Dear Rose Park,
So much has happened in the past several months. Schedules have been drastically altered. Organizations have been creative in how to keep moving forward. Businesses have changed their model on how to keep doors open and manage risk. Churches have had to re-imagine what worship looks like from a distance. Our vision and expectation of societal structures (i.e. schools, businesses, churches, etc.) are changing and the Reformed Church in America is not exempt from that change.
Hopefully you are aware, but our denomination (the Reformed Church in America) has been engaging in a conversation of change for the past several decades. Since 2018, the Vision 2020 team was tasked to research possible scenarios for the future of the RCA as it relates to the denomination’s stance towards human sexuality. To be more specific, let me simply quote their report:
In all this time and through all these actions, the people of God at all levels of the denomination have done their best to faithfully interpret God’s will for the church where those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or ally are concerned. There have been many moments where we have truly been the church, drawing closer to God through prayer and worship, and drawing closer to one another by listening and seeking to understand. Other moments have been a cause for grief, admonition, confession, and repentance, when we have forgotten who God calls us to be as the church and in relation to one another.
June 2020 was supposed to be the time where potential changes were proposed and adopted at General Synod; however, because of Covid-19 those proposals have been postponed until General Synod 2021. In short, the Vision 2020 team was tasked to research and discern the following three scenarios: staying together, radical reconstitution and reorganization, or grace-filled separation.
I’ve posted the link to the entire report at the bottom of this letter and I’d encourage you to read it in its’ entirety. As I read it, I realized yet again change is inevitable. Regardless of which decision is made and which proposal is adopted, our denomination will change. For some, change is scary and for others, it is hopeful. For me, it’s both.
I have great hope that God will continue to call us as a body of churches to worship together, yet I also recognize the possibility that we or our neighboring churches might be worshipping under a different denominational title. This change requires lament and conversation, but it also gives us great perspective in reminding ourselves of who is the aim of our worship. I love the Reformed Church in America deeply; I was raised in it, trained in it, ordained in it, and have ministered in it for the past six years. However, the aim of my worship and ministry will always be towards the crown of Christ.
As we navigate these unprecedented times and wait one more year until General Synod 2021, I’d ask that you join me in giving thanks to God and praying for the Vision 2020 team, for the leaders in our denomination, and for the RCA as a whole. As we seek to be together in the midst of change, may our hearts and eyes come back towards the heavens to see and embrace the fullness of Christ.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark
https://www.rca.org/synod/vision2020/reformed-church-in-america-vision-2020-team-final-report/