FB2171 Clarion v48n3 final · Title: FB2171 Clarion v48n3 final Created Date: 20050603073717

ClarionTHE CANADIAN REFORMED MAGAZINE

VOLUME 48, NO. 3 FEBRUARY 5, 1999

Teaching to Learn –Learning to Teach

At this time of the year, our school boards are busy mak-ing sure that there are teachers to man the classrooms in thenext school year. It can be a time of expectation as to who thenew teachers will be or a time of dread because of expectedshortage of staff who are difficult to replace.

As Boards already now look ahead to planning for a newschool year, we do well to ask ourselves about the future ofour schools.

Many pressuresThere are many pressures that can spell trouble for our

schools. The most obvious one is financial. It is no small thingfor our relatively small Canadian Reformed community to bringup the millions of dollars needed to sustain an education sys-tem apart from the public system in our nation. Although fi-nancial help from tax revenue is on the increase in the west-ern provinces, there is as yet no sign of any monetary relief inOntario (or for that matter in the U.S.A.). We can be very thank-ful to the Lord our God that He gives material prosperity andmoves the hearts of many to pay for this education.

Closely related to the financial pressures is the sad realitythat in far too many cases, the education of the children is be-ing seen solely as the responsibility of the parents of thesechildren and not of the faith community to which we belongtogether. If a trend develops that the schools become user-payschools then humanly speaking the future of our schools doesnot look bright because the costs will become unbearable.We need to persevere in putting our collective resources to-gether if we are going to continue to enjoy schools whereteaching is done in harmony with our Reformed confessions.

This brings us to another problem. How do we ensure thatthe schools indeed remain faithful to the Reformed confes-sions and that the teaching is done in harmony with the faithpresuppositions that are to govern our life? The answer is sim-ple and difficult at the same time. We need Reformed teach-ers. And therein may lie the greatest challenge for the futureviability and existence of our schools as Reformed schools.

Needed – Reformed teachersWhat is a Reformed teacher? A Reformed teacher is some-

one who in teaching his or her courses is able to show the dis-tinctiveness of the Reformed faith and how Biblical truth im-pacts on all the areas he or she is teaching. In other words, itis someone who is able to integrate one’s confession withhis or her profession. The key word here is “integrate.” A Re-formed teacher is not just any well-meaning communicantmember of the church who also happens to like teaching. Thedanger is very real that unless one has been trained to thinkthrough all the subject matter from a consistently Reformedperspective, the confession of the heart can easily becomeseparated from the nitty-gritty of life in the classroom.

If our schools are going to have a future as schools thatwill be confessionally faithful, it is imperative that only thevery best be hired today for the tremendous task given tothem. Believing parents cannot afford to have their Re-formed commitment jeopardized in any way by those train-ing their children during school hours.

Of course, all this is nothing new. There is however the re-ality of pressures to fill the classrooms, even if the teacher tobe hired does not have all the qualifications that the Board mayideally wish to see or may even have decided upon – such asthe need to have training at Covenant Canadian ReformedTeachers’ College before coming into the classroom. Is this asmall matter? Is the Teachers’ College really necessary?

The Teachers’ CollegeDo we really need this institution? It may be helpful to

mention the two basic considerations that justified the estab-lishment of the Teachers’ College.1 Firstly, new governmentregulations required teachers to get a university educationand secondly, there were fewer and fewer teachers comingfrom Reformed teacher training centres in the Netherlands.The first factor is important for us now. Over twenty years agoand also now, the majority of those who prepared themselvesfor a teaching career in our schools have gone to a secularuniversity. That was and still is reality. It was correctly seenthat a secular university is far from an ideal training groundfor becoming a Reformed teacher. How can teacher trainingwhich takes place in an environment where God’s normsare routinely rejected be good for the future of Reformed ed-ucation? Since such a university education does not takeinto account the Scriptures God revealed to us, how can thatbe a preparation for becoming a Reformed teacher?

It was for this reason that when the Teachers’ College wasestablished “the school boards . . . almost unanimously andwholeheartedly supported this new venture.”2 But, is thatstill the case today?

The current situation and some optionsAt present there is no country-wide agreement among

school boards that only those who have attended a program atthe Teachers’ College should be hired. Rather, the situationseems to be that if the market is tight and a prospective can-didate fresh from a secular university comes along, he isquickly offered a position regardless whether he has anyspecifically Reformed credentials or not and regardless ofwhether he is willing to achieve a Diploma of Reformed Edu-cation in the foreseeable future, assuming he is asked. This isnot a good situation. As long as school boards are content, orforced, to hire whomever comes their way from secular uni-versities, the future Reformed character of our schools must re-main dubious. Eventually the effects of the secular training willstart to dominate the classrooms of our children. It is only amatter of time. Although we cannot control the future, should

CLARION, FEBRUARY 5, 199950

EDITORIAL

By C. Van Dam

The future of Canadian Reformed Schools

we at least not do what is possible to safeguard the Re-formed integrity of our schools?

If it is very difficult in the present situation to maintain orenforce a policy of insisting on Reformed teachers’ training asa requirement for one’s application for a position even to beconsidered, a credible alternative needs to be devised. Atthe very least some sort of a Reformed program should be aprerequisite for a permanent contract, such as the equivalentof a year’s training in key subject areas from the Teachers’College, to be earned either by physically attending classesthere (which might be difficult) or by correspondence coursessupplemented by some sessions at the College itself. This sec-ond option should be attainable from anywhere in Canada. Inthis way, a Diploma of Reformed Education could be earnedin a realistic period of time. Indeed it would be most reason-able to require such a Diploma of all those presently teachingwho lack such background. This cannot but strengthen theReformed character of our schools.

The schools and the churches have been blessed with theReformed training given at the Teacher’s College in Hamilton.Times are changing and our Teachers’ College is reassessinghow it can best meet its responsibilities in today’s challengingcontext. The evaluation and self-examination that is now tak-ing place may very well lead to necessary major changes. Letthese take place after adequate consultation and planning. Butone thing has not changed; namely, the need for a Reformedtraining for teachers so that those to whom have been entrustedGod’s little ones for a good part of each school day can be asfully equipped as possible for their task of instruction.

The need for actionIt is time to be honest with ourselves and ask, do we really

want the Teachers’ College or not? If not, let there be a publicdiscussion on it, but let not this school die a slow and ignobledeath in a forgotten corner of our life together as CanadianReformed community. This institution has been established atconsiderable sacrifice and has rightly earned its place in ourmidst with graduates that testify to the quality work donethere. This College is, to my knowledge, the only Canadiantraining for teachers whose task is specifically based on and cir-cumscribed by the Reformed confessions. We need very goodreasons to do away with such a school which has been atremendous source of blessing in the education of our children.

It is however high time that the value of this work berecognized for what it is. One way is that school boardsacross the country agree to hire only those who have at-tended the Teachers’ College in one form or another or whopromise to earn the Diploma of Reformed Education. Ne-glecting to do so will in all likelihood sound the inevitabledeath knell of the Teachers’ College which presently has nostudents – a situation which exists at least in part becauseno one seriously requires students to attend there.

Furthermore, if we do not insist on hiring only Teachers’College graduates or those who promise to become a grad-uate, our indecision will cast a very long shadow over the fu-ture prosperity of our schools as Reformed institutions. Ourschools will not be worth supporting if they lose their Re-formed character.

What will be the future of our schools? That may verywell depend to a large extent on the decisions that aremade in the next year or so.

1As mentioned in the Information Paper (September 2, 1977) thatwas sent to all school boards, school society members andchurch members.2Information Paper (September 2, 1977).

51CLARION, FEBRUARY 5, 1999

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EDITORIAL COMMITTEE:Editor: C. Van DamManaging Editor: G.Ph. van PoptaLanguage Editor: J.L. van PoptaCoeditors: R. Aasman, J. De Jong, J. Geertsema, N.H. Gootjes, G.Ph. van PoptaADDRESS FOR EDITORIAL MATTERS:CLARION46 Sulphur Springs Road, Ancaster, ON L9G 1L8Fax: (905) 304-4951E-Mail: [email protected] FOR ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS: (subscriptions, advertisements, etc.):CLARION, Premier Printing Ltd.One Beghin AvenueWinnipeg, MB, Canada R2J 3X5Phone: (204) 663-9000 Fax: (204) 663-9202Email: [email protected]

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IN THIS ISSUE

Editorial – The future of Canadian Reformed Schools— C. Van Dam ..............................................................50

Treasures, New and Old – Marriage, a covenant of friendship — J.L. van Popta ........................................52

Nurture & Instruction – Teaching to Learn – Learning to Teach — T.M.P. Vanderven ......................53

Synod Fergus 1998 and the Fencing of the Lord’s Table — J. Geertsema ..................55

Reader’s Forum – Synod’s Decision – A bridge too far? — Wayne Pleiter ..............................58

Ray of Sunshine — Mrs. R. Ravensbergen ........................60

NEWS from MERF-Canada — J. Mulder, Mrs. J. Van Dam ........................................61

Observation Deck — J. VanRietschoten............................63

Letters to the Editor ..........................................................64

Out Little Magazine — Aunt Betty ....................................64

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A friend loves at all times. Marriageis a covenant. As with every covenant, itcontains two parts: a promise and an ob-ligation. Marriage is rooted in covenantkeeping. It is founded on undying loyalty.It is based on faithfulness. It is firmly es-tablished on friendship. Husbands andwives must consider marriage to be acovenant. Young people who are goingsteady, who are dating, must understandand know that marriage is a covenant.

When we marry, we promise to befriends for life – never forsaking, forricher or poorer, in good days and bad,for better or worse, until death do uspart. In marriage, we promise covenantloyalty. We promise constancy to death.In marriage, we make that ultimatecovenant between two people. Lives arebound up with each other. People sharelives with each other. A husband andwife must be friends who love at alltimes. The Apostle Paul writes in Eph-esians 5 that husbands must love theirwives even as Christ loved the church.

Betrayal in marriage is then evenmore terrible than the betrayal of sim-

ple friendship. Betrayal of friendship isawful. Betrayal of marriage covenant,appalling. The Lord God compares hiscovenant relationship with his peopleto a marriage covenant. Think of Jere-miah 3:6 where the Lord accuses Israelof marital unfaithfulness. In the samechapter, in verse 14, He calls for returnto faithfulness. Why? “Because I amyour husband,” the Lord says. In thischapter, the Lord tells his people that Hedivorces them for their unfaithfulness,but yet He calls them back. He will al-ways take them back for He is ever faith-ful even when they are unfaithful.

In Ecclesiastes, the preacher urgesthe husband to enjoy life with his wife.In Proverbs, we hear the wise man tellthe husband to rejoice in the wife of hisyouth. May you ever be captivated byher love. Why embrace the bosom ofanother man’s wife? For a man’s waysare in full view of the Lord. If husbandsbreak faith with their wives, if they breakcovenant, the Lord knows. He will callto account, if not in this life then after.

Betrayal of marriage covenant is in fullview of the Lord.

