[N.B.: These minutes do not necessarily present the actions of classis in chronological order.]

Transcription

1 Minutes of the 141 st Meeting of Classis Lake Erie of the Christian Reformed Church in North America In Session October 4, 2014, at Imlay City (Michigan) Christian Reformed Church [N.B.: These minutes do not necessarily present the actions of classis in chronological order.] Members and friends of Imlay City Church lead classis in opening worship Classis Is Constituted. 1.1 Roll call indicates the presence of the following delegations from the churches and ministries of classis: CHURCH MINISTER ELDER DEACON Akron Ann Arbor: AACRC John Groen Muriel Learned Neal Kessler Ann Arbor: Hope Joseph Hun-Suk Bae Charlotte Bret McAtee Bob Weinart Cleveland: East Side Purnell Sweeney Vivian Louis Patricia Jolly Columbus: Olentangy Robert Arbogast Dale Dennie Dearborn Dan Jongsma Dwight Smith Wayne Michalak Detroit: 1st Ben Van Arragon Jack Kalmink Jennifer Peacock E. Lansing: River Terrace Sam Perry Susan Medendorp Melissa Keeley Imlay City Dave Spoelma Art Vander Ploeg Norm Tanis Jackson: Cascades Fellowship Chris Lanham Jerry Cole Lansing: Hmong Rochester Hills: Han Bit Christian Oh Sang Hee Han Tae Ju Oh Saginaw: Community Nathan Gritter Samuel Dykstra Kristen Ringel Toledo: All Nations Troy: North Hills Randall Engle Patrick Rode David Zijlstra Willard Terence Visser Tom Gremmer Gayle Montgomery Ann Arbor: Campus Chapel Rolf Bouma E. Lansing: Campus Edge Brenda Kronemeijer- Heyink Midland: Trinity Grace OTHER MINISTRIES 1.2 President Patrick Rode welcomes delegates and guests to classis. 1.3 Six first-time delegates sign the Covenant for Officebearers. Page - 1 -

2 Classis Lake Erie Minutes October 4, The President declares classis to be constituted Denominational Involvement 2.1 Listening Session Rolf Bouma and Karl Van Harn, from the Synodical Committee to Provide Pastoral Guidance Regarding Same-Sex Marriage, lead delegates in a listening session on the following questions: 1. What are the pastoral priorities should a same-sex couple begin attending your church? 2. What do you need most from the CRC to help you navigate questions that arise in response to same-sex marriage? 3. The survey the committee sent out is revealing very diverse perspectives within the denomination. What would you see as implications arising from this reality? 2.2 Synod 2014 Report Nathan Gritter and John Groen report on the substance and character of the 2014 CRC Synod. 2.3 World Renew Mary Rupke meets with deacon delegates during the lunch hour. 2.4 Board Nominations Board of Trustees: Randall Engle is nominated by classis Calvin College: No nominations are made Leadership Development 3.1 Supported students The following student support is recommended for : Chris DeHaan $6, Bryant DeKruyter $7, Kendra Ettema $7, Jiyong Kim $7, A motion to approve the recommendation is Page - 2 -

3 Classis Lake Erie Minutes October 4, Rev. Yichul (Lee Chul) Jeong A motion to release Rev. Yichul (Lee Chul) Jeong from the office of minister of the Word under Church Order Article 14b is Synodical deputies William DeVries (Classis Grand Rapids East), Randy Blacketer (Classis Grand Rapids South), and Greg Timmer (Classis Kalamazoo) concur via correspondence. 3.3 Ministerial Credential for A.J. Gretz A motion to approve the ministerial credential for A.J. Gretz, who has accepted a call from Third CRC, Kalamazoo, Michigan (Classis Kalamazoo) is Congregational Life 4.1 Chris Lanham reports for the Congregational Life Committee. He notes a ministry support request from Cascades Fellowship CRC, which is included in the proposed 2015 Classis Budget. 4.2 Church counselor report: East Side, Cleveland A written report from Harry Winters is received as information. (The report is included in an appendix to these minutes.) 4.3 Grant report from Community CRC, Saginaw The report is received as information. 4.4 Grant Request from Cascades Fellowship A motion to approve a grant of up to $12, from the All Church Development Fund for the purchase of a new sound system is Specialized Ministries 5.1 Nathan Gritter reports for the committee, providing some details regarding funding recommendations, which are included in the proposed 2015 Classis Budget. 5.2 Campus Edge Fellowship Brenda Kronemeijer-Heyink reports on the early stages of her ministry at Campus Edge. Page - 3 -

4 Classis Lake Erie Minutes October 4, Campus Chapel Rolf Bouma reports on current ministry at the Chapel New Church Development 6.1 Committee chair Dan Jongsma highlights and supplements several items in the committee report, in particular, the Detroit Kingdom Enterprise Zone project. 6.2 Trinity Grace, Midland, Michigan Nathan Gritter reports on the developing ministry at Trinity Grace. 6.3 Arab-American Friendship Center Jerry Van Wyke and Dwight Billingsley report on current ministry at AAFC, especially ministry to students Administrative 7.1 Treasurer Larry Fisher introduces the 2015 Budget. A motion to approve the proposed 2015 Budget is The budget is appended to these minutes. A motion to approve the work of the treasurer is 7.2 Stated Clerk The printed report is received as information. A motion to discontinue the practice of reading adopted motions and questions from the credentials at end of classis meetings is A motion to approve the work of the Stated Clerk is 7.3 Executive Committee Classis Vice-President: no nominations received, the President encourages the submission of names to clerk. The president notes his communication with West Park CRC s caretaker council regarding dispersal of assets, including a recommendation that the funds be Page - 4 -

