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The Reformed Church in America
Reformed Church in America

The Reformed Church in America is a Mainline Reformed Protestant denomination that was formerly a part of the Dutch Reformed Church and known as the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of North America....
 (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination that was formerly a part of the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church

Dutch Reformed Church was one of many branches of churches established during the Protestant Reformation in Europe in the sixteenth century. While the Dutch Reformed Church was based in the Netherlands, other churches holding similar theological views were founded in France, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, England, and Scotland....
 and known as the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of North America. The denomination has about 270,000 members and has congregations in both the U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. The RCA is a founding member of the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches

The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical fellowship of 35 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member communions -- also variously called denominations, churches, conventions, or archdioceses -- include a wide variety of Mainline Protestant, Eastern Orthodox Church, Black church, and historic P...
 and the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches is an international Christian ecumenism organization. Based in Geneva, Switzerland , it is a fellowship of about 340 churches of which 157 are members....
, Christian Churches Together
Christian Churches Together

Christian Churches Together in the USA is a Christian ecumenical group formed in 2006 to "broaden and expand fellowship, unity and witness among the diverse expressions of Christian faith today"....
, World Alliance of Reformed Churches
World Alliance of Reformed Churches

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin....
, and some parts of the denomination belong to the National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Evangelicals

The National Association of Evangelicals is an agency dedicated to coordinating cooperative ministry for Evangelicalism denominations of Protestant Christians in the United States and is part of the larger World Evangelical Alliance ....
, the Canadian Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

The Reformed Church confesses several statements of doctrine and faith.






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The Reformed Church in America
Reformed Church in America

The Reformed Church in America is a Mainline Reformed Protestant denomination that was formerly a part of the Dutch Reformed Church and known as the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of North America....
 (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination that was formerly a part of the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church

Dutch Reformed Church was one of many branches of churches established during the Protestant Reformation in Europe in the sixteenth century. While the Dutch Reformed Church was based in the Netherlands, other churches holding similar theological views were founded in France, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, England, and Scotland....
 and known as the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of North America. The denomination has about 270,000 members and has congregations in both the U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. The RCA is a founding member of the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches

The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical fellowship of 35 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member communions -- also variously called denominations, churches, conventions, or archdioceses -- include a wide variety of Mainline Protestant, Eastern Orthodox Church, Black church, and historic P...
 and the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches is an international Christian ecumenism organization. Based in Geneva, Switzerland , it is a fellowship of about 340 churches of which 157 are members....
, Christian Churches Together
Christian Churches Together

Christian Churches Together in the USA is a Christian ecumenical group formed in 2006 to "broaden and expand fellowship, unity and witness among the diverse expressions of Christian faith today"....
, World Alliance of Reformed Churches
World Alliance of Reformed Churches

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin....
, and some parts of the denomination belong to the National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Evangelicals

The National Association of Evangelicals is an agency dedicated to coordinating cooperative ministry for Evangelicalism denominations of Protestant Christians in the United States and is part of the larger World Evangelical Alliance ....
, the Canadian Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

The Reformed Church confesses several statements of doctrine and faith. These include the historic Apostles' Creed
Apostles' Creed

The Apostles' Creed , sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christianity belief, a creed or "symbol". It is widely used by a number of List of Christian denominations for both liturgy and catechesis purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Latin Rite of the Roman Catho...
, Nicene Creed
Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christianity liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Iznik by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325....
, and Athanasian Creed
Athanasian Creed

The Athanasian Creed is a statement of Christianity Trinity doctrine and Christology which has been used in Western Christianity since the sixth century A.D....
; the traditional Reformed Belgic Confession
Belgic Confession

The Confession of Faith, popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a doctrinal standard document to which many of the Reformed churches subscribe....
, Heidelberg Catechism
Heidelberg Catechism

The Heidelberg Catechism is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed churches Christian doctrine....
, and Canons of Dort
Canons of Dort

The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, is the judgment of the National Synod held in the Netherlands city of Dordrecht in 1618 / 19....
. As of June 2007, the Belhar Confession
Belhar Confession

The Belhar Confession is a Christian statement of belief originally written in Afrikaans and adopted by the synod of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa in 1986....
 was provisionally adopted for two years.

Carol Bechtel was elected President of the General Synod in 2008. The general secretary is , installed by the General Synod in 1994. The church is ordered by the Constitution of the Reformed Church in America, consisting of The Liturgy, The Government, and The Standards of Unity. The Government, along with The Formularies and The By-Laws of General Synod are published annually in a volume known as .

History

It is the oldest non-Anglican Protestant church with a continuous ministry and also the oldest corporation in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. The early Dutch
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 settlers in New Netherland
New Netherland

File:Seal of new netherland.jpgNew Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the seventeenth-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the Eastern Seaboard of North America....
 held informal meetings for worship until Jonas Michaelius organized a congregation in New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam

New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonization of the Americas settlement that later became New York City.The town developed outside of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island in the New Netherland Territory which was situated between 38 and 42 degrees latitude as a provincial extension of the Dutch Republic as of 1624....
 in 1628, called the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church
Marble Collegiate Church

Marble Collegiate Church is a church of the Reformed Church in America located at Fifth Avenue and Twenty-Ninth Street in New York City.It is the oldest continuous Protestant congregation in North America, having been founded in 1628 as the Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, affiliated with the Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church....
.