Paul says that husbands and wivesare to reflect the relationship that Christhas with his church. He gave himself upfor her. He was willing to die for her. Ahusband must be willing to die for hiswife. He must be willing to lay down hislife for his wife. That does not onlymean that if she were in danger ofdrowning, that a husband should riskhis life to save her; no, it means self-de-nial. He must not only be willing, butas well, engage in true self-denial. Hemust set aside his own needs, wants,hopes, demands, personality, his wholelife, if it interferes with his relationshipwith his wife. And wives are to lovetheir husbands, adorned with graceand good works.

It is not the example of husband andwife which illustrates the relationship ofChrist and his church, but rather theopposite is true. It is the way in whichour Saviour acted with respect to thechurch, his people, that is the modelfor husbands. As Christ lay down his lifefor his church so husbands are to lovetheir wives. As the church is to love herSaviour, with total devotion, commit-ment and honour, so a wife is to loveher husband.

That means that young people too,are to understand the covenant characterof dating and courting. Dating and go-ing steady and becoming engaged ispart of the road; it is preparation for en-tering into covenant. It is preparation forlife long friendship. It is the trainingground for loyalty. It is an apprenticeshipfor faithfulness. It is the practice arena forgirls to love their boyfriends. It is the re-hearsal for self-denial. And that meansalso with respect to sexuality. Self-de-nial is the order of the day for young menif they are to live in covenant fidelity.

Husbands love your wives. Wiveslove your husbands. Be friends wholove at all times. Live lives of self-de-nial. Then your marriage will be estab-lished on holy ground.

52 CLARION, FEBRUARY 5, 1999

TREASURES, NEW AND OLDMATTHEW 13:52

By J.L. van Popta Marriage, a covenant of friendship

A friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17)Husbands, love your wives (Ephesians 5:25)

What’s inside?The past couple of issues have seen us deal with the topic of education. This one

rounds things up with another article by Mr. T. Vanderven and an editorial by Dr.C. Van Dam.

The decisions of General Synod Fergus, 1998, continue to generate discussion.Especially the decision on our relationship to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church(OPC) has made a number of writers submit different views. In this and the next is-sue, we hope to round things up so far as articles about this Synod decision go. Inthis issue you will find articles by Prof. J. Geertsema and Mr. W. Pleiter (plus a cou-ple of letters on this point). Further, I will direct you to the editor’s note above Prof.Geertsema’s article.

From Mrs. Ravensbergen, we receive a “Ray of Sunshine.” May it encourageall, especially our special-needs brothers and sisters and those who care for them.

Rev. VanRietschoten introduces us to the Reformed Presbyterian Church inNorth America, a church that has recently joined the International Conference of Re-formed Churches.

Mrs. J. Van Dam and the Rev. J. Mulder update us on the recent work of the Mid-dle East Reformed Fellowship (MERF). The spread of the gospel and the Reformedfaith continues. The Reformed churches in South Sudan continue to see tremendousnumerical growth. Our brothers and sisters there live in difficult and dangerous cir-cumstances because of war and oppression by the Muslim government. It is goodto learn more about the work God is doing in Sudan as well as other places inAfrica and the Middle East. May God bless richly the work of MERF. GvP


Reformed education as partnershipReformed schools try to fulfil a very

important and far-reaching mandate:creating a learning environment whichin all its aspects is God-centred. Fortu-nately, neither the schools nor the fam-ilies they serve are left to fulfil thismandate on their own. Reformed edu-cation is a partnership between homeand school, in which the school seeksto assist the parents with their parentalmandate. The church has a stronglyedifying and encouraging role as well,in teaching and upholding what theScriptures say about the education ofthe children of the church.

Within this partnership, we do notonly have to reckon with the home,church, and school as agents of educa-tion, but also with the government. Itdoes play an important role in Reformededucation as well. As Christian parentswe have never rejected the role of thegovernment in the education of our chil-dren, but neither have we ever relin-quished God-given parental responsibil-ities. Unfortunately, the government(and society in general) appears to be-lieve that it is the main stakeholder ineducation. Therefore Christian parentsfind themselves often in conflict with thedemands of their government. For onething, we certainly do not share its hu-manistic, horizontal aims of education.

Education goalsReformed education – any educa-

tion for that matter – is always goal-driven; the question why we teach andlearn is indeed a first question. In mycourses at Covenant College I havesingled out Waterink’s definition of ed-ucation as a most useful general state-ment (see Box 1). It applies to all of ed-ucation, not just schooling alone. Thetasks of each of the agents of Reformededucation must be distinguished, yetunderstood as fully complementary inorder for each to be able to work effec-tively in achieving this education goal.

Merely repeating this statement at ap-propriate moments is not sufficient; itis much more than a ceremonial “flag,”hauled out on official occasions. Thisgoal statement with all (!) its implica-tions must be internalized by all edu-cators – parents as well as teachers. Inour Reformed schools it must becomethe “life and blood” of our teachers sothat it drives all that they do and affectsall their daily teaching decisions.

Therefore, with the input of eachfaculty member, every school mustwork to develop its own statement ofaims or goals, describing what educa-tion it seeks to offer its students. Thesegoal statements should be regularly re-viewed, even adapted or changedwhen necessary, so that they do notbecome mere “lofty statements.” Eachteacher has the challenge to translatethese broad goals into the objectives ofher every day lessons. Throughout allthis, it is important that the teachers to-gether agree on what is of real impor-tance in the curriculum, and work to-wards a common goal _ also within theschool Reformed education must beunderstood as a true partnership (ratherthan each teacher doing his own“thing” behind the usually closed doorof his classroom).

Reformed teacher trainingSince this is what is expected of the

teachers in our Reformed schools, it isnot surprising that from the momentthat Canadian Reformed schools werefirst established, it was recognized thatthe training of teachers should receivehigh priority. After all, it is within the

classroom (not just in documents andhandbooks), under the guidance ofteachers committed to the biblical prin-ciples of education (not just by com-mittee decisions or board instructions)that Reformed education comes alive.Just as believing parents are the key totruly scriptural, Reformed education inthe home, so competent, Reformedteachers are the key to truly scriptural,Reformed schooling.

At Covenant College, we haveworked at identifying characteristics ofsuch a Reformed teacher. With the helpof the college’s Academic AdvisoryCommittee, a profile of the Reformedteacher has been developed, describingwhat we believe are some of thoseunique characteristics. I quote here apart of the introduction to this profileto show the sets of major characteristicsthat we are now working with.

A teacher education program seeksto provide its candidates with a widerange of experiences which can begrouped under the headings: self,instruction, and professional.

Self. We do not think of a teacher asprimarily someone who administers acertain academic program to a groupof students. Such a view would beneither biblically nor professionallysound. The Bible highlights the im-portance of genuine interaction be-tween a teacher who knows and hasexperienced life and gained wisdomas a result, and those who are yet atthe (very) beginning of life’s experi-ences. It is interesting that this viewis generally accepted even by those

NURTURE & INSTRUCTION

By T.M.P. Vanderven

Teaching to Learn – Learning to Teach

BOX 1Education is the forming of man into an independent personality serving

God according to his Word, able and willing to employ all his God-given tal-ents to the honour of God and for the well-being of his fellow-creatures, inevery area of life in which man is placed by God (J. Waterink, Basic Conceptsin Christian Pedagogy, 1954).


who do not accept God’s Word: teachers are charged topass on the values and ideals of society to their students.Therefore the person of the teacher is an essential elementin his professional make-up. He embodies in word andactions the educational ideal he stands for.

Instruction. Sound competence in a wide range of in-structional skills is the hallmark of a good teacher. Thiswill enable him to reach out to his students with optimumeffectiveness. Although there may not be a one-to-onerelationship between teaching and learning, the quality ofthe teacher’s acts are in a large part responsible for qual-ity learning.

Professional. A teacher is not an island unto himself. Co-operation among staff members of a school is essential foreffective education throughout a student’s schooling. Fur-ther, a Reformed school is a parental school whichprides itself on the crucial contact of home and school.A Reformed teacher serves the community of the schooland the larger community of the school’s constituency.

Words that echo The WORDTeaching is much more than the use of good tech-

niques, and that applies in even greater measure to thework of the Christian teacher. Waterink points out that ourexploration of the world and its phenomena in essence is amatter of interpretation and explanation.

. . . the physical phenomena which I observe do not speakby themselves of God. There is no method which of itselfcan provide me with that revelation. No eye has seen

and no ear has heard (that is, in this visible and audibleworld) what God has prepared . . . The child cannotlearn of this by means of observation and exploration.Such revelation can per definition only be perceived bythe child via the spoken word which echoes THE WORD(Waterink, Grondslagen der didactiek, 1962).

Waterink brings us back to Psalm 78 (the motto of the Col-lege): telling the coming generation. Reformed teachers arestory tellers, telling the coming generations about the glori-ous deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders Hehas wrought . . . in Mathematics, Science, Geography, His-tory, in novels and poems and music, in Art and PhysicalEducation – all these subjects are windows on God’s worldthrough which God’s revelation may shine so that faith is ex-panded and strengthened.

This high view of teaching underscores at least three im-portant points. First, as Reformed teachers we must alwaysstrive for the highest degree of competence so that we areable to the best of our abilities to help our students learn.

Second, it also means that we must constantly reflect onour work. One of the characteristics of an educated personis self-examination, and it is right here that teachers are re-quired to show that they are, indeed, educated persons.Note, that self-examination should be followed by action toimprove and refine our own work.

Third, we may never be satisfied with what we knownow; we must recognize the necessity to update and in-crease our own knowledge and competence at every op-portunity. In other words, in our work as teachers we mustshow that we are learners, always searching to learn newthings and expand our own personal and professional hori-zon. There is much to learn about education, its processesand its techniques; there is no single correct set of answers toour questions how best to help student Andrew or studentCharlene. There is no fixed recipe for all parents to follow.There are no methods that guarantee instructional successto all teachers. Each set of parents and each group of teach-ers must seek out their own solutions to the challenges whicha Reformed education sets before them as they work with an-other generation of children. That is our individual and col-lective responsibility: as Reformed parents and teachers weare always on the look out for better ways to nurture and in-struct our children, each with their own individual charac-teristics and peculiarities, in the ways of the Lord.

This is a never-ending, but not a disheartening task. It isby the grace of God that He allows fallible and sinfulcovenant members to teach a new generation of covenantchildren. Therefore, I do believe – despite shortcomingsand perhaps dire failings – that we truly have a good thinggoing: Reformed education is a worthy and worthwhile en-terprise since it is a mandate given by God our Father Him-self. That is why it is possible to have Reformed schools,even though financial means may be limited. Reformed ed-ucators may be scripturally optimistic!

God is our refuge and strength, a well proved help in trou-ble (Ps 46); Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place inall generations . . . from everlasting to everlasting, thou artGod (Ps 90).

* * *Please address questions directly to:

Mr. T.M.P. VandervenCovenant College856 Upper James St., Box 20179Hamilton, ON, L9C 7M5e-mail: [email protected]

BOX 2

EYES

Eyes . . .A classroom full of eyesDirected atMe.

Eyes aglow with an eager light,Eyes afire with some bitter spite.Eyes that are dreamy and far away,Eyes that sparkle and are full of play.Eyes overcast with a haze of confusion,Eyes disappointed with a fading illusion.Eyes that wait in great expectation,Eyes that dance with anticipation.

