[1884] Handelingen van de Synodale Vergadering der Holl. Christ. Geref. Kerk gehouden te Grand Rapids, Mich., 11 Juni, e.v.d., 1884.

Transcription

1 1884 [1884] Hadelige va de Syodale Vergaderig der Holl. Christ. Geref. Kerk gehoude te Grad Rapids, Mich., 11 Jui, e.v.d., TRANSLATION: \ ACTS OF SYNOD OF THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH ASSEMBLED AT GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN Jue 11, ff., 1884 \ \. Note to the r~l\der: This traslatio has ot bee corrected ad will be foud to be iaccurate i some irtstaces. The reader should cosult the origial Dutch editios before quotig from this volume.

2 The Idex I J I,!.1,il ;1 Opeig of Syod Art. 1 Chossig Officers ad Clerk " 2 The ew Presidet 3 Public D,claratio " 4 Comr. ree;.i.g Mi Emeritatio of Rev. Baro " 6 The Emeritus Fud " 7 Regulatios coc. acceptace of other Cogregatios " 11 The acceptace of Cogregatios" 14 Request for orgaizig a Cogo " 15 Icreasig umber of Curators " 16 Icorporatig Cogregatios "17 Germa Cogregatios " 18 Choosig a Asst. Professor 21 Auditig Committee 22 Church Trea,surer " 25 Tuitio for'.studets from ':.B.P. Fud Retal for College Room Comptroller "Wachters" to the Netherlads Schedule for Theo. SChool Bible distributio Resposibilities of Treasurers Treasurer for the Dollar Fud Foreig Missios Uios I Suday ScMool Tracts Syodical ':Represeta tio Tr. Ref. Prot. Dutch Church Callig Miisters i distat Churches Clymer, N.Y. Membe1iship papers from the " " " Va dyke Cogregatio " Syod i\relatio to Examiatios Preachig i G.R. durig Syod ical Sessios ' Classis prior to~syodical Sess." Yearbook of the Church Comr. o Home ',;:1ssios Report of SyociJ,cal Comm. Report of Del. t.o Syod Neth. " Acceptace 'of the Report " " Excerpts from the Miutes ad the pritig of above report i the "w" 52 Circular o ~gratio Home Missios i the West Home Missioary ~astor Cogo at Ackley, Iowa " 54 "54, " 55 56,58 Syodical Expeditures Art. Preachig i Sglish ~itorship of the "Wachter" Commuicatios from various Churches Cacellig Church Membership Marita.l Problems Miisters of Germa Churches " Questios at Cofessio Delegates to Classis Hackesack " Holidays Subjects for secod PrOfessor Geeral Regulatios Closig discourse of the Presidet" Words by the Rev. Smidt Adjourmet of Syodical Sessios Supplemets I Report of the Syodical Comm. Page 28. " II Articles pertaiig to the acc~ptace of Churches ito the Chr. Ref. Supplemet III Report the Syod of the Chr. ~etherlads Supplemet IV Hackesack Page 32 of the delegates to Ref. Church i the Page 43 A commuicatio from Classis Page 58 1, 1m 'K 'Zot:: I~, 6h. '

3 The Acts of the Syod of the Hollad Christia Reformed Church Held o the 11th of Jue, 1884, ad the days followig, I Grad Rapids, Michiga. Page 1. The Presidet of the previous Sessio opes the Syod with a discourse, after the usual period of devotios, as follows: Util Jue, that was the decisio at the last Syod. I spite of this we are assembled a year previous to our regular Sessio. This remids us of the well kow, "My thoughts are ot your thoughts~ God's thoughts higher tha our thoughts1 No oe doubts that Ma drgjs a lie ad prepares the task which He sets for him. Ma cosiders the hoor of his holy ame, ad the welfare of his Church. I repeat, His thoughts higher tha ours! that is certaily the way it is, ad to whom is 1t a matter of secrecy that we ofte hew to the right or to the left of the lie ad fid ourselves at our wit's ed1 Yet sometimes our thoughts seem to appear to be 1 lie with the Lord's, but this very ofte oly appears to be so. Ad oe ofte sees that his thoughts ad ours ofte cross, ad yet at times seem to ru cocurretly, util they uite i a upleasat coflivt. All these matters are,without a doubt, to His' good purpose. Should we have a clearer visio, We would take thought of the lie which the Lord draws, to discover what his will is O most Circumstaces. Less egoism ad more trust would work woders. The perso "I" should recede ito the backgroud, ad be replaped by the All wise ad the All good. As a compaio to belief ad trust, love walks at its 'side. Page 2. Love should be preset i every sphere, first ad foremost toward God, but also to the Church of the,lord, toward each other as members of oe household, toward the Syod i which we shall carryo our work, ad fially the love toward all makid. Ad if these thigs are kow ad felt by us, the we shall realize more clearly what God's thoughts for us are, ad matters will be lied up for us correctly. A haughty heart eve durig the time of our Cogregatioal labors, is missed by o oe. sice it leads US to, the statemet,, eedful for each oe of us. that o oe regard aother less tha he does himself. ; Weighty "are the matters for our diccussio" especially those pertaiig to our School ad to our "Home Missio work, for which reaso we have called this Assembljr. May God grat that our decisios have better results tha those of the previous sessio. O the Sabbath prior to the Sessios, there was a prayer service for the eeds of the Syod, ad a thoughtful cosideratio of these eeds. Will the Lord hear us1 He has promised he would, ad he is true to his promises. May He 50 lead us by his grace, that we may discover his thoughts for us, ad that our decisios'be uaimous. 50 that we ca be assured of the work which We have accomplished, ad that we, ca s.. re that his thoughts ad ours have trod the same course. The Madates are read ad delegates are preset from all the Clas~Bti. (Names of delegates are omitted as of mior importace here.) Page 3. \ This page lists the delegates, as well as oe half of the previous page. Page 4. Art~ 2. After otig from the Madates that the most distat Churches have set oly oe delegate, the Syod requests the reaso for this. The reply is that due to fiaces ad the large amout of work o the farms at this time of the year, it was possible.to sed o more. Art. 3. The officers for this Sessio: Pres. L.J.Hulst V. P. L., Rietdijk Clerk, G. Hemkes Asst. Cl. J. ~oordewier...

