This month, from October 2 to October 27, the Roman Catholic church will hold a synod in Rome, the conclusion of a church-wide consultation effort that spanned three years. It is an important, perhaps a defining moment of Pope Francis’s pontificate, which has now lasted more than 11 years and is likely to be nearing…
The Christian Reformed Church pastors and church members behind Toward CRC Canada believe that Canadian concerns and opportunities have not been taken seriously by the larger U.S. portion of the denomination. In a letter sent to CRCs in Canada, the group claims “that the time has come to create two distinct sister denominations out of…
In early June, an unanticipated water-main rupture caused a Calgary-wide state of emergency. Later that same month, at the Christian Reformed Church’s (CRC) Synod 2024, another rupture occurred that everyone saw coming, but one that poses far-reaching challenges for the Canadian CRC. Synod 2024 decided to adopt a traditional, non-inclusive position on human sexuality and…
I’ve been thinking about rules a lot lately: Robert’s Rules of Order, school board bylaws, Church order, labour codes and so on. But I’ve also been watching a lot of sports (oh, my beloved Oilers! So, so close!). Sports have rules, too. In the course of a game, sometimes the rules become a matter of…
“I don’t want to see anyone leave,” one synodical delegate said of the motion to suspend dissenting churches and office-bearers, “but as Abraham was asked to offer up Isaac in obedience to faith, I see this as an act of obedience to faith.” Hearing this analogy reminded me of a college student who was struggling…
On one of the last days in June, we sneaked into church five minutes late. The Grade 12s looked resplendent in their dark blue gowns, cap tassels swinging jauntily with every movement. We waved at Emerson, a close family friend, and got ready to cheer our hearts out for his moment on stage. It was…
Two years ago, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) held that any and all same sex relations are a form of unchastity. As such, per Lord’s Day 41, God condemns those relations and we are each called to detest them. This year, we decided what we are going to do with those who disagree. Synod 2024’s…
CC: How would you summarize the key decisions made at Synod 2024? What was the overall mood (or tone), in your impression? Rev. Al Postma: Summarizing is difficult as there were many items on the agenda. Specifically regarding the discussion on sexuality, my impression is that Synod 2022 was primarily about the Christian Reformed Church’s…
In team sports, it’s common for the coach to call a time-out when the game has gotten off track. At the pitching mound or hockey bench, a time-out is a brief opportunity to get back to fundamentals. After the way that the Christian Reformed Church’s (CRC) Synod handled the Human Sexuality Report (HSR), I wonder…
Summertime is the season for boats, or at least boating analogies. Angela Reitsma Bick and I have a book (to be released this September) that features boats as a spiritual analogy for the deconstruction and reconstruction of faith. We write mostly about canoes that run aground or get capsized. That’s how it feels in the…
About 12 years ago the Muttart Foundation, a private foundation based in Edmonton, commissioned Ipsos Reid to conduct a survey on public opinion that measured Canadians’ attitudes towards charities (including churches). Ipsos Reid found that 33 percent of Canadians trusted churches only “a little” or “not at all” (their two lowest categories for measuring trust)….
I wrote most of this before Synod 2024 began. But I was certain we’d still be talking about it, for good or for ill. In 2022 and 2023, Synod discussed the Human Sexuality Report (HSR) and decided by a majority vote that the seventh commandment forbidding adultery, as explained in the Heidelberg Catechism, includes same-sex…
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