June 16, 2005

PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – Synod 2005 took several small steps last night to facilitate the ordination of women in the Christian Reformed Church. But it stopped short of allowing women to serve as delegates to synod.

Instead, synod said it would revisit the issue of female delegates at a time when a majority of classes allow the ordination of women as officebearers. Currently just under half of the 47 classes have taken that step.

Debate around this issue was long, passionate and courteous. Both sides referred to the declarations of Synod 1995 and Synod 2000, which affirmed that both positions on the ordination of women honor Scripture.

Synod did make it easier to ordain women in classes where this is permitted. First, it asked CRC Publications to make the language in ordination and installation forms gender inclusive.

Second, in classes where some delegates object to participating in the examination for ordination of a female candidate, the examination may take place in a smaller gathering. In the event that not enough delegates can be found in that classis, churches in a neighboring classis may be invited to participate in the examination.

In a third small step, synod said that a classis may appoint a female minister to serve as a synodical deputy, as long as a male minister is the alternate.

Synod was discussing the report of a study committee that had been asked to review the CRC's current policy on female officebearers. That policy, established in 1995, gave classes and congregations the option of opening some or all ecclesiastical offices to women by declaring the word "male" in the Church Order Article 3-a to be inoperative.

Christian Reformed Church