Thank you for your question. What is or is not ecclesiastical or how matters are dealt with in an ecclesiastical manner by church assemblies continues to be a matter of debate among Reformed polity experts. Opinions can and do vary. The Church Order does not seem to clearly define "ecclesiastical" for itself apart from the contexts in which the word is used. The Church Order Article 28a does delimit that which the assemblies take up and the manner by which it deals with them. "These assemblies shall transact ecclesiastical matters only, and shall deal with them in an ecclesiastical way" ( Church Order and its Supplements 2020, page 43).
The framers of the SALT report upon the advice of leading Canadian tax lawyers understood that the Canada Revenue Agency and the Income Tax Act of Canada do not regulate areas of church doctrine, church polity/organization, and religious practices. These areas in the eyes of government regulators are what define organizations as being ecclesiastical in nature.
Thank you very much for your question. You are correct the ecclesial system of the CRCNA also includes roughly 1100 incorporated congregations and many classis. Indeed the ministry footprint is arguably much larger and global in scope.
The answer provided ought to have distinguished between the synodically created ministry corporations /organizations as an inset to the primary ecclesial system. This seemed self-evident to us in the context of the SALT report but perhaps not so much to the wider audience.
Kathy helpfully points out that there is a lot of history and complexity in how the CRCNA has engaged binationality. Given that, we agree that it would be good for you to gain an accurate understanding of what is now proposed. Perhaps the best way to begin is to read the COD-adopted SALT report for yourself: https://www.crcna.org/sites/default/files/2021_structure_and_leadership_task_force.pdf. Thanks for engaging!”
Posted in: The SALT Report Explained: Question #2
Thank you for your question. What is or is not ecclesiastical or how matters are dealt with in an ecclesiastical manner by church assemblies continues to be a matter of debate among Reformed polity experts. Opinions can and do vary. The Church Order does not seem to clearly define "ecclesiastical" for itself apart from the contexts in which the word is used. The Church Order Article 28a does delimit that which the assemblies take up and the manner by which it deals with them. "These assemblies shall transact ecclesiastical matters only, and shall deal with them in an ecclesiastical way" ( Church Order and its Supplements 2020, page 43).
The framers of the SALT report upon the advice of leading Canadian tax lawyers understood that the Canada Revenue Agency and the Income Tax Act of Canada do not regulate areas of church doctrine, church polity/organization, and religious practices. These areas in the eyes of government regulators are what define organizations as being ecclesiastical in nature.
Posted in: The SALT Report Explained: Question #6
Thank you very much for your question. You are correct the ecclesial system of the CRCNA also includes roughly 1100 incorporated congregations and many classis. Indeed the ministry footprint is arguably much larger and global in scope.
The answer provided ought to have distinguished between the synodically created ministry corporations /organizations as an inset to the primary ecclesial system. This seemed self-evident to us in the context of the SALT report but perhaps not so much to the wider audience.
Posted in: The SALT Report Explained: Question #2
Kathy helpfully points out that there is a lot of history and complexity in how the CRCNA has engaged binationality. Given that, we agree that it would be good for you to gain an accurate understanding of what is now proposed. Perhaps the best way to begin is to read the COD-adopted SALT report for yourself: https://www.crcna.org/sites/default/files/2021_structure_and_leadership_task_force.pdf. Thanks for engaging!”