Office Bearers

GS 1974 ARTICLE 171 – Theological College (5)

Advisory Committee II presents a Report on Agenda A 12, addition. Its Recommendation is adopted (see below).

The whole of the Report on the matters of the Theological College and the adopted Recommendations read thus:

A: Information

MATERIAL:

  • Agenda A 1-5, 8, 11 – Report Board of Trustees of Board of Governors, and Financial Statements.
  • 1. Physical Plant.
    • a.  The driveway was repaired and widened so that more parking space was made available. More minor repairs to the building have been made.
    • b. Due to lack of room the basement has been more or less made “suitable” for extension of the Library.
    • c. Br. and sr. C. Walinga were appointed caretakers.
    • d. “Conditions respecting Student Accommodation” and “Residence Rules” have been revised.
  • 2. Faculty.
    • a. The College became a member of the “Foundation For Superannuation”.
    • b. Hospital and Medical Insurance, Canadian Pension Plan and Workmen’s Compensation as well as Accident and Sickness and Income Protection Insurance in respect of Prof. H.M. Ohmann have been arranged.
  • 3. Organizational.
    • a. “At a joint meeting of the Governors and Trustees held in October, 1971, upon the further advice of Br. A.H. Oosterhoff who outlined to the meeting the various organizational and title problems, it was decided not to incorpor­ ate in view of the apparent incompatibility of the provisions of the Corporations Act and the responsibility of the governing bodies of the College to the Churches and Synods.”
    • b. A complete revised Draft Constitutive Documents and Regulations have been submitted to Synod (see Report C).
  • 4. Financial
    • 1. Contributions
      • a. In each report the Trustees complain about the tardiness of some Churches with regard to their required contributions.
      • b. Other income includes gifts by individuals, collections, student fees and “extras” by the Ladies’ Auxiliary.
      • c. Audited financial statements are attached to the Reports for the years 1971-1972-1973, and also a budget for the year 1974.
    • 2. The College is now registered as a charitable organization in Canada with the Department of National Revenue and con issue receipts for income tax purposes to donors.

B: Reports Board of Governors

MATERIAL:

  • Agenda A 7, 12 – Reports of Board of Governors.

INFORMATION:

  • 1. The Board members: The Board of Governors recalled with gratitude the work of the late Reverend H.A. Stel.
  • The Reverend M. VanderWel filled the vacancy.
  • The Reverend W. Loopstra, first President of the Board of Governors, is not nominated for a member of the Board again. The Board expressed their gratitude for all the work he did.
  • 2. The Board of Governors expressed their gratitude that “no difficulties what­ soever have arisen between the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees. The Board of Governors wish to express their heartfelt appreciation of the work done by the Board of Trustees, without whose constant endeavors the daily operation of the College would have been impossible”.
  • 3. To the regret of the Board of Governors as well as of the Board of Trustees, brother A.H. Oosterhoff was compelled upon the advice of his physician, to relinquish his post as Secretary of the Board of Trustees. This function was taken over by hr. J. Medemblik.
  • The Board of Governors expressed their gratitude for all Mr. Oosterhoff has done as Secretary of the Board of Trustees.
  • 4. Being grateful to the Lord and King of the Church the Board reported that the Faculty was found faithful in adhering to the Truth of God, revealed in His Word and summarized in the Confessions of the Church, in all their teaching, and that the Reverend H. Scholten, after a time of illness, could resume his teaching activities.
  • 5. The Reverend Professor Drs. H.M. Ohmann, Lie., was installed on October 22, 1971, as Professor in the Old Testament Discipline.
  • The Board “request that Synod grant Professor Ohmann permanent tenure.”
  • 6. The Board of Governors, in full agreement with the Faculty, proposes to Synod to extend the Course of Study at the College from three to four years, this to be effective as of the beginning of the Academic Year 1975/1976. Synod is asked to authorize such extension.
  • “The reason for this proposal is the necessity to secure a thorough knowledge of the languages of Holy Writ as a necessary condition for further study, which cannot be provided under the present set-up. A course of four years will render it possible to weave this study into the pattern of lectures and exams and to teach during the first of the four years some other subjects which now are taught during the three years of the present set-up and are more of an introductory nature. Thereby the burden during the last three years would be lightened for the students.”
  • 7. The Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees decided to authorize the appointment of a full-time Administrative Assistant. The reason for this decision is: “The workload of the Board of Trustees and especially of the Secretary, of
  • the Treasurer, of the Registrar of the College and of the Secretary of the Board of Governors; and the time and effort required for the general administration of the College.”
  • 8. Mrs. J. Faber has provided most valuable assistance and dedicated many hours to the Library.
  • The Board, in their meeting of November 1, 1974, have appointed the Principal as Librarian and the Reverend A.B. Roukema as Associate Librarian. The task of an Assistant Librarian will be given to the Administrative Assistant.
  • 9. Board of Trustees Re: Contributions.
  • An increase in contributions for 1973 from $15.00 to $17.50 per communicant was necessary. They propose to increase the contributions to $22.00 for 1975. The reason for this increase is:
    • a. the rising cost of living, and therefore the necessary increase of salaries;
    • b. the necessary appointment of a full-time Administrative Assistance.
  • 10. The Board of Governors drew the conclusion that increase of the salaries of the Professors was needed. Although the salaries of the Faculty were fixed by Synod 1971, the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees decided to grant the Professors an extra allowance over 1974 of 15 percent of the basic salary. The Board proposes to Synod “to increase the Professors’ salaries by 25 percent, retroactive to January 1, 1974, and to declare the 15 percent special allowance granted by the Board of Governors in consultation with the Board of Trustees, to be part of this increase”. In consultation with the Board of Trustees the Board of Governors further proposes “that the salary for instructors in the professional and part-time lecturer ranks for the next 3 years be set at the following amounts:
    • Professors’ salaries                
      • $15,000.
    • Principal’s additional stipend
      • $ 500.
    • Lecturers (part-time) stipends 
      • $ 1,750.
  • 11. The Board of Governors wish to inform Synod about the difficulty the Board of Trustees had with regard to the tardiness of some Churches in their contri­butions.
  • The Boards, in their joint meeting, stressed that the College has to work on monthly commitments and that therefore the Churches should pay monthly, and in advance; and that there is an unfairness in it when some Churches pay regularly and the others do not.
  • 12. During the latest joint meeting of the two Boards and the Faculty the matter of the sui ability of the present College Building was discussed with a view to the future. The following decision was made: “The Boards declare themselves in favour of using the moneys reserved from time to time for purchasing property with a view to possible future development of the College and to request Synod to authorize the two Boards to do so, if they deem this advisable”.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Synod decide:

  • 1. to gratefully acknowledge the dedication of the late Reverend H.A. Stel to the matters concerning our College, and the work the Reverend W. Loopstra did as a Governor, and to take note of the fact that brother J. Medemblik was appointed Secretary of the Board of Trustees in the place of brother A.H. Oosterhoff.          
    • ADOPTED
  • 2. a. to gratefully acknowledge the work done by the Faculty;
    • b. to grant Professor H.M. Ohmann permanent tenure.        
    • ADOPTED
  • 3. a. to gratefully acknowledge the work done by the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees, and   
    • ADOPTED
    • b. to discharge the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees for the three years ended December 31, 1973. 
    • ADOPTED
  • 4.  to gratefully acknowledge:
    • a. the work of the Ladies Auxiliary, and
    • b. the valuable assistance provided by sr. W. Faber regarding the Library.
    • ADOPTED
  • 5. a. to take note of the fact that the College is registered as a charitable organization in Canada with the Department of National Revenue.
    • b. at this time not to pursue the matter of the incorporation of the  College.
    • ADOPTED
  • 6. to authorize the Board of Governors to extend the Course of Studies from three to four years – to be effective as of the beginning of the Academic Year 1975 – 1976.
    • Ground: In this way it is possible to secure “a thorough knowledge of the languages of Holy Writ … as a necessary condition for further study”, and to have other propaedeutic disciplines in the fifth year.
    • ADOPTED
  • 7. to approve the decision of the Board of Governors to authorize the Board of Trustees to appoint a full-time Administrative Assistant.                                                                                                      
    • ADOPTED
  • 8. to take note of the appointment by the Board of Governors of the Principal as Librarian; of the Reverend A.B. Roukema as Associate Librarian; and of the Administrative Assistant to be appointed as Assistant Librarian. 
    • ADOPTED
  • 9. to approve the decision of the Boards to increase the contribution from $15.00 to $17.50 per communicant member for the year 1973, and to increase the contribution of $22.00 per communicant member for the year 1975.
    • ADOPTED
  • 10. a. to approve the decision of the Board of Governors to grant the extra allowance of 15 percent of the basic salary of the Professors, and to adopt the proposal of the Board of Governors to increase the Professors’ salaries by 25 percent retroactive to January 1, 1974, the 15 percent special allowance being part of this increase;
    • b. and further to adopt the proposal of the Board of Governors re. the salaries for 1975;
    • c. to instruct the Board of Governors together with the Board of Trustees from year to year to review the salaries set by the Synod in accordance with the official published Cost of Living Index until the next Synod.
    • ADOPTED
  • 11. to send a letter to all the Churches urging them to fulfill their commitments quarterly and in advance.
    • ADOPTED
  • 12. to authorize the two Boards to use the monies reserved from time to time for purchasing property with a view to future development for that purpose, if they deem it advisable.
    • ADOPTED
  • 13. to take note of the three Financial Statements over the years 1971. 1972, and 1973, and add them to the Acts as Appendix II, and further to take note of the “Schedule of Estimated Income and Budget for 1974”, and add it also to the Acts as Appendix III.
    • ADOPTED