The Reformed Church was the established church of New Netherland. Although the British captured the colony in 1664, all RCA ministers were still trained in the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 under the auspices of the denominational classis of Amsterdam, and services in the Reformed Church remained in the Dutch language
Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native...
 until 1764. (Dutch language use faded thereafter until the new wave of Dutch immigration in the mid-19th century, which prompted a temporary revival of it.) In 1747 the denomination gave permission to form an assembly in America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, which in 1754 declared itself independent of the classis of Amsterdam
Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the Capital of the Netherlands and List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands of North Holland in the west of the country....
. This American classis secured a charter in 1766 for Queens College (now Rutgers University
Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766 and is the Colonial colleges in the United States....
) in New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
. The appointment in 1784 of John Henry Livingston
John Henry Livingston

The Reverend John Henry Livingston was the fourth President of Rutgers University serving from 1810 until his death in 1825....
 as professor of theology marked the beginning of the New Brunswick Theological Seminary
New Brunswick Theological Seminary

New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a professional school and graduate school founded in 1784, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to education clergy for the congregations of the Reformed Church in America....
. In 1792, a formal constitution was adopted; in 1794 the Reformed Church held its first general synod; and in 1867 formally adopted the name "Reformed Church in America".

In the nineteenth century, in New York and New Jersey, the descendents of the original Dutch settlers struggled to preserve their European standards and traditions, while developing a taste for revivalism and an American identity.

The church embraced many of the historic colonial churches of New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 and New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
, the denominational stronghold; fresh immigration from the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 in the mid-19th century led to the development of the church in the Midwest. Hope College
Hope College

Hope College is a medium-sized , private, residential Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan....
 and Western Theological Seminary
Western Theological Seminary

Western Theological Seminary is a professional school and graduate school in Holland, Michigan affiliated with the Reformed Church in America....
 were founded in Holland, Michigan
Holland, Michigan

Holland is a city in the West Michigan region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
, Central College
Central College

Central College is a private liberal arts college located in Pella, Iowa. It is a four-year school affiliated with the Reformed Church in America....
 at Pella, Iowa
Pella, Iowa

Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,832 at the 2000 census. Pella is the home of Central College as well as several manufacturing companies, including Pella and Vermeer Company....
, and Northwestern College
Northwestern College (Iowa)

Northwestern College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Orange City, Iowa. It is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America ....
 at Orange City, Iowa
Orange City, Iowa

Orange City is a city in and the county seat of Sioux County, Iowa, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,582 at the 2000 United States Census....
. In the 1857 Secession
1857 Secession

The 1857 Secession of Classis Holland from the Reformed Church in America occurred in January of that year. The classis became the basis for the Christian Reformed Church....
, a group of Dutch settlers in Michigan led by Gijsbert Haan
Gijsbert Haan

Gijsbert Haan or alternate spelling Gysbert Haan was the leader in the 1857 Secession of Dutch-Americans from the Reformed Church in America, and the creator of the Christian Reformed Church in the United States and Canada....
 separated from the Reformed Church and organized the Christian Reformed Church in North America
Christian Reformed Church in North America

The Christian Reformed Church in North America is a Protestant Christian denomination which follows Reformed Calvinism theology. The church promotes the belief that Christians do not earn their salvation, but that it is a gift from God despite one's failings and that good works are the Christian response to that gift....
, and other churches followed. In 1882 another group of churches left for the CRCNA, mirroring developments in the church in the Netherlands. In the post-World War II years the church expanded in Canada, which was the destination of a large group of Dutch emigrants. Between 1949 and 1958 the church opened 120 churches among non-Dutch suburban communities.

Ecumenical relations

The RCA maintains a relationship of full communion
Full communion

Full communion is a term used in Christianity ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion , with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential doctrines, between a Christian community and other communities or between that community and individuals....
 with the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Church (USA)

The Presbyterian Church or PC is a Mainline Protestant Christian religious denomination in the United States. It is part of the Reformed family of Protestantism, descending from the branch of the Protestant Reformation over which John Calvin had a strong, early influence....
, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestantism List of Christian denominations headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1988 by the merging of three churches and currently having about 4.70 million baptized members, it is the largest of all the Lutheranism denominations in the Religion in the United States and t...
 and the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Protestantism Christian denomination principally in the United States, generally considered within the Reformed churches tradition....
 through a document known as the Formula of Agreement. The relationship between the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Protestantism Christian denomination principally in the United States, generally considered within the Reformed churches tradition....
 and the RCA has been the subject of a certain amount of controversy within the RCA, particularly surrounding positions that members of the UCC leadership have taken regarding homosexuality. The two denominations undertook a dialogue and in 1999 produced a document (PDF). The RCA's 2006 General Synod voted to allow the exchange of ministers with the Christian Reformed Church in North America
Christian Reformed Church in North America

The Christian Reformed Church in North America is a Protestant Christian denomination which follows Reformed Calvinism theology. The church promotes the belief that Christians do not earn their salvation, but that it is a gift from God despite one's failings and that good works are the Christian response to that gift....
. This action must be submitted to the RCA's classes for their approval before it can become effective.

