NL: Synod adopts regulation for permanent education

Permanent education

The permanent education replaces the three-months-study-leave, which ministers can take every five years. Not all synod members were pleased with the new regulation. ‘I have always worked permanently on my education’, rev. H. van Dalen (classis Doetinchem) said. He feared disintegration, bureaucracy and patronizing in the new regulation. A number of ministers pointed out that the study leave initially was a measure for working hours reduction. In practice it often is a period of reflection and personal spiritual intensification. According to many this quality fades away in the new regulation, because there is no longer period of exemption from normal duties as minister. There was also concern about the sanction which can be laid up when a minister shirks out from the regulation.

Taking joy in being valuable

Synod secretary Dr. A.J. Plaisier said that the church needed a better regulation. ‘It is about the question how ministers can work taking joy in being valuable in the congregation. As church you may offer devices to ministers to keep up, to sharpen capacities. What speaks against the church reflecting on this as well? That really is not patronizing? That is combined reflecting on what is important, isn’t it? The regulation is not something to have our hands tied. It is about drawing inspiration from this. You can not claim everything to be okay in the church in the present situation? We are faced with new challenges with respect to the interpretation of the Gospel. Sometimes you have to preserve things, but in this case things are going wrong and then you have to mend them. Look at it as a challenge’, he incited the critics among the ministers.

Passionately bearing witness

The synod members were positive on the fact that the regulation includes a compulsory education route for religious workers. However critical questions were asked about financing the regulation, which is more expensive than the previous regulation. ‘If the congregations have to produce this money, the synod has to convince them of the benefit’, according to Rev. F. van Roest (classis Katwijk). The Church Ministries assured that the costs are covered for the following years. Elder-church steward J. de Waard (classis Brielle) was satisfied: ‘I am all in favour of it. Ministers and religious workers are precious in the church. The church needs ministers which are passionately bearing witness of Jesus Christ. It is good that they keep exercising themselves.’

With a few amendments the regulation was accepted.

Decision-making on minister-vicar postponed

Religious workers with a completed HVE-schooling can not yet get to work as minister-vicar. A proposal for that was not yet accepted by the general synod. According to the survey the ‘minister-vicar’ would be a solution for about fifty small congregations which can not call a minister. Constantly they are confronted with the fact that at present their religious worker is not allowed to perform professional acts, such as officiating in wedding- and confessional worships and administering baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Already in 2009 the synod had asked for conditions congregations and religious workers would have to meet to become eligible for appointment of a minister-vicar, in order to prevent the coming into existence of a sneak route into the ministry.

However it turned out that there was great hesitation in the synod with regard to the proposed solution. The discussion accumulated into the entitlement of administering the sacraments outside of the own congregation and its possible side-effects.

Some delegates came up with alternatives which the synod had turned down earlier, such as: install the religious worker as an elder or install a ‘fourth profession’. Synod secretary Dr. A.J. Plaisier pointed out that the intention was not to resume old discussions. ‘Already in April 2009 the synod decided that religious workers with a completed HVE-schooling theology can become ministers. That is why we are now discussing the conditions.’

With 73 votes in favour the synod accepted an amendment of Rev. H.K. Olde Scheper-van der Weide (Oostermijkerk) to postpone the decision-making until the position of the HVE-theologian has been reviewed in a wider context and proposals are made for the complete branch of religious workers.

Professional equipment

Further the synod discussed a survey on professional equipment by ministers and religious workers in the Protestant Church. According to prognoses in 2024 there will be a small surplus of ministers and a great surplus of religious workers. The view is taken that the inflow of ministers and religious workers stays the same as in the past years: respectively 60 and 40 each year.

The report-committee which had prepared the discussion and some synod-members showed to be surprised about the estimated overflow of ministers. The threatening shortage of ministers was precisely one of the reasons to review the policy. Further the report-committee considered it to be optimistic to expect that there will be sixty new ministers annually. Deacon P. Slump (classis Apeldoorn) insisted to make regular sensibility-analyses, in order to be able to adjust the prognoses in time if developments partially turn out differently. This was promised. Chairman Rev. J.C. Bos of the report-committee asked the policy-committee Ministers to survey the applications for the educations vigilantly and to timely draw up a recruiting-plan for ministers and religious workers if necessary. The synod agreed with this. Also she will support the website www.domineeworden.nl , an initiative of the Protestantse Theologische Universiteit and the Church Ministry.

Background

For some years now the general synod is looking for possibilities to provide all congregations in future with sufficient professional and affordable support for ministers and religious workers. The decisions of April 23rd are part of a route which results from the report ‘Hand on the plough’ (April 2009) and the accompanying Working Method (November 2009), in which a number of interdependent problems are integrally addressed.