4 Art. 4. The retirig Presidet exteds the blessig or the Lord to his successor, ad wishes him success i the coduct or the Sessios. He, i tur, thaks the re_ tirig Presidet, ad with a rew words to the delegates ad a prayer, he begis his task. 1, Art. 5. The Presidet reads the Formula of subscriptio"ad requests a aswer rrom the delegates. Stadig the delegates aswer i a body, i the affirmative. Art. 6. Sessios ru from 8:00-11:45 A.M. 2:00-5~00 P.M., There will be a firtee miute break durig each Sessio. Page 5. Art. 7. As much as possible the Syod,asks the delegates from each Classis to sit together, ir j;his'"ca.be doe. Art. 8. The Revs. Schut ad Vos'are asked to recheck the Miutes of the previous Sessio, to see ir ay or the Articles eed more discussio. Art. 9. Devotios Art. 10. tt is aouced that a Committee rrom the Reformed Church, which is also holdig its Syodical Sessios i Grad Rapids at this time, is preset ad wishes to address our Syod. This request is grated, ad the Rev. H. Dosker itroduces them. The Rev. I.S.Hartley reads the followig i the ame of their Syod: The Geeral Syod or the iiaformed Church i America Grad Rapids, Jue 11, Whereas, there is at preset a Syod of the Christia Reformed Church cove~ed city: Resolved~That delegat~b Page 6. '\ i this this Geeral Syod of the Christia Reformed Church i America appoit a or three miisters ad three eld8rs to express our kid ad frateral reelig toward them, 3.d hope that the Divie Spirit may brig all these ito uiowho hold the commo faith, ad the priciples or the Reformed Church. Resolved that the Committee cosist of the Revs. Hartley, Bishop, Dosker, ad the \ " Elders,. Crosby, ad'pyl., ' 'Siged, Paul Va Cleef, Stated Clerk. 'The Rerormed btbthers each address the Syod i a few well chose ad gracious words, ad they al\e a~wered by the Presidet ad the Rev. BOer, 3.fter which all joi i sigig Ps.'\134:3. Art. 11. It is,moved that the Orficers of the Syod, accompaied by the Rev. Prof. Boer, be ~et to the Rerormed Syod, to retur the Greetigs of our Syod with the followig resolutio, The Syod of the Hollad Christia Reformed Church i America. Extract from the Miutes of the Syod. Grad Rapids, Mich. Jue 11, Whereas, The Syod or the Reformed Church has kidly set to us a delegatio to sh9w their reelig toward us; Resolved, that the Syod or the Hollad Christia Reformed Church i America,i tur appoit a delegatio to express the wish, that the Almighty Cod for the sake of Christ grat a blessig to you i your Assembly, ad with a prayer to h~~ above, that all, havig the same faith ad based o the same fudametal priciples, become oe ftsstll:ved that this Committee cosist or the revs. Hulst, Rietdijk, Noordewier, Boer, ad Hemkes. Siged G. Hemkes, Clerk!

5 Art. 12. The Committee o ufiished busiess reports ad poits to Art. 18, 1883, cocerig the Rev. Smidt ad the Germa Churches PAge 7. I ad peissio for him to cotiue i that work. I coectio with this poit 3. of the. Ageda is discussed, relatig to this matter, ad with this a request from Vogel Ceter., The Syod express itself o the use of Germa Hyms i the Church services"ad see that I this practic~ is ot abused. The R-v. Smidt cosiders that more freedom has bee give, him tha is stated i Art. 18. That Article metios tetative arragemets, ad he co siders it to mea more tha that. He has permitted o Germa hyms to be sug at all i : his Church, although he has told the Germa people who have joied the Church that they imight retai their Hyms. The Syod had metioed the 3erma Hyms i coectio with 'this, sice the Rev. Smidt was workig outside the Cogregatio, but the Rev. wished to have this applied to the Cogregatio of Ridott, sice may of the members had migrated :to Nebraska, Dakota, ad to Steamboat Rock, for fiacial reasos, ad the iflux of Germ 'as, who kew little of the laguage, resulted i the fact that the populatio of the,'church is ow early all Germas. 1'h"3 Germa is used for the morig Service, ad Dutch 'for the j~rvices i the afteroo, agreeig with him that oe caot make Germas out of 'the Dutch, ad especially ot i Music. Nevertheless some fear that what we gai i Church 'expasio amog the Germa people, by permittig Germa Hyms, we would lose Withil sice some, 'odoubt, would say, "If the- Syod gives the Germas freedom i the use of 'Church Music, :the we may also sig some of the Hyms. Sice letters 'have also bee received from Ridott cocerig this matter, a Committee is aopoited to ivestigate, ad to report at the ext Sessio. (See Art. 14),Page 8. iart. 13. For this,see the Supplemet Art. 14. The Committee o Ridott reports(see Art. 12, above) The letters cotai protests st oreachig i Germa. The readig of these letters should ot ifluece ayoe his v~ti~g. The foilowig was decided: The Syod havig heard the motio of Vogel Ceter cerig the sigig of Hyms, makes o ew rule cocerig this, with a eye to a ''''"'.L.L~ate sit~atio, so that Art. 18 stads ad syod oroceeds to other matters. Sice it is time for the Committee to visit the Syod of the Reformed ChlITch, Noordewier eds this Sessio with a word of prayer. Mt~r~oo Sessio. Jue A Rule o:f\ Order is ow put ito effect, after havig bee passed hy the Syod. ul",ss thle matter regards his perso, ad uless extraordiary circlmstaces Syod,. to exted the time, shall hold the floor more tha twice, or speak loger miute:;; o ayoe topic. leu~"f, Art. 45, 1883, 'is recalled, cocerig the time of Classical Sessios i coectthose of the Syod, i which it was asked if the Classical Sessios could ot be durig the first of May i a Syodical year, so that all matters for Syodical discusca be listed i the Ageda. The Syod of 1883 cosidered this very suitable. 5, of the Ageda from Classis Grad Rapids, has referece to this, viz. that immatters to be discussed at the Sessios be clearly stated". Ad also this~"if the is spet i the discussio of less importat matters, the the Syod will ot have the to carry out the abo~e rule. The followig is decided upo: Wheever a Classis eglectl geeral Church matters to the Ageda for discussio i time for the pritig, the may refuse the cosideratio of such a matter. 18. Article 53 (1883) states that the officers of the Syod shall prepare a paper Smigratio, for publicatio i the Netherlads papers. This has ~~e ~arried out.

