Synod votes to condense classes, regional synods

Delegates affirmed work of restructuring team by passing multiple recommendations with overwhelming majorities

In its first plenary session considering proposals from the restructuring team, General Synod overwhelmingly approved five restructuring recommendations.

After two years of work, the restructuring team brought ten recommendations for a denominational structure it discerned will best serve the Reformed Church in America for sustained spiritual and organizational health, now and in the future. These recommendations were designed to respond to the smaller size of the denomination after the departure of more than 200 churches in the last few years, and to update structures for current and future ministry realities.

On Friday morning, representatives from the restructuring team presented an overview of the team’s final report and recommendations, and then delegates spent 90 minutes in discussion groups with trained facilitators to process and ensure understanding of the final recommendations and their implications. By Friday evening, delegates appeared ready to vote, moving quickly through several recommendations in succession.

Many of the recommendations require additional approvals before they can be implemented; here’s what received  initial approval on Friday evening.

Watch the Friday evening plenary to see the full discussion.

Condense regional synods and classes into a single assembly

The first recommendation on the synod floor was to condense two of the RCA’s four assemblies—regional synods and classes—into one. (The other assemblies, the local congregation and the General Synod, will be preserved.) The recommendation came from the Commission on Church Order, at the request of the restructuring team. CO 24-4 contained 35 pages of amendments to chapter 2 (the Disciplinary and Judicial Procedures) of the Book of Church Order (BCO), eliminating a level of governance and creating judicial bodies at the classis and General Synod levels.

The Advisory Committee on Church Order and Governance, which reviewed the recommendation, advised approval. Minutes later, the General Synod voted in favor of the recommendation with 149 affirmative votes and 25 negative votes, beginning the process of condensing the regional synods and classes into a single assembly. As a constitutional change, this also requires approval by two-thirds of classes, then ratification by General Synod 2025.

Read this appendix prepared by the Commission on Church Order, which shows the new BCO text as it has now been approved by the General Synod.

Significant shifts are anticipated under the new structure as current classes and regional synods reform into middle assemblies.

“It is the intent of this team that each congregation will get to choose the middle assembly to which it belongs,” wrote the team in their appendix of frequently asked questions.

For an in-depth look at how middle assemblies may be formed, see this appendix.

Ensuring equity in the new judicial process

Merging the two assemblies into one necessitated new judicial bodies, which were part of the recommendation. An advisory committee that reviewed the proposal was concerned that these bodies be adequately diverse to support the RCA’s multicultural future freed from racism.

“Diverse perspectives are required for fairness, cultural understanding, wisdom, and justice, especially if the parties are members of an underrepresented group,” explained the committee in its report.

To ensure equitable representation on the proposed General Synod Commission on Judicial Business, the advisory committee made a motion to direct the Commission on Church Order, in consultation with the Commission on Race and Ethnicity and the Commission for Women to propose how the General Synod Commission on Judicial Business will include sufficient diversity and to present recommendations to General Synod 2025. The motion was approved by the General Synod with 154 “yes” votes and 21 “no” votes.

The advisory committee also noted that the aim of this direction is not to “infringe upon the rights or authorities of the middle assemblies as it determines its nominees … but to assure equitable representation on the General Synod Commission on Judicial Business.”

Update the name of the merged assembly to reinforce a new vision

Following the recommendation to consolidate governing bodies of the RCA came a recommendation from the restructuring team to give the new body the name “middle assembly” rather than “classis.”

“Middle assembly” is a “new term for a new vision,” stated the team. “The new middle assemblies will be assemblies that have greater resources than our current classes and also stronger, more direct connections to congregations than our current regional synods.”

The Advisory Committee on Church Order and Governance advised a vote in favor of the recommendation. After some discussion on the floor, an overturned amendment to the recommendation, and a discussion on the name change implications for translating to languages beyond English, the recommendation passed 154-25.

“I found a way to work my head and heart around this term,” said delegate Steve Norman, a minister from the Central California Classis. “I wanted something biblical and something that fit polity. And guess what? This is biblical and it fits polity because the word in the New Testament for church is an assembly… and polity-wise, we govern through assemblies. … I think I don’t like it, but I can buy it.”

This approved recommendation will require a global name change in the BCO. The name change to “middle assembly” is a constitutional change and thus requires adoption by a General Synod, approval by two-thirds of classes, and then ratification by a second General Synod.

