From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 08:22:17 -0400 (EDT) NR #1996-102 Two More Christian Reformed Churches Secede In two unconnected votes, Bethany CRC in the Chicago suburb of South Holland, Illinois, and Franklin Lakes CRC in New Jersey have both seceded from the denomination. In Bethany South Holland, only 14 of over a hundred votes cast indicated a desire to remain in the Christian Reformed denomination, and a subsequent vote to retain the council members as officers of the new independent church gathered only five negative votes. In Franklin Lakes, the vote to secede was nearly unanimous. Both votes cited the CRC's decision to ordain women to all offices of the church. NR #1996-102: For Immediate Release Two More Christian Reformed Churches Secede by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service (September 23, 1996) URNS - Synod 1996's overwhelming vote not to overturn the 1995 decision allowing each Christian Reformed classis to decide whether to ordain women has resulted in two churches overwhelmingly voting to secede from the synod. In two unconnected votes, Bethany CRC in the Chicago suburb of South Holland, Illinois, and Franklin Lakes CRC in New Jersey have both seceded from the denomination. In Bethany South Holland, only 14 of over a hundred votes cast indicated a desire to remain in the Christian Reformed denomination, and a subsequent vote to retain the council members as officers of the new independent church gathered only five negative votes. In Franklin Lakes, the vote to secede was nearly unanimous. "The primary concern was the decision about women in office and synod having made a second decision affirming the first by such an overwhelming vote," said Rev. Daniel Bratt, who has served the 57-member Franklin Lakes CRC for the last thirteen years. "We took that as an indicator not only of the particular issue but also that the authority of Scripture is being eroded in the practices of the church. This was a trigger issue for us." Bratt said the near-unanimous September 11 congregational vote followed his earlier announcement to the church that he could not remain a minister in the CRC following its decision on women in office. "Once synod made its decision I indicated to the congregation my position that I could not continue as a pastor in the CRC. It was my decision first, and I did not know at that point whether it would be supported by the congregation or not," said Bratt. "I asked the council to consider that and indicate to me whether I should stay or leave. When it came to the council's consideration they unanimously decided to leave." Franklin Lakes will attend the November 7-8 Interclassical Conference in South Holland as observers, but for now will not be seeking formal ties with another denomination and instead emphasizing its local contacts with Pompton Plains Reformed Bible Church and local conservative CRC congregations in New Jersey such as Preakness CRC in Wayne and Newton CRC. The church's decision surprised some observers in classis who knew that the church was conservative but had not expected it to secede. "Maybe people misread us because we've been quieter and busy about our own work," said Bratt. According to Bratt, the church plans to continue concentrating on local evangelism in an upscale and heavily Catholic community. "I think it's been God over the years that has been preparing the congregation for growth and evangelism; there is an eagerness and hope to be more evangelistic," said Bratt, who noted that he has applied his experience as a former Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship staff worker to local evangelism and campus work. For Franklin Lakes, neighborhood evangelism means some unusual challenges. "The area where we live is one of the higher class and higher cost areas of this whole area, one of the few towns where the homes that are built are very expensive, half a million and up," said Bratt. "The church was established here before the area became that type of an area and it has developed into that in the last 20 to 30 years." The other seceding church, Bethany South Holland, shares a similar vote margin but not much else. While Franklin Lakes is a small church seeking to minister to a community characterized by escalating property costs and has seen some growth in recent years, Bethany South Holland is the second-oldest of five Christian Reformed congregations in a Chicago suburb that was once heavily Dutch and is now facing racial and demographic changes. At 221 members, Bethany CRC is the smallest of the four organized Christian Reformed churches in South Holland, has a large percentage of elderly members, and has lost almost half of its membership in a fairly steady pattern of decline over the last decade. The church will be making its move into independence from the CRC synod without its pastor, Rev. Garrett Stoutmeyer, who has served the church since 1993. When the church voted to secede in July, Stoutmeyer was less than six months from retirement and risked losing his insurance coverage for serious medical difficulties in his family. According to Stoutmeyer, who declined to comment on the record, he has already transferred his ministerial credentials to one of his former churches, Elmhurst CRC in Classis Northern Illinois, and will be retiring at the end of the year. The church council's spokesperson also declined comment on the record about the church's reasons for secession or future plans. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1996-019: Christian Reformed Decline Reaches 9.2% of Denomination; Fourth Consecutive Year of Decline Costs CRC Over 24,600 Members, Drops Denomination Back to 1979 Levels #1996-076: CRC Synod Rejects 25 Overtures and Communications Calling for End to Classical Option on Ordination of Women Contact List: Rev. Daniel L. Bratt, Pastor, Franklin Lakes Christian Reformed Church 946 Old Mill Rd., Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 O: (616) 875-7561 * H: (616) 875-7561 Rev. LeRoy Christoffels, Pastor, Preakness (NJ) Christian Reformed Church 490 Valley Rd., Wayne, NJ 07470 O: (201) 628-1313 * H: (201) 694-1516 Rev. Casey Freswick, Pastor, Newton Christian Reformed Church 47 Condit St., Newton, NJ 07860 O: (201) 383-9635 * H: (201) 383-2263 * E-Mail: cfres@nac.net Rev. Richard J. Kuiken, Pastor, Pompton Plains Reformed Bible Church 415 Boulevard, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444 O: (201) 835-4784 * H: (201) 835-5602 Rev. Garrett Stoutmeyer, Pastor, Bethany Christian Reformed Church 319 E. 161st. Place, South Holland, IL 60473 O: (708) 333-1377 * H: (708) 333-1012 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-102.txt .