OPC General Assemblies and for that reason, the committee on pre-advice may allow the overtures to continue as business. Technically, however, the stated clerk has the option to rule each of these overtures out of order.

The overtures that are incomplete are as follows:

Overture 1: Amend FV Report
Overture 2: Emeritation of Ministers
Overture 3: Amend CO Art. 66
Overture 5: Amend PJCO Arts. 44 and 45
Overture 6: Reassign CERCU Committee – URCNA/CanRC Compatability
Overture 8: Missions Coordinator
Overture 9: Release of Directory Info for Publication
Overture 10: Synodical Committee Term Limits
Overture 17: Acts of Synod Distribution
Overture 18: Receive PJCO/Disband Committee

These will likely go to the Committee for Pre-Advice to rule whether or not they will be in order.

Web Oversight Committee Report

Good news! The cost of something is going down! The web oversight committee is recommending that the fees for the website . . .

Read more about this here.

Theological Education Committee Report

This report details the impasse that the URCNA and CanRC reached when attempting to forge ahead in ecumenical relations due to disagreement regarding a federationally-controlled seminary . . .

Read more about this here.

Report of the Proposed Joint Church Order Committee to Synod

What happens to the Proposed Joint Church Order (PJCO) will be headline news coming from Synod 2007. The adoption of it would drastically alter the nature of the URCNA form of governance and where authority is vested. The federation would need to deal with the resulting hierarchy that is associated with the PJCO and local consistories would no longer have the authority they currently enjoy. With the implementation of new governing bodies such as regional synods . . .

Read more about this here.

Report of the Liturgical Forms and Confessions Committee

The Liturgical Forms and Confessions Committee report is full of updates:

1. The committee chose not to undertake a new translation to the Three Forms of Unity (TFU) but use existing English translations.
2. The committee has accomplished much but has more to go. 3 members have requested to be released of their membership on the committee. . .

Read more about this here.

Report of the Ad Hoc Committee

An Ad Hoc Committee is assigned a mandate and task by Synod. This year’s Ad Hoc committee is basically the “rules” committee. It creates the procedures under which Synod is conducted. It’s mandate was to prepare a standard of parliamentary law to be used during Synod. After some revisions, the Ad Hoc Committee brings forward its Regulations for Synodical Procedures, 2010 edition. This document will be presented for adoption at Synod 2010. . .

Read more about this here.

Psalter Hymnal Committee Report

The Psalter Hymnal Committee has seen several resignations for various reasons and is requesting that Synod appoint more members to the committee, particularly those with musical skills and/or a passion for hymns and psalms, theological and Biblical knowledge, and language ability. While the PHC recognizes in its report that if only 1000 copies of the songbook that it proposes was purchased, it would cost $75-85 per copy . . .

Read more about this here.

Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Commission on Chaplains and Military Report

The vote concerning the recommendation to petition the United States Armed Forces officials could be interesting if there is a divide between those with and without the two kingdom perspective. * Update: I don’t know that there will be, and at least one two-kingdom member of the committee voted in favor of sending the letter. . . .

Read more about this here.

Report from the Committee on Level of Doctrinal Commitment

Synod 2007 tasked a committee to “study the level of doctrinal commitment advisable for communicant membership in our churches.” The committee found disagreements and therefore submitted two reports.

Position 1: Membership Access with Stipulations . . .

Read more about this here.

Report of the Study Committee on Justification and Federal Vision

This item of business will likely take a little time both in committee as well as on the plenary floor. The report is considered controversial because there is disagreement in the URCNA as to how to handle Federal Vision.

The issue of Federal Vision has been plaguing the URCNA for a decade, and each time it has returned to the federation, the Synod has spoken more loudly and clearly affirming the current and historical reformed understanding of justification and rejecting the points of Federal Vision. While many have assumed that the PCA and OPC are the ones dealing with Federal Vision, not the URCNA, the fact is an URCNA minister of the Word was one of the original, fairly outspoken proponents of Federal Vision . . .

Read more about this here.

CERCU report

Churches in Ecumenical Dialogue:
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC) – recommendation: Enter Phase 1
Heritage Reformed Congregations (HRC) – recommendation: Enter Phase 1
Korean American Presbyterian Church (KAPC) . . .

