Prior to the official start of our meeting, President Dennis Luquette led the delegates in a discussion about evangelism and encouraged us to read The Wonderful Works of God by Herman Bavinck. For this meeting of classis, there were eleven pastors and nine elders present. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez was elected president, Rev. Chuck Muether was elected vice-president, Rev. James Grossmann was elected to continue as clerk, and Elder Alan Hermann was re-elected as our classis treasurer. With thankfulness we welcomed Rev. Matthew Dawn as a new minister serving at Peace Reformed Church in Garner, Iowa.
Much of the meeting on Tuesday was spent hearing the parochial reports of each pastor, discussing the reports together, and praying for the churches of classis. Currently there are three churches without a pastor in our classis: Heritage Reformed (Waymart, PA), Peace Reformed (Napoleon, OH), and Redeemer Reformed (Minneapolis, MN).
Fraternal delegates brought greetings: Rev. Austin Reifel as a delegate from Classis Eastern U.S. of the URCNA. He serves at Indy Reformed Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Rev. Arnie Vreugdenhil was also present from Classis Ontario West of the CanRC.
Tuesday evening concluded with a service of worship to our Triune God. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez led the service, and Rev. Dan Schnabel preached a sermon on 1 Peter 4:7-11 entitled, “Living Eagerly and Fully in Light of Christ’s Return.”
On Wednesday morning, Rev. Breno Macedo led us in devotions on Acts 28:17-31, looking at how the King builds his kingdom. He spoke about kingdom victory, kingdom opportunities, and kingdom growth. The delegates also heard the reports of the standing committees of classis. In the missions’ committee report, we prayed for Immanuel Reformed Fellowship, a mission work in South Central Iowa that is being financially supported by classis and synod.
Read the full article at: https://rcus.org/article/covenant-east-classis-meeting-report/
