01 Feb GS 2004 art 30

GS 2004 Article 30 – Reopening

The chairman reopened the meeting by inviting the delegates to sing Psalm 87.  The roll was called and all were present.

CCCA re: The North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council

Committee 1 presented its proposal on the CCCA report re: The North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC).  After several rounds of discussion, the following was adopted:

1.    Material

• 1.1.   The report, including appendices, of the CCCA re: The North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC)
• 1.2.   Letter from the church at Grand Valley

2.    Admissibility

The letter from the church at Grand Valley is declared admissible since it interacts with the report submitted.

3.    Observations

• 3.1.   Synod Neerlandia 2001 mandated the CCCA “to send an observer at our own discretion to future meetings of NAPARC, to investigate its usefulness and possible membership of this organization.”
• 3.2.   The committee reports on the history, membership, basis, purpose and function of NAPARC. It also addresses the authority of this Council, stating that it is understood that all actions and decisions taken are advisory in character and in no way curtail or restrict the autonomy of the member bodies.
• 3.3.   The committee includes an evaluation regarding NAPARC. The committee suggests that membership may be useful to provide support to our sister churches, the OPC and RCUS, which are member churches of NAPARC. It also adds that it may help to express greater unity with the ERQ, and to fulfill the Biblical calling to foster unity with other reformed churches.
• 3.4.   The church at Grand Valley states that the CCCA has not, in any particular way, shown how the basis, purpose or function is relevant to the Canadian Reformed Churches. They question the need to be involved in another “supra-denominational organization” besides the ICRC. Grand Valley recommends Synod “to instruct the committee to desist from this development until compelling reasons be offered for courting membership in NAPARC.”

4.    Considerations

• 4.1.   The committee fulfilled its mandate by sending two observers to the NAPARC meetings in 2002 and 2003. The committee also served the churches well by introducing NAPARC’s basis, purpose, function, and authority.
• 4.2.   Although the committee considers membership in NAPARC beneficial for some of our ecclesiastical relationships, the church at Grand Valley is correct in questioning the need for another organization beside the ICRC. It is true that there is significant duplication in the purpose, function and membership of NAPARC and the ICRC. Analogous to the regional mission conferences of the ICRC, the possibility could be explored for NAPARC to be integrated into the ICRC in a similar fashion.

5.    Recommendations

Synod decide:

• 5.1.   To thank the committee for its work in fulfilling its mandate re: NAPARC.
• 5.2.   To mandate the CCCA to continue to send an observer to NAPARC, with the instruction to initiate discussion on the matters brought forth in Consideration 4.2.