NR #1996-087 Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church Issues Unanimous Call to Mary Antonides Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church scored two firsts on June 23, prompting the congregation to celebrate by ringing its church bells. By its unanimous vote of 107 to zero to call Mary Antonides as its senior pastor, the church selected a candidate who will be at once its youngest pastor and the first female pastor in its 117-year history. The 26-year-old Antonides will fill a pulpit long-known for its history-making preachers. Her predecessors include Rev. Herman Hoeksema, whose 1925 deposition by Classis Grand Rapids East led to the formation of the Protestant Reformed Churches, and Rev. Johannes Groen, whose advocacy of women's suffrage in civil elections led to him being shot in an unsuccessful attempt on his life by a angry parishioner. In more recent years, Eastern Avenue CRC has been known less for depositions and shootings and more for its advocacy of women in office. Frequently embroiled in controversy on the synodical level, the church has been a leading force on the classical level and in denominational leadership. NR #1996-087: For Immediate Release Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church Issues Unanimous Call to Mary Antonides by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (July 19, 1996) URNS - Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church scored two firsts on June 23, prompting the congregation to celebrate by ringing its church bells. By its unanimous vote of 107 to zero to call Mary Antonides as its pastor, the church selected a candidate who will be at once its youngest pastor and the first female pastor in its 117-year history. The 26-year-old Antonides will fill a pulpit long-known for its history-making preachers. Her predecessors include Rev. Herman Hoeksema, whose 1925 deposition by Classis Grand Rapids East led to the formation of the Protestant Reformed Churches, and Rev. Johannes Groen, whose advocacy of women's suffrage in civil elections led to him being shot in an unsuccessful attempt on his life by a angry parishioner. In more recent years, Eastern Avenue CRC has been known less for depositions and shootings and more for its advocacy of women in office. Frequently embroiled in controversy on the synodical level, the church has been a leading force on the classical level and in denominational leadership. Its membership includes a number of the leading professors at Calvin College and Calvin Seminary, as well as numerous denominational officials. That will be a mixed blessing to Antonides, who has served the church as an "expounder" since 1995 and succeeds nine-year veteran pastor Rev. Rolf Bouma, now leaving for doctoral studies at Boston University. "I think I'm realizing the weight of the responsibility at this point but the church has been very supportive," said Antonides. "I feel I need to get older, smarter, and wiser," said Antonides. "I'm very much aware of my youth and I will be relying heavily on my elders." Among the elders Antonides will seek rely upon are Calvin Seminary professors Drs. John Cooper and Melvin Hugen, CRC Publications music and liturgy editor Dr. Emily Brink, and CRC Publications marketing director Gary Mulder. Hugen is also one of Antonides' predecessors in the Eastern Avenue pulpit, hving pastored the church from 1962 to 1967. Eastern Avenue retains a largely white and middle-class congregation from the days when its neighborhood was mostly Dutch and the church was one of the largest in the denomination. Antonides said one of her goals was to reach out to what is now a largely black inner-city community. The redefinition of ministry may mean more changes for Antonides and the church, which has had a dual-pastor arrangement for many years. Currently in the midst of congregational master planning and a guided review of its ministry, Antonides received a one-year term call at the end of which the church will re-evaluate all of its staff needs, including the role of its ordained pastoral staff. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1993-006: Grand Rapids East Unanimously Rejects Call for End to Women Elders; Nixes Ban on Women Delegates to Classis; Classis Submits Overture for 1993 Women Elder Ratification; Conservatives Cry "Foul," Warn of More Possible Secessions; Classis Says No to Regulating which Women May "Expound" from Grand Rapids East Pulpits #1993-028: Christian Reformed Synod Votes Down Advisory Committee Majority, Approves Women Elders and Ministers; Afternoon and Evening Sessions Reject Call to Take Action Against Calling God "She," Send Children at the Lord's Table Question Back to Study Committee #1994-036: Two Hundred Women Take Over Synod Floor in Protest Against Christian Reformed Denial of Women's Ordination; Synod Votes to "Urge" Churches Not to Ordain Women Elders, Pastors #1994-037: Of Garages, Houses, and Women: Synod Keeps "Expounders" and Appoints Committee to Decide What "Expounding" Means; Synod Cites Legal Concerns in Modifying Abuse Committee Report; "Reaffirmation" of Past Decisions on Inerrancy, Creation, Homosexuality Declared Unnecessary by Synod #1994-038: Classis Grand Rapids East Votes "In Principle" to Permit Churches to Disobey CRC Synod's Ban on Women Elders #1994-050: Classis Grand Rapids East "Refines" July Decision to Disobey Christian Reformed Synodical Ban on Women Elders #1995-070: Christian Reformed Classes Permitted to Declare Church Order Ban on Women's Ordination "Inoperative"; Synod Decision Given Immediate Effect without Two-Year Ratification Process #1995-074: Synod Rejects Two Efforts to Require 1996 Ratification of Women in Office Decision #1995-075: Synod Permits Classes to Declare Second Church Order Article "Inoperative"; Women May Now "Expound" or "Exhort" #1995-090: Grand Rapids East Becomes First Christian Reformed Classis to Seat Women Elders #1995-106C: Interclassical Conference Urges Christian Reformed Synod to Lead Denomination in Repentance; Calls for Formation of "Covenant Union" of CRC Conservatives #1996-027: Total of Christian Reformed Classes Allowing Women's Ordination Reaches Thirteen #1996-028: List of Classis Decisions on Women in Office #1996-034: Lake Erie Overture Engine Shifts Into Overdrive #1996-036: Lake Erie Asks Synod to Create Committee to Receive Women in Office Overtures and Communications #1996-050: Classis Quinte Kills Compromise Proposal on Women in Office #1996-076: CRC Synod Rejects 25 Overtures and Communications Calling for End to Classical Option on Ordination of Women #1996-080: Record of Previous Synodical Votes on Women in Office #1996-085: Classis Toronto Examines Ruth Hofman for Ordination as First Female Christian Reformed Minister of the Word Contact List: Mrs. Mary Antonides, Pastor, Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church 2514 Normandy Dr. SE, Apt. 210-C, Grand Rapids, MI 49506 O: (616) 454-4888 * H: (616) 248-8357 Dr. Emily Brink, Music and Liturgy Editor, CRC Publications 2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560 O: (616) 246-0819 * FAX: (616) 246-0834 Dr. John W. Cooper, Professor of Philosophical Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary 3233 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4387 O: (616) 957-6038 * H: (616) 454-6821 * FAX: (616) 957-8621 Dr. Melvin D. Hugen, Professor of Pastoral Care, Calvin Theological Seminary 3233 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4387 O: (616) 957-6025 * H: (616) 942-0001 * FAX: (616) 957-8621 Mr. Gary Mulder, Executive Director, CRC Publications 2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560 O: (616) 246-0819 * FAX: (616) 246-0834 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-087.txt .