From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 13:09:16 -0500 (EST) Subject: NR 97024: Trumpet to Sound a New Call for West Michigan Churches NR #1997-024: Trumpet to Sound a New Call for West Michigan Churches When the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship decided to replace a bulletin exchange program with a newsletter about events in local churches, few of the delegates expected that the result would be a bimonthly glossy magazine billed as the "official" publication "dedicated to enhancing the unity of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship of Reformed Churches." Since its inception -- at least in part due to a number of editorials advocating federation -- few of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship churches that opposed federation into the new United Reformed synod have been strong supporters of their "official" periodical. Since it became clear that a majority of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship opposed federation, the Trumpet has been in an anomalous position in which all of the editorial committee were members of pro-federation churches. NR #1997-024: For Immediate Release Trumpet to Sound a New Call for West Michigan Churches by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service KALAMAZOO, Mich. (February 19, 1997) URNS -- When the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship decided to replace a bulletin exchange program with a newsletter about events in local churches, few of the delegates expected that the result would be a bimonthly glossy magazine billed as the "official" publication "dedicated to enhancing the unity of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship of Reformed Churches." Since its inception -- at least in part due to a number of editorials advocating federation -- few of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship churches that opposed federation into the new United Reformed synod have been strong supporters of their "official" periodical. Since it became clear that a majority of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship opposed federation, the Tr umpet has been in an anomalous position in which all of the editorial committee were members of pro-federation churches. "The LMRF churches which have not federated have, as a group, shown weak financial support for The Reformed Trumpet," wrote the Trumpet publication committee in a letter to the January 30 meeting of the fellowship. "Since its inception, only 18% of the cost of producing The Reformed Trumpet has come from this group, and almost 60% of this support from just two churches." The publication committee also noted that the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship members -- officially 19 churches -- "has decreased considerably since the establishment of The Reformed Trumpet," that less than a third of the 30 supporting churches are active members of the fellowship, and that "The Reformed Trumpet committee desires to be supportive of all of the churches which have been courageous enough to stand for the historic Reformed faith in protest against liberal trends in their former denominations." In its letter to the fellowship, the publication committee stated that "the above grounds make it clear that the most appropriate way for The Reformed Trumpet to continue to serve the growing number of churches receiving this publication is to do so on an independent basis." "Appropriate oversight with representation from the various churches would be established (to some degree similar to the Reformed Fellowship and The Outlook setup)," continued the proposal. "We hope that the LMRF churches have the same vision for The Reformed Trumpet and wishes the committee well as we move ahead." When questioned by LMRF delegates about the future vision and oversight for the Trumpet, publication committee chairman Ron Springvloed said plans were currently indefinite about oversight but that the periodical would continue to serve the former CRC congregations in the United States though not in Canada. "What we mean primarily is the thirty or so churches we have served now," said Springvloed. "As long as the masthead on it has 'dedicated to enhancing the unity of the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship,' well, we don't serve the other churches." After discussion, the delegates voted to approve the proposal from the publication committee to continue on an independent basis and express thanks for its work. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1995-107: Trumpeting, Families, and Federating Headline Michigander Meeting of Independent Reformed Churches #1997-023: Lake Michigan Loses Last Federated Churches, Considers Welcoming Canadian Independent Church, Appoints Church Visitors to Assist in Resolution of Church Conflicts Contact List: Elder Ron Springvloed, Publication Committee Chairman, The Reformed Trumpet 4097 Grandview Terrace, Grandville MI 49418 H: (616) 530-3391 Elder Pete Elzinga, Recording Clerk, Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship 10532 Paw Paw Dr., Holland, MI 49424 H: (616) 772-2918 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive97: nr97-024.txt .