A Unique Event
One wonders whether it has ever happened before that five denominations held meetings of their major assemblies at the same time and place. This occurred in mid-June when the assemblies of the member denominations of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) all met in Grand Rapids, Mich., on the campus of Calvin College.
While the Christian Reformed Synod, representing some 167,000 communicant members, met as usual in the Fine Arts Auditorium, the assembly of the fast-growing five-year old Presbyterian Church in America representing some 62,000 communicant members, but much the largest body because representation was directly from churches, was meeting in the Fieldhouse. The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, representing some 19,000 communicant members, was holding its meeting in the Cezon Auditorium while the Orthodox Presbyterian, representing 10,000 communicants were meeting in the Seminary Auditorium, and the oldest and smallest denomination, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (Covenanters), representing a little over 5,000 communicant and baptized members, were in the Seminary Chapel. Accommodating some 1200 visitors in such a variety of meetings required a considerable amount of organization and high praise was expressed for the way it was done.
Although there was considerable intermingling of delegates there was only one large general meeting with a cappella psalm singing (evidently partly in deference to the Covenanters‘ conviction and practice) and Dr. Joel Nederhood as speaker. Much of the time delegates were kept busy as each of the assemblies followed its own full schedule so that there was much less united activity than one might have expected or than many might have desired. Even trying to keep up with what was happening in five simultaneous assemblies proved to be virtually impossible.
Significant Decisions
One result of the Grand Rapids meetings will be further consultations between three of the Presbyterian bodies as the Presbyterian Church in America, the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church each decided to engage in discussions about their relations to one another. The RPCES and OPC have been engaged in such discussions for some years and in 1975 a merger proposal was approved by the OPC but not by the RPES. Now there will be three-way talks but the decision does not, according to a Presbyterian Journal report, imply a commitment to merge. In the PCA assembly the motion passed over substantial opposition. The three denominations will also establish a joint commission on chaplains and military personnel.
While the Christian Reformed Church‘s Synod at its June session opened the office of deacon to women the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod for the third time in three years rejected such a proposal, deciding to add to its Form of Government the statement, “Only men may be ordained to the office of deacon.”That statement will now have to be approved by two-thirds of the presbyteries to become valid. Dealing also with this subject, the OPC decided to call for a joint study of the ordination of women deacons by all five denominations who are members of the Council.
The Orthodox Presbyterians also reaffirmed their membership in the Reformed Evangelical Synod. “The Presbyterian Church in America expressed unconditional opposition to abortion and urged its members to work for right–to-life legislation. It voted to go into partnership with the RPES in operating Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. The PCA also approved the position regarding office in the church that “the Scriptures teach that there are but two ordinary and perpetual classes of office in the Church, elder and deacon; and there are within the class of elder two orders, teaching elder and ruling elder.”It added also a recognition of the fundamental “office of all believers.” A major part of the work of the RPCNA (Covenanters) was a decision to remove from the requirements for ordination a question demanding belief “that public covenanting is an ordinance of God to be observed by churches and nations.” Such “covenanting” is a Scotch tradition going back to 1643 and involves a formal confession of sin and promise to strictly observe God’s law on the part of both church and government.
Ecumenical Effects?
What the effect of these simultaneous meetings of nve denominations will be no one can predict. They may well have given some additional impetus to moving those who want to be Bible-believing, therefore Reformed Christians closer together. One can see some indication of that even in decisions that have been mentioned. It was a refreshing experience to meet many from a variety of churches whose Christian convictions are the same as our own. Whether these historic meetings will draw the Christian Reformed churches, the host denomination, closer to these conservative Presbyterians appears to be questionable.
A Bible-believing Reformed Christian would often feel more at home in one or other of the Presbyterian meetings than in the CRC Synod and important CRC decisions such as those on women in office and the way they were made would hardly inspire the visitors’ confidence or invite closer fellowship. The CRC and the others seem to be moving in opposite directions.
