As some of you know, our historic Marble Church belongs to a Christian denomination known as the Reformed Church in America (RCA). Each year our denomination holds an important gathering known as General Synod (from the Latin synodus, meaning “a meeting”). The assembly of minister and elder delegates meets to discuss and vote on church related matters. This past June, General Synod met on the campus of Hope College in Holland, Michigan. During that meeting a momentous step was made.

With a 72 percent majority, the assembly voted to adopt the Belhar Confession as a fourth statement of what members of the RCA believe to be true about our faith. Belhar would stand alongside the historic Reformed confessions: the Belgic (1561) and Heidelberg (1563) Confessions as well as the Canons of the Synod of Dort (1618-1619). These three documents, according to author A. James Heynen, are the “tracts which fueled the fires of the Protestant Reformation…our first lessons in the school of Reformed faith.” In addition, these confessions have “shaped our teaching, defined our preaching, and tempered our character for better than four hundred years.” 

You may be asking yourself, “What does it mean that we have confessions?” The church values its historical and theological underpinnings. Confessions help the church articulate what it believes—concerning the sovereignty of God, Scripture, God’s will and many other important beliefs. Confessions also reflect that the community always knows more than the individual. They declare and give evidence of God, of believers, and of the church. In some faith communities, confessions are read every Sunday during worship.

So what about this Belhar Confession? Why is it important?

The confession has its roots in the struggle against apartheid in Southern Africa. Apartheid simply means separateness in Afrikaans. Racial segregation in South Africa began in Colonial times.  In the 1940’s legislation classified inhabitants into racial groups and the government segregated education, medical care, and other public services, and provided black people with services inferior to those of whites. This caused much unrest and internal strife between many groups, including Christians.

The Belhar Confession is a collection of statements about unity, reconciliation, and justice among Christians. The prologue states:

This ‘outcry of faith’ and ‘call for faithfulness and repentance’ was first drafted in 1982 by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC)…Belhar's theological confrontation of the sin of racism has made possible reconciliation among Reformed churches in Southern Africa and has aided the process of reconciliation within the nation of South Africa... Belhar’s relevance is not confined to Southern Africa. It addresses three key issues of concern to all churches: unity of the church and unity among all people, reconciliation within church and society, and God's justice. 

Consider again: “Belhar’s relevance is not confined to Southern Africa.” We know all too well that the sin of racism and other injustices are present within the United States, even here in New York City (and sometimes even within our own congregations). This confession is a clarion call for the Church to rise up and stand for God’s justice here on earth.    

Should the Belhar Confession be ratified by two-thirds of the RCA’s 46 classes (the Collegiate Churches being a part of the Classis of New York), the confession will take its place by the other historic confessions. The classes (i.e. assemblies consisting of all enrolled ministers and elders who represent churches within their bounds) will report their votes to General Synod in June 2010. 

I encourage you to visit the RCA’s webpage dedicated to the Belhar—www.rca.org/belhar. There you will find a plethora of links that will help you better understand its historical context and challenge for the church today. Pay close attention to the links under the title, “Learning and Living the Belhar.” Perhaps you will find your place within this confession:

…We believe that the church must therefore stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which implies, among other things, that the church must witness against and strive against any form of injustice...(4.8)