I’s . . .All unique little I’sEntrusted toMe.

Can I be for themWhat I should be?

Commissioned by God –Teach them,Guide them, And help them . . .See?

Miriam den Hollander,Class of 1991.

(now Mrs. J.G. Slaa)


The Discussion Continues . . .It was to be expected that the deci-

sion of Synod Fergus concerning our re-lationship with the Orthodox Presbyter-ian Church (OPC) would generatedebate. Clarion has tried to provide aforum for that discussion by letting thedifferent views be heard. In this issuewe have two more articles on this mat-ter. One by Prof. J. Geertsema and oneby Mr. Wayne Pleiter. Although nor-mally one only has opportunity to writeonce for Reader’s Forum on a giventopic, we have allowed this secondcontribution from Mr. Pleiter becausehe summarizes many of the argumentsfrom the perspective of a delegate atSynod. In the next issue the editor willprovide some closing reflections on thisissue. We will then consider this dis-cussion closed for now and move on toother topics.

The editor

IntroductionIn the 1998 Year-end issue of Clar-

ion, Synod Fergus received quite somecriticism. This criticism focused espe-cially on the manner in which thisSynod placed the fencing of the Lord’stable in its decisions concerning con-tact with other churches. It was sug-gested that these decisions functionedas a “Fourth Mark of the Church” (Rev.J. Visscher, p. 609) and were unre-formed, making our Canadian Re-formed practices and traditions bind-ing for other faithful churches (br. Wm.Van Spronsen, pp. 624-625).

It is not my intention to enter into adebate with the two brothers. I canquite well understand the disappoint-ment that we still have not come to afinal decision regarding our relationshipwith the OPC. This speaks the moresince the previous Synod of Abbotsford1995 expressed the hope that this mat-ter would be brought to a conclusionin 1998. I also do not intend to write a

defense as such of the decisions ofSynod Fergus.

My aim is to make a number of re-marks about the fencing of the Lord’sSupper as such. How are we, as Re-formed people, to look at this matter? Iwant to show some of the Reformedbackground. Another point is that weshould distinguish between practice andprinciple. Practices can differ, but thebiblical principles should be the same,even though we all often fall short inliving up to each normative principle.

The Reformed approach as basedon God’s Word

Let us begin with the historicalbackground of our Form for the Lord’sSupper. Dr. W. van’t Spijker writesabout it in his contribution to the bookBij Brood en Beker1. He tells us thatour Form for the Lord’s Supper (alongwith other Forms) comes from theChurch Order of the Palatinate. ThePalatinate was a region in Germanywhere Frederick the Pious was the rul-

ing prince. He was Reformed and pro-moted the Reformed cause. Under hisauthority a Reformed Church Orderwas put together based on the teachingof Oecolampadius, Bucer, and Calvin,to mention only these. It reflects whatwas seen then as the “order” that shouldbe followed in Reformed church life.

This Church Order speaks firstabout the preaching; it is the central el-ement. Then it presents the Form forBaptism, followed by the HeidelbergCatechism, the summary of the teach-ing of God’s Word for the baptizedyouth of the church, as well as for thosewho seek to join her. After the Heidel-berg Catechism comes the celebrationof the Lord’s Supper. First, this ChurchOrder deals with the preparation for itscelebration, including the public pro-fession of faith. Then follows the Formfor the Lord’s Supper. Under the head-ing “The Admission to the Holy Sup-per,” Van’t Spijker writes (p. 366):

From what was established in theChurch Order of the Palatinate re-garding the preparation for the cele-bration of the Lord’s Supper, it is ev-ident that great caution was takenconcerning the admission. Typi-cally Reformed is the view that theLord’s Supper is not an open table,just open to every one. The right tocelebrate this meal was expresslygranted. But it could also be takenaway. Preceding the Form for theHoly Supper, we find in this ChurchOrder regulations about the admis-sion. The Form is followed by regu-lations about excommunication: thesacraments must be administeredin the manner prescribed by theWord of God; they can only be ad-ministered to those who are enti-tled to receive them. Excluded fromthe sacraments are those who ad-here to an ungodly doctrine or wholive in gross sin and refuse to re-pent from it.

Van’t Spijker calls this granting of theright to celebrate (along with the

Synod Fergus 1998 and the Fencing of the Lord’s Table

By J. Geertsema

. . . the Lord’s Suppershall not be celebrated

in a place where there isno “form” of

congregation. Wherethere are no elders and

deacons, there is notable of the Lord either.

The argument is thatthese office bearers,

together with theministers, have toattend to both the

acceptance and thegovernment of those

who are admitted.

accompanying regulations) “a part ofchurch discipline” (p. 369). He refersto L.D. 30 (Q.A. 82) of the HeidelbergCatechism.

The importance of the local churchand its office bearers

Van’t Spijker continues with point-ing to the important place and functionof the office in the congregation with re-gard to the Lord’s Supper. The officebearers have a leading and supervisingfunction. He mentions the very firstmeeting of the Reformed Churcheswhich laid the foundation for the for-mation of the federation of thesechurches: the Convent of Wezel in1568. In one of its Articles (VI,7), thechurches agreed that “No one shall beadmitted to the Supper of the Lord un-less he has made profession of his faithbeforehand and has submitted himselfto the discipline of the church.” Theprofession of faith includes both thefaith that is believed (the doctrinetaught here in this Christian Church)and the faith with which one believes(the fact that one does believe). This(confessional) membership and thewilling submission to the admonitionand discipline of the Church are stillincluded in the questions asked in theForm for the Public Profession of Faith.

In this context, Van’t Spijker refers tothe rule adopted by the Synod of Dor-drecht of 1574. It says that the Lord’sSupper shall not be celebrated in a place

where there is no “form” of congre-gation. Where there are no eldersand deacons, there is no table of theLord either. The argument is thatthese office bearers, together withthe ministers, have to attend to boththe acceptance and the governmentof those who are admitted. Beingpart of the congregation manifests it-self at the table of the Lord. Comingto the congregation means in fact thesame as: coming to the table. . . .For just there the congregation man-ifests itself: by bread and cup. . . .[And, based on what the Synod of1578 said,] no one is allowed to bereceived into the congregation, ex-cept after examination by the con-sistory. This receiving into the con-gregation takes place in the way ofgranting admission to the Lord’sSupper. . . . One cannot break theone bread, except in the one con-gregation. One cannot bless the onecup, except together as the oneBody of the Lord, which receives its

life from the blood that was pouredout (pp. 370-371).

Let us pay some more attention to thelast sentence: “One cannot bless the onecup, except together as the one Body ofthe Lord.” The question must be askedwhat is the meaning of the phrase “theBody of the Lord.” Many, hearing theterm “Body of the Lord” as metaphor ofthe church, think of the so-called churchuniversal. This church universal is, then,the invisible, world-wide church whichcontains all the (individual) believers.The trouble is that this idea of the uni-versal church as the total number of allthe individual believers together is arather man-made concept. The Scrip-tures do not speak in this way. Such achurch is not a body. Such a church alsodoes not have functioning office bear-ers to whom a believer has to and cansubmit. This church universal has noconsistory that governs it.

The question is: what does the NewTestament mean with the expression“body of the Lord” as characterizationof the church? We find this characteri-zation in Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians12:12-27, Ephesians 1:23, 2:16-22,4:4,12,16, Colossians 1:18, 24, 2:19and 3:15. Paul’s use of this expressionin 1 Corinthians 12 follows after he hasadmonished the congregation inCorinth about their unworthy celebrat-ing of the Lord’s Supper. They were eat-ing and drinking judgment unto them-selves because they defiled the Lord’stable by their sinful way of life. They didnot practice mutual love. It is after thisthat Paul uses the metaphor of the onebody with its many members for thecongregation of Christ to correct thesinful situation. “Body of Christ” is hereclearly the local congregation. The con-text in Romans 12 is similar so thathere, too, the local church is in view. Itmeans the local church with its elders(presbyters).

Even though it might seem that theLetters to the Ephesians and the Colos-sians speak about the church as body ofChrist in a broader sense, also here thisbody is still concrete. It does not meana total, world-wide number of individ-ual believers taken together. For thiswider “Body of Christ” remains a churchto which functioning office bearers aregiven, among whom are local “pastorsand teachers” (Eph 4:11) for the localupbuilding in the faith. In other words,the local aspect has not disappeared.This body, wider than the local body, isto be taken as all the local bodies, thelocal, concrete churches, together. It is

normal that Christ gathers his catholicchurch locally. Therefore, one is mem-ber of the catholic church of the Lordby being and functioning as a memberof a local church.

The consequence of the above isthis: At the table of the Lord we are notdealing with two entities: the Lord andthe individual believer, but with three:the Lord, the (local) church with its of-fice bearers, and the believer. We cansay, on the basis of what we learnedfrom Dr. Van’t Spijker, that this is theReformed and biblical view. It meansthat the celebration of the Lord’s Sup-per is first and most of all a matter ofmembership in the local catholicchurch. I am called to the table of theLord, there where I am a member lo-cally, and have placed myself underoversight and discipline of the officebearers of the local church; therewhere I am together with other mem-bers and am called to function as mem-ber of this body of the Lord.

In this light, I do not see myselfcalled or obliged by Christ to sit at histable wherever on earth that table isprepared and I happen to be there. Sure,I may, in the correct, biblical, church-orderly way, join a body gathered at an-other place. But I do not have to. For Iam member elsewhere, where I haveplaced myself under the oversight anddiscipline of Christ’s office bearers.These office bearers are responsible forme and accountable to the Lord with re-spect to me.

Now the local office bearers areresponsible for keeping the table ofthe Lord holy. They are to do this byadmitting only those to the table whomthey can declare, after an examinationon biblical grounds, to have the right tocelebrate. It should be evident withoutfurther proof that this responsibility tokeep the table holy by admitting onlythose eligible concerns in the first placethe members of their church. But in Re-formed thinking based on the Scrip-tures, this responsibility concernsguests too. In both cases the consistory(elders) are responsible for the Lord’stable. With Van’t Spijker I say, there-fore, that an open table is unbiblical.And I say further that a proper dis-charging of the office of elder is, alsowith guests, an active admitting or notadmitting. This flows from their havingoversight and discipline. In the case ofguests, a brief investigation would bea good means. Guests are to acknowl-edge the responsibilities of the eldersand appreciate such an investigation.


They see that the elders take theircharge seriously.

I see here this consequence. If safe-guarding the holiness of the table of theLord consists only of a “verbal warn-ing” from the pulpit, this is not suffi-cient. For in this case, there is no activeadmitting or not admitting by the eldersbased on an investigation. In such acase, the elders are, therefore, lackingin the fulfilment of their calling.

Therefore, I conclude that our Syn-ods of Lincoln 1992 and of Abbotsford1995 maintained a good Reformed prin-ciple when they stated that giving only averbal warning “is insufficient.” It musttherefore also be concluded, that SynodFergus 1998 did the right thing when itmaintained this statement of its twopredecessors. In fact, it acted in accor-dance with the mandate of Synod Ab-botsford (see its Acts, Art. 106. VI, D, 1).

