NR #1996-050: For Immediate Release Classis Quinte Kills Compromise Proposal on Women in Office by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service COBOURG, Ontario (May 28, 1996) URNS - When Classis Pacific Northwest and Classis Huron were confronted with sharply divided votes on the controversial issue of women in office, both classes compromised by allowing women to be ordained as ministers, elders, and evangelists while continuing to prohibit them from being delegated to classis meetings. Classis Quinte's advisory committee recommended the same solution - but those who compromised by voting in favor of women in office saw the compromise defeated minutes later when classis voted down the second part of the proposal which would have banned women delegates to classis. Classis Quinte's May 14 meeting wasn't the first time the subject had come up. At its two previous meetings in September and January, classis postponed overtures from Zion CRC of Oshawa and First CRC of Kingston asking classis to exercise the option given it by Synod 1995 to approve women in office by declaring the word "male" in Article 3a to be "inoperative." In September, classis decided "to withhold action on these overtures until local needs and circumstances are put forward." The January classis withheld action "until more specific local needs and circumstances are put forward." The two churches came back to the May classis with detailed needs and circumstances, including indications that both churches wanted to consider calling a woman pastor. While Synod 1995 allowed churches to ordain women elders even without the approval of classis, classical approval is required to ordain women ministers and evangelists. In response to the new overtures, the classical advisory committee recommended that classis declare "male" inoperative on the grounds that "both Zion and First Kingston have put forward new specific local reasons and circumstances" but that classis "declare a moratorium on the seating of women officebearers as delegates to its meetings - the decision of which will be reviewed in five years." As grounds for the moratorium, the committee noted that "this will promote classical unity by not causing unnecessary unrest in some of our congregations within our classis which oppose the opening up of the offices of elder, minister, and evangelist to women." The committee also recommended rejecting an overture from Cephas CRC in Peterborough which argued that "the present unity of our denomination is extremely fragile, perhaps more so than at any other time in recent decades" and that implementation of women in office "will cause unnecessary unrest in numerous congregations of Classis Quinte and in the denomination at large." Some delegates supported the compromise but hesitated to vote for women in office without knowing that the ban on delegating women to classis would also be passed. "If I didn't know the second motion was going to be passed I couldn't vote on the first one," said Rev. Bernard Bakker of Hebron CRC in Whitby. After Bakker's speech, another delegate moved to combine the two motions for a single vote. Rev. Henry Wildeboer of Zion CRC of Oshawa - one of the two churches asking classis to approve women in office - disagreed. "I suggest that we deal with these seritatum and that we have trust in our brothers that if we pass two we will deal responsibly with three," said Wildeboer, referring to the numbers of the motions in the advisory committee report. The other church asking classis to approve women in office also argued against combining the two parts of the compromise motion, but for different reasons. "I would say that another pastoral issue that needs to be considered is the women who feel excluded by motions such as this," said Elder Will Katerberg of First Kingston CRC. "I have spoken to many members of the Christian Reformed community who say they feel ordination by the back door is demeaning to women." Katerberg also noted that his church had women elders who wanted to come to the next classis meeting. In the face of opposition from Wildeboer and Katerberg, classis defeated the proposal to combine the two motions for a single vote and proceeded to deal first with the motion to allow women in office. Rev. William Koopmans of the Peterborough church defended his church's overture not to allow women in office. "It's being suggested to us that the reason this is not unduly hasty is because synod has said we can go ahead and do this," said Koopmans. "The only way synod was able to do this was to declare this was not a church order matter but a supplement matter. Unfortunately, that is not a way to build consensus in the church." Rev. Evert Gritter from Grace CRC in Cobourg - whose daughter will graduate this year from Calvin Seminary - pointed out that some in classis were convinced that women in office was not just permitted but mandated by Scripture. "I feel that there are convincing biblical grounds why women must serve in office," said Gritter. "I believe, and many other people believe with me, that this is not an optional matter, this is a requirement that we use the gifts of women in the church." By a margin of only one vote, classis passed the first part of the compromise proposal - 16 in favor of women in office, 15 opposed, with two abstentions. The second part of the compromise didn't fare as well. "To put these kinds of limits on the ordination of women is demeaning," said Rev. John Visser of Maranatha CRC in Belleville. "If we're bound and determined to open up the offices to women we have to have the courage of our convictions and go the whole way." Others urged that classis exercise forbearance for those opposed to women in office by passing the second part of the compromise as well as the first. "I know the vast majority of the laypeople in our church would be against this, but the motion passed and now we've got to get used to it," said Bakker. "I think of this like a hot bathtub. You don't just jump in, you've got to ease in slowly to get used to it. This helps us get used to it." Bakker's analogy got picked up by several others, including some who put it to different use. "It seems to me this is the same as saying to a woman, you can come into the bathroom, but you can't use the bathtub, you have to use the sink," said Katerberg - prompting laughs from the delegates. After further debate, the motion to prohibit delegation of women to classis was defeated on a voice vote - making Classis Quinte the fourteenth Christian Reformed classis to allow women in office and the twelfth to allow delegation of women to classis meetings. Cross-References to Related Articles: #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 #1996-027: Total of Christian Reformed Classes Allowing Women's Ordination Reaches Thirteen #1996-028: List of Classis Decisions on Women in Office #1996-031: Huron: "Yes" to Women in Office; "No" to Women Delegates Contact List: Rev. B. Bernard Bakker, Pastor, Hebron Christian Reformed Church 71 Ingleborough Dr., Whitby, ON L1N 8J4 * O: (905) 668-5141 * H: (905) 430-6597 Mrs. Irene Bakker, Stated Clerk, Classis Quinte 71 Ingleborough Dr., Whitby, ON L1N 8J4 * O: (905) 668-5141 * H: (905) 430-6597 Rev. Harvey Brink, Stated Clerk, Classis Pacific Northwest 1221 - 148th Ave. NE, Bellevue, WA 98007 * (206) 747-5288 Rev. Evert Gritter, Pastor, Grace Christian Reformed Church 36 Coverdale Ave., Cobourg, ON K9A 4H3 * H/O: (905) 372-9258 Elder Will Katerberg, First Christian Reformed Church c/o First CRC, 310 Kingscourt Ave., Kingston, ON N7K 4R3 * O: (613) 542-8350 Rev. William Koopmans, Pastor, Cephas Christian Reformed Church 475 Wilfred Dr., Peterborough, ON K9K 2H1 * (705) 743-4904 Elder Hilbert Rumph, Stated Clerk, Classis Huron Box 215, Drayton, ON N0G 1P0 * H/O: (519) 638-2053 * FAX: (519) 638-2239 Rev. John Visser, Pastor, Maranatha Christian Reformed Church 86 Orchard Dr., Belleville, ON K8P 2K7 * H/O: (613) 962-7510 * FAX: (613) 962-2062 Rev. Henry Wildeboer, Pastor, Zion Christian Reformed Church 844 Logan Ct., RR #1, Oshawa, ON L1J 7N6 * O: (905) 436-3255 * H: (905) 433-4112 * FAX: (905) 436-3691 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-050.txt .