NOTE: The content below expresses the views of the individual named as the author and does not necessarily reflect the position of the WRF as a whole.
NOTE: The item below was submitted by Dr. Matthew Ebenezer, a member of the Board of Directors of the WRF and a teaching elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of India. Dr. Ebenezer currently serves as Principal of Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Dehradun, India. In response to the many posts on the WRF website regarding women in ministry, Dr. Ebenezer has submitted this document which is the policy statement of that institution with respect to seminary training for women.
The Need for Clarification: Is the Reformation Over? by WRF Member Leonardo De Chirico and Greg Pritchard This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Rutherford House, in association with the World Reformed Fellowship Theological Commission, are delighted to announce that the 17th Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference will take place from Tuesday 29 August – Thursday 31 August at Palmerston Place Church, Edinburgh.
“Women in Ministry: The Study Committee Report of the Christian Reformed Church of North America”Submitted by Dr. Steve Timmermans, Executive Director of the CRCNA [The Christian Reformed Church of North America is a denominational member of the WRF.]
April 5, 2017 Dear Fellow WRF Members: We are celebrating this year the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation which coincides with the nailing of Martin Luther’s 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
The 2016 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) established a study committee to deal with the subject of the appropriate role of women in church ministry. The PCA is a denominational member of the World Reformed Fellowship.
Below is one denomination's plan to provide resources and vision for its own local churches to celebrate an event that deserves celebration. On 31 October 1517, the German Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, attached 95 theses to the giant door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. These theses were really 95 points intended for debate with the church authorities.
In 2016, WRF congregational member Seventh Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, offered to provide theological education scholarships to qualified individuals. Among the qualifications sought by the church was that individuals applying must be members of churches which are themselves members of the WRF or of similar ecumenical bodies.
We are often asked about the purpose and the activities of the World Reformed Fellowship. We do, of course, have a Strategic Plan and a "Vision Statement," which are available upon request. But such documents can often appear to be broad and lacking in clear specificity. Therefore, our International Director, Dr. P. J. ("Flip") Buys and our Associate International Director, Dr. Sam Logan, have been working on a document which outlines how our vision and our strategy function "on the ground." The most recent draft of that document is below.
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Here is the full version of the Strategic Plan of the World Reformed Fellowship. Work was begun on this plan at the WRF Board meeting in Sydney, Australia, in April of 2012. Continued discussions were held about details of the plan at Board meetings in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in October of 2013, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in March of 2015, and in Jakarta, Indonesia, in March of 2016. The WRF Executive Committee finalized the specific actions steps of the plan in a telephone conference call meeting on October 12, 2016.
NOTE: This item was originally posted on September 30, 2015, well before the Executive Order regarding refugees issued by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 27, 2017. Therefore, the material below does NOT interact in any way with that Executive Order.
In his letter to all WRF members on February 27, 2017, Dr. P. J. Buys, International Director of the WRF, made several requests of our members.
Prof. Thomas K. Johnson, Ph.D., is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church in America and a long-term member of the World Reformed Fellowship. On February 2, 2017, he spoke at the Vatican in Rome. Below is a press release regarding that occasion. The text of Dr. Johnson’s speech is attached to this item.
The Reformanda Initiative announces that the 2017 Rome Scholars Network (RSN) will take place from 23–29 June, 2017 in Rome, Italy. This week long seminar is designed to create a context for evangelical scholars and leaders to:
Religious Freedom is for all. And the dignity of all must be respected and their right to peacefully exercise their religious convictions or none, free from social hostility or harassment, must be protected, even if one does not share their truth claims.
NOTE: Members of the World Reformed Fellowship have written extensively about Christian responsibility to refugees. Some of that material may be found WRF Members From Around the World Address the Issue of Immigration. As an organizational member of the WEA, we support the call below.
The African Region of World Reformed Fellowship is arranging a conference on the campus of the Tumaini Makumira University (TUMA), Arusha, Tanzania for August 12-13, 2017. Dr Flip Buys, the international director of World Reformed Fellowship will be one of the keynote speakers.
Kiss the Son, by WRF International Director, Dr. P. J. ("Flip") Buys This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The World Reformed Fellowship has heard the sad news of the passing of Pastor MWALYE CLIFFORD, a long serving minister of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Africa in Uganda, on Saturday night, December 17, 2016.
The National Presbyterian Church of Mexico is one of the largest denominational members of the World Reformed Fellowship. It has almost 2 million members and more than 6,000 local congregations, spread over 15 Synods and 71 Presbyteries.
Registrations are now OPEN for the WRF/REFO500 Conference in Wittenberg, Germany, in October of 2017. The link to the conference website is here – http://wrf500wittenberg.org/
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WRF International Director Designate, Dr. Davi Charles Gomes, will participate in meetings of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief September 10, 2016, by Sam Logan
WRF Member Dr. Thomas Johnson Makes His Book, "Human Rights: A Christian Primer" Available for FREE Download September 1, 2016, by Sam Logan
One of the crucially important topics facing many churches today – including many churches which are members of the WRF - is that of homosexuality. Among the churches which have sought to provide careful, reasoned, biblical, and gracious guidance with respect to this issue is the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a denominational member of the WRF.
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Dr. Davi Gomes is the International Director Designate of the World Reformed Fellowship and Chancellor of Mackenzie Presbyterian University in Brazil. He preached in worship at the 2016 General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Below, a video of his sermon.