The distinction between practiceand norm

We should always clearly distin-guish between norm (or principle) andpractice. This counts also with respectto the regulations around the celebra-tion of the Lord’s Supper. A norm isthat which is prescribed in God’s Wordor can clearly be deduced from it. Apractice is a practical manner in whichcertain actions are done.

An example of a norm or principleis that those who celebrate receiveboth the bread and the cup. Anotherexample of a principle is that the con-sistory is responsible for admitting andnot admitting to the table. Examples ofpractices, for instance in admittingguests, are: the rule to have an attestor declaration from one’s own consis-tory; or the handing out beforehand oftokens by the elders to the celebrantswith which they are declared worthypartakers as far as the elders can know;or the old regulation in the Reformedchurches in the sixteenth century thatelders visit the communicant membersduring the week (two weeks) of prepa-ration. Other practices are, for in-stance: sitting at the table or staying inthe pew. In this latter case obviously nonorms are at stake.

I return now to the “verbal warn-ing.” This “verbal warning” can beseen as a practice. But it flows from thenormative principle, that the elders areto call the congregation to preparethemselves by self-examination. Asapostle, that is as an office bearer, Paulgives a clear verbal warning to thecongregation in Corinth in 1 Corinthi-

ans 11:27-32. This verbal warning fol-lows the calling for the church mem-bers to examine themselves. There-fore, giving such a warning is a biblicalprinciple. It is done according to a bib-lical norm. It is an act of obedient serv-ice in which the consistory properlydischarges their office.

However, this was not the point inour discussion. The point is: is givingonly the warning enough? On this pointI keep saying: no, doing this only is in-sufficient.

A last remark in connection with thedistinction between norm and practiceis the following. We can also distin-guish between the norms of Scriptureand our doing, our practicing them.

When we see that other churchesare lacking in maintaining a norm ofScripture, should we not first examineourselves and clean up our ownhouse, before we point the finger at theothers? Do we ourselves join word anddeed? Are our consistories alwaysfaithful in guarding the table? Do wenever give members in the congrega-tion reason to question: how can theconsistory allow member so and so tothe table?

Or are we always acting accordingto the command of love when (not)admitting guests to the table? We havethe practice of giving and requiring at-tests from the home consistory beforewe admit guests. This is a practicalway of living by the norm that we

have to guard the table. This practiceis not the normative principle itself.Are we acting according to the bibli-cal norm of love when we refuse ad-mission to the table because the attestis not presented?

The practice of the attest is a goodway to live by the norm. But main-taining this practice as if it is in itself abiblical norm is legalism and lack oflove. The idea behind the practice isthat the consistory receives informa-tion from the home consistory of theguest that he or she is a member ingood standing in his or her homechurch. In this way, the elders have agood basis for admitting the guest tothe table of the Lord. This receiving ofinformation as basis for a decision isthe point. If, through whatever circum-stances, the attest with the needed in-formation is missing, the consistorycan nowadays easily avail itself of thisinformation, for instance by means of atelephone call. Making this (probably)one call would be a simple act of loveand would do the neighbour-guestmuch good. A legalistic refusal, onthe contrary, can cause and has donemuch hurt.

So let us admit that we ourselvescan and do fall short in practicing tomaintain the norms of God’s Word con-cerning the table of the Lord. But doesthis mean that we should not say any-thing to a neighbour anymore? I thinknot. What we should do is be humble,examine our own life in the light ofGod’s Word and repent from what iswrong and do what is right. At the sametime, the Lord wants us to maintain hisWord as norm also for the neighbour.This neighbour has, just as we have, thecalling to humbly examine himself andrepent from what is wrong and do whatis right.

The result will be a double thankfuljoy in the Lord of the Church for hisgrace that He works in both of us thispracticing of what He wants us to do.

1Dr. W.van’t Spijker is a retired professorof the Theological University of the DutchChristian Reformed [Christelijk Gere-formeerd] Churches at Apeldoorn, TheNetherlands. He is editor of and contribu-tor to the book Bij Brood en Beker (ByBread and Cup) published in 1980 by DeGroot, Goudriaan. His chapter (pp. 363-419) is entitled “Het klassieke avond-maalsformulier” (“The classic Form for theLord’s Supper”).


. . . our Synods ofLincoln in 1992 and of

Abbotsford in 1995maintained the biblical

and Reformed normwhen they stated thatgiving only a verbal

warning “isinsufficient.” It must,

therefore, also beconcluded, that Synod

Fergus did the right,biblical and Reformed

thing when itmaintained this

statement of its twopredecessors.


It is not surprising that there is muchconfusion regarding the Synod Fergusdecision concerning the Orthodox Pres-byterian Church (OPC). Numerous arti-cles have been published in the pagesof Clarion denouncing this decisionwith its modified proposed agreement,even to the point of labelling the deci-sion unscriptural. Further, the strugglingrelationship between the Canadian Re-formed Churches (CanRC) and the OPChas been described as the bridge too far.Are these criticisms really reflective ofthe 1998 Synod decision?

The proposed agreementIn order to avoid confusion, it

would be helpful to consider what ismeant by the agreement. At Synod1995, the Committee for Contact withthe Orthodox Presbyterian Church(CCOPC) was mandated “to arrive atan agreement with the OPC on the mat-ters of the fencing of the Lord’s Tableand confessional membership” (Acts1995, Art. 106 Rec. D.1; p. 75).Equipped with this mandate the CCOPCcontinued its discussion with the com-mittee of the OPC and came to anagreement on these two issues. As thisagreement was reached at the commit-tee level, each committee was requiredto present it to their respective broaderecclesiastical assemblies. Theoreticallyspeaking, the agreement became a“proposed agreement” before thebroader assemblies. It would not beuntil both the General Assembly of theOPC and the General Synod of theCanRC ratified this “proposed agree-ment” that we could technically speakof an agreement. From the perspectiveof the OPC, the proposed agreementwas upheld at the 64th General Assem-bly in 1997. It was now incumbent onour Synod 98 to ratify the proposedagreement in order for the two federa-tions to enter into a sister church rela-tionship. However, our Synod could notfully support this proposal as presented.

Changing the proposalSynod 98 heard an outcry from the

churches within our federation vocalis-ing their concern that the proposedagreement was too vague and did notsufficiently deal with the issues of fenc-ing the Lord’s Table and confessionalmembership (Acts 1998, Art. 130 Con-sideration C.2). In addition, there wasthe voice of the OPC representative,Rev. J.J. Peterson. In both his speechesat Synod 95 and 98 he “defends thatright of the OPC to admit to member-ship and to the Lord’s table those whodo not make profession of the Reformedfaith” (Acts 1998, Art 130 C.3). Thesecomments directly contradicted thepronouncements of Synod 92 and 95that a general verbal warning was in-sufficient. Also, Rev. J.J. Peterson’swords were not in harmony with the un-derstanding or purpose of the commit-tee agreement.

In order to maintain the credibilityand integrity of the decisions of previ-ous Synods, Synod 98 incorporatedthese guidelines into the proposedagreement. It should be noted thatSynod 98 could have sent the reportback to the CCOPC and mandatedthem to tighten up the proposed agree-ment. Then one could not be faultedfor exclaiming, “Another three yearswasted!” However, Synod 98 took aproactive approach on the matter andas a result the following words wereadded to the proposed agreement.“This means that a general verbalwarning by the officiating ministeralone is not sufficient and that a pro-fession of the Reformed faith is re-quired and confirmation of a godlylife.” Synod 98 provided the CCOPCwith a new mandate to present thismodified proposal to the OPC to seektheir agreement. Should the OPC sup-port this proposal, ecclesiastical fel-lowship will be implemented immedi-ately. The Lord willing, this will occursometime during 1999!

Fourth mark of the true churchIt is precisely because of this addition

that criticisms have been directed toSynod 98. Most recently, it is Rev. J. Viss-cher who makes a serious accusationthat Synod 98 has demanded the OPCto “accept our extra-biblical position ofthe access to the Lord’s Supper before wecan enter into Ecclesiastical Fellowshipwith them.” The question is posedwhether or not we are “turning the mat-ter of access to the Table into the FourthMark of the True Church” (“Access to theTable,” Clarion Year-end 1998). Readingthis may give the impression that Synod98 went over and above the three marksof the true church. However, if one is toreview the Acts of Synod from 1983 to1995, it will become clear that “the mat-ter of fencing the Lord’s Supper con-cerns the Church Discipline, as well asthe doctrine of the Church” (Acts 1983,Art. 55 C Consideration 2.d). The matteris not whether we have added a fourthmark, but whether we are maintainingthe three marks of the true church! Suchcomments are not helpful, and simplyfuel those with fiery perceptions ofCanRC legalism or exclusivism. Let’s fo-cus on the issue, then it will becomeclear that right from the beginning ofour contact with the OPC, the CanRChave considered the admission to theLord’s Supper as an essential matter ofchurch discipline (cf Acts 1986, Art 132E Consideration e). That is the issue wemust face.

A confessional matterBefore we do so, we should under-

stand that prior to the changes made bySynod 98, there was little concernamongst our churches that the proposedagreement with its guidelines of Synod1992 was unscriptural or non-confes-sional. “Vague” the churches said, “butnot unscriptural.” In his article dealingwith the OPC committee report Prof. C.Van Dam clearly stated that in his viewthe proposed agreement, was “clearly

READER’S FORUM

Synod’s Decision – A bridge too far?

By Wayne Pleiter

Biblically and confessionally sup-ported” (Clarion 47:9, p. 213). Yet afterthe OPC decision of Synod 98 the storychanges. Criticism are made. How theLord’s table is supervised is not a con-fessional matter! Rather it is claimedthat the issue is “how a church throughits elders admits guests to the Lord’stable is not a confessional but a churchorder (practical) matter.”

The first issue relates to whether theadditional words included by Synod 98are confessional or not. When Synod 98added the words mentioned above, itstated in essence that supervision re-quires the need for a verbal warning aswell as confirmation of the Reformeddoctrine and a godly life. However, ac-cording to Rev. G. van Popta the man-ner in which the elders of a church ad-mit a guest to the table is not a matterof our confession at all. He states that“our confessions do not address thismatter . . .” (“Correcting an Error,” Clar-ion 47:24 p. 575).

While it is clear that our church orderin Article 61 deals with the two criteria(doctrine and life), the question ariseswhether or not these criteria have scrip-tural and confessional support. Synod 98answers this in the affirmative by pro-viding clear scriptural references to de-fend its inclusion of these criteria in itsdecision. These confessional referencesinclude references to both the Westmin-ster Standards and the Three Forms ofUnity. According to Synod 98, the issueis more than a church order matter but itis a matter of being faithful to Scriptureand our confessions. While Synod 98does not provide specific “Lord’s Sup-per” texts to support particular practicesof how the Lord’s table is to be super-vised, it does provide principles withwhich to work. One would not be ableto find specific texts in Scripture to regu-late the practice of how the table is tobe supervised. Is it right then, to auto-matically conclude the review of thescriptural texts by stating that Synod 98has made its “decision into a supra-scrip-tural one [that] exceeds the demands ofGod’s Holy Word” (as J. Visscher wrotein the article referred to earlier)? Synod98 did not just evaluate Biblical textsbut also worked with principles outlinedin Scripture and our confessions. Whenspeaking about the work of the OPCand CanRC committees, Prof. Van Damclearly outlined that, “Biblical principleshad to be agreed on.” In the same waySynod 98 worked with these scripturaland confessional references and appro-priately applied them to the proposedagreement. It is no coincidence that Ar-

ticle 61 incorporates these same confes-sional principles.

