June 12, 2007, Grand Rapids, Mich. - Synod 2007 last night approved plans for a new hymnal, scheduled to hit the pews in 2013.
The new hymnal - which does not yet have a color - will be designed for use by both Reformed Church of America and Christian Reformed churches. A survey by Faith Alive Christian Resources, which publishes material for both denominations, found that 13 percent of congregations said they would buy the new hymnal, 32 percent said they might, and 66 percent said they might buy it as a resource for worship leaders.
Synod heard that the new hymnal will contain creeds and liturgies that RCA and CRC have in common. The Heidelberg Catechism would not be included because the two denominations use different versions.
The hymnal will continue the CRC's tradition of including all 150 psalms, but they will be ordered by subject rather than psalm number.
"We have a strong commitment to maintaining the tradition of psalm singing in churches," said Rev. Peter Hoytema, reporter for the committee that addressed the hymnal publication.
Rev. Tom Niehof of Classis Northcentral Iowa said that if only 20 percent of churches buy the new hymnal, "I'm not sure it accomplishes the purpose of unifying the denomination."
Although many churches continue to use the 1987 Psalter Hymnal, Faith Alive will probably discontinue it, said Gary Mulder, director of Faith Alive Christian Resources. Seventy two percent of churches use the gray Psalter Hymnal and 12 percent still use the 1959 blue hymnal.
Rev. Joyce Borger, worship editor for Faith Alive, said they will investigate publishing an electronic version of the new hymnal as well, but copyright fees make its cost prohibitive at present.
Candidates for Ministry
Synod last night approved 30 new candidates for ministry of the Word in the CRC. Delegates voted unanimously for all the candidates as a group. Three candidates in this year's group are female, equalling last year's number.
A third of this year's candidates came through a special training program for students who have studied theology at schools other than Calvin Theological Seminary. The number of candidates has declined from 34 in 2006 and 38 in 2005.
Synod turned down an overture from Christ Community CRC in Oregon, asking that CRC churches be allowed to call candidates from the seminaries of the Reformed Church in America.
While the overture argued that the full fellowship shared by the two denominations should extend to its seminarians, synod decided that RCA candidates should not be exempted from the CRC's normal ecclesiastical training program for students from other denominations.
Abuse Prevention
Synod made it very clear that churches need to take steps to prevent and deal effectively with cases of abuse. Synod reaffirmed that every church needs child safety and abuse prevention policies and every classis should establish a Safe Church Team.
Noting that many churches and classes still lack clear policies, despite repeated urging by synod, delegates were left wondering how to get the message across.
"If you have a Cadets program, if you have a GEMS program, or a Friendship program-you have to get these guidelines in your church," elder delegate Hank Jagt from Classis Chatham said. "In the secular world, any hockey coach or anyone working with youth has a child safety policy governing them. Why is the church any different?"
Synod agreed with the concerns of some delegates that in certain situations having an abuse-prevention policy may make a church more legally liable if the policy is not enforced. But Rev. Shawn Brix, Classis Hamilton, pointed out: "We didn't ask the committee to decrease the church's liability. We asked it to protect our children, and make our churches safe havens."
(By Roxanne Van Farowe & Dan Postma)
Contact: Henry Hess, Synod News Officer, 616-526-8654 mailto:hessh@crcna.ca
To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church visit www.crcna.org