A Church Reforming to Reach the Lost for Christ

Christian Reformed Churches of Australia

The Mandate of the CER

The CER shall

  1. Facilitate the ecumenical relationships of the CRCA through  contact other churches of Reformed/Presbyterian persuasion with a view to establishing mutually beneficial  ecumenical fellowship.
  2. Participate in ecumenical organisations in which the CRCA has membership, in accordance with the Church Order and Synodical decisions.
  3. Develop and maintain ecumenical relationships with other Reformed/Presbyterian Churches on the basis of
      1. Reformed confessions, polity and liturgy both in terms of their formal standards and their actual practice
      2. an agreed upon bilateral relationship, and, as a complement to the foregoing
      3. shared membership in the Reformed Ecumenical Council or any other ecumenical agency in which the CRCA has membership

         

  4. Undertake ecumenical relationships with the following goals:
      1. Mutual understanding of our shared calling as reformed churches, seeking always to maintain confessional integrity.
      2. Mutual cooperation in mission and diaconal work
      3. Mutual encouragement in proclamation of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ;
      4. Mutual pursuit of the unity of the Church of Jesus Christ (Church Order, Art 53) at local, regional, national and international levels.

         

  5. Facilitate ecumenical relationships in accordance with Synodical decisions re: Churches in Ecclesiastical Fellowship (CEF) (see below).
  6. Keep the churches informed as to developments in those denominations who are accepted as Churches in Ecclesiastical Fellowship through study of and contact with other reformed denominations, as discretion and opportunity allow.
  7. Advise the Synod as to
      1. the progress or otherwise of the established relationships, ascertaining whether such relationships are warranted and fruitful.
      2. which Churches should be received as Churches in Ecclesiastical Fellowship, and on what grounds.
      3. which CEF level should apply to each church
      4. reformed ecumenical organisations in which the CRCA should seek membership or affiliation.