Read more about this here.

CECCA Report

CECCA reports ecumenical contact with the following, along with its recommendations to Synod 2010:

Reformed Church of New Zealand (RCNZ): sent a delegate to their Synod.
Recommendation: URCNA enter into Phase 2 Ecumenical Fellowship with the RCNZ

Reformed Churches in South Africa (GKSA): . . .

Read more about this here.

Board of Directors Report

The US Board asks Synod 2010 to re-appoint two members, the chairman and the secretary, of the five member US Board of Directors at Synod 2010.
The US Board asks Synod 2010 to direct the US Treasurer to be a functionary of the US Corporation, not of his local church. . .

Read more about this here.

Overture 18, Pacific Northwest: Receive PJCO/Disband Committee

This is another one with a few fireworks for policy wonks.

A possible merger with the CanRC was the impetus behind creating the Proposed Joint Church Order (PJCO) that comes to Synod 2010 for a vote. The document has been controversial since many in the URCNA view it as adding bureaucracy and shifting power from the local governance system the URCNA currently enjoys (power resting with the local consistory ruled by elders) to a hierarchical system with ruling coming down from higher governing bodies. . .

Read more about this here.

Overture 17, Pacific Northwest: Acts of Synod Distribution

This is yet another “growing pains” overture which seeks to help the URCNA into maturity with customary and timely communications. After each Synod, the “Acts of Synod” are published. The overture would require that the document is indexed and published within 90 days of Synod adjournment . . .

Read more about this here.

Overture 16, Southwest US: Create Procedure to Receive New Congregations

Overture 16 seeks to do precisely what it states: create a new procedure to receive new congregations into the URCNA. The current procedure does not allow for the greater federation to become familiar with the newly received churches until after it has already been provisionally received. The overture would set a protocol wherein churches seeking to federate with the URCNA would fill out an application, post it on the URCNA website, and having those applications included in the next Synod agenda for review. The overture does not specify whether or not the application would be only accessible to those signed in with credentials on the URCNA website or free for the public to view. . .

Read more about this here.

Overture 15, Southwest US: Amend CO Arts. 29 and 31

This overture was first submitted to Synod 2007 but because of its late arrival, was rejected. The overture is harmless in nature and seeks to clarify the CO in a passage where it can be confusing in relation to appeals. This overture should have no trouble in its adoption. . .

Read more about this here.

Overture 14, Central US: Define Synodical Statements

Being a fairly new and small federation, the URCNA still has “kinks” to work out in its polity, much of which has to do with its vague wording and loopholes in its CO and procedures. Classis Central US seeks to firm up one aspect of their polity which deals with synodical statements. Synods make statements often on one topic or another, but what has been unclear was what authority these statements carried with them. For example, the 2007 Synod came out with the Nine Points of Synod (against Federal Vision) . . .

Read more about this here.

Overture 13, Central US: Conclude Phase 3 Unity Committee Work

There will be a few items of business from Synod that will make “headline news.” This overture, whichever way it goes, will be among them. It will be no surprise to those who have been following the URCNA/CanRC merger that the process of forging ahead has not been going well. As earlier mentioned, there are considerable theological differences between the two federations in terms of covenant, redemption, Federal Vision, New Perspective on Paul, baptism, theological education, views on creation, and more.

Read more about this here.

Overture 12, Central US: Classis Exam Voting Procedure

The adoption of Overture 12 would create greater uniformity and more quantifiable responses in classis exam voting procedures throughout the federation and limit the ability for “local option” regarding candidate exams.

Read more about this here.

Overture 11, Central US: Amend CO Art. 32 and App. 4

Overture 11 seeks to bring clarity where the Church Order (CO) is vague regarding churches seeking admittance into the URCNA federation and because it seeks only to clarify, will likely have no problem in being adopted. . .

Read more about this here.

Overture 10, Michigan: Synodical Committee Term Limits

Another overture dealing with term limits, this one deals not only with CECCA (as Overture 4 does) but all standing committees (CERCU, Web Oversight Committee, etc). The rationale cited for this overture is similar to that of Overture 4: continuity. Overture 10 is nearly a concurrence with Overture 4. If the PJCO is adopted . . .

Read more about this here.