6 Art. 19. Article 54,(1883) a discussio o Home Missios: Poit 6 o~ the Ageda is take up i coectio with this: Classis Grad Rapids requests that the syod take the mat o~ Home Missios very seriously. Douglas, Dakota, has take advatage o~ o~ the o~~er of a recet Syod. The cogregatio has received the sum of $ iterest free f~r four yea for the puroose of buildig a.parsosge. This ~as ow bee completed. It also is the reciiet of a sum amoutig to $ util Jue 1885 i the support of a Miister.!be Cogregatio is ow growig. As to C03tfrieslad, Nebr. the Syod is iformed that there i little opportuity for growth theread that the Co~regatio has grow weaker Page 10 but there is a request for $ aually for the support of a Miister whom they wish to call, ad who could also serve the Rotterdam Church, sice that Cogregatio is uable t call a Miister at this time. The motio is ow made to offer Rotterdam the $ which Oostfrieslad has requested, as this would permit Rotterdam to call a' Miister, who the could visit Oostfrieslad uder the directio of the Missioary Committee. It is decided to give the $ to Rottrrdam util the ext Sessio of Syod. Richlad also makes a re quest for fiacial, support i the costructio of a Church builaig, as well as New Era. These requests will be cosidered later. Art. 20. The Cogregatio at Rochester, N.Y. supported by Classis Hudso, asks for fiacia assistace, \;1moutig to $ per year, for miisterial expese; the miister the might suppl.yi'clymer ad other ",aster churches alog-,ath the Rev. De Vries. '. It is. also brought to the attetio of Syod that cher", are umerous Churches, both i Pichigari ad Illiois which ca be served by the Rev. Coelig ad other Miisters if the Syod could assist that Cogregatio fiacially to some extet.' )xt. 21. The Assembly feels that i order to regulate the work of Home Missios, there shou be a Committee for this, ad as' a result a motio is passed that each Classis choose a Committee of three, i the iterest of ~ome Missio ;fork; also that Oe member of each Classic'al Committee be chose as a member of a geeral Missio Committee, for the purpose of regulat}g the work of Home Missios, ad to pay the workers from the geeral treasury collected ~d provided by the Missio Committee. The Presidet of the Home Missio Committe will fuctj:o util the ew Committees are chose. The Classes preset appoit tetative Committee m'embers to support the Home Missio Committee from ow o. The' ew Missio Cemm. will brig out the reports cocerig the requests from RQ~hester, Richlad, New Era, etc. (See Art. 27 below) Page If. \ Art. 22. Poit 2" of the Ageda is brought up for discussio at the request of Vogel Ceter: The Syod review\art. 60, 1883, cocerig the matter of the Ackley Cogregatio. It is decided to reviej\ the whole matter, ad a Committee of 6 delegates is chose, with three delegatesfrqm thl'l Cogregatio of ACkley. Art. 23. Art. '64 b.( 1883) is brought up for revi"w, cocerig a commuicatio from Alto, W with a request that the Churches take offerigs for a Church buildig. Classis Illiois supported this request at the 188) Syod. The Revs. Douwstra ad Noordewier were to fill Classical supplies there ad to ivestigate coditios, ad the report to the Rev. G. Broer so that a gpoeral collectio might be take. But because of the prosperous coditio of affairs at Alto, this offerig was omitted. Art. 24. The Cosistory of Drethe requests that Syod ed the irregular celebratio of the holidays, ad thus keep the peace ad good order i the Church by formulat2g a geeral rule The Presidet reads Article 20 of the Church Order of Dordt, cocerig holidays i geeral. This discussio is postpoed, util a later sessi'",. Itermissio. Page 12. The Sessio of Friday Mormig. Art. 25. The Miutes of the previous Sessio are read ad accepted.

7 Art. 26. The Syod returs to a further discussio of Art. 20 af the previous Sessio Ad a additioal statemet is added: that the delegates from each Classis choose three persos as a Classical Missio Committee, ad each Classio will desigate oe of these as,the Member of a geeral Missio Committee, who at th9 same time will fuctio as the Chairmarl of the Classical Missio Committee. Th~ the G~eral Missio Committee will carry o the of the preset existig Committee, ad meetig duri~ the Syodical Sessios, at which time the existig committee o Missios will be dissolved. Art. 27. The Committee which had bee chose to ivestigate th~ requests of the various Churches for fiacial SupDort, reports as follows: Lafayette, Idiaa, The committee sactios the request of this Church, supported by Classis Illiois, ad decides to gi~e the Church $ from the Home Missio treasury, with the uderstadig that it be repaid if possible. Richlad:a/This Church is to receive $ toward the costructio of a Church buildig for a period of five years, ad without iterest. bl As to preachig services, Classis Grad Rapids will give this their special attetio. Rotter=am, Kasas. Sice the request for $ which was made by Oostfrieslad has bee trasferred to the Church at Rotterdam, ad sice both the Rev. Stadt ad Classis Iowa wish that t~e Rev. Smidt work at Rotterdam, the Committee wishes that the Rev. Stadt be trasferred 'Ito Rotterdam as a Miister, wi th Missio resposibility toward Oostfrieslad, ad with theifiacial support of both places. New Sra: Sice some Cogregatios have already collected for this Church, the Committee hope: that other Churches will follow suit, ad should the Church eed further help, she will be referred to the Missio Committee ad to Classis Grad',,apids. Charles Mix: This Cogregatio is badly i eed of a Miister, ad the Committee would gladly wish that $ be made available to the Church for this purpose. The Committee suggests that this amout be take from the Forei~ Missio Fud. Rochester: The Committee would very much desire to preset this Church with the $ it requests. Art. 28. rie discussio cocerig the celebratio' of two feastdays: A rulig is read which was made ih 18)6 by the Church of the Netherlads i regard to the holidays i geeral. "Sice the,'bible strogly wars the believers to abide i the freedom with which Christ has made them free, ad that they also have regard for the holy ordiaces; so shall oe' be o guard 1'1 the Church of Christ for the cosistet attempt i keepig his Day holy~::. as well as obligatig the people to celebrate the feast days, which the Lord has ot ordaie"d i his Word. The Sabbath was sactified by the Lord, ad we caot add ay other holy days to the same huma \Qrdia~es. Six days have \bee give for labor. O ay of these days we ca assemble for beig stregthe"d i tlle faith, ad the coscieces of the people caot be boud dow to the celebratio of defiite aual feast days which reoccur regularly." With this the\\syod permits the matter to rest 29. The A~s!:mblY returs to the discussio of the coditios at,ad the eeds of New Er, ~ue.ly the request of $ ad earlier the same amout. After the Assembly had bee ifo: the circur.lstaces, j,t decided to loa New Era /F without iterest, ad that this.amlout was to be take from the Dollar Fud, ad the retur this amout by offerigs from Cogregatios, through the Home Missio Committee Art. 70 is discussed cocerig the delegatio to the T.R.P.D. Church, at Hackesacl the ouestio is asked if the last visit to the Church has bee cdi:ried out. The aswer i: the affirmative, ad by the Revs. S. v.d.vries ad Elder Beeuwkes. 31. I co~ectio with Art. 46. of the previous Syod, the preset Syod states that Yearbook is desirable. Article 4" is discussed cocerig the 8.<!ceptace of the Rev. F1.e.s by Classis cocerig this, a article is preseted by Classis IlliOis, which will be

