26 Aug GS 2022 art 120

Posted at 12:42h in CanRC, GS 2022 by

GS 2022 Article 120 – SCBP – Report Sections 1, 3 and 4

1.   Material

  • 1.1    Report of the Standing Committee for the Publication of the Book of Praise (SCBP) (8.2.2.1) – Sections 1, 3 and 4.
  • 1.2    Submissions from the following CanRC: Niagara-South (8.3.2.2), Nooksack Valley (8.3.2.4), Aldergrove (8.3.2.8), Devon (8.3.2.9), Flamborough-Redemption  (8.3.2.17), Owen Sound (8.3.2.18), Willoughby Heights (8.3.2.22), Grand Valley (8.3.2.25), Neerlandia (North) (8.3.2.30), Lynden (8.3.2.32), Orangeville (8.3.2.35), Burlington-Ebenezer (8.3.2.39), Grand Rapids (8.3.2.40), Coaldale (8.7.2).

2.   Admissibility

  • 2.1    The report was declared admissible.
  • 2.2    The submissions were declared admissible.

3.   Decisions

Synod decided:

  • 3.1    To express thanksgiving and joy with the FRCA in the publication of the Australian Book of Praise, and to thank the SCBP for their assistance to that end;
  • 3.2    To thank the committee for its due diligence and hard work over the past three years. In particular, to express thanks to those committee members whose work on the committee is now completed: Alisha Boeringa, Rev. Rolf den Hollander, Dr. Karen Dieleman, Jeff Jans, John Jager, Dr. Jannes Smith, and Rev. Dick Wynia;
  • 3.3    To express gratitude to those brothers and sisters who assisted the SCBP with its work: Dr. William Helder, Rev. George van Popta, Dr. Jason Van Vliet, Margaret Alkema, Marina Rietema and Rita Kuik;
  • 3.4    To thank the SCBP for appointing Brian Vanderhout, to validate and submit to the treasurer of the General Fund all expenses submitted for the committee’s work;
  • 3.5    To thank the SCBP for negotiating a new contract with Premier Printing Ltd. Which is effective for a period of five years, until a new funding formula is presented to GS 2025;
  • 3.6    To re-appoint two current members for a three-year term, two new members to replace outgoing members and three additional members for a three-year term due to the sizeable mandate;
  • 3.7    To recognize that, for the selection of Psalm renditions, the SCBP created for its own use guidelines which were aligned with the Guidelines for Hymn Selection (GS 2004);
  • 3.8    To mandate the SCBP: 
    • 3.8.1   To fulfill, as yet, the directive of GS 2019 Art.23 Cons. 3.1 and 3.2. RSE Nov. 2018 makes a valid point that the English language has changed and therefore the use of masculine pronouns in the forms for the Lord’s Supper could make them liable to misinterpretation. It would be advisable to ask the committee to study this and propose appropriate changes to the Lord’s Supper forms, giving special attention to the personal nature of self-examination. In this process the churches would have the opportunity to interact with any proposed changes;
    • 3.8.2   To foster an increased awareness of the existence of the Book of Praise among others in the English-speaking world;
    • 3.8.3   To continue maintaining its archives (at CRTS) and website: www.bookofpraise.ca;
    • 3.8.4   To continue the process of reviewing the proposed songs according to the Guidelines for the Selection of Music in the Church, as printed in Appendix 2B of the Acts of GS 2004;
    • 3.8.5   To maintain good contact with the Standing Committee for the Australian Book of Praise;
    • 3.8.6   To maintain its corporate status for the purpose of protecting the interests of the Canadian Reformed Churches in matters concerning the Book of Praise;
    • 3.8.7   To survey the churches to determine the priority/relative importance regarding types of availability (digital, open-source, print), formatting (e.g., four-part harmony), and other publication variables (including copyright) with regard to the Book of Praise, as listed in the SCBP report:
      • 3.8.7.1   To review the input of the churches, and on that basis, propose a publishing and funding model to GS 2025;
    • 3.8.8   To receive, scrutinize, and evaluate the content of correspondence from the churches and to report to GS 2025 as to the validity of the suggestions made;
    • 3.8.9   To appoint one of its members to validate and submit to the treasurer of the General Fund all expenses being submitted for committee work;
    • 3.8.10 To submit its report to the churches six months prior to the convening of the next general synod.       
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