An identical practiceThis leads us to the second issue,

whether Synod was demanding anidentical practice of how the elders inthe OPC supervise the table. Accordingto Rev. J. Visscher, by “demanding theOPC regulate the Lord’s Table in a cer-tain specific way, we are going furtherthan Scripture itself does.” But is that re-ally what Synod 98 has done? To ad-dress this concern it is helpful to ana-lyze the “Access the Table” article. Inhis article Rev. J. Visscher highlightsseveral examples, which may assist inbringing clarity to whether Synod 98 isasking too much. First he mentions howin Calvin’s time Geneva members werevisited by the elders prior to the Lord’sSupper. Then the token system as per-formed in Scotland and the system of re-ceiving attestations for guests in theCanRC, is explained. It is beneficialthat he has done this as it emphasizes avery significant point. While each of thespecific practices are different, theystill have a common element. The com-monality between each of these specificpractices is that they ensure confirma-tion of one’s doctrine and godly life.These examples demonstrate that a ver-bal warning is not enough. Each ofthese Reformed practices illustratesclear biblical principles at play. Synod98 does not demand the specifics ofthe practices of fencing the Lord’s Tablein the OPC. Nor does Synod demandthem to use our specific practices asthe norm from which to work. RatherSynod 98 requires that the Scripturaland confessional principles be present.

It is therefore inappropriate for Rev. J.Visscher to call upon churches to ap-peal the OPC decisions of Synod 98. Notonly does he do an injustice by failing tointeract with the Reformed principlesthat underline the decision, he also failsto provide scriptural or confessionalproof that Synod has erred in its decision.Synod is not enforcing our church orderpractices on to the OPC as if Art. 61 is theonly way to fence the Table (cf. Acts1998, Art. 130, IV. E. 3.a.). Rather, Synodadvocates admission to the Lord’s tableonly when the Reformed principles of“doctrine and life” are met.

Confessional integrityRev. Mulder is correct when he

states that according to Synod 95, thecurrent practice in the OPC “does notundermine the OPC’s confessional in-tegrity as a true Church” (Clarion Year-end, 1998). In fact, Synod 98 could begrateful for the desire of the OPC to be

faithful to the Scriptures and to defendthe Reformed heritage (cf. Acts 1998,Art. 130, Recommendation D). How-ever, these statements should be un-derstood within the framework of theOPC’s supporting the decisions ofSynod 92 and 95 regarding the verbalwarning. To date the OPC has not for-mally disagreed with the need for theReformed profession of “doctrine andlife” and therefore Synod 95 and 98need not have questioned the OPC’sconfessional integrity on this matter.

However there is also the issue ofthe CanRC integrity. One may wonderwhy there is such controversy over thedecision made by Synod 98, sinceSynod 98 did nothing new or differentfrom previous synods. The changes thatSynod 98 made to the “proposed agree-ment” was not only consistent with thedecisions of Synod 1992, they were thevery guidelines mandated to the CCOPC(cf. Acts 1998, Art. 130. C.1). In fact theSynod 98’s decision is consistent withwhat the CCOPC committee reportedto Synod 95. They wrote that “to pro-ceed with establishing a relationship ofecclesiastical fellowship without resolv-ing these issues first would not take se-riously the view that these are confes-sional matters; these are not meredifferences in emphasis on certainpoints. In addition, leaving the debatedpractices unresolved might affect ourchurches adversely. If these matters can-not be resolved, the relationship be-tween the CanRC and the OPC will haveto be re-evaluated and possibly termi-nated” (Acts 1995, Appendix V, p. 161).

If the decision of Synod 98 does notreflect the intent of the committee’s orig-inal proposed agreement and the senti-ments of previous Synods, then the issuebecomes one of our own integrity!Aren’t we prepared to live up to what wehave said – or did we not really meanwhat we said in the first place? Synod 98had the courage to make the tough de-cision. While its decision is by no meansflawless, Synod did provide a definitevoice to resolve these issues prior to go-ing into ecclesiastical fellowship withthe OPC. This decision was made in theattempt to bridge the gap with theCanRC and the OPC so that we mightfinally experience the consequences ofdeclaring the OPC a true church. Insteadof calling for decisions to be appealed(without scriptural grounds), we woulddo well to have the courage and con-viction to stand behind what Synod 98has done, with integrity!

Mr. Pleiter lives in Chilliwack, B.C., andserved as a delegate to General SynodFergus, 1998.


Dear Brothers and Sisters:It is February. After the busy month of December,

January and February are, to many people, dull and bor-ing months. They say, “The weather is cold, the daysare dark, and there is nothing exciting to do.” Is that,perhaps, why they invented Valentine’s day? So thestores could decorate with hearts and other Valentinestuff and the people would get excited and start buyingcards and gifts (again)?

Whatever the reasons, the facts are there: Sweet-heart Day is celebrated by many. You have to pick asweetheart and send him/her (often funny) cards andflowers or other gifts. Even at the schools, Valentine’sDay is exciting for the students. Some children pick manysweethearts, and others are selected to be sweethearts bymany of their friends. Some children go home with awhole pile of sweetheart cards; others go home withnothing. . . . They have no friends, they are not popular,and nobody picks them to be their sweetheart. Unfortu-nately, this does not only happen at school among chil-dren, but also at work among older people. Some peo-ple see February 14th as a very exciting day, because ofall the attention they receive; to others it is a very diffi-cult day. They experience (again) that they have nofriends, and that nobody cares for them.

Valentine’s Day is not one of the celebrations thatwere given to us by the Lord. It is something that wasinvented by people. Therefore, such a celebration con-centrates on the people, on what and who they are, andon what they do. However, the special day that theLord gives us to celebrate is there for everyone to en-joy. Whatever we celebrate in the Church points to-wards Christ, the Saviour. It does not show us what wehave to accomplish in order to be accepted by others, butit points to Christ and what He accomplished for allthose who believe in Him. All God’s covenant childrentake part in those celebrations, for to the Lord all his chil-dren are the same. There are no popular and unpopularpeople to the Lord. No matter how much we may feel re-jected among our earthly friends, we may know that theLord accepts us in his grace through the redeeming workof our Saviour. The Lord has chosen us, not because ofwhat and how we are, but out of grace. All our imper-fections in the way we look, or the way we behave, or thethings we cannot do or forget to do, yes everythingeven our sins, are made perfect through Christ. We donot have to feel inferior or uncertain, for Christ acceptsus all. He paid for all our sins. He wants us to come toHim, for to Him we belong.

Now when February 14th comes around, we do nothave to dread it. We do not really have to worry aboutgetting Valentine cards or not. Why should we reallycare about that? What can an earthly friend really dofor us when we consider eternity? Maybe it seems verynice to be surrounded by friends, to be very popular, andto receive all kinds of attention this one day of the year.Yet, is it really very important?

The important thing is that we know that the Lordaccepts us, every day of the year. That means that wecan go to Him always, and that He will help us and com-fort us. Maybe we are a little lonely now, but that lone-liness will not last. The Lord promises us a beautiful fu-ture. For one day, a heavenly host will surround us, andwe will be with the Lord, always. God sent his only Soninto the world, so that we might live through Him.

Our countless misdeeds and transgressionsPrevail from day to day;But Thou, O God, in great compassion,Wilt purge our guilt away.Blest is the man whom Thou hast chosen,And bringest nigh to Thee,That in Thy courts, in thee reposing,His dwelling place may be. Psalm 65:2

Birthdays in March:3: Trevor Hofsink

4249 Academy Street, Box 772Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0

10: James Boone22 Aberdare Road NE, Calgary, AB T2A 6V9

12: Gerry Eelhart9713-151 Street, Edmonton, AB T5P 1S6

15: Jim VanderHeiden7162 Canboro Road, RR 1Dunnville, ON N1A 2W1

18: Roselyn Kuik68 Lynn Lake Drive, Winnipeg, MB R2C 4N7

26: Courtney Popken9445 Windsor Street, Chilliwack, BC V2P 6C5

Mrs. R. Ravensbergen7462 Reg. Rd. 20, RR 1Smithville, ON L0R 2A0

tel: 905-957-3007, e-mail: [email protected]


RAY OF SUNSHINE

By Mrs. R. Ravensbergen In this the love of God was made manifest among us, thatGod sent his only Son into the world, so that we might livethrough Him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that Heloved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.

1 John 4: 9,10

Meeting with the leaders of theReformed Churches In South Sudan

In early November, a MERF dele-gation, led by Dr. Abdel-MasihIstafanous and Rev. Victor Atallah, metin Kenya with leaders of the ReformedChurches in South Sudan, led by Rev.Paul Bol Kuel and Rev. Peter Gai Lual.MERF’s delegation included the fourSouth Sudanese members of MERF’sLocal Administrative Committee inSouth Sudan. The meetings included afield trip to three Reformed congrega-tions in the refugee camps by the Su-danese/Kenyan borders. The purposeof the trip was to learn first hand ofthe state of the Reformed communityin the “liberated” areas of Sudan (theareas outside the Muslim governmentcontrol). MERF’s delegation was quitetouched by the way the Lord continuesto bless these brethren under the mostdifficult of living conditions. The Re-formed churches throughout South Su-dan continue to see tremendous nu-merical growth. One of the mostpressing needs is in the area of trainingthe growing number of volunteerevangelists. More than 900 of them areactively engaged in evangelism. Theirdoctrinal knowledge, however, is verylittle and their understanding of theScriptures is very superficial. Much ef-fort is needed to train these evangel-ists, as well as provide more in-depthtraining for pastors, elders and dea-cons. After much discussion it was de-termined to take immediate action toappoint two mobile teams, each com-posed of two young South Sudanesepastors to start the effort of providingtraining for lay evangelists. MERF isnow committed to provide the neces-sary training, material and support forthese two teams and for two otherteams to be appointed before the mid-dle of 1999. These mobile trainingteams will work only in the “liber-ated” areas of the Sudan, as well as inthe refugee camps in the neighboringcountries. MERF’s Local Administra-

tive Committees in the North and Westof Sudan will oversee the appoint-ment, preparation and support of train-ing teams to operate in the rest of thecountries. Rev. Matthew M. Deangserves as pastor of a large parish ofReformed congregations in South Su-dan. He is also the Co-Chairman ofMERF’s Local Administrative Commit-tee. He says: “Our need is for trainedworkers from among our own people.We have very few pastors. Our peo-ple are not only facing physical star-vation; more importantly they needspiritual and biblical nourishment toeverlasting life. This is the abiding giftof God to us in Christ. What MERF de-sires and what MERF offers is close toour hearts. MERF’s Word and deedapproach is what our people need.”