C: Proposal Church at Smithville

MATERIAL:       

  • Agenda A 9 – Proposal Church at Smithville.

INFORMATION:

  • The Consistory of the Church at Smithville proposes to drop the requirement of a B.A. degree for students under thirty years of age as is proposed in Article XXIII of the Draft Constitution, and to change Article XXIII sub 1 in the following way: “A person who is a member of one of the Churches, who presents an attestation
  • of purity in doctrine and of Godliness in walk, may be enrolled as a student at the College, if he possesses a High School Diploma (academic course) or if he has reached an equivalent level of education, and if he successfully passes an entrance­ examination. The requirements for such an examination shall be set by the Senate and approved by the Board of Governors.
  • He qualifies for admission to the Theological Course of Study leading to the degree of Bachelor of Divinity or Master of Divinity after he has satisfactorily completed the preparatory training nf two or three years at the Theological College. The Theological Course takes three years.”
  • As grounds for this proposal are adduced:
    • a. the conviction that the “Churches need faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also the pure doctrine of the Scriptures.”
    • b. that the requirement of the B.A. degree to be received at a secular University “will neither contribute to the required faithfulness, nor to the required ability to teach others also”.
    • c. that the Churches therefore “are called to provide for such a training to prepare a young man for the ministry of the Word in harmony with 2 Timothy 2:2 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17”.

OBSERVATIONS:

  • 1. The proposal of Smithville is in fact a request to change art. XX sub 1 of the Constitution of the Theological College as adopted by General Synod 1971 (Acts page 88), which states that persons who (among others) have a B.A. degree, can qualify for admission.
  • 2. In their Report to Synod 1968, the Deputy Governors state that from the fact of a contrast between the advice to and the decision of Synod 1962 “The conclusion may be drawn that it was the intention of Synod to establish a College with full academic training and standing with the right to confer the B.D. or B.TH. degrees … ” (Acts Orangeville page 79) (our emphasis).
  • 3. In its advisory report to Synod 1962 Committee I recommended, “deze ‘eigen’ opleiding te doen aansluiten bij de aan de High School volbrachte studie. Dat wil zeggen niet van aspirant studenten te eisen dat zij eerst de B.A. opleiding en degree ergens anders halen (in drie jaar studie). Maar dat de jonge mannen … direct van de High School af onder leiding der docenten komen, en dus ook in de propaedeutische vakken door eigen docenten worden onderwezen en geleid (….) De Commissie is van oordeel dat de studenten in drie jaar studie op deze wijze heel wat meer kunnen opsteken voor hun verdere opleiding en voor de dienst in ‘s Heeren Kerken dan in drie jaar B.A. aan een der universiteiten, en daarbij bewaard worden voor de “vergiftiging” waarvoor terecht meerderen bang zijn” (Acts page 87).
  • 4. Contrary to this advisory report, Synod 1962 unanimously decided, Acts Article 170″: “Tot de lessen en de examina aan de opleiding worden toegelaten zij, die in het bezit zijn van een B.A. degree (of een daaraan gelijk to stellen graad)”.

CONSIDERATIONS:

  • 1. The requirement of a B.A. degree for admission to the course of study as stipulated in Article XXIII sub 1 of the Draft Constitution is in full agreement with previous synodical decisions since 1962.
  • 2. As to the grounds adduced by the Church at Smithville sub I a and c:
    • a. the Churches do provide in a four year program, as decided at this Synod, the theological academic training required to enable faithful men to teach the pure doctrine of the Holy Scriptures;
    • b. Not the Churches are called to provide training from childhood to become acquainted with the Holy Scriptures but the parents.
  • 3. The Church at Smithville does not prove that the required study for a B.A. degree does not contribute to the ability to teach others, neither that Synod 1962 was wrong in adopting the B.A. degree as requirement for admission, contrary to the advisory report mentioned above, sub II, 3, 4.