 

Hold General Synod in person every three years

The most-discussed recommendation of the night was the frequency of in-person General Synod meetings. The restructuring team’s recommendation instructed the Commission on Church Order to propose amendments to the BCO so that the General Synod meets in person every three years, with a shorter virtual annual meeting each year in between. In the end, delegates voted in favor of the recommendation 125-51.

Delegates considered at length an amendment that would change the recommendation language to an in-person meeting every two years instead of three.

Members of the team explained that the three-year figure came after consideration of feedback from roundtable meetings, as well as findings of other denominations who have shifted to less frequent in-person meetings with virtual meetings in between and have benefitted from that viability. Denominational budget constraints were also a significant factor behind this recommendation. General secretary Eddy Alemán spoke candidly of the tough decisions that continue to come with a much lower denominational income. This shift in the frequency of in-person General Synod meetings is a way that the denomination can seek to live within those new means. The proposed change has the potential to save the denomination nearly $1.5 million over the next three years.

After the amendment to move to every-other-year synods was overturned, delegates wrestled with the prioritization of financial costs versus relational costs. Some celebrated the possibilities of virtual meetings, including an opportunity to incorporate younger tech-savvy, resource-pinched delegates at virtual General Synods, while others lamented the challenge of building and maintaining relationships through virtual mediums like Zoom.

A less frequent General Synod meeting has been proposed multiple times in the denomination’s history. The recommendation from the restructuring team comes at a time when virtual meetings are normalized and cost savings would be beneficial.

The restructuring team’s vision is for the shorter virtual General Synod meetings to include “break out” rooms for the purpose of building relationships, which has long been a celebrated hallmark of the RCA.

“The team acknowledges there is a relational difference between in-person and virtual meetings,” the team wrote in their FAQ document. “However, as the world has learned to embrace virtual meetings, we believe the benefits of meeting in person less often are compelling. These benefits include the potential of increasing the pool of those able to attend by removing travel barriers, the ability to still develop some relationships through improved online meeting tools, an increased focus on emphasizing local assemblies over the General Synod (in alignment with our polity, which is not meant to be top-down), and significant cost savings.”

The Commission on Church Order will bring recommended BCO amendments to General Synod 2025. If approved then, the amendments will also need approval by two-thirds of classes, then ratification by another General Synod. The restructuring team has offered suggestions to the commission as they consider aspects and requirements for virtual meetings, which can be found in full on pages 129-130 of the restructuring team’s report.

Resize the delegation of General Synod, and adjust the approval process for changes to the Book of Church Order

General Synod approved both the second and third recommendations (RF 24-2 and 24-3, respectively) of the restructuring team, both aimed at living into the reality of a smaller denomination and re-establishing equity in representation. Both recommendations instruct the Commission on Church Order to propose amendments to the Book of Church Order for report to the General Synod in 2025.

Specifically, the amendments will “change the method of calculation for middle assembly [classis] delegations to the General Synod … so that each middle assembly [classis] receives one minister delegate and one elder delegate for each 2,000 confessing members or fraction thereof.” (Read RF 24-2 on page 123 of the General Synod Workbook.)

Restructuring team members highlighted that this will lower the overall number of delegates to General Synod to reflect the new size of the denomination. It will also create significant cost savings and more closely align with the current sizes of RCA classes; 38 of 46 classes have 2,000 or fewer members. Another hoped-for outcome is that it will make delegations more representative for both smaller and larger middle assemblies. A repeated value of this new calculation process would be that this method will not hinder or sway how middle assemblies form during the restructuring process.

These motions would maintain that a two-thirds majority of middle assemblies would be necessary to make changes to the BCO, including approval by two General Synods. However, the middle assembly votes would be weighted based on the membership size of the churches who compose those assemblies.

The Commission on Church Order will develop the constitutional amendments called for by these votes and present them to next year’s General Synod for initial approval. If the amendments are approved in 2025, they will require approval by two-thirds of the classes and ratification by a subsequent General Synod.

RF 24-2 passed 144-30, and RF 24-3 passed 165-16.

What’s next

The evening ended with extensive applause in appreciation for the work of the restructuring team; throughout the session, numerous delegates expressed appreciation for the amount of feedback and listening the team incorporated into its work.

Deliberations on the team’s remaining proposals will continue on Saturday morning; watch the General Synod videostream at www.rca.org/synod.

Constitutional changes to the Book of Church Order require adoption by General Synod, approval by two-thirds of classes, and ratification by a following General Synod. The constitutional changes adopted this year will go to classes for their consideration over the following year.

For full coverage of General Synod 2024, visit www.rca.org/synod.