NR #1996-030: Split Classis Rocky Mountain Declares "Male" Inoperative, But
Overturing Church Won't Be Delegating Women Elders

 At its meeting on March 5 and 6, Classis Rocky Mountain exercised the option
given to it by Synod 1995 to declare the word "male" in the church order's
list of qualifications for elders, ministers, and evangelists to be
"inoperative." It's not likely to have much immediate effect, however - the
only church in the classis with women elders doesn't plan to send them as
voting delegates anytime soon.

NR #1996-030: For Immediate Release
Split Classis Rocky Mountain Declares "Male" Inoperative, But Overturing
Church Won't Be Delegating Women Elders

by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer
United Reformed News Service

(April 3, 1996) URNS - At its meeting on March 5 and 6, Classis Rocky
Mountain exercised the option given to it by Synod 1995 to declare the word
"male" in the church order's list of qualifications for elders, ministers,
and evangelists to be "inoperative." It's not likely to have much immediate
effect, however - the only church in the classis with women elders doesn't
plan to send them as voting delegates anytime soon.

 According to Rev. Paul Jorden, pastor of Immanuel CRC in Ft. Collins,
Colorado, the classis had to deal with two contradictory overtures. One from
his church was submitted to the fall 1995 meeting to declare the word male
"inoperative"; another overture from Second CRC in Denver asked that classis
suspend further discussion on the matter until the year 2000.

 "Our council felt that when the matter had come up in Classis Rocky Mountain
it showed that our classis was very divided about this issue," said Rev.
William Verhoef of Second CRC. "A couple of years ago when a proposal came
out of the Third Church [in Denver] to look favorably on the women in office
issue, the overture passed by only one vote so it was obvious that our
classis was divided on this."

  "Our council was of the mind that it might be best for us to postpone
talking about this, it's much on the same path synod did," said Verhoef. "If
synod could ask the denomination and succeeding synods to do that, we thought
we would try that with classis and ask classis to bind further classes down
the road for about five years and take it out of that possibility of coming
up regularly for the sake of peace at classis."

 In dealing with the two overtures, the classical interim committee
recommended - with the concurrence of both churches - that the Ft. Collins
overture be taken up first because it had been submitted to the previous
meeting. By a 20 to 16 vote, classis concurred with its interim committee's
recommendation and subsequently adopted the Ft. Collins overture.

 While the classical decision places Rocky Mountain on record supporting
women in office and allows the ordination of women ministers and evangelists
as well as allowing women elders to be delegated to classis meetings, none of
those are likely to happen soon. "One of the things I'm recommending to
council is even though we have the right to send women to represent us, I'm
recommending that we not exercise that right for another year or two; we
don't want to rub that in them," said Jorden. "We are the only ones that have
women elders; I don't know for sure but we don't have many churches that have
women deacons. We're kind of lone rangers out here."

 "I have said to Paul that I really appreciate that attitude," said Verhoef.
"I don't know what will happen in our classis at this point; the divisions
remain, but I don't sense the kinds of divisions in Rocky Mountain that would
have churches or segments of churches leaving the denomination."


Cross-References to Related Articles:

#1996-027: Total of Christian Reformed Classes Allowing Women's Ordination
Reaches Thirteen

[See related article list at crossreference]


Contact List:

Mr. Meindert Bosch, Stated Clerk, Classis Rocky Mountain
 3000 S. Newport St., Denver, CO  80224 * (303) 757-0501

Rev. Paul Jorden, Pastor, Immanuel Christian Reformed Church
 1900 S. Taft Hill Rd., Ft. Collins, CO  80526 * (303) 484-3583

Rev. William Verhoef, Pastor, Second Christian Reformed Church
 1908 S. Ogden St., Denver, CO  80210 * O: (303) 744-2612 * H: (303) 777-2716




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