Dear Canadians,
There most certainly seems to have been Synodical over-reach during the past several Synods with respect for the original authority of the local church in the life of each community. That has spurred the desire among the congregations of the CRCs in Canada to commit to minister together in a pan-Canadian, autonomous CRC denomination of churches. There is a desire to deepen and expand a contextualized, engaged public witness to God’s grace and restore love for every aspect of creation and society.
This engaged, public witness, as we have noted in several recent posts, is a continued vision of the Canadian CRC: encouraging active engagement in God’s work in Canada. In fact, the CRC in Canada has a history of being involved and needs to continue to bring the word of God into Canadian national conversations. In Canada, Reformed Engagement in Culture still has strong support, despite differences about specific issues. Discerning together what in Canadian culture advances God's mission for all of creation and what impedes it, continues to be important. Working together to contribute to what is positive through public witness and action can give shape to plans that both involve local churches and add value at a national level. The need for a Canadian, autonomous, decision-making space to do that well continues to be necessary: speaking truth to power.
It is safe to say that the current Canadian/US political and economic relationship is at best, strained; at worst, broken. Yet, this fact (alone) is not the reason for the need for separate CRC entities, Canada and America. This fraught relationship is symptomatic of the increasing gap between the two cultures, approaches, priorities, and a host of other characteristics. Invariably, cultures reveal themselves in actions. American culture, as manifested in current events, manifests itself also in the church(es), same for Canadian culture. The differences about which we have spoken earlier, have now come more sharply into focus. It is time to enable the US and Canadian CRCs to grow and develop on their own, in their own contexts.
Thank you all for your support,
Blessings,
Peter Bulthuis, for TCRCC
