KIWA Staff File Photo
Grand Rapids, Michigan — A number of the member churches of the Christian Reformed Church of North America are in northwest Iowa. The annual Christian Reformed Synod meetings are done for 2026, and several topics were discussed.
According to the CRCNA news staff, when Synod met in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this week, they discussed:
Calvin University continues to pursue full confessional alignment with the CRC doctrine, but the presence of a Pride flag in the faculty wing caused consternation.
Synod 2026 no longer sees the need for the Dignity Team, a group established in 2022 to help support people who feel they have been victimized by abuses of power in the church.
While seeking to cut costs, Synod 2026 decided to maintain an annual synod, but will look at classis restructuring.
Following extended debate on the purpose and governance of multisite churches, Synod 2026 passed new guidelines for the creation, support, and governance of several kinds of multisite congregations in the CRC.
Synod 2026 affirmed that if councils don’t properly govern themselves, a broader body may step in.
Synod 2026 also agreed to maintain its broader membership criteria for the Christian Reformed Church’s governance board. While not restricted to officebearers, all members sign a statement of agreement with the beliefs of the CRC.
This year’s synod also specified what churches should include in the worship in the Church Order. The actual change will need to be adopted by a subsequent synod.
The over-20-year-old mission and vision statements for the church will get an update. The first report is due to Syond in 2027.
They also discussed the document that a church leader is supposed to submit if they are having an issue with a church teaching, such as how LGBT issues are handled. It was emphasised that the document, called a gravamen, is a temporary notification of “persistent serious doubt” or personal difficulty with a doctrine. They adopted strict guidelines clarifying that this document cannot be used as a permanent loophole. And leaders who cannot align with the CRC’s stance face church discipline or must step down.
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