Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 17:13:44 -0500 From: Darrell Todd Maurina Organization: Christian Renewal/United Reformed News Service Subject: NR 99021: Two URC/OCRC Merger Proposals Arrive at URC Classis Western Canada NR #1999-021: Two Merger Proposals with Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches Arrive at United Reformed Classis Western Canada Merger between the 1399-member federation of Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches and the 16,106-member United Reformed Churches may be on the horizon. Classis Western Canada's March 25-26 meeting will deal with two overtures proposing different plans toward union. "There's a fifteen hour drive through the mountains between us and the OCRC's in the Vancouver area, but even given that, there is a very close unity," said Rev. Theo Hoekstra of Emmanuel Reformed Church of Neerlandia, Alberta, one of the two United Reformed churches overturing their classis to merge the two denominations. While the oldest Orthodox Christian Reformed congregations are located in Ontario, most of the OCRC's newer churches are in western Canada. After a number of church closures and withdrawals, the denomination now has twelve churches, eight in Classis West and four in Classis East. Most of the western OCRC congregations are centered in fairly close proximity near the Vancouver area in the British Columbia towns of New Westminster, Kelowna, Surrey, and Abbotsford and the Washington towns of Lynden, Everson, Sunnyside, and Burlington - an area adjacent to and in some cases overlapping the areas served by the United Reformed in Classis Western Canada. Classis Western Canada of the URC is mostly to the north and east of the OCRC congregations, with seven churches in Alberta, two in the northern British Columbia towns of Telkwa and Smithers, one in Manitoba, one in Oregon, and one in Lynden, Washington, that is quite close to the OCRC congregations. NR #1999-021: For Immediate Release: Two Merger Proposals with Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches Arrive at United Reformed Classis Western Canada by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service (February 23, 1999) URNS - Merger between the 1399-member federation of Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches and the 16,106-member United Reformed Churches may be on the horizon. Classis Western Canada's March 25-26 meeting will deal with two overtures proposing different plans toward union. "There's a fifteen hour drive through the mountains between us and the OCRC's in the Vancouver area, but even given that, there is a very close unity," said Rev. Theo Hoekstra of Emmanuel Reformed Church of Neerlandia, Alberta, one of the two United Reformed churches overturing their classis to merge the two denominations. While the oldest Orthodox Christian Reformed congregations are located in Ontario, most of the OCRC's newer churches are in western Canada. After a number of church closures and withdrawals, the denomination now has twelve churches, eight in Classis West and four in Classis East. Most of the western OCRC congregations are centered in fairly close proximity near the Vancouver area in the British Columbia towns of New Westminster, Kelowna, Surrey, and Abbotsford and the Washington towns of Lynden, Everson, Sunnyside, and Burlington - an area adjacent to and in some cases overlapping the areas served by the United Reformed in Classis Western Canada. Classis Western Canada of the URC is mostly to the north and east of the OCRC congregations, with seven churches in Alberta, two in the northern British Columbia towns of Telkwa and Smithers, one in Manitoba, one in Oregon, and one in Lynden, Washington, that is quite close to the OCRC congregations. Each of two merger proposals coming to Classis Western Canada would accomplish the same end, but would do so by different means. Emmanuel Reformed Church of Neerlandia proposes that the URC synod send a merger invitation to each OCRC congregation on the basis of the current URC church order and denominational name "with a request that, should they favor such union, they forward it for consideration to their next classis and synod." The second overture from the Edmonton Orthodox Reformed Church asks Synod 1999 of the URC "to rule that, should the Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches seek to unite with the URCNA, they will be received immediately into the federation as equals, without conducting colloquium doctums for their ministers." The Edmonton overture cites as grounds that "we hold to the same confessional standards and come from the same historical root," that "our knowledge of these churches through previous contacts as well as our common history provides us with ample assurance of the soundness of these congregations and their ministers," and that "by adopting this position, we may encourage these churches to unite with us en masse, without a long or complicated process." The Neerlandia overture cites similar grounds but provides more detail and notes that the OCRC congregations are free to "make known for our reconsideration whatever concerns they might have" with the URC church order. Neerlandia emphasized that informal contacts between Classis West of the OCRC and Classis Western Canada of the URC date back over half a decade, including regular pulpit exchanges. "We have been meeting with the brothers of the Western Classis of the OCRC's at our respective classis meetings (at our Western Fellowship meetings before we federated) for six years. We have found a true unity of faith in every way and trust that this would also be the case with their Eastern Classis since they too strive to hold each other accountable," wrote the Neerlandia church in its overture. "In a recent meeting of our Western Classis' committee for ecumenical contact with a number of Vancouver area OCRC's, it became apparent that there was a mutual desire to pursue such union. However, we had some difficulty in finding a simple workable mechanism that respected all the concerns. We believe that sending them this official invitation unilaterally with the grounds attached may help to facilitate their own discussions later in the year on federative unity with us." Edmonton ORC pastor Rev. William Pols - whose church is the oldest in the classis and had contact with the OCRC congregations years before many of the other URC churches were organized or seceded from the CRC - said he was pleased by the possibility of merging the two denominations. However, Pols cautioned that neither overture should be seen as trying to disrupt the OCRC's own classical and synodical process of deliberation. "The last thing we want to do is to be seen as inviting individual congregations to join us and thereby be divisive to the OCRC," said Pols. "Ideally this would be perceived as a way that the entire federation could join without a complicated process, but if it doesn't accomplish that purpose, it would provide a way that congregations or smaller groups of churches could join as equals without the sense of entering under our supervision that might be communicated if they would all be required to have a colloquium doctum." "I think it would mean a lot more to the congregations if it could really be seen as a merger, and not them entering into our supervision," said Pols. Both Pols and Hoekstra concurred that there are no major differences between Classis West of the OCRC and Classis Western Canada of the OCRC. "The historical development of the OCRC as a distinct denomination and the URC is simply historical; they withdrew earlier and with a smaller group," said Hoekstra. "For the past five or six years we met at our classis and fellowship meetings, and we sense a concern for the same issues. Many of us knew each other from seminary, five of the eight OCRC pastors are Mid-America graduates. We have had pulpit exchange all through that time, and have sensed a strong level of unity." If the merger takes place, Classis Western Canada of the URC would grow from twelve churches to twenty, making it the largest classis in the federation. "We would probably immediately divide into two classes; we'd probably have Alberta and Northern British Columbia, and maybe Southern British Columbia and Northern Washington," said Pols. "In effect it would mean the addition of another classis to the URC." Hoekstra agreed that a new classis would expected "very soon" if a merger takes place. "How exactly they would be divided is not quite sure, but it would certainly be a good thing, and it would provide the OCRC with a high degree of continuity," said Hoekstra. "I hope that our discussion at classis and at synod would send a very strong signal to the OCRC's that we love them and want to be united with them," said Hoekstra. "The overture is intended as an effort to let the OCRC brothers in all the churches know that we receive them as brothers, and want them to consider the URC. It's very easy when one federation is a little larger to give the wrong impression." Cross-References to Related Articles: [No related articles on file] Contact List: Rev. Theo Hoekstra, Pastor, Emmanuel Reformed Church Box 95, Neerlandia AB T0G 1R0 H/O: (403) 674-3552 Rev. William Pols, Pastor, Edmonton Orthodox Reformed Church 11610 - 95A St, Edmonton, AB T5G 1P8 H/O: (403) 487-7189 Rev. Al Vermeer, Convening Church Pastor, OCRC Classis West 9691 Van Buren Rd., Everson, WA 98247 H/O: (360) 988-4901 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive99: nr99-021.txt .