NR #1995-112: Calvin Women Receive Thanksgiving Gift: Six Female Seminarians Licensed to Exhort by Calvin Seminary Board Meeting in Grand Rapids on November 17, the executive committee of the Calvin Seminary board of trustees gave six women seminarians something to celebrate on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The six became the first-ever women to be officially licensed to "exhort" by the seminary board. NR #1995-112: For Immediate Release Calvin Women Receive Thanksgiving Gift: Six Female Seminarians Licensed to Exhort by Calvin Seminary Board by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (November 24, 1995) URNS - Meeting in Grand Rapids on November 17, the executive committee of the Calvin Seminary board of trustees gave six women seminarians something to celebrate on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The six became the first-ever women to be officially licensed to "exhort" by the seminary board. "This gives them the same status as men for essentially doing the same thing," said Calvin Seminary president Dr. James A. DeJong, noting that many of these women had previously been "expounding" without official authorization by the board under procedures first established by Synod 1992 allowing women to "teach, expound the Word of God, and provide pastoral care, all under the supervision of the elders" of local churches. Receiving an exhorting license from the board of trustees of the official seminary of the Christian Reformed denomination is the first step in the ordinary process toward ministerial standing in the CRC and is normally granted after the first year of seminary studies. The exhorting license allows students to fill pulpits in the CRC, which maintains fairly strict regulations on who churches may invite to fill their pulpits. While churches may invite any ordained minister to preach who the consistory believes is committed to the Reformed faith, unordained people may fill pulpits only if they have an "exhorting license" either from a classis or from the seminary board of trustees. While classes reserve the right to license people, Synod had declared for over seventy years that "it is not in the interests of good order to license students other than those who have studied in our own seminary." As a result, synod has made the Calvin Seminary board responsible for licensing all seminary students in the CRC, even those attending other seminaries. DeJong emphasized that the licensure process was an action of the seminary board, not the seminary itself. "It's really important that you mention that," said DeJong. "It's not a seminary action, it's a board of trustees action as a committee of synod." DeJong said the executive committee acted when it did because the regular fall meeting of the board of trustees took place before any classis of the CRC implemented Synod 1995's decision allowing classes to declare parts of the church order "inoperative" to allow the ordination of women minister, elders, and evangelists. "We dealt with the regular fall licensure of men at the September meeting," said De Jong. "It was only after a number of classes took the action that they did that the executive committee did what it did." While the six history-making women are sure to be grateful for the board action, it is unlikely that they are surprised. "This is the logical outcome of Synod's decision of last summer," said De Jong. "I'm always happy when the Lord gives us qualified people who are ready to preach the Word of God to people." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1995-070: Christian Reformed Classes Permitted to Declare Church Order Ban on Women's Ordination "Inoperative"; Synod Decision Given Immediate Effect without Two-Year Ratification Process #1995-087: Most Christian Reformed Classes Decline Synodical Option to End Prohibition on Women in Office #1995-088: List of Classis Decisions on Women in Office #1995-089: Classis Pacific Northwest Makes Christian Reformed History by Declaring Word "Male" Inoperative #1995-090: Grand Rapids East Becomes First Christian Reformed Classis to Seat Women Elders Contact List: Dr. James A. De Jong, President, Calvin Theological Seminary 3335 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 * H: (616) 957-6087 * O: (616) 957-6086 * FAX: (616) 957-8621 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr95-112.txt .