Office Bearers

GS 1998 Article 131 – Mandate of the Committee for Relations with Churches Abroad (CRCA) and the Committee for Contact with Churches in the Americas (CCCA)

Committee III presents: Agenda Item I D, II CC, L 30

I. MATERIAL

  • A. Report of the CRCA regarding the mandate, finances and other matters of the Committee
  • B. Letter from the church at Willoughby Heights

II. OBSERVATIONS

  • A. The CRCA reports on its correspondence with the Lanka Reformed Church and recommends that the LRC be advised to take up contact with the Free Reformed Churches in Australia and/or the Presbyterian Church in Korea.
  • B. The CRCA reports on retirements, appointments and the finances of the Committee. It notes that in the period of 1995-1998 the Committee spent $ 10,847. The proposed budget is $10,000.
  • C. The church at Willoughby Heights draws the attention of Synod to the point that the CRCA “should be given enough funds to meaningfully fulfill its mandate.”

III. RECOMMENDATIONS

Synod decide:

  • A. As a result of the adopted restructuring, the Committee for Relations with Churches Abroad (CRCA) will retain the responsibility for:
    • 1. Our continued participation in the ICRC;
    • 2. Our relationship with the following churches: the Free Reformed Churches of Australia, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, the Free Reformed Churches in South Africa, the Presbyterian Church in Korea, and the Free Church of Scotland.
  • B. To advise the CRCA to consult the Free Reformed Churches in Australia and/or the Presbyterian Church in Korea to take up contact with the Lanka Reformed Church.
  • C. The Committee for Contact with Churches in the Americas (CCCA) become responsible for contact with the following churches:
    • 1. L’Eglise Reformee du Quebec, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and the Reformed Churches of the United States.
  • D. To mandate the CRCA and the CCCA to:
    • 1. Investigate diligently all the requests received for entering into Ecclesiastical Fellowship;
    • 2. Respond, if possible and feasible, to specific requests made to attend Assemblies, Synods, or meetings of other churches;
    • 3. Report on their findings with suitable recommendations to the next General Synod.
  • E. To adopt the following budget for the CRCAICRC:
    • fees $3,500
    • Meeting ICRC 2001 $1,000
    • Travel $2,500
    • Miscellaneous $3,000
    • Total $10,000

ADOPTED