Report of Classis Hamilton meeting: May 19, 2009 at Calvary CRC, Flamborough, ON

Classis Hamilton began its meeting at 9:00 a.m. Meetings always start with opening devotions led by the host Church, followed by a ‘state of the host-church’ report. This report is one of the ways in which Classis has tried to shift from mostly business to sharing in ministry and partnership as churches together. Classis heard of the different ‘groupings’ that make up Calvary CRC, Flamborough, and some of the dynamics that influence their ministry. These include dealing with changing worship style, sensing a change in focus increasingly to the local scene and less so on Classical and Denominational ministry, and a process of restructuring the Council.

Classis was chaired by Pastor Trevor Payton, with Pastor Jeff Janssen as vice chair and Hans Vander Stoep filling in as clerk for Peter Zwart – Peter was unable to be there due to health concerns. At this Classis meeting there were 4 first time delegates which meant that it was a more experienced group than usual. Classis also welcomed for the first time delegates from the Living Mosaic church plant in Burlington and the New Hope Hamilton satellite as Classis approved at its last meeting that these ‘emerging’ churches also have a voice and vote at the table.

With the concurrence of representatives of Synod (Synodical deputies) Classis said ‘farewell’ to the former pastor of Simcoe, Steve Baarda, who has officially left CRC ministry to pursue another career. Shortly afterwards, after an inspiring session of examining Ministry Associates Syd Hielema and John Span, Classis unanimously passed recommendations approving them for the office of Ministry Associate. Syd Hielema will serve in that capacity as chaplain at Redeemer University College, and John Span was approved in the capacity of Evangelist in Guinea. Classis gave thanks for two very gifted men with whom God has blessed the church.

Part of the regular business of Classis involves hearing the reports of those who are involved in the more regular ministries of Classis. This includes the Chaplaincy at McMaster led by Mike Fallon and various agencies. CRC World Missions representative, Rev. Derek Bouma spoke of budget cuts given the current economic concerns (15%), but the determination to find other ways to meet ministry opportunity with a focus on training and partnering.

Wendy Gritter introduced Classis to New Direction Ministries, a source of support for people of faith addressing personal questions around sexuality. Holding to the same biblical understanding as the CRC, NDM focuses on the area that is often the hardest for family and churches, namely reaching out pastorally to, and supporting, those dealing with these questions in the context of the local church.

Bruce Dykstra spoke for CEAF (Christian Education Assistance Foundation) and identified that while Christian schools are growing in many places, in Ontario they have seen a decrease from 14,000 enrolled 4 years ago down to about 10,000 today. While there may be a variety of reasons for this, CEAF offers a program to help schools/parents meet the financial burdens involved. One of the delegates pointed to the 2005 Synodical report on Christian Education as a wonderful read for those who would like to get a good sense of what and why Christian education has been so important..

Classis also spent significant time getting an update on the work and planning of the Classis Leadership Team. This is the ‘new’ team classis has put in place to help Classis and its meetings become increasingly ministry and community focused for the good of the churches. Ed Witvoet (Meadowlands Fellowship CRC - Sea to Sea Bike tour manager) is the newly appointed Classis Ministries Coordinator. Ed introduced himself and his personal faith/life journey that led him to this point in service to the Lord. Part of the way Classis hopes to be more ministry and community oriented is by having clusters of churches (Hamilton East, Central and West) meet more regularly to talk about, plan and encourage individual and shared ministries. This will likely begin in the not-to-distant future.

Classis also approved the appointment of Wilma Wiersma (York CRC) as Classical Prayer Coordinator. Wilma will be contacting churches in the near future to talk with and coordinate ways in which the ministry of prayer can be better coordinated for the ministries of our Churches and Classis.

The Youth Ministry report identified among other things that:
- the Classis-initiated youth services are going well,
- 843 youth were in attendance at the all Ontario Youth Convention over the past long weekend
- a Young Adults conference is coming up in August
- the ‘why are youth leaving the church’ discussion evening was not only well attended but held a very meaningful time of discussion

This session of Classis was one of the longer ones in more recent memory. It continued into the evening with a planned panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities of being a bi-national church, looking specifically at our place as a Canadian church in that context. The roots of this discussion go back to the Council of Christian Reformed Churches in Canada and the desire to find ways to facilitate and empower the Canadian CRC to consider how to best minister to whatever may be unique to the Canadian scene. While no specific decisions were made, good working relationships within the bi-national context, good cooperation between and within agencies on both sides of the border, and the acknowledgement of a place for more dialogue on what this means and how we can grow in this as Canadian churches were part of the discussion.

Classis adjourned at about 8:50 p.m. with thanks to those who gave leadership in the meetings of the day.

Serving as Reporter: Pastor Henry Kranenburg