24 Aug GS 2007 art 27

Posted at 12:03h in CanRC, GS 2007 by

GS 2007 Article 27 – Appeal from Calgary re Art. 52 of Synod Chatham

The advisory committee presented its second proposal:

1.      Material

  • 1.1     Appeal from Calgary

2.      Observations

  • 2.1     Calgary requests that Synod Smithers 2007 rescind the decision recorded in Recommendation 5.2 of the Acts of Synod Chatham 2004 and revert back to the position taken by Synod Fergus 1998.
  • 2.2     The church at Calgary states that Recommendation 5.2 of Article 52 of the Acts of Chatham is against the Word of God because it does not “speak and confess the truth honestly.”
  • 2.3     Calgary argues that:
    • 2.3.1    Synod Fergus decided “to mandate the CRCA to make and support membership recommendations at ICRC for those churches only with which we have sister church relations.”
    • 2.3.2    The constitution of the ICRC states that: “Those churches shall be admitted which faithfully adhere to the Reformed Faith stated in the confessional documents listed in the Basis, and whose confessional standards agree with the said Reformed Faith.”
    • 2.3.3    When member churches vote on applications for membership, the criterion for voting must be the confessional faithfulness of those churches.

3.      Considerations

  • 3.1     Calgary is correct in stating that voting is expressing a judgement whether a church is a true church or not. If you vote in favour of admitting a church, then you express that you believe that they faithfully adhere to the Reformed faith stated in the confessional documents listed in the Basis, and that their confessional standards agree with the said Reformed faith.
  • 3.2     Calgary is not correct in assuming that recognizing as true church is the same as accepting as sister church. A church may be a true church but that does not mean that it is automatically also a sister church. If a church is not a sister church, we can not sponsor that church, but we can still vote in favor of admission of this church if this church adheres to the Reformed faith stated in the confessional documents listed in the Basis, and whose confessional standards agree with the said Reformed faith.
  • 3.3     Calgary is incorrect in distinguishing ‘make’ and ‘support’ membership recommendations at the ICRC. To make and support membership recommendations is something that a sponsoring church does, which is something that Synod Fergus 1998 restricts to sister churches (see Fergus 1998, Art. 52, IV. E p.47). Voting is not ‘supporting’ but expressing a judgement as a member of the ICRC, a privilege belonging to membership.

4.      Recommendation

Synod decide:

  • 4.1     To deny this appeal.

ADOPTED

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