NG churches want to ‘divorce’ over gay weddings

The 44 Dutch Reformed Church congregations in Namibia will have to decide by March 2025 whether they will walk away from their general synod (GS).These churches are commonly known by their Afrikaans name: Nederduitse Gereformeerde (NG) Kerk. The Namibian ‘moderamen’ (executive body of a synod in NG churches) and delegates decided - after a day-long meeting on Tuesday, 7 November - that the body intends to withdraw from its current relationship with the GS. This decision would be made as per Article 37 of the NG Church order.The reason for the withdrawal is because the GS did not respond to a call for "heartfelt repentance" about a year ago.Reverend Thijs van der Merwe of the Windhoek congregation, who is also the general secretary of the NG Church in Namibia, explained that the Namibian synod had already announced in March 2022 that it would withdraw if the GS does not change its stance on same-sex marriages. "What has now pushed the matter to a head is that the GS wants to leave room for same-sex marriages to be solemnised in NG churches. There are many churches in Namibia that are adamant that we should walk away from the GS, while there are others that do not agree with this," he explained.100% consensusHe said the case will be presented to congregations as a discussion to test their opinion on the matter."It works like this: If the Namibian synod wants to withdraw, it must be done in the same way as it joined the GS in 1962. This means that 100% of the congregations must agree. Even then, requirements of common law and church law still apply," Van der Merwe explained.He said if some of the 44 NG congregations in Namibia do not agree, this will mean they will remain members of the GS and there will have to be renewed negotiations on the connections and relationships between the churches.Meanwhile, there are South African NG congregations who are also interested in aligning themselves with Namibia, but the practical feasibility of this still needs to be worked out, he said.Court rulingVan der Merwe explained that the basis of the GS decision is a 2017 court ruling by the North Gauteng High Court, which found that it would be unconstitutional for the church to refuse to solemnise same-sex marriages."On the other hand is our creed. The GS wanted to find middle ground. In October, it was decided that congregations that do not want to solemnise gay marriages can henceforth join regional synods that share this view.”After the Namibian synod’s call for the GS to change its stance, its task force - called Matthew 18 – decided, in consultation with the Namibian moderamen, that sufficient repentance had not taken place. This according to a document issued after the last moderamen meeting."The Namibian moderamen therefore ruled that the decision of 2022 must come into force”, and that the relationship with the GS must be redefined.This entails, among other things, that a task team will be appointed to clarify the matter, while a discussion document will be drawn up and proposals formulated for the 2025 Namibian synod where the process will finally be concluded.The meeting also decided that the first progress report on the matter will be submitted by 20 February 2024, and that all final feedback must be given by November 2024.Other issuesAccording to Van der Merwe, the university training of pastors in South Africa was previously also a point of concern because training mainly started to focus on academia, and there was no longer training specifically for, for example, reformed pastors. In the meantime, however, significant progress has already been made in this regard, he said."The issue was that the pastors were taught liberal content. It was therefore decided that we will have to take care of this ourselves and, in this regard, Namibia has already advanced a long way. “Students can obtain their BTh (bachelor in theology) degree locally as well as an honours degree at the Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary, with the hope that they will eventually also be able to complete master&#039;s degrees locally - with the master&#039;s degree course already approved by the National Qualifications Authority," he said.– elvira@republikein.com.na

NG churches want to ‘divorce’ over gay weddings

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-25

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NG churches want to ‘divorce’ over gay weddings

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-25

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