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Getting to Know our Ecumenical Partners:
The Reformed Church in America
By Rocky Piro, Commission on Ecumenical
Relations Chair
Over the past several months, The Spirit has had a
series of articles on church bodies with which the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has entered into full communion.
This month we focus on the Reformed Church in America (R.C.A.),
one of three Protestant churches from the Reformed tradition that
the ELCA established full communion with in 1997 – the other two
church bodies being the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the
United Church of Christ.
The Reformed Church, along with the Lutheran Church, traces its
history back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th
Century. Twenty years after Martin Luther posted his 95 Thesis
in Wittenberg, Germany, a Swiss theologian, John Calvin, further
expanded on basic reformation principles. His understandings about
the nature of God and God's relationship with humanity in what
came to be known as Reformed theology. Calvin’s reform movement
spread to Scotland, where it became the Presbyterian Church, and
to the Netherlands, where it became the Dutch Reformed Church.
The Reformed Church in America was founded in 1628 – just 21
years after the American colony at Jamestown was established –
by the Dutch who settled in New Amsterdam (now New York City).
While Dutch in origin, the Reformed Church in America today
includes North America's ethnic and racial diversity. The church
has about 950 congregations in the United States and Canada and a
total membership of more than 300,000 adults, youth, and children.
The denomination’s missionaries teach, practice medicine, and
engage in community development worldwide in countries like
Ecuador, Kenya, Japan, and Estonia.
The Reformed Church, along with the Lutheran Church, affirms
three creeds that arose in the early church: the Apostle's
Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Nicene Creed.
In addition, the Reformed Church in America accepts the following
three confessional statements as expressions of its basic beliefs:
The Heidelberg Catechism – Formulated during the
Reformation, and still regarded as an important teaching tool,
this Catechism has had by far the most formative influence on the
life of the Reformed Church.
The Belgic Confession – Written in the 16th
Century, during a period of strong political ties between Spain
and the people of the Low Countries (including modern day
Holland), this Confession was intended to persuade Philip II of
Spain that Reformed people did not hold heretical views. The
primary author of the Confession, Pastor Guido de Bres, hoped to
convince the king to stop persecuting the Protestants; he himself
became a martyr for his faith in 1567.
The Canons of Dort – Formulated in 1618 to resolve a
dispute among Dutch theological professors on the issue of divine
sovereignty in the work of salvation.
The Reformed Church in America has a long and fruitful history
with ecumenical partners. From grassroots initiatives to worldwide
councils, the Reformed have witnessed in word and deed to the
unity of the church. The Reformed Church in America is a member of
the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and is a founding member
of the World Council of Churches and the National Council of
Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. The Reformed also express unity
by working in partnership with other denominations to publish
resources, host training events, and coordinate special programs.
The Reformed Church in America’s mission program operates
through partnerships with other Christian churches and mission
organizations.
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