From: Darrell128 <Darrell128@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 17:25:53 EST
Mime-Version: 1.0
Subject: NR 98014: URC Cl. Michigan to Consider Official Classical Newsletter

NR #1998-014:   United Reformed Classis Michigan to Consider Official Classical
Newsletter
        When Classis Michigan of the United Reformed Churches holds its first meeting
on March 3 at Grace URC of Alto, the classis may set precedents for the
federation on official publications and the authority of synodical decisions.
Last October, the United Reformed synod rejected an overture by what was then
Classis East to study the creation of an official periodical for the
federation. Prior to synod, what was then Classis Midwest narrowly rejected an
overture by Beverly URC of Wyoming asking synod to establish an official
periodical. Now, Faith URC of Holland is asking Classis Michigan "to begin a
newsletter for the churches within our classis, with the possible expansion to
other URC churches."

NR 1998-014: For Immediate Release:
United Reformed Classis Michigan to Consider Official Classical Newsletter

by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer
United Reformed News Service

(February 25, 1998) URNS - When Classis Michigan of the United Reformed
Churches holds its first meeting on March 3 at Grace URC of Alto, the classis
may set precedents for the federation on official publications and the
authority of synodical decisions.
        Last October, the United Reformed synod rejected an overture by what was then
Classis East to study the creation of an official periodical for the
federation. Prior to synod, what was then Classis Midwest narrowly rejected an
overture by Beverly URC of Wyoming asking synod to establish an official
periodical. Now, Faith URC of Holland is asking Classis Michigan "to begin a
newsletter for the churches within our classis, with the possible expansion to
other URC churches."
        As grounds for its overture, Faith URC says that "as a young and growing
federation we need some means of a) identifying ourselves, b) gathering
information about ourselves," that "our members have a desire to know the news
of our federation," and "our churches can lift one another up in prayer when
concerns are made known."
        Faith URC pastor Rev. Wybren Oord said he thought it best to start small and
then see if things could be expanded later. "I think we would like to start it
in this classis and see if we can get something like this going, and if it
works here then maybe expand it to other classes and other churches that would
be interested," said Oord. "There are churches in California, churches on the
east coast, churches in Canada, and I really have no idea what's going on in
these churches, and I feel this would really help us have more kinship with
one another."
        Beverly CRC pastor Rev. Art Besteman said he supported Faith URC's overture.
"I think it's important for us as a new federation of churches to establish
our identity and to establish a fellowship among the churches, and you need to
do that by means of communication," said Besteman. "I think it's important for
our people to know what is happening, they need to know about the blessing
which the Lord is bestowing upon us, they need to know about the struggles
that our individual congregations are going through. I look upon a newsletter
as a means to do this, to share the news concerning blessing and entreat our
people to remember in prayer."
        Besteman said the Faith URC overture was substantially different from last
year's proposals to establish or study the establishment of a federation-wide
paper. "This is much more limited in its scope, this is just for Classis
Michigan, so it's going to be primarily a newsletter for items of interest to
churches in our classis," said Besteman. "The overture that went to our synod
would have entailed much more, and that would have helped us to establish our
identity as we reach out in ecumenical relationships."
        "You think of the CRC, you think of the Banner; you think of the Protestant
Reformed, you think of the Standard Bearer; you think of the OPC, you think of
New Horizons," said Besteman. "As I said at our synod meeting, I think that at
some point we as a new federation of churches need to get over our fear of
everything that resembles what we left as being bad. That was the main
argument at synod, what it could become, what it could deteriorate into, and I
don't think that's legitimate."
        Those arguments weren't persuasive to Rev. Jelle Tuininga of Trinity Reformed
Church of Lethbridge, the leading opponent at URC Synod 1997 of a federational
periodical, who argued that the Faith URC overture was not only a bad idea but
also violated synodical rules.
        "This goes against the decision of our synod," said Tuininga. "This thing was
shot down there, and I don't think we should get it in the back door, I don't
think it's honest. I think this is going directly against the decision of
synod."
        "The church in Canada is very much against this, and we don't need something
in Grand Rapids trying to speak for us," continued Tuininga. "I really feel we
should have learned our lesson from the past, let's not right away get a
hierarchy again and get some paper that tries to speak for the whole
denomination."
        According to Tuininga, the arguments that an official classical newsletter
would bring greater unity to the federation are actually arguments against
having an official paper.
        "Our brothers in the United States, much more than the Canadians, want synod
to settle everything; in the CRC, people say let the Banner tell us
everything. We need unity in diversity, we don't need to think alike on
everything," said Tuininga. "We're united on the creeds, but there are a lot
of things we disagree on, and that's good."
        Tuininga expressed concern that the overture's grounds cited federational
rather than classical concerns and took particular aim at the phrase in the
overture providing for "possible expansion to other URC churches."
        "I'm really scared that something like this could become a denominational
paper," said Tuininga. "I'd much rather have the Christian Renewal do this
than a classical newsletter; Christian Renewal gets all over, and it wouldn't
be looked at as if it's one classis doing this. When they say it could be
broadened, it could become a denominational paper."
        Oord said Tuininga's concerns about his church's overture were misplaced and
that he didn't anticipate the overture leading to more than an insert into
each local church's newsletter reporting on events in other local churches.
"It's not something where we've got to get an editor, staff, writers, it's
just a sheet of news," said Oord. "I have no idea what is going on in Jelle
Tuininga's church, and if there's a prayer concern that we can share together,
if there is something for joy that we can all give thanks for, let's do that
as a denomination, it would help bind us together."
        "I'm in Holland and I'm not far from other United Reformed Churches, but
there are times I feel very alone and isolated as a single church," said Oord.
"I can't begin to imagine what it's like for churches that are a great
distance away like Vermont, Florida, Canada, California."
        According to Oord, the key items that could be provided by the newsletter are
informational rather than editorial in nature. "When a new church comes into
the federation, if our church has a certain prayer need, if our church has a
missionary, or if a call is extended to a minister from a church, two or three
sentences from each church so we know a little bit about each other," said
Oord. "My council is not looking for any kind of editorials or articles or any
staff, just basically a couple of sentences from each church about if we had
professions of faith or whatever."
        None of the arguments about providing greater unity persuaded Tuininga,
however. "Once you get a denominational paper, it becomes the rallying point
around which everyone defines themselves, and that's dangerous," said
Tuininga. "You get the wrong editor in there, he becomes Mr. United Reformed,
and people think what he says is the voice of the denomination. I'm glad to
have Christian Renewal, I'm glad to have Outlook, and it's fine to have more
private papers. We need private papers, let private papers interact, it's very
dangerous to have something official."

Cross-References to Related Articles:
#1995-107:      Trumpeting, Families, and Federating Headline Michigander Meeting
of Independent Reformed Churches

Contact List:
Rev. Art Besteman, Pastor, Beverly United Reformed Church
        2420 Avon Ave. SW, Wyoming, MI  49509
        O: (616) 532-1708
Rev. Jelle Tuininga, Pastor, Trinity Reformed Church
        1807 2nd Ave. "A" N., Lethbridge, AB  T1H 0G4
        H/O: (403) 328-4799
Rev. Wybren Oord, Pastor, Faith United Reformed Church
        12191 Polk St., Holland, MI  49424
        O: (616) 875-4654




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