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Synod 2024
I believe the staff of The Banner was jolted by the results of Synod 2024 and at a loss on how to report it (“Resounding Words,” July/August 2024). … While most mainline churches have abandoned or reinterpreted the creeds and confessions on which they were based, they have left behind many thousands of members in search of a church that remains faithful to Scripture. We can become their new home. Now is the time to abandon apologies and equivocations and promote our unique position with enthusiasm.
Ed Gabrielse // St Charles, Ill.
I was struck by this dialogue while watching the movie Conclave: “There is one sin which I have come to fear above all others: certainty. Certainty is the great enemy of unity, the deadly enemy of tolerance. If there was only certainty, and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And, therefore, no need for faith.” A cautionary tale for the CRCNA? Synod is supposed to be a deliberative body, with delegates listening well and gaining from the wisdom of others. At Synod 2024, where was listening to understand? Where was the thoughtful deliberation, the openness to other interpretations of Scripture within Reformed understanding? Was there room for doubt? Where was there a recognition of the mystery, that now we see through a glass darkly, that not all things are known to us on this side of eternity? I found missing from the decisions mercy and compassion for our LGBTQ+ siblings and those who support them. Christians are stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:1), and we cannot with certainty know God’s will in all things. Surely our decisions should reflect faith, not certainty, leaning on the grace of Jesus Christ.
Bev Bandstra // Ladner, B.C.
Elephants in the Room
As I was reading the editorial “Elephants in the Room” (October 2024), I was taken back to the time my wife and I were in northern Thailand riding logging elephants. Those elephants were under the complete control of their masters. They would rather serve their rider than themselves. Isn’t that what happens to us when we submit to the Holy Spirit and let God rule us? Sure, we can go back to the life we once had and let it drive us, but born-again Christians want to serve their master. Paul calls us to beat our old nature into submission to Christ. Our old nature is no longer what drives our motives and desires. The editor says we are driven by our old nature of the past, which causes division and strife. I agree. That is why there is a fix to this dilemma: submit to the Spirit’s leading. Let God’s Spirit sanctify us and bring us into full communion with him. That is when sins are revealed and healing can begin.
Randy Eskes // Ripon, Calif.
I am a retired CRC pastor who has been living outside the CRC community for more than three years. I was reading your editorial in the most recent issue and was unsettled after reading it. … When you neglect the discussion of God’s will and obedience to it and God’s Word and our submission to it, you do so at the detriment of the denomination and the ministry of the church. My heart aches for people who are outside the Word and will of God. But my ignoring their sin, self-righteous behavior, and even hypocritical behavior does not do them or the church any good. The church is not ours; it is the body of Christ. We are not fit to do as we will with it. I’d rather sit in the courts of the Lord than in the council of the wicked—and all the while be in prayer that God’s gift of grace in Jesus brings them back to their home, with the loving Father that asks that they trust him alone and obey his Word and will.
Paul Hansen // Grand Rapids, Mich.
Centering Justice in Food Security
I am thankful for the informative article about the Table Urban Farm and Community Church in the November issue of The Banner. As a board member, I'd like to highlight and add a bit of additional information. The Table began in 2011 as a CRC church plant. Since 2012, the directors, Craig and Jeanine Kopaska Broek, have been growing food and distributing it directly to local families and local partners, free of charge, as well as building community in south Denver. The fresh produce is often distributed a day or two after harvest or refrigerated and offered freely to the public at the Table Public House, a community cafe and gathering place, which is also the location of weekly worship gatherings called "The Feast." As of September, the Table Urban Farm owns the Public House. The goal is that the Public House will be able to underwrite the expenses of the food-growing ministry and to continue to be a place for people to gather and have fellowship. Thanks to many of you for your prayers and financial support.
Barry Meyer // Denver, Colo.