Sudan AppealAt its annual meeting in September

MERF’s Board of Directors was satis-fied with present cost-effective andaccountable use of diaconal aid fundschanneled through to the local Re-formed ecclesiastical committees.These committees continue to use thefunds to purchase food and other lo-cally available supplies at very cheaprates. The Board offered thanks for

the faithful way in which diaconalaid is administered alongside the min-istry of the word carried out by dulyordained and appointed church offi-cers. In this connection, MERF seeksto clarify the fact that it is not inter-ested in receiving and transportingfood or clothing supplies for distribu-tion in the Sudan. Such an approach istoo costly since it requires profes-sional relief staff. Such employmentcosts would far exceed MERF’s policyof not allowing more than 7% of itsbudget for administrative costs. Dr. E.Anees reported that months of plan-ning and preparation are yet requiredto actualize the Sudan Medical Pro-ject on the field, especially to securethe legal framework under which theCommittee can carry out its work.

Increased mail response to GospelBroadcasts

Up to recently only one P.O. Box inBeirut, Lebanon had been announcedin each broadcast for the listener’s re-sponse. Now to encourage more listen-ers to respond in writing to the Gospelbroadcasts two more local postal of-fice boxes have been added – one inCairo, Egypt and the other in Amman,Jordan. Poorer listeners in Jordan,


NEWS from MERF-Canada

A Sudanese refugeecongregation of theMurle tribe.

Palestine, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan can af-ford the cheaper postage rates required.The new addresses will also give thebroadcasts a clear Arab identity andfacilitate the personal follow up effortsof the vast majority of responding lis-teners.

Y.T.I. of Aswan (the most southernEgyptian town) writes: “I already feelthat you are close to my heart. I appre-ciate the sincerity of your words. I donot know what you look like. But thatdoes not matter. I know that you arecaring people who are proclaiming notan ideology but the way to God and toheaven. . . . I look forward to readingthe Christian Holy Book (the Bible) andany other writings which will help meunderstand the way I must go. . . .”

Thank you very much!The plight of the Reformed churches

in the Sudan has obviously touched thehearts of many. We have been over-whelmed by your generosity. Yourprayerful as well as financial support hasgreatly encouraged all those who areinvolved with MERF. In his Decembernewsletter, Rev. Atallah wrote:

Dr. Abdel-Masih Istafanous, MERF’sChairman wishes, on behalf of the

Board of Directors, the staff and allthe MERF field committees, to ex-press gratitude to the Lord for yourpartnership in MERF’s ministries.The prayers and financial support offaithful people like you are most vi-tal for MERF’s cost-effective andfar-reaching Gospel witness inmany Arab and Muslim lands. Maythe joy of the Lord be multiplied toyou and those around you as youcontinue to share with us in the ex-pansion of Christ’s abiding King-dom.

Once again, thank you very much!Please continue to pray for a blessingupon this Reformed witness in the Mid-dle East. And please continue your fi-

nancial support for the Gospel broad-casts and biblical training, as well asdiaconal aid to the Sudan. If your sup-port is meant specifically for the Sudan,please indicate such on your cheque.

If you would like to make a per-sonal donation please make yourcheque payable to MERF-Canada andsend it to:

MERF-Canada 1225 Highway 5, R.R. #1Burlington, ON L7R 3X4

Yours in His service,Rev. J. Mulder, chairman

Mrs. J. Van Dam, secretary


The principal of the Biblical Training Instituteof the Reformed Churches of Sudan in hisoffice in the refugee camp.

Students of theBiblical Training

Institute of theReformed Churches of

Sudan.

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The RPCNAThis past year, the Reformed Presbyterian Church in

North America (RPCNA) has come in closer focus to us by be-coming a member of the International Council of ReformedChurches (ICRC). From my observation deck I have tried tocollect some information about this group of churches.

In 1998 the 167th synod was held at Geneva College,Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. The first Presbytery was officiallyinstituted in 1798. A split occurred in 1833 resulting in theso-called “Old Light” and “New Light” churches. The NewLight churches are now known as the Reformed PresbyterianChurch Evangelical Synod. The RPCNA are the Old Lightchurches. In 1969, the Associate Synod of North Americamerged with the RPCNA. These churches now consist ofabout 80 congregations and missions organized in seven pres-byteries. Within the Presbytery of St. Lawrence, there are threeCanadian congregations: Almonte, Ottawa, Smiths Falls, On-tario, and a mission in Montreal, Quebec. Mission work isdone in Japan. The Presbytery of Japan consists of four con-gregations and three missions. The minutes of the 1996Synod show a total membership of 5733. This breaks downto 4075 communicant members and 1658 non-communicant.

Some major items dealt with at the Synod of 1997 were:Revoking of the compulsory vow of ministers of abstinence

from alcoholic beverages; allowing the use of hymns and theuse of instruments in the worship service. Decisions taken bysynod 1998 have yet to be ratified by a majority of the pres-byteries. The results of this procedure are not know to me.For two hundred years the RPCNA churches have practicedexclusive psalmody with a capella singing. In a followingObservation Deck I hope to give some more details onRPCNA distinctives and the work of the National ReformAssociation.

The minutes of Synod 1997 present the following churchorganization:


Observation DeckBy J. VanRietschoten

Institutions: • Geneva College• Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Offices:• Synod’s Board of Trustees • Board of Education and Publication • Crown and Covenant Publications • The Covenanter Witness (Monthly Magazine) • National Reform Association • The Christian Statesman (Bi-monthly Magazine) • Reformation Translation Fellowship

Officers of Synod• Moderator• Clerk• Assistant Clerk• Treasurer

Fraternal Relations• Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia • Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland • Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland • Trinity Community Christian Fellowship (Cyprus) • American Presbyterian Church • Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church • Free Church of Scotland, Synod of North America • Korean American Presbyterian Church • Orthodox Presbyterian Church • Presbyterian Church in America • Reformed Church in the United States

Presbyteries• Alleghenies• Atlantic• Great Lakes-Gulf• Midwest• Pacific Coast• St. Lawrence• Japan

Each year a synod is convened at which all congregationsare represented. The roll of synod 1997 shows 127 pas-tors and elders in attendance.

Book of Praise

This new, slightly revised editioncomes in HARD COVER binding.

The complete Book of Praise Anglo-Genevan Psalter (RevisedEdition) of the Canadian and American Reformed Churches.• Complete English-language version of the Sixteenth Century

Genevan Psalter, long treasured for the strength and beauty ofits melodies

• A collection of 65 Hymns• The Three Forms of Unity

(The Belgic Confession, The HeidelbergCatechism, and the Canons of Dort)

• Liturgical Forms• Church Order, etc.Printed on high-quality paper, features a sewn binding.Special discount for churches and schools.

680 pages ………………………………………$19.00ISBN 0-88756-029-6

Place your order with your local bookstore or distributor,or order directly from

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Again


OUR LITTLE MAGAZINE

By Aunt Betty

Dear Busy BeaversDid you have a happy Christmas? I had a very happy

Christmas, mainly because I could remember and celebratethe birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was He who died for usso that we could live forever. And it was really wonderful tobe able to celebrate the birth and life of Christ.

How was your holiday? What did you do? Did you haveenough snow to go downhill skiing or even cross country ski-ing? Or was it cold enough that you could go skating? Ordid you visit friends?

Did you know that in other countries, they have a warmChristmas? In Australia, for example, people can spendtheir Christmas Day on the beach because they are in theirsummer time. Doesn’t that sound very strange?

Well, Busy Beavers, make sure you write to me sometime. My letter box is quite empty and I need some letters tobe able to write to you.

Bye for nowAunt Betty

FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS

5 Melissa Hovius7 Stephanie Post12 Stephanie Verhelst18 Alicia Koolsbergen20 Jonathan Slaa

21 Nadine Barendregt24 Francien Breukelman27 Rebecca van Dijk28 Rianne Boeve

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Surprised

I am surprised by the opposition of the Rev. J. Mulder, Rev.J. Visscher and Br. Van Spronsen to the decision of Synod.Theirs is an overreaction. It is as if the faithfulness of ourchurches is in doubt.

There are major differences between the OPC and theCanRC as to how to supervise the Table. Rev. J.J. Peterson inhis speech to Synod even defends admitting those who donot make profession of the reformed faith. On the other hand,Rev. G.I. Williamson is unable to see how this practice canbe reconciled with the Westminster Confession (ch. 29.8),which in part states that “all ignorant persons, as they are un-fit to enjoy communion with Him, so are they unworthy ofthe Lord’s Table; and cannot, without great sin against Christwhile they remain such, partake of these holy mysteries or beadmitted there unto.”

Yet for our brothers it is too much to suggest having furtherdiscussion about these differences before coming to full ec-clesiastical fellowship. They feel that such discussion cantake place within the fellowship. However, I am convincedthat as in all partnerships it is essential to understand from eachother where we stand, especially when we are discussingchurch unity.

It should also be noted that numerous churches havewritten Synod with their concerns about the Committee re-port and that Synod could make their decision unanimously!

So where does that leave us? While the brothers have theright to be displeased with the actions of Synod, their reactionsare not constructive. What sort of message are they giving ouryoung people with suggesting that we are on a dangerous pathand making suspect as unscriptural things which Synod hasdecided upon? I find it very disturbing.

Herman BosscherLynden, Washington

Dismayed

In the Year-End Clarion, I read an article by Dr. J. Visscherentitled “Access to the Table.” Instead of getting some answers,I was dismayed that there was not a strong defence of the waywe, as Church of Christ, fence the Table of the Lord. There maynot be a text that forbids entry to the Table without an attesta-tion, but there is sufficient proof that we must guard the Tableand the way we do it is a very good and proper way. Nobodyhas presented proof that it is wrong to do it in this manner.

Under the heading “Words of Protest,” I read: “There willbe some who feel that I am straying from the straight and nar-row Canadian Reformed path on this matter.” But the Cana-dian Reformed Church holds to the path of Christ’s church, apath to the glory of the Most High.

Under the heading “Sabbath-Sunday,” we have confusion.As a minister in the federation he should know better than tosay: “Nowhere have we ever officially said ‘you shall notmow your lawn of Sunday. You shall not shop on Sunday.You shall not go to the restaurant on Sunday.’” But does theFourth Commandment not say: “Remember the Sabbath Day,to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour, and do all yourwork; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God;in it you shall not do any work, you or your son, or yourdaughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle,or the sojourner who is within your gates”? This is not a rulefrom the Canadian Reformed Church. It is a rule from the LordMost High whom we serve.

Martin OnderwaterHouston, BC

Please mail, e-mail or fax letters for publication to theeditorial address.

They should be 300 words or less. Those published may beedited for style or length.

Please include address and phone number.

ONE FOR THE OLDER BUSY BEAVERS:The letters of the answer-words in each of the following

groups have been numbered and these numbers are used togive further clues to portions of the answer-word. You arealso given a clue to the complete word and in brackets afterit the total number of letters. The answers will be found tohave clear Biblical connections. What are they?

For example: Clue – Resident (10 letters)1, 2 At home3,4,5,6,7 Tendency to perform an action5,6,7 Small piece for horse’s mouth7,8,9 Beat to a darker colour?8,9,10 Insect

Answer: Inhabitant

TRY THESE:

Sky (9)1,2,3 Tree1,2,3,4 Company not easily shaken4,5,6 Child’s mother5,6,7,8 So let it be!8,9 Short testament

Confidence, certainty of salvation (9)1,2 While or because1,2,3 Animal or stupid person4,5 Where Abram started from5,6,7 Moved swiftly8,9 Church title in brief

Temperance, freedom from excess (10)1,2,3,4 Manner, custom2,3,4 Kind of poem2,3,4,5 German river5,6,7 Animal or deserter5,6,7,8,9,10 Allow only a limited amount

Acrid taste (10)1,2,3 Small tool for boring4,5,6,7 Bird5,6,7,8 Another bird7,8 Direction7,8,9,10 Loch for the monster!

FROM THE MAILBOXWelcome to the Busy Beaver Club,

Jillian Schouten. Thank you for your let-ter and puzzle. Are you the oldest of thechildren in your family? Do you enjoyschool and do you have lots of friends atschool? And thank you for your Christ-mas greetings.


AUNT BETTY

c/o Premier Printing Ltd.One Beghin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R2J 3X5

PUZZLESWORDSEARCH

By Busy Beaver Jillian Schouten

Y R E E R A D N I E N I L S D I -V A DK W I S E M E N R I T -T E L S T W T DO D E E H N F T -L O E S W S A V E H RK Y F A Y E U L E Q D H A P -P Y Y E WU K J I N S E B S K D I L -N E I O E IV I G N D D V P S P B O H E O -Q M V SS A Y E N E H Y U L W C -C E T M A B EI E P R B A L B S I N G -I N G L R R MO U P E E F O W E A S Y X W V Y Y RVE R A E T S R L J M T B T V -M A S Y ZH X H E R O D O N -A A K I E U R B D H

FIND:WISE MENSTARHERODJOSEPHMARY

JESUSSAVIOURHAPPYLORDSHEPHERDSSHEEP

SINGINGBETHLEHEMDAVIDS LINECHRISTMASCHRIST


We are thankful to the Lord who has made all things well and blessedus with another child, a sonASHTON LEEBorn January 15, 1999Jake and Jeannie BergsmaProud sisters: Cheyenne, Jolene, Cherika96 Lynn Lake Drive, Winnipeg, MB R2C 4W7

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from Him. Psalm 127:3With thanks to God, we joyfully announce the birth of our sonLUKE JONATHAN Born December 17, 1998 A little brother for Veronica and EdwardBruce and Helena DeBoer (nee Vanderhoeven) 8 Gallacher Avenue, Richmond Hill, ON L4E 2W9

Psalm 78:4 All praise and thanks to God on High! He has entrusted to our care an-other covenant child LEVI ALLAN Born December 23, 1998 Arnie and Marcy Schulenberg (nee Buikema) Austin, Connor4353 Concord Avenue, Beamsville, ON L0R 1B6

For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’swomb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Yourworks are wonderful, I know that full well. . . . All the days ordained forme were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16 We give thanks to our heavenly Father, Who has entrusted us withour firstborn son and has made all things well. JOSHUA MICHIELwas born on December 16, 1998.Theo and Marina Lodder (nee Vandermeer)5621-51 Street, Taber, AB T1G 1K6

The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Psalm 118:23We, Nick and Brenda Nyenhuis, wish to announce the birth ofJACOB MARTINBorn January 10, 1999‘Baby Jacob’ is a little brother for Sarah ElizabethHe is also the 12th grandchild for Gerry and Nellie DeBoer,the 7th grandchild for Nick and Betsy Nyenhuis, andthe 8th great-grandchild for Marinus and Jacoba Slomp.2205 Manchester Drive, Burlington, ON L7P 4K6 ([email protected])

Thanking the Lord for his wonderful gift of life, we joyfully announcethe birth of our first child, a daughter CASSANDRA MARLENE Born December 20, 1998 Andy and Lois Schipper (nee Lof) 7416 Hwy. #20, RR 1, Smithville, ON L0R 2A0

We are thankful to the Lord to be able to celebrate the 90th birthdayof our dear mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-greatgrandmotherHILLETJE (Hilda) WOUTERINA VAN SPRONSEN (nee deWinter) D.V. on January 25th, 1999. The Lord has been good to her and all ofus. May He continue to surround her with His fatherly care. Dad wastaken home on November 22, 1987. One son, Bernhard, was pro-moted to glory in his infancy on November 14, 1945.Her children:Coaldale, AB: Hank and Alice TamsLethbridge, AB: Henry and Jennie Van SpronsenLangley, BC: Bill and Ieke Van SpronsenVernon, BC: Peter and Sadie Van SpronsenSurrey, BC: Kees and Joanne Van SpronsenCoaldale, AB: Joe and Dieta Van SpronsenCoaldale, AB: Jake and Hilda TamsLangley, BC: Kees and Ria VanVlietGrandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.Room 6, Manoah Manor, 20265-54A AvenueLangley, BC V3A 3W6

Children’s children are a crown of the aged, and parents are the pride oftheir children. Proverbs 17:6On Tuesday, February 9, 1999 D.V., wehope to celebrate MOEKE-OPOE TAMS 90th birthday. She is our dear mother,grandmother, great-grandmother andgreat-great-grandmother.The Lord has been good to her these 90years. She has been a widow for 40years and yet she is surrounded by all267 of us. Congratulations!Sunny South Lodge, Room 371120-20th Avenue, Coaldale, AB T1M 1L5

With thankfulness to our God, Mr. and Mrs. G. Broersma of Fergus, ON are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter JOYCE to DUCO FEENSTRAson of Mr. and Mrs. W. Feenstra of Elora, ON.Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105January 9, 1999635 St. George Street E., Fergus, ON N1M 1L3

With thankfulness to our heavenly Father who has guided our paths to-gether, we STEPHANIE YODER and PETER BROERSMAannounce our engagement. December 19, 1998 P.O. Box 1507, Harian, KY 40831

CLARION ADVERTISEMENTS

Births Birthday

Engagements

CLARION, FEBRUARY 5, 1999 67

1959 – February 20 – 1999For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD enduresforever. Psalm 117:2With thankfulness to the Lord who has kept them in His care, we joy-fully announce the 40th Wedding Anniversary of our dear parentsand grandparents GERRY and ANN BOSSCHER (nee Pouwels)Burlington, ON: John and Wilma Bosscher

Tonya, Lisa, Kari, Matthew, and BrandenHamilton, ON: Annette and Scott Livingston

Tim, Terri, Bradley, Rachelle, Kyle and Melissa

Burlington, ON: Glennie Bosscher and Dan HendersonAnita and Mike VanDasselaar

Bradley and MelanieWe hope to celebrate this event with an Open House, the Lord willing,on Saturday, February 20th, 1999, at the Ebenezer CanadianReformed Church of Burlington from 2:00 - 4:30 p.m. 507 Woodview Road, Burlington, ON L7N 2Z9

Harkstede 1949 – February 15, 1999 – StrathroyAnd they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” SheSaid, “I will go.” Genesis 24:58With gratitude and praise to our heavenly Father for His constantcare we joyfully announce the 50th Wedding Anniversary of our dearparents and grandparents GERRIT TAMMINGA and BOUWCHIENE TAMMINGA (nee Nyburg)With love,Parkhill: Talo and Dina Tamminga

Allan and Annette Jansens, Gerrit, Richard, IvanChatham: Ann and John Jongbloed

Karen Sjaarda and Bryan, Kerri, Michelle, EmilyWatford: Mary and Rick Lenting

Richard, Andrew, JeffThamesville: Janet and Rob VanderVeen

Kristen, Michale, Lisa, NicholeWatford: Grace and Jacob Lenting

Gerald, Robert, Carla, Rebecca, Stephen,Natasha, Lynette

Ancaster: George and Rolean TammingaRachael, Bradley, Ashley, Lauren, Jodi, Taylor

Wyoming: William and Phyllis TammingaJoshua, Helena, Matthew, April, Connie

Smithville: Fred and Jeanette TammingaBrianne, Scott, Sarah, Kevin

Beamsville: Benita and Peter BoeremaJohn, Bernice, Gerrit, Jennifer

Strathroy: Trudy TammingaWatford: Adrian and Michelle Tamminga

Denise, AllisonBeamsville: Geraldine and Bert VanLuik

Nicholas, Gavin, Brett, NatalieIona Station: Lucy and Frank Viveiros383 Ellor Street, Strathroy, ON N7G 2L5

AnniversariesIn His unsearchable wisdom it pleased the LORD to suddenly takeunto Himself in Eternal Glory, my beloved husband, and our dearfather and grandfather ADRIANUS LEENDERT HAMOENMarch 29, 1940 – January 10, 1999

Romans 8:38,39For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principal-ities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height,nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate usfrom the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.Vega, AB: Elizabeth ‘Lies’ Hamoen (nee Pieffers)Edmonton, AB: Ron and Evelyn Rook

Robyn, Bryton, SethNeerlandia, AB: Julius and Geraldine Wierenga

Jordan, JanayeWinnipeg, MB: Brian and Jody Bruinsma

Samantha, CourtneyVega, AB: Ronald HamoenPredeceased by one son, Leonard Adrian, on March 1, 1979.Box 63, Vega, AB T0G 2H0

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, whichthe Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and notonly to me but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7,8March 29, 1940 – January 10, 1999On January 10, 1999 the LORD suddenly took unto Himself, at the ap-pointed time, into eternal Glory His child, our beloved brother,brother-in-law and uncle ADRIAN L. HAMOENVega, AB: Case and Dinie Hamoen

Elaine and Ed AikemaTyler, Kyle, Bryan

Adrian and Jacqueline HamoenCarissa, Caitlin, Brett, Melinda

Joanne and Ed deRuiterDyllan

Neerlandia, AB: Helena and Kurtis OlthuisMarie and Gert Steenbergen

Pieter, RandyBarrhead, AB: Ken Hamoen and Maria StelVega, AB: Darlene Hamoen

Obituaries

The Canadian Reformed Society of Burlington, Inc.,operating John Calvin Christian Schoolinvites applications for the position of JUNIOR DIVISION TEACHERfor the 1999-2000 school year.For information about this position, contact the principal Mr. P. deBruinPhone: (905) 634-8015, Fax: (905) 634-9772, Home: (905) 639-0470Applications may be addressed to his attention at the school: 607 Dynes Road, Burlington, ON L7N 2V4

Teaching Positions


The Canadian Reformed School Society of Coaldale, Alberta immediately requires a TEACHER for its Junior High Grades. Preference will be given to those whohave strength in Mathematics and Science.We require teachers as of August 1, 1999 in the elementary andsecondary grades. For the High School we would like to have teach-ers with expertise in Mathematics and Science, although we encour-age all suitable applicants to apply.Interested applicants can obtain information fromMr. G. Van Spronsen, Chairman of the BoardPhone: (403) 345-4852 orMr. J. Harthoorn, PrincipalPhone: (403) 345-4055 (school), (403) 345-4891 (home)

The board of Credo Christian High Schoolinvites applications for September ’99 forTEACHERSThose with aptitude and interest inMATH, SCIENCE and HUMANITIESare particularly urged to apply. Applicants with training in otheracademic areas will also be seriously considered.For further details please contact the principal: Mr. E. VanderboomSchool: (604) 530-5396; Fax: (604) 530-8965Home: (604) 534-8837Please send all correspondence to: Credo Christian High SchoolPO Box 3457, Langley, BC V3A 4R8

Come to the Beautiful ValleyEbenezer Canadian Reformed School of Smithers and Houston,B.C. will require a HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERqualified to teach French and a combination of other Arts subjectsas well as a KINDERGARTEN TEACHER(0.4 position) for the 99/00 school year.Direct inquiries to the Principal, Henk Van Beelen at (250) 847-3492 (school), (250) 847-5924 (home), (250) 847-3912 (fax), or [email protected] (e-mail). Submit applications to the Secretary of the Board, Mr. Walter VanGrootheest, Box 3700, Smithers, BC V0J 2N0

Due to increasing enrollment, the Board of the Canadian Reformed School Society of Smithville and Surrounding District Inc. operating JOHN CALVIN SCHOOL invites application for the position of TEACHERSince grade placements for the next year are yet to be determined,all interested parties are encourage to apply. Any inquiries may beaddressed to the principal, Mr. F.C. Ludwig, at, (905) 957-2341 (school) (905) 957-3111 (home)Letters of application stating your experience, qualifications andviews on Reformed Education should be marked “Personal andConfidential” and sent to: John Hordyk, Secretary of the Education Committee 4121 Aberdeen Road, Beamsville, ON L0R 1B6

The Maranatha/Emmanuel Canadian Reformed School Society Inc. of Fergus, Guelph and district invites applications for TEACHERS for the 1999-2000 school year. For information contact the principal H.J. Nobel School: 1-519-843-3029 Home: 1-519-848-3922 Applications to be addressed to: Maranatha/Emmanuel Christian School, c/o Education Committee,RR 3, Garafraxa Street, Fergus, ON N1M 2W4

The Canadian Reformed Society of Burlington, Inc.,operating John Calvin Christian Schoolinvites applications for the position of PRINCIPALfor the 1999-2000 school year.For information about this position, contact the Board Chairman, Mr. Koos Torenvliet at school, (905) 634-8015, fax: (905) 634-9772, or at home: (905) 528-0453Applications may be addressed to: Education Committee, c/o John Calvin Christian School607 Dynes Road, Burlington, ON L7N 2V4

COVENANT CANADIAN REFORMED TEACHERS COLLEGE

Hamilton, Ontario

A D M I S S I O N SSeptember 1999September 2000

The Board of Covenant College invites applicationsfrom prospective students for the 1999-2000 academicyear and beyond.

The College offers teaching training programs to pre-pare candidates for teaching positions in the K - Grade10 range. Different program tracks are available forcandidates who possess a university degree, and forcandidates who do not possess a university degree.

Prospective candidates are invited to contact the Collegefor more information and/or to obtain an enrolmentpackage. Candidates who plan to seek admission in theyear 2000 are also encouraged to contact the College assoon as possible.

Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College

Location: 410 Crerar Drive, Hamilton, Ontario L9B 1B1

Telephone: 905-385-0634Fax: 905-385-8409E-mail: [email protected]: 856 Upper James Street, Box 20179,

Hamilton, Ontario L9C 7M5

An information evening for all those interested in a teaching career is scheduled for

Thursday evening, February 25, 1999,at Covenant College.


The congregation in Calgary and the school societyoperating Tyndale Christian School have been experiencing significant growth during the recent past. As wehave many small children in our community continued growth in theschool is anticipated. Therefore, TEACHERS interested in teaching multiple grades in Calgary are invited to contactus and apply for a position beginning with the 1999/2000 school year.For further information, please contact our principal, Otto Bouwman, at 403-226-3707 or our Board Chairman, Eric Vanderveen, at 403-280-6480.Applications should be sent to: Tyndale Christian School Board, Box 15, Site 8, RR 6, Calgary, AB T2M 4L5

Timothy Canadian Reformed School Society of Hamilton, Ontario invites applications for the position of PRINCIPAL beginning August 1, 1999. The Society also invites applications forTEACHERS at various grade levelsbeginning August 1, 1999. For more information about these positions, please contact the inter-im principal, Mrs. Karen Dieleman at school (905) 385-3953, fax: (905) 385-3953 or at home (905) 304-4016. Please send applications to the Secretary of the Education Committee c/o Timothy Canadian Reformed School, Box 20007, Upper James Postal Outlet, Hamilton, ON L9C 7M5

Dr. K. Schilder SchoolGrand Rapids, MichiganInvites applications for FULL-TIME TEACHERS at the primary and secondary levels. Duties to commence September, 1999.For inquiries, contact Mr. Keith Sikkema, Principal.Phone: (616) 827-3982 (home)Phone/fax: (616) 698-8020 (school) E-mail: [email protected] of members of American/Canadian Reformed Churches orone of their sister churches may be sent to the President of the Board:Mr. Hank vanBeek, 4511 Morningside Dr., SE Kentwood, MI 49512 USAPhone: (616) 698-8836 E-mail: [email protected]

Guido de Brès Christian High SchoolHamilton, OntarioDue to increases in student enrolment and possible staff replace-ments, we require full and part-timeTEACHERS All positions would commence September 1, 1999.A variety of subject specialties are required, but special considerationwill be given to applicants with qualifications in Drafting, English,French, and Music.For further information contact the principal, Mr. VanDooren,at school, telephone: 905-574-4011, fax: 905-574-8662Letters of application should include university and teaching qualifi-cations, and two letters of reference. Mail to:Guido de Brès Christian High School, Education Committee, Box 20098, Upper James Postal Outlet, Hamilton, Ontario L9C 7M5

The Board of the Canadian Reformed School Society of Chathamand District, operatingEBENEZER CHRISTIAN SCHOOLinvites applications for the following position:KINDERGARTEN TEACHER(2 – 21⁄2 days a week)as well as applications for a possible vacancy for aTEACHER(Full-time, multiple grade, elementary level).In addition, those applicants who feel they are also capable of assuming PRINCIPAL’S duties should indicate so on their application.Abilities in French and Music would be a definite asset for applicantsfor the full-time position.The school has a current enrollment of approximately 85 students fromkindergarten to grade 8. At present, our staff consists of 4 full-timeand 2 part-time teachers.For more information, contact the principal: Mrs. W. Smid70 Main Street East, Ridgetown, ON N0P 2C0 (519) 354-1142Send applications to the chairman of the Education Committee:Mr. John DeBoer, 116 Valley RoadChatham, ON N7L 5L4

Canadian Reformed School SocietyVernon, BC, CanadaInvites applications for the position of TEACHERTeaching multiple gradesCommencing September 1999Vernon, B.C. is an attractive city located in the beautiful OkanaganValley and home of Okanagan University College. Our schoolpresently has 26 students with 2 teachers.Applicants must be certifiable by the Independent Schools Branch ofthe Ministry of Education in British Columbia.For more information contact: Henry van der Molen – Principal5151 Alain Road, Box 20043, Vernon, BC Canada V1T 9L4Tel: (250) 549-3789, e-mail: [email protected] send applications to the Secretary of the school board:Nancy van Delft, 5720 Heritage DriveVernon, BC Canada V1H 1A5Tel: (250) 545-9270 Fax: (250) 542-4746

FOR THE 1999-2000 SCHOOL YEARBecause of increased enrollment and staff replacement theCanadian Reformed School Society of Flamborough, Inc. operating Covenant Christian School is in need of TWO FULL TIME TEACHERS for PRIMARY GRADESQualified persons are asked to send their letter of application and re-sume by February 15, 1999. For further information, please contact the Principal: Mr. G. Hofsink(905) 689-3191 (school) (905) 383-6782 (home)Applications may be sent to:Education Committee – Covenant Christian School497 Millgrove Sideroad, PO Box 2, Millgrove, ON L0R 1V0


The Canadian Reformed School Society of Winnipeg, Inc.has vacancies in the ELEMENTARY LEVELand invites applications fromTEACHERSDuties to commence August 1, 1999Immanuel Christian School has 12 full-time teachers and an enroll-ment of 200 students in the grades K-12.Interested applicants may obtain information from:Mr. H. van Delden, Chairman of the Board, phone 204-224-1620 (home)Mr. A. Gunnink, Principal, phone 204-661-8937, 204-224-9206Please forward your application to:Immanuel Christian School, 215 Rougeau Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2C 3Z9Fax No. 204-669-7013, email: [email protected]

TEACHERS NEEDED – FULL-TIME AND PART-TIMEThe Niagara Reformed Christian Education Association which operates Heritage Christian School (K-OAC)invites applications for the following openings for the 1999/00

school year:Senior grade school teacher (full-time)High School Math/Science (full-time)High School French (part or full-time)High School History (full-time)High School English (full-time)We have been blessed with strong and supportive families for a totalenrollment of more than 450 students, a cohesive, professional staffconsisting of 30-plus full-time and part-time personnel, and beautifulnew facilities. Qualified applicants who seek to serve Jesus Christ inthe area of Christian education and who submit to Scripture as inter-preted by the Reformed confessions are encouraged to apply.Applicants should submit a resumé, a one-page statement of theirphilosophy of education, a one-page statement of faith, and refer-ences as soon as possible. Please send inquiries and/or applications to: Attn: The Principal Heritage Christian School, Box 400, Jordan Station, ON L0R 1S0 CanadaPhone (905) 562-7303 • Fax (905) 562-0020E-mail [email protected]

The Board of Dufferin Christian School, Carman, Manitoba is inviting applications for TEACHERS AT THE KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY LEVELApplicant must be certified or able to obtain Manitoba certification. Duties to commence August 1, 1999. For more information contact the principal: Mr. S.F. Nap, phone: 745-2278 (school) or 745-3688 (home).Resumes stating the applicant’s faith commitment, academic creden-tials, experience, extra curricular interests and other relevant informa-tion should be sent to the Secretary of the School Board on or beforeMarch 10, 1999. Mr. Herro Koster, Box 1450, Carman, MB R0G 0J0 Fax: (204) 745-3441 Applications considered will be notified by telephone for interview date.

The Canadian Reformed School Society of Dufferininvites applications from suitably qualified persons for the position ofKINDERGARTENand possible positions of GRADE 1/2 TEACHER GRADE 3/4 TEACHER for the 1999-2000 school year with duties tocommence September 1999.For more information about this position please call the PrincipalN. Mans at (519) 941-4368 (school) or (519) 941-0464 (home)Please send applications to: The Canadian Reformed School Societyof Dufferin, PO Box 175, Orangeville, ON L9W 2Z6c/o Mr. Robert Allen, Secretary of the School Board

The Canadian Reformed School Society of London and Districtinvites applications for the possible position ofTEACHERfor grades 7 & 8.Special consideration will be given to applicants capable of teaching French at the senior elementary level.Duties to commence August 1, 1999.For more information contact Mr. O. Spriensma, Chairman of the Board at (519) 284-2577.Applications may be sent to: Secretary of the BoardMrs. Thea Heyink, 325 Southdale Road East, London, ON N6E 1A2tel (519) 686-9070, fax (519) 686-9421e-mail [email protected]

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FB2171 Clarion v48n3 final · Title: FB2171 Clarion v48n3 final Created Date: 20050603073717