In July 2020 the congregation of Kelmscott starts a new project: family week. A document has been sent to the congregation and an article with Biblical background will be published in Una Sancta in the near future. In short, what is happening during family week is being described here. Material for the first Family Week… Continue reading Family Week 5-11 July 2020
At synod Bunbury 2018, there were delegates present from three different church federations in Indonesia. Two brothers came on behalf of the GGRI, which are sister churches of the Free Reformed Churches of Australia. Two brothers were present who came from the GGRC, a federation with which the FRCA maintain contact, and which are sister… Continue reading Churches in Indonesia
In June of this year, after severing the ties with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, Synod Bunbury of the Free Reformed Churches of Australia (FRCA) decided to maintain contact with two small church federations in the Netherlands. These churches are usually referred to with the acronyms DGK and GKN. DGK stands for De Gereformeerde… Continue reading Attempt to church unity in the Netherlands
In my first article with Synod Reflections, I already mentioned a few things about relationships with sister churches and contact churches. There I discussed the argument of geographical distance, which has been used in the past as a reason not to enter in a sister church relationship with church federations in other parts of the… Continue reading Synod Reflections (3): Inter Church Relations
Synod Bunbury 2018 had to deal with a number of appeals. Usually, appeals are being dealt with in closed session because the character of an appeal is, that it is about personal matters. Article 31 of the Church Order states: ‘If anyone complains that he has been wronged by the decision of a minor assembly… Continue reading Synod Reflections (2): Appeals
Synod Bunbury 2018 is history. Synod closed on Tuesday at around 8 PM. The delegates met for six days over the course of one week and one day, in the Southern River church building. Some say that this is a record. I don’t know about that. It for sure is since 2003, but I don’t… Continue reading Synod Bunbury 2018: Reflections
On the 18th of June, the Synod of the Free Reformed Churches of Australia will convene. This synod will have to deal with the report of the deputies for relations with our Dutch sister churches. This report has received quite some attention in our churches. Of course, this also leads to the inevitable situation in… Continue reading How do we read the Bible?
The attempt by churches to make themselves more acceptable to the world and to attract more members has led to a decline in those churches. We’ve seen a warning example of this in the Netherlands in the RCN (GKv). The following article by Christopher J Gordon [i]shows how this attempt to be more accommodating to… Continue reading The Burning of the Wooden Shoes – Christopher J. Gordon
Three well known leaders within Christianity were in the news recently. Two because of their passing away from this earthly life, one because of his resignation as leader of a well known mega church: Billy Graham, R.C. Sproul, and Bill Hybels. Billy Graham Billy Graham is a world renown evangelist. In February, we published a… Continue reading About Bill, Billy and R.C.
With sadness we see our Dutch sister churches going into a direction which leads away from the truly Reformed heritage. Last year we remembered that five hundred years ago the church under God’s grace returned to the Bible. One of the important issues in the time of the Reformation was the authority of the Bible.… Continue reading Are we following the Reformed Churches in The Netherlands?
On 18 June 2018, the Synod of the Free Reformed Churches of Australia will convene in the Southern River church building. 18 February was the closing date for the material for the provisional agenda. After this date, no new items can be placed on the agenda. Churches can still interact with the material that is… Continue reading FRCA Synod 2018 – A Preview
ARPA Canada lawyer, John Sikkema ARPA lawyer John Sikkema appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada last week, making arguments as an intervener in the so-called “Wall” case. That’s the one where the Supreme Court has been asked whether secular courts have authority to intervene in matters of ecclesiastical discipline. The arguments are being heard… Continue reading The Supreme Court as Reformed Synod?
Andre Schutten, Director of Law and Policy of ARPA Canada, reports on the proceedings at a Justice Committee meeting of the House of Commons in Canada, as the committee debated the amendments to Bill 51 and the clause on s. 176 which gives enhanced protections to worship services in Canada’s Criminal Code. The government of… Continue reading Canada: Criminal Law protections for worship services saved
