Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches 2010 - Cokesbury
Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches 2010 - Cokesbury
Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches 2010 - Cokesbury
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US RELIGIOUS BODIES<br />
the Reformed heritage. (The merged Evangelical<br />
<strong>and</strong> Reformed Church became part <strong>of</strong> the United<br />
Church <strong>of</strong> Christ in 1957.) Under the leadership <strong>of</strong><br />
pastors W. Grossmann <strong>and</strong> W. J. Krieger, the<br />
Eureka Classis in 1942 incorporated as the continuing<br />
Reformed Church in the United States.<br />
The growing Eureka Classis dissolved in 1986 to<br />
form a Synod with four regional classes. An heir to<br />
the Reformation theology <strong>of</strong> Zwingli <strong>and</strong> Calvin,<br />
the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession<br />
<strong>and</strong> the Canons <strong>of</strong> Dort are used as the confessional<br />
st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>of</strong> the church. The Bible is strictly held to<br />
be the inerrant, infallible Word <strong>of</strong> God.<br />
The RCUS supports Dordt College, Mid-<br />
America Reformed Seminary, New Geneva<br />
Theological Seminary, West Minster Theological<br />
Seminary in California, <strong>and</strong> Hope Haven. The<br />
RCUS is the <strong>of</strong>ficial sponsor to the Reformed<br />
Confessing Church <strong>of</strong> Zaire.<br />
Headquarters<br />
Media Contact, Rev. Frank Walker Th.M., 6121<br />
Pine Vista Way, Elk Grove City, CA 95758-<br />
4205, Tel. (661)827-9885<br />
Email: TriWheeler@aol.com<br />
Website: www.rcus.org<br />
Officers<br />
Pres., Rev. Vernon Pollema, 235 James Street,<br />
Shafter, CA 93263, Tel. (661)746-6907<br />
Vice Pres., Rev. Robert Grossmann, Th.M., 1905<br />
200th St., Garner, IA 50438, Tel. (515)923-3060<br />
Stated Clk., Rev. Frank Walker Th.M., 5601<br />
Spring Blossom St., Bakersfield, CA 93313-<br />
6025, Tel. (661)827-9885<br />
Treas., Clayton Greiman, 2115 Hwy. 69, Garner,<br />
IA 50438, Tel. (515)923-2950<br />
Reformed Episcopal Church<br />
The Reformed Episcopal Church was founded<br />
December 2, 1873 in New York City by Bishop<br />
George David Cummins, an assistant bishop in the<br />
Protestant Episcopal Church from 1866 until his<br />
departure to found the new jurisdiction. Cummins<br />
<strong>and</strong> other evangelical Episcopalians were concerned<br />
about the exclusiveness propagated by<br />
what they perceived to be an excessive ritualism<br />
sweeping the church. Throughout the late 1860’s<br />
evangelicals <strong>and</strong> ritualists clashed over ceremonies,<br />
vestments, open or closed communion,<br />
the Articles <strong>of</strong> Religion, interpretation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
meaning <strong>of</strong> the sacraments, <strong>and</strong> the underst<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
<strong>of</strong> Apostolic Succession.<br />
In October, 1873, other bishops <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Protestant Episcopal Church publically attacked<br />
Cummins in major newspapers for his participation<br />
in an ecumenical communion service<br />
sponsored by the Evangelical Alliance.<br />
Cummins resigned from the Episcopal Church<br />
<strong>and</strong> drafted a call to organize a new Episcopal<br />
Church for the “purpose <strong>of</strong> restoring the old<br />
paths <strong>of</strong> their fathers”. On December 2, 1873, a<br />
Declaration <strong>of</strong> Principle which expressed the<br />
148<br />
evangelical underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> the Articles <strong>of</strong><br />
Religion was adopted. Dr. Charles Edward<br />
Cheney <strong>of</strong> Chicago was elected bishop to serve<br />
with Bishop Cummins. The Second General<br />
Council, meeting in May, 1874 in New York<br />
City, approved a Constitution <strong>and</strong> Canons <strong>and</strong><br />
adopted the 1785 Proposed Book <strong>of</strong> Common<br />
Prayer for use in the New Church. Other notable<br />
early bishops (1876) included Rufus Nicholson,<br />
Edward Cridge, <strong>of</strong> Victoria, B.C., <strong>and</strong> Samuel<br />
Fallows through whom the episcopate <strong>of</strong> the<br />
church was perpetuated.<br />
In recent years the Reformed Episcopal Church<br />
has revised the Book <strong>of</strong> Common Prayer to conform<br />
to the 1662 <strong>and</strong> 1928 Prayer Books. The<br />
Church continues to embrace the Thirty-Nine<br />
Articles <strong>of</strong> Religion, <strong>and</strong> has affirmed the<br />
Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral <strong>of</strong> 1886-1888.<br />
From 1993 until 2003 the Reformed Episcopal<br />
Church was in dialogue with the Episcopal<br />
Church U.S.A. at which time it was discontinued.<br />
The Reformed Episcopal Church subsequently<br />
became a member <strong>of</strong> the Common Cause Partnership,<br />
an association <strong>of</strong> traditional Anglicans,<br />
becoming a founding sub-jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> the Anglican<br />
Church in North America <strong>of</strong>ficially formed<br />
from that body in Ft. Worth, Texas in June, 2009.<br />
The Reformed Episcopal Church presently consists<br />
<strong>of</strong> six geographic dioceses <strong>and</strong> one domestic<br />
missionary diocese in the United States <strong>and</strong><br />
Canada. Active missionary work continues in several<br />
countries including Germany <strong>and</strong> Cuba.<br />
Previous missionary jurisdictions in India <strong>and</strong><br />
Liberia have been granted autonomy.<br />
Seminaries operated by the church are<br />
located in Philadelphia, PA, Houston, TX, <strong>and</strong><br />
Summerville, SC.<br />
The Reformed Episcopal Church is a member<br />
<strong>of</strong> the National Association <strong>of</strong> Evangelicals <strong>and</strong><br />
the Anglican Church in North America.<br />
Headquarters<br />
826 2nd Ave, Blue Bell, PA 19422-1257, Tel.<br />
(215)483-1196 Fax (215)483-5235<br />
Media Contact, Rt. Rev. Leonard Riches<br />
Media Contact, Rt. Rev. Royal U. Grote, Jr.,<br />
Church Growth Office, 211 Byrne Ave.,<br />
Houston, TX 77009, Tel. (713)862-4929<br />
Email: wycliffe@jps.net<br />
Website: recus.org<br />
Officers<br />
President <strong>and</strong> Presiding Bishop, The Right<br />
Reverend Leonard W. Riches, M. Div., D.D.,<br />
85 Smithtown Road, Pipersville, PA 18947,<br />
Tel. (610)294-8001, Fax (610)294-8009<br />
Vice President & Media Officer, Committee on<br />
Doctrine & Worship, Diocese <strong>of</strong> Mid-America<br />
(DMA), Diocese <strong>of</strong> the Northeast & Mid-<br />
Atlantic (DNE-MA), The Right Reverend Royal<br />
U. Grote, Jr., 4142 Dayflower, Katy, Texas<br />
77449, Tel. (281)463-9454, or (800)732-3433,<br />
Fax (281)463-2304, Email: Royalrec1@aol.com