Classis Niagara - September 29th, 2021
Classis Niagara
Let me begin by giving some basic information about how Mountainview fits into the broader church structure. This may be old hat to some, but I would like anyone reading this to get the bigger picture. As a Christian Reformed Church, Mountainview is automatically part of a region of churches called a Classis, in our case Classis Niagara as it includes the churches of the Niagara Region. Two or three representatives from each church in this regional group called Classis have an all-day meeting three times a year. At these meetings decisions are made about ministry we do together like Campus Ministry at Brock University or starting new churches. It also happens at this meeting that our region can comment on what is going on in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. That is the name of our denomination, with churches in Canada and the United States.
When Classis Niagara meets on October 27, there will be an overture (formal proposal) from Mountainview and the same proposal from Providence Beamsville. It has to do with the dismissal of Darren Roorda as Canadian Ministry Director and the hope is to reverse that decision. If you want to read what the overture says, you can access it from the Classis Niagara website or ask me to send you a copy. My goal here is to simply let everyone know this is happening.
At this same meeting, there will be a discussion of five different overtures having to do with the HSR (Human Sexuality Report). This report is the 176 page report outlining theology around a number of issues having to do with Human Sexuality, though most people think of it as being mostly being about same-sex relationship issues. In preparation for the October meeting, those of us who are representing Mountainview are participating in Challenging Conversation groups so that we can hear how others think and feel about the report and the issues raised. These are the same kinds of Challenging Conversations that we will be having at Mountainview in the new year, for which over a dozen of us were trained to facilitate. Again, you can access the HSR and the overtures on the Classis Niagara website, as well as the overtures which can be found in the agenda for the October meeting. If I have lost you in the details and strange names, and you want to know more about these things, feel free to contact me and I will do my best to walk you through it. My goal in this writing is to simply make sure you know that this is happening.
I have been told that there has not been an overture at Classis Niagara since before the turn of the century, and now there are seven. It seems that we are at a very significant stage in our history. At times like this we need to be much in prayer that the Holy Spirit will guide our discernment to places of peace and truth. I invite you to join in that prayer.
Pastor Erick Schuringa