RECOMMENDATION:

Synod decide to reject the proposal of the Church at Smithville. 

ADOPTED

D: Constitutive Documents

MATERIAL:

  • Agenda A 6 – Draft Constitutive Documents Theological College.
  • Agenda A 12 – Additional Report Board of Governors.

INFORMATION:

Introductory remarks.

  • 1. General: The main document is a revised Draft Constitution for the Theological College and Regulation No. 1 (about salaries, pensions, etc.). Added are:
    • Bylaw No. T 1 • about meeting procedures of the Board of Trustees.
    • Bylaw No. J 1 – about joint-meetings of the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees.
    • Bylaw No. J 2 – about joint-meeting procedures of the Board of Trustees, the Board of Governors, and the Faculty.
    • Declaration of Trust.
    • In a note on page 1 br. Oosterhoff remarks that the Bylaws and Declaration of Trust are sent to Synod and the Churches for information only.
  • 2. Under “General Comment” the draftsman pointed at the necessity of a revision of the Constitution adopted at General Synod New Westminster, 1971, in the first place because the Constitution 1971 was made too hastily, and in too short a time.
  • Further, because it was found desirable to re-define the respective powers and duties of the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees, etc.
  • 3. It is a matter of fact indeed that the main proposed changes concern the divided jurisdiction between the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees. It is noticeable that the Acts 1968 speak of the Board, meaning the Board of Governors, and of a Committee of Administration (see Acts Article 117b, 132 I 1), and that the adopted Constitution speaks of “the Trustees”, while the Acts 1971 Article 70, 73, speak of both “the Trustees” or “the Committee of Administration”. In the new draft Constitution we find spoken of two Boards with divided jurisdiction.
  • The Advisory Committee wants to emphasize that it is advisable that the main responsibility should remain with the Board of Governors.
  • Therefore: to remain in line with the Constitution adopted at General Synod New Westminster, 1971 we recommend to Synod to decide:
  • 1. to gratefully acknowledge all the work of br. A.H. Oosterhoff done on the Constitution and Regulation etc.
    • ADOPTED
  • 2. to add in Article VI sub 5: “the report of the Board of Trustees” (as sub b), to change the numbering of the following items so that old (b) becomes (c) etc.
    • ADOPTED
  • 3. to add to Article XI sub 4 at the end: “and inform the Board of Governors of it”.
    • ADOPTED
  • 4. to read Article XIII sub 8 as follows: “to prepare a budget for each fiscal year; and to approve the same jointly with the Board of Governors”; to delete sub 9 and change the following numbering.  
    • ADOPTED
  • 5. to read Article XV sub 1 as follows: “The Board of Trustees shall prepare an annual report in writing addressed to the Board of Governors and the next Synod, summarizing … “; to read Article XV sub l(c) as follows: “the Secretary of the Board of Governors”.                                                                                                
    • ADOPTED
  • 6. to insert in Article XVI as (d): “to approve the budget for each fiscal year”; to insert in Article XVI as (e): “to fix the annual contributions to be made by the Churches within the limits, if any, set by Synod”; to change the following alphabetical numbering.
    • ADOPTED
  • 7. to add in Article IVII sub 2 the word “ranks”, between the words “powers” and “functions”.               
    • ADOPTED
  • 8. and with these amendments adopt the Constitution and Regulation No. 1, and further to take note of Bylaws T-1, J-1, and J-2.

UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED

A motion to amend Article XXIII as following:

  • “A person who is a member of one of the Churches, who presents a good attestation of confession and life, and who has a Bachelor of Arts or equivalent degree from a recognized University, or possesses an equivalent level of education, qualifies for admission to the College, provided, however, that he has taken those courses in the programme leading to such a degree or to such an equivalent level of education as are prescribed by the Senate with the approval of the Board of Governors, but the Senate with the approval of the Board of Governors may waive the latter requirement in special cases” is rejected.

E. : Additional Report Board of Governors.

MATERIAL:

  • Agenda A 12 – Additional Report Board of Governors.

RECOMMENDATION:

Synod decide to adopt:

  • Proposal A – re Professorial rank. Proposal B1 – re salary.
  • Proposal B2 – re abolishing the provision for a special allowance for a Professor’s dependants.
  • Proposal B3 – re Amendments to be made in Regulation No. 1 necessary in connection with Proposals B1 and B2.

UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED