From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 08:18:24 -0400 (EDT) NR #1996-100 Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church Ordains Denomination's Second Woman Minister In ordaining the 26-year-old Mary Antonides as its pastor, Eastern Avenue CRC selected a candidate who will be at once its youngest pastor and the first female pastor in its 117-year history. The September 29 event brought out so many newspaper and television reporters that the church had to assign a cloak room with a view of the sanctuary for the photographers and camera crews to set up their equipment. In addition to Antonides, guests as the ceremony included the recently-ordained Rev. Ruth Hofman of First Toronto CRC and Mary-Lee Bouma, who was just denied ordination by Classis Northern Michigan. Rev. Menzo Dornbush, the CRC's oldest living minister, assisted in the ceremony and Rep. Vernon Ehlers flew in from Washington for the event. NR #1996-100: For Immediate Release Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church Ordains Denomination's Second Woman Minister by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (September 30, 1996) URNS - After presenting its newly-ordained pastor with a black Geneva gown, pastoral stole, a Bible, hymnal, and communion ware, Eastern Avenue CRC had to hunt for a member with keys to the church belfry to ring the rarely-used church bells in celebration of the event. In ordaining the 26-year-old 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 event brought out so many newspaper and television reporters that the church had to assign a cloak room with a view of the sanctuary for the photographers and camera crews to set up their equipment. In addition to Antonides, guests as the ceremony included the recently-ordained Rev. Ruth Hofman of First Toronto CRC and Mary-Lee Bouma, who was just denied ordination by Classis Northern Michigan. Rev. Menzo Dornbush, the CRC's oldest living minister, assisted in the ceremony and Rep. Vernon Ehlers flew in from Washington for the event. 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. "We have for a long time believed that God calls us, women and men, to equal service in his church," said former Eastern Avenue council president Elder Karen Helder during the ordination ceremony. "Many who we love have left as they found decisions not being made quickly enough, or being made too quickly." 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. For now, however, Antonides said she plans to concentrate on local and community ministry. "My cheeks hurt from smiling, my arms hurt from hugging, but it's a good hurt," said Antonides. "It is my prayer and hope that this will grow and grow throughout the entire Christian Reformed Church." 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 #1994-038: 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 #1995-090: 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 #1996-076: 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 #1996-087: Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church Issues Unanimous Call to Mary Antonides #1996-096: Hofman Ordained as First Female Christian Woman Minister Contact List: Rev. 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 Miss Mary-Lee Bouma, Expounder, Trinity Christian Reformed Church 211 W. Broomfield, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858 O: (517) 772-0664 Rev. Menzo Dornbush 2121 Raybrook SE #A267, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 H: (616) 942-1163 Rep. Vernon Ehlers, U.S. House of Representatives 1848 Morningside Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506 O: (616) 451-8383 Elder Karen Helder c/o Eastern Ave. CRC, 506 Eastern Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506 O: (616) 454-4888 Rev. Ruth Hofman, Pastor, First Christian Reformed Church 63-67 Taunton Rd., Toronto, ON M4S 2P2 O: (416) 481-4912 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-100.txt .