5 Classis Lake Erie Minutes October 4, 2014 directed toward support for CRC-related work/ministry. The printed report is received as information. A motion to approve the work of the Executive Committee is Concluding Matters 8.1 The next classis meeting will be March 7, 2015, at the Campus Chapel, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 8.2 The President expresses various acknowledgements and words of appreciation. 8.3 The clerk expresses appreciation for Patrick Rode s service as president.. The president prays to conclude. Respectfully submitted, Robert A. Arbogast, Stated Clerk Page - 5 -

6 Classis Lake Erie Minutes Appendix October 4, 2014 Appendix Church Counselor Report Eastside CRC The council of the Eastside CRC has not asked me to meet with them since the last classis meeting. I have spoken with Pastor Tony Friar over the phone a couple of times and have had some text message exchanges. I asked for a summary of how things are going so that I could write a report for classis. The following is what was provided to me. There has not been any search committee action. (Still getting repairs etc. done in the church building and parsonage). Since the March meeting of Classis we gained three more professing members, and after weeks of instruction, seven children in our Young Lights For Christ Program were baptized. One of our new professing members, who has been very active as a leader in the Young Lights program, has now become a deacon! Our Tuesday evening worship and Bible study is going well; it's less formal than Sunday worship, and gives opportunity for sharing of testimonies, joys and concerns. Sincerely submitted, Harry Winters Answers to Credentials Questions Olentangy (Columbus) Safe Church Team: Martin & Ruth Cunningham Dearborn Safe Church Team: Ed Williams River Terrace ( East Lansing) Safe Church Team: Megan DeHaan Appendix, page - 1 -

7 Classis Lake Erie Minutes Appendix October 4, 2014 Cascades Fellowship (Jackson) Denomination: To the Board of Trustees: Why are those in the denomination building and on the board trying to change the status of the Belhar Confession when Synod 2012 dealt with it extensively and with clear understanding? Is it within the mandate of the board or any agency in the denominational building to enact changes contradicting synodical acts? State of the Churches Reports Cleveland, East Side CRC Since the March 2014 meeting of Classis, East Side CRC has gained three more members through profession of faith, bring our total of new professing members since September of 2013 to eleven. Our program for children, Young Lights for Christ, taught several lessons about communion and about baptism. Most of these children attend East Side with their grandparents. With permission of their parents, seven of the children were baptized and have participated in communion. We are thankful for dedicated and talented leaders for this group, and for grandparents who cared enough to bringthese children to a place where they can learn about God and the gospel message. It's been an exciting year! We have had some response from the community to our Tuesday evening worship and Bible study, but we still are searching for more effective ways to reach out to, and meet the needs of, the community around us. Outreach Stories Charlotte Outreach Story: Recently we combined a Marriage Reception with a conference over a four day weekend. We had attendees from all over the States and even one Pakistani from Australia (who managed to combine a business trip to coincide with attending the Reception / Conference.) All who attended seemed to have had a pleasant time and commented favorably. East Side (Cleveland) Outreach Story: Our GEMS girls club continues to be a good community out reach. To make the community aware of the program, information is posted at libraries, grocery Appendix, page - 2 -

8 Classis Lake Erie Minutes Appendix October 4, 2014 stores, and at an elementary school near our church. Also word is spread by the girls themselves. Information is also placed in an area available to the parents of children attending the child care that rents our education wing and social hall. The following is a report from our GEMS Club Coordinator: In the 2013/14 season, our GEMS Club ministered to 18 girls. Two attended our church with their grandparents, who made profession of faith this year. Twelve belonged to other denominations, two were unchurched, two were girls who attended but did not turn in registration forms, and two visited a few times; we do not know if they had any church affiliation. At the end of the season in May, we invited the parents to a spaghetti dinner at which we summarized the theme for the year,the girls sang their songs, and all read the "Who's the greatest?" Litany. We also showed the video "Who's the greatest?" and "God's Story", which is the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. First (Detroit) Outreach Story: First Detroit has partnered with another local congregation that runs a nonprofit coffee shop. The members of our neighboring congregation now worship with us on Sunday mornings, and we support the coffee shop. Both congregations have benefited from the expansion of our communities and our reach into the neighborhood. River Terrace (East Lansing) Outreach Story: Van rides on campus have helped increase undergraduate student life at River Terrace. Spring Hill Summer Camp at River Terrace held this last summer drew many community kids to River Terrace for exposure to the Gospel. Wednesday Night Community Night - every Wednesday we have dinner and several discipleship classes offered which draw people from the community. Imlay City Outreach Story: We outreach to hunters and angler through combining with a ministry called Huntin' the Truth Ministries. We take youth on hunting and fishing day trips.we also teach Hunter's Safety in the State of Michigan and we just graduated 136 from our last Hunter's Safety Class two weeks ago. Appendix, page - 3 -

9 Classis Lake Erie Minutes Appendix October 4, 2014 Cascades Fellowship (Jackson) Outreach Story: We have begun a new Bible Study called Owning Your Faith where we explore the hard questions of the faith. Discussion is open and honest, all questions are welcome and everything is weighed against Scripture. It has been well attended by those outside our fellowship. Community (Saginaw) Outreach Story: The Caring Closet ministry at Community CRC in Saginaw served over 1500 people (many of them repeats) and gave away over 14,000 items to people in our community from May 2013 to May This past August we helped poor children by giving them back to school items. 193 people visited and we gave away about 1000 items for school. We have also given away many bibles and have had powerful spiritual conversations and prayers with people. A handful of people have come to our worship services. We are grateful for God's kingdom work and for the support of Classis Lake Erie. Appendix, page - 4 -