8 discussed by a Committee, so that the Committee ca report at the afteroo sessio. The Committee: The Revs. T. v.d. Bosch,,f:Hoord,,wier, ~uers: S.S.Postma, A. Va Bree. Art. 33. The questio is asked who shall p~each the pre-syodical Sermo. It is to be doe by the Presidet of ~he previous Syod, who will also offer prayer for the comig Sessios. It is also decided that the separate Cogregatios,Il have a sessio of prayer, ad all these matters will be published i the ",iacht"r' at the proper time. ----, Art. 34. Poit 2 of the Classis Grad Rapids reads: Stud"ts may be accepted for erollmet oly at the begiig of a course of study. The Syod sactios this, altho there are exceotios.,art. 35. Classis Hudso voices a request that the Semiary studets be remided by the Syod to accept preachig egagemets i the East, also Professor Boer states that there is a Praetor Amog the Studets, ad that requests be made thru him, ad Syod adds that he should have regards for the eeds of the East also. It is also stated that a period of four weeks must elapse after a studet's fial examiatios before he, may receive ~ call. Itermissio~ ad the Afteroo Sessio. Art. 36. The Miutes are read ad accepted. Art. 37. That the Professors may preach oly oce a moth, brigs up the questio if this apolies to preachig i Grad itapids Churches? The aswer is "No". Art. 38. The Committee amed i Article 31 reports that i regardto\he matter cocerig the Rev.,Fles lid 'Classis"Hollad, a protest etered by Classis TIliois has bee read', as "\Iell, as ollle by the Rev. E.L.Meiders ad the Cosistory of So. Hollad. Both have ~ee carefully read ad cosidered, ~d sice the Committee has bee,asked to report o this, it ow does so as follows: The Committee would gladly have See that oe poit metioed i his Questio Book ad published i the "WAchter"had bee retracted. Now however, it would be pleased if Syod abided by the decisio of Classis Hollad. The Revs. T. v.d. Bosch, J. Noordewier. 1'he qu,estio is asked if Syod ca rest i the decisio of Classis Hollad. The Syod adviseis, to give Classis Illiois satisfactio that the protest of Classis Illiois be read i \he Assembly, which is doe. Page 16., r " After this C~assis Hmllad states that the Rev. Fles,at the Classis of Hollad, has stated that he is i hearty accord with the Articmes of Cofessio of the Old Reformed Church, the thirty seve Articles, the Heidelbll.rg Catechism ad.the five Articles agaist the Remdstrats--stated this i his ow writigs-- ad rejected that which was i cofect With this. This explaatio is acceptable to the Syod, ad it lets the matter rest, as i accord With Classis Hollad. The South Hollad Cosistory, however, cotiues its protest. Art. 39. Mr. W. Bejamise from Hollad was preset With the fiacial records o the advertisig i the "WAchter".Ths audit foud the books i a satisfactory coditio. Art. lj.o.south Hollad protests agaist the Syodical decisio i the matter cocerig the Rev. Fles, uless the matter is explaied further i the "Wftchter~ This is received as iformatio. Art. 41. The Cosistory of South Hollarrl also protests agaist the use of a book of the Rev Smidt i regard to the sigig of Hyms. The REv. Smidt states that he had preseted oe to the Rev. Meiders i all good faith. This brother had made remarks about Lt, ad the complaied to Classis Iowa about the Rtv. Smidt.

9 The Revs. Bode,Kuiper,amd Dowstra are appoited to, report o this at a later sessio. '1 Art. 42. Poit 1 of the Ageda: The Syod make o chage i the locatio of the TheolOgiCal! School. Poit "c of Classis Hollad is discussed alog with this. Hollad ad Niekerk. propose the trasfer of the Theological School to Hollad for fiacial reasos. Page 17 After a log discussio, the matter is put to a vote with a result of 40 i favor of the Schools remaiig i Grad Rapids, ad 24 votes i oddositio to it. Art. 4). Sice the various Classes have chose their Missio Committees durig a itermissio i the sessios, the members of the Geeral Missio Committee are aouced. The Rev. Duiker, Pres. G. Broee, Clerk, Rietdijk, Creasurer, T, v.d. Bosch, E. v.d. Vries. Art. 44. Moday's Sessios will begi at 9:00 A.M. Devotios ad adjourmet. Art. 45. A commuicatio is received from the Cogregatio of Beaverdam, askig a review : o the matter o 'which the Syod made a former decisio, regardig Mr. E. ad his wife. r A committee is amed to review this: Revs. Kuiper, Douwstra, H. v.d. Werp, Cousellor. 'l'hey will report at a later Sessio. \ ' Art. 46. The pommittee o the matter cocerig the book of the Rev. Smidt states that ~ it has read the book ad reports as follows: LHoorabl.e Brothers: Your Committee, meetig o 'Friday eveig, ad after a prayer askig itor light ad guidace; has read the "rotest bv South Hollad i regard to the book of the. Rev. Smidt, <I,d cosidered both the book ad the Drotest carefully. ~Ach article was carefully discussed ad explaied, so that i coclusio your Committee foud it best to accept the decisio of Classis Iowa, ad reads as follows: 18. li:i th,at the Cl~ssiS cosiders the reasos of the Cosistory of South Hollad, explaied ad ~y the Rev. Smidt, as ot to be i coflict with God's word, as as for the, that t.he Classis leave the mattsr to the resposibility of the writer. is the "opiio of the Committee ad it hopes that the Syod will agree, ad that cosider ay further discussio useless ad a waste of time. H. Bode, Pres. H.Douwstra, Cle~k. que~)tio ow is: Will the Syod accept this report. It does. fhe RIi'v. Meiders ow '.re,aules sthat, the book be read, but the Assembly cosiders the report satisfactory.. M",iders ad Brother Va der Aa, however cotiue their protest. \ 47. A commuigatio is received from the Rev Coeligh ad read to the Assembly. He request" Qis eriteritatio, with permissio to preach to cogregatios which are vacat. asks for th'e, usual amout of emeritatio statig that the remueratio for ay preachservices will be put ito the Emeritus fud (with the exceptio of his travellig lxp,=ses) <;, Revs. KUiper a:d Duiker, ad KLder 'Jelock are a Committee o this. 48. The report of the ~odical Committee is i order. See Supplemet I. 49. Poit 4"of the Ageda is i order, from Classis Grad RApids: The Syod take ote give its attetio to the marked iceease i the use of Eglish by the youth of the :hrrrcfl. ad state ho~ to deal with this. After a rather heated discussio, the Assembly es to vote o a previously made motio. This is voted upo ad reads as follows: The recogize that the tred toward the use of ~glish by the youth of our Church, ad dager of beig esrtaged by the use of it from the Church, is worthy of a serious!vfll~~u~l-4tio but it is most difficult at this time to make a!'iluig o this. The matter is referred Missio 60mmittee, ad Syod proceeds with the order of the day.

10 Page 19. Art.50. Poit 3 of the Ageda, Classis ::;rad RApids. followig questio. Does a elder have a decidig vote Forty two delegates affirm th~s; fourtee oppose it. The Syod will give its judgmet o t at a Classical Examiatio? Art.51. Poit 4,Classis Hudso: The Syod reduce the quota for the Theological School for Classis Hudso has bee assessed too highly. Poit f is take up at this time referrig to Special Cogregatios, Graafschap ad Niekerk, who ask for a re-examiatio of the quotas for the Theological School, ad as a committee, Gelock, Heyboer, ad the Rev. ~'oordewier will report o this. Itermissio Art. 52. Poit "a", Classis Hollad: that the decisio made earlier cocerig the retur of fuds for trasportatio costs fdom miisters of foreig coutries, who at a defiite time X l~ave their ~ogregatios, after a short stay; be take up i the geeral regulatios of the Church, ad should this rulig ot be available ow, the the Syod formulate a ew rilig cocerig this. This is uder discussio ad the motio is accepted that the followig will be the rule. The trasportatio expeses of a Miister to our Church from a church i a foreig cou~try, will be paid with this uderstadig, that the trasportatio charges will be reoaid if\said Miister leaves his charge before the lapse of a reasoable legth of time If the Miister should remai for oly oe year i a charge, three fourths of the trasportatio exese will be paid to the Cogregatio which he is leavig, oe half will be repaid if he remais for oly two years, oe fourth if he remais for three years, ad at the ed of the fourth ~dar the amout is cacelled. This iformatio will foom ow o be icluded i ay Letter of Call". Pag'" 20. Art.53. Poit 7'of the Ageda: Classis Hollad also wishes to call to the attetio of the the qeed of callig,a secod Professor for the Theological School. The questio is ask what ames (there are o a former list. There are four ames o the list: the Revs. Bos, Door Va Hooge," Vader Sluis. Sice the Rev. Hemkes has also bee cosidered, he absets himself The motio is made ad passed ot to_cosider the ames of the four miisters, metioed above. Professor Boer proposes the Rev. Hemkes as a desirable prospect. He bases this o t pleasat co-operatio ad good order i his work, ad also i his maer of istructio. The stuflets alsci.desire the Rev. 2d submit a petitio to the Syod to this effect. A motic( is made ad passed that a trio be formed. Votig shows the followig: The Reir. ~qemkes,64 votes; Cado G. Vos, 42; \vielef'"a, 39. Art.54. Pbit J:\ The Cosist-ory of th~ Vrieslad Church asks the Syod if it would ot be more aporooriate'~d suitable if,the Dey of Prayer for platigs ad liarvest be held the secod week 1. Aot'il, sice it was held earlier. The Sprig seaso comes later here tha i the Netherlad~, ad ow the Day of Prayer is held whe it is still witer ad the groud still covered with sow. Nevertheless Syod decide: to leave the date the same as sprigtime comes at di~feret times i differet areas. Art.5.5. The Syod discuss the request of Noordeloos, that the Syod recosider a former dec isio, i the use of the pulpit by the,elders.i readig services, ad if this rule is ot ow i effect that it the be reistated. Page 21. Art. 56. A request from the Cogregatio oavogel Ceter: The Syod decide that the Wachter be o loger used for the publicatio of religious disputes; also cocerig the matter of Apologetics,

11 by the Rev. Hulst i the "Wachter: the followig is decided: The Syod appreciates the articles by the Rev. Hulst o Apologetics ad prited i the "WAchter ' ad aske him to cotiue with these, with a wise choice of words i each case., Cocerig Vogel Ceter: The."HAchter" will refrai from publishig persoal ad religious articles, ad to refuse to accept articles which have ot bee writte to stress or advace the truth. but rather ijure a perso. Nevertheless, the "Wachter" will ot refuse to accept 'a exchage of ideas ofuture matters as log as they have a frateral cootatio. Art. 57. Art. 67, 188). The affair of N.~. i the Netherlads has bee ivestigated. Proof has bee received that there was a legal separatio, also that the ma lived i a ulawful way, ad a more recet commuicatio from the Metherlads, cofirmed his guilt more tha formerly. The Syod decides to leave matters as they ow stad i the case of N.N. A itermissio. Art. 58. The readig of the report by the Committee o the matter of the Tpeological School is ow i order. It is stated that the Committee worked with the various ctassicab:correspo ece i the preparatio of the quotas for the School. The followig motio is made ad accepted: Sice there has bee very little objectio agaist the qotas of the School Page 22. \ ad that this matter ca be discussed much better i the idividual Classes tha at the Syod; it refers this matter back to the Classes, with the uderstadig that the Churches cotribute as the Classis decides. hopig to reach the desired goal i this 'maer. The quotas for the Classes ad the Churches i each Classis read as follows: (Note: List of quotas omit"ed as of mio~ importace.) 23. Art. 59. The Rev. Smidt wishes to have this statemet appeded to Article 14; this is to be added to Art. 14 cocerig Germa Church Music:"yet Germas, recetly arrived either i Cogregatios or as idividual Church members, will be promised that i the future, as much as possib~e, Germa speakig Miisters will be provided, ad i regard to Church Music, Germa sp:ij'rit ad traditio will be cosidered as much as possible~ ~,.'; There is a protest o this as follows: The udersiged protest the above, ad especially the last clause which reads"ad i regard to Church t1usic, etc. sice what Syod promised here, it dared ot give i Art. 12. ad therefore it should remai by the decisio of Art. 18,. of the Syod of 188). (Siged by 14 delegates) Art. 60 Te rep~rt o the affairs at Ackley, Iowa. The Committee met o last Friday eveig with the Rev. J.C. Greefield, Zwagerma ad S chaap. Sice all the brothers had letters with them from,both grloups of those protestig, ad the Rev. Greefield also oe from the Cosist these were read. (, The letters of the protestats were siged bv eleve persos all heads of families. Th~.. Gommittee listeed patietly to the Rev. Greefield, Zwagerma, ad Schaap, ad whe all ll1l;d time ad agai said what they wished to say, the Committee advised that the followhg propo~~l be accepted: Page 24. that both sides desist i beig so arrow mided, ad also stop judgig who is more or lese i the right, to forget the past ad to look ahead istead, ad strive for the prize of the high callig of God which is above. 2d. The term of the preset Cosistory expires at the ed of the year, ad the the Cogre@ tio ca choose aother Cosistory, 3rd. The $ fo±: the sale of the parsoage ad the lad, ad the $50.00 for the sale of the Church. by the members who left, will be cosidered later. 4th. The members who had left the Cogregatio, ma1 retur to it ad resume all the rights of members of the Church. 5th. All that has bee either writte or published about this matter will be etirely forgotte as ot havig occurred. The R~v. Greefield accepts this report. The Syod does likewise ad with a hearty wish for othig but co-operatio by everyoe i this matter.

12 "~-;i; "':'_:~ Art. 61. The CoamdtT.ee i coectio with Art. 47 i the request of Rey. Coe1igh'j reportsl After reports ad discussios o this matter, the Syod feels that it caot ' grat the Revered his request. But sice the Revered has asked to SerTe va~t Churches- -the Syod will racolllllled tum ad will support him to the Amout of $ for oe year, ~ ad that will be from the Home Missio fud. This will be a cotributio for his work -, ',; i vacat Cogregatios. The Geeral Missio Committee will regulate matters. Art. 62. The syod comes to the choice of a secod Professor, ad at this, the Rev. Hemltes leaves the room. The Presidet offers prayer before the votig takes place. There must be a two thirds majority i this ad if this does ot occur, the Totig will be repeated. Whe the votes are couted, the results are as follows: Hemkes 35, Vos 18, Wielega 13. PAge 25. A _-,;,;~.. ~,cc,;.i_-;e,: ".:...:. ;i,',..,.-"...'"...-- '..... ~ " A secod vote gives the Rev. Hemkes,48 votes, ad Cadidate Vos, 18. After the Rev. Hemltes has expressed a word of appreciatio to the Assembly, statig that he will cosider the Call carefully, the Syod deems it ecessary to appoit aialterate, should the Revered declie, or be preveted by other uforesee circumstaces. Cadidate Vos ad ijhe]~et. Wielega are cosidered as alterates, ad the Rev. J.H.Vos motios to give the vote to the Rev. Wielega. Art. 63. A; Committee o trasportatio costs is chose, after wtlich the Syod adjours, The Sessio of Tuesday afteroo, Jue 17. Devotios. Art. 64. The Treasurer of the Foreig Missio Committee ow reports. $13.86 was reoeived for Bible distributio, whioh has bee eet o to Mr. Muuse of Amsterdam, for the "Bibletet". The a ote amoutig to $ was set to the Missioary Board of the Netherlads, ad i October there~ came a request fo~ the paymet of the ote. This at that qlme amouted to $5,14.58 ad was set o tllthe Netherlads. A letter aokowledg_ ig the repeipt of this was received with words of appreciatio for the remittace. The questio ow is how the Committee is to proceed. A motio is made to sed $ more to th'e Netherlads sice the Board is very much i eed 01' that amout. The balace i the Missio treasury at preset is $ Page 2,9. Art. 65~The Syod is iformed that the Classical Missio Committees are formed, ad that the 'geeral, Missio Committee has take over the Books of the Treasurer as well as the moies from t.he former Missio Committee, by which act the Art. 47, 1883 is ullified The Preside~t exrtresses a word! of appreciatio to the 61d Committee for its faithfuless i the work lt has doe. Art. 66. The Missio Coittee states that the moies eeded by the HOllIe Missio CODlIIIittee which moies wef.e give to Classis Iowa, have ow bee retured to the Ge. Missios Committee. c. Art. 67. A matter is called to the attetio of the Syodl Sice the Rev. Hemkes is at preset, the 'Editor of the "Wachter"ad has ow bee appoited to a Professorship, ad if he~accepts the Call, it will be impossible for him to fuctio as the IDiitor, ad the questio ow is: What shall be doe? Aft~r this is discussed, it is decided to omiate four brothers for the task. After the vote was take, the brothers L.J.Hulst, R.T.Kuiper, J.A.De Bruy, H. v.d. Warp were chose as editors. The {irst two metioed brothers will receive a stiped of $75.00, each ad the last two, $50.00 each....,,,~

13 'Art.' 68. 'fh~ ".. -"'.--'-,<~:'::''':':'''~''''~''~,.'.;'--''.;- -,""-. ~~"~~:;<;~~;-r.r~ ~ ~~ =~.,. ""."... :~<.:.. ~.,.".'::, ': '.. ~),.}"{,:"~',! ~81CaJ. Committee of Classis Iowa, at a recet meetig,_ (.r~~'\) :has' 00.8,' to the coclusio that there must be a ed to the impossible situatio.i which the,cogregatio. at Orage City fids itself, i coectio with'its m1bter, the Rev. Stadt,, ad the miister i coectio with the Cogregatio. The Committee advises that the ReTered be relieved of his duties as a Miister of the Church at Orage City. This is dill 'cussed ad accepted by the Syod. Art. f/1. Seeig that the Rev. v.d. Werp has resiged his Curatorship, ad that the Rev.,\!m Hemkes will also resig, if he accepts his call, the Assembly ow proceeds to choose two me to succeed them "to Page 27 p~ - -. The Revs. J.A De Bruy ad J. Post are chose. The questio is, idrl.ch oe shall as a Trustee? This matter is left to the Trustees to decide. Ehumerates, the Treasurers of the various fuds. Of o 'value i traslatio. The Syod recalls 'the Emeritus Fud, ad expresses a desire that the offerigs for this fud be geerous,' as it asks the Cogregatios'to recall Article 7 of the Syod of 1883, which see. Art. 71. Sice brother Gelock has fuctioed ow for may years as the Treasurer of \ various fuds;, ad has always kept the records ad books i excellet order, ad Bice this eoessitated much time ad labor o his part; it is decided to preset the elder with a gift of o less tha $25.00 ad o more tha $50.00 for his faithful work. A Committee will see that this is carried out. : Art. 72. The REv. Hemkesis reappoited to the Syodical Committee. The Rev. Kuiper retires from this Committee the followig year. Art. 73. To improve the paymets for the subscriptio of the "WAchter", the ames of those who have paid their subsoriptios will be published i the paper mothly. Page 28., This accout shall also be kept i the Customer's Book. Art. 74. The Cogregatio of Beaverdam asks the Syod if it may borrow the sum of $ from ay Church fud with good security ad iterest, for a period of two or three years. A1ledafe requests the loa of $ with the same terms as those of Beaverdam. This is to be us~ for the buildig of a parsoage. These matters are referred to the Treasurer, sice Syod caot take up such matters. Art. 75. The Rev.'Noordewier asks: Sice the Church Visitors i Classis Hudso have used the same rule~ as those uaed i the Netherlads, would it ot be a good pla to put those same rules ito" practice here i our Churches? The Syodioal Committee is madated to review these rules, ad if they ca be approved, they are to be recommeded to the various Classes. Butthei'e are some which are ot applicable such as the oe o"klopschole". Note: The word "Klopschple"is difficult whe it comes to a traslatio of the word. Permit this explaatio I Nus would go about the homes i a village or tow ad kock o the doors ad ask the parets if the childre might come to the Nueries for study, traiig ad hadwork, i this maer, o doubt, attemptig to wi them over to the Roma Catholic faith. --Traslator. Art. 76. The ext sessio of the Syod will be held i Grad RApids O the secod Wed. i Jue, 1886, (D.V.) with the same represetatio as at preset. But should extra-ordiary circumstaces ecessitate a Sessio durig the iterim; the Syodical Committee i cojuctio with the Curators, will have the right to covee the Syod i a special Sessio. The Rev. Greefield closes this sessio with prayer.

14 A eveig Sessio, the fial oe. Tuesday Jue 17. Art. 78. The Miutes are read ad accepted. 1 r Art. 79. The quotas for the.theoligical School are to be published i the "Wachter" ad that right soo. Art. 80. Sice it might prov',;c!barrassig to have two "):litors of the "WAchter" fuctioig at the same time, the Syod suggests that oe may resig if he so wishes PAge 29 but the Syod leaves this to the brochers to decide. Art. 81. The delegates to the T.R.P.D. Church are th, :tev. E.v.d. Vries ad Elder Beeuwkes It is brot to mid that the brothers of this Church have expresses a desire to joi with our Church. The brothers delegates are to keep this i mid ad give it serious thought, ad to report at. the ext Syod, while ke2pig i touch with the Syodical Committee. Art. 82. The REv. J.B.Vos will express the appreciatio of the S TIod to the Sprig St. Cogrega tio. for actig as hosts to the delegates, for both food ad lodgig ad for the the affectio show them durig the Sessios. Art. 83.l'h'O SYod also expresses its apr'ociatio to the mitor of the "Stadard" for the iter2st show i the publicatio of ehe Acts ad doigs of th~ for the bebefit of its readers,caltho there were ~ome iaccuracies) Art. 84. Sice all the work has bee completed, the Presidet ow addresses the Assembly. The delegates eed ot look for a leared discourse, my Brothers, rather just a word from the heart. I have thaked the brothers for the hoor bestmwed upo me whe I udertook.this task, but I paid dearly for this, ad I ask to be forgive for the may failigs. Itetioally, I have offeded o oe; should ayoe thik so, may I be forgive7 Now you wisll me to cesure those who have left the Sessios before it adjoured. This is most difficujt as I feel guilty for my shortcomigs also. Let the deliquets ask for forgiveess."'let Him make right <{hat is wrog acid let him make each oe to uderstad that he must' carry out his missio i a proper way. The Rev. Rietdijk, the Vice Presidet, thaks the Presidet i the ame ol the Syod statig that the Assembly also remembers its failigs, if it has made the task of the Preside.t difficult, ad the Syod thaks the Pr8sidet for his zeal ad log sufferig, ad abov~.is thakful to the Lord who has give him the stregth to carry o. Much ca happe to the delegates before the ext sessio opes, may ca be removed from this. existece. The Lord bless you as the y ears advace i all your tasks,r2.y he prolog your days, so that we mciy meet agai. Thus the Lord be with you, with th'? Chuech, with our School ad it'" prof?essors. ad 1-1i th all believers thruout the world. with the best ~shes ad with a prayer the Presidet eds the Sessios with thaksgivig. Si~ed: '!'l).e Revs. Hulst, Rietdijk, Bemkes, Noordewier.

15 Page 30. Supplemet I The Report of the Syodical Committee to the Syod of the H.C.R.Church, Meetig i Grad Rapids, o Jue 11, Beloved Brothers i the Lord: Accordig to a decisio of your hoorable Assembly of 1883, i ret'ard to Eglish services by the Brothers of the True Reformed Protestat Dutch Church i the East, Art. 62, Syod of 1883, which reads as follows: Our Syod of 1883 recalls a poit which it was impossible for them to discuss previously, amely the preachig i our Commuity i the Ohglish laguage. I a more complete review of this matter, it expresses its iterest i your offer, ad the Syod would be glad to see that you,i cojuctio with the Grad Ra8ids Churches, could fulfill this request. Your Committee has this decisio ad it requests this of your Assembly, with letters accompaiig it to those iterested brothers, i the hope that this request ca ow be followed up by you. We however received a reply from the brothers alog this lie, dealig Hspecially with this matter: The Rev~ De Baum was preset at your Sessios i 1882 ad assured you at that time that they w"~re ready to accept the, ivitatio, to preach i Grad Rapids ad its eviros i te Sglish laguage. The it was ot cosidered ecessary to preach i the <:glish,laguage as yet. The Rev. De Baum suggested that by postpoig this, it might becom~ too late to do aythig. Ad ow, i 1883, it is too late. We have sice received a request to preach i orther New York. We are ow laborig there ad a large field has opeed up for us. I additio to this, we caot see how missio work i that viciity ca be accomplish, ed. It would be ecessary for us to sed some oe. Sedig oe of our Cadidates would be out of the questio for so weighty a metter, It would be a task for oe of our miister~ to carry out. Ad we could ot expect them to be abset from their Cogregatios for i more tha itwo weeks. Trasportatio costs to 'Jrad Rapids would b8 $45.00, this is ot excessive.', The aother persowould go, ad aother $ We would be doig this for a year. Noh do I thik that our Miisters would have eacp. of mid, by egagig i a task with so muth ucertaity, leavig their famili8s, ad' ot kowig where to go or what ' to 8xoect The, questio of Music must be cosidered. The sog books which we use at peeset are out, of prit. To Use the Reformed sog book with seve hudred hyms is ot desirabl'e. The Uited Presbyteria Hym Books are mkol<rl to us \ PaI."e 11. ad they are,fuft.hermore,ot authorized by our Classis. Si gi,,, H~llad Psalms is imossible fil]:' our Miisters.. The, alsb, our Bvothers her") do ot cosider preachig 'i your locality as "1issio work by-their Church, because they are ot askp.d to preach i a area where there i o Sva'gelical reachig, or where there are Churches preachig false doctries. Church uio was also desired with us. Ackowledgig each others attestatios, exchagig pulpits ad a ope Commuio, do ot seem to be sufficiet grouds for uio to them. The R"'v. De' Baum desired to atted your Sessios, but illess preveted him from doig so, as We were iformed by the brothers i Paterso. A commuicatio was also received from the Cosistory of South Hollad, o Sept. 5. aother o Nov. 12, 1883, aa still aother o Ja , i which the cosistory r~turs to a Protest- submitted by Classis Hollad earlier - i regard to the matter of the Rev, Fles, the preset miister of the Hollad Christia Reformed Church i Zeelad. The REv. Fles has give this Class is satisfactio, ad i coectio with this it was writte i the ame of the Classis ad set to South gollad, amely that the Rev. Fles, o the the Questio of ESchatology i his published ~estio this as beig cotrary to the Doctries of the Reformed Church. book, retract~ed

16 ".~ The Cogregatio at South Hollad could ot accept this aswer of the Classis,'il ;1I19r~ '" J tha the article which the Rev. had published i the "Wachter~ ad it had requested 'the' 'j Syodical CommitteR repeatedly to brig this matter to th~ floor of the Syod. We ote that Classis Illiois has submitted tha same r~auest, so ow this mabter will aturally come up for discussio. The Cosistory of our Coe;regatio at Rotterdam, submitted a letter dated December 22 with a request for th8 $200.0(, which hild bee Dromised to Oostfrieslad, ad which the latter is ot usiq. The r;ommitte',o; had stat"d to Oostfrieslad to make o arragemets for this amout, but it «rote to Rotterdam to bri,' its reauf'st to the Syod. The R"'v. J. Stadt makes the sara rce"uest i th~ ame of the Cosistory of Rotterdam ad he has r8cei ved the sam" reply. HOMS iussions The attempts by the ewly formed Missio Committee to acouire a Home Missioary pastor, have up to this :time ot had the desir,od results. After the Rev. P. Schut declied,the Rev. P. Ekster was called. He also decli"d ad the Rev. Kuiper «as called, ad we were agai disappoited. The Rev. Greve had just left Passaic for Ciciati, so he was 'uavailable" ad sicethedesigatad studets could ot yet receive calls, the questio arose, i-jhat ''o«? Shall we make a att"!"1pt i the Netherlads or remai here ad thus cotiue our;attempts? No suitable solutio to this questio was the reaso for lettig the matter rest. The questio to ask at th" ext Syod was, "Ttlhat ow?" L~tters from Ackley, Nov. 19, Dec. i2, 1883, ad Ja. 11, 1884, were read cotaiig a cotiual protest coc',rig the acts of the Cosistory th"rf', ad a desire to have the whole matter revi.,w"d by the SYOlod. These were all submitted to the Syod i cojuctio with the Curators. ihese brothers judged that a commuicatio should be directed to the sigers of the letters, that i case they could ot l"t the matter rest, ad a solutio was foud by lettig.the Syod review the matter, the it should be brot before'the Syod. All the letters are here Hith mo' as wdl!is the orotests. The corresodece with sister Churches has bee'maitaied. Ho«ever,w", have had o offic-' ial reply has bee received from ay of these. ;,ith \ prayer that the beig coutccoace of our Lord may shie dow!"] o our Assembly, i all its discussios ad all its decisios, we are your brothers The Committe, W. H. Frieli,,, R.T.Kuiper Jauary,.'J. Hemkas SUPPL '!MSNT II This is the rpeort o'f the Auditi,;; committee ad the statemets of the various fuds t.;hich it has audited. It is of o iterest i the traslatio. A.B.L. This eds the Acts of This has o idex. A idex of!ill the Acts is to b8 foud i.lihe Library. A.B.L. i