Noteworthy members

  • John S. Badeau, ambassador to Egypt for President John F. Kennedy
    John F. Kennedy

    John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from 1961 until John F....
  • Everett Dirksen
    Everett Dirksen

    Everett McKinley Dirksen was a Republican Party United States United States House of Representatives and United States Senate from Illinois. As Republican Senate leader he played a highly visible and key role in the politics of the 1960s, including helping to write and pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Open Housing Act of 1968, both...
    , senator
  • B.D. Dykstra
    B.D. Dykstra

    Broer Doekeles Dykstra was a Dutch American pastor, educator, and poet who wrote several books, served as editor of the Volkskrant Dutch-language newspaper, and was a visible member of the Reformed Church in America....
    , writer and educator
  • Peter Hoekstra, Congressman
  • Kyle Korver
    Kyle Korver

    Kyle Elliot Korver is an United States basketball player with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. He plays small forward and was drafted out of Creighton University by the New Jersey Nets in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft; his draft rights were traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for cash considerations in a draft-nig...
    , professional basketball player in the NBA
  • A. J. Muste
    A. J. Muste

    Abraham Johannes Muste was a socialist active in the pacifism, the labor movement, and the US civil rights movement....
    , writer, professor, pacifist
  • Norman Vincent Peale
    Norman Vincent Peale

    Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was a Protestant preacher and author and a progenitor of the theory of "positive thinking"....
    , preacher
  • Theodore Roosevelt
    Theodore Roosevelt

    Theodore Roosevelt , also known as T.R., and to the public as Teddy, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States....
    , president
  • Marge Roukema
    Marge Roukema

    Margaret Scafati "Marge" Roukema represented New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives for twenty-two years as a Republican Party .A graduate of Montclair State University, Roukema's first career was as a teacher in the Ridgewood Public Schools....
    , Congresswoman, a convert from Roman Catholicism
    Roman Catholic Church

    The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
  • Philip Schuyler
    Philip Schuyler

    Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolutionary War and a United States Senate from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip Jeremiah Schuyler....
    , a leader of the American Revolution
  • Robert Schuller, TV evangelist
  • Martin Van Buren
    Martin Van Buren

    Martin Van Buren was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. Before his presidency, he served as the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States and the 10th United States Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson....
    , president
  • Jack Hanna
    Jack Hanna

    John Bushnell Hanna, known as Jack Hanna is an United States zoo keeper who is the Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. He was Director of the zoo from 1978 to 1993, and is viewed as largely responsible for elevating its quality and reputation....
    , American zoologist
  • Jim Nantz
    Jim Nantz

    James William Nantz, III is an United States sportscaster, known primarily for his work with CBS Sports television....
    , TV sportscaster
  • Vern Den Herder
    Vern Den Herder

    Vern Wayne Den Herder was an American football player who played twelve seasons for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He played in three Super Bowls for the Dolphins....
    , professional football player in the NFL (1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins)


RCA colleges and seminaries

Colleges
  • Central College
    Central College

    Central College is a private liberal arts college located in Pella, Iowa. It is a four-year school affiliated with the Reformed Church in America....
    , Pella, Iowa
    Pella, Iowa

    Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,832 at the 2000 census. Pella is the home of Central College as well as several manufacturing companies, including Pella and Vermeer Company....
  • Hope College
    Hope College

    Hope College is a medium-sized , private, residential Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan....
    , Holland, Michigan
    Holland, Michigan

    Holland is a city in the West Michigan region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
  • Northwestern College
    Northwestern College (Iowa)

    Northwestern College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Orange City, Iowa. It is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America ....
    , Orange City, Iowa
    Orange City, Iowa

    Orange City is a city in and the county seat of Sioux County, Iowa, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,582 at the 2000 United States Census....


Seminaries
  • New Brunswick Theological Seminary
    New Brunswick Theological Seminary

    New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a professional school and graduate school founded in 1784, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to education clergy for the congregations of the Reformed Church in America....
    , New Brunswick, New Jersey
    New Brunswick, New Jersey

    New Brunswick, also known as "the Healthcare City" or "Hub City", is a city and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA....
  • Western Theological Seminary
    Western Theological Seminary

    Western Theological Seminary is a professional school and graduate school in Holland, Michigan affiliated with the Reformed Church in America....
    , Holland, Michigan
    Holland, Michigan

    Holland is a city in the West Michigan region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....


Certification Agencies
  • For students who do not attend or receive their Master of Divinity degree from one of the two seminaries operated by the Reformed Church in America, they are certified and credentialed for ministry in the Reformed Church in America through the Ministerial Formation Certification Agency, Paramount, California


See also

  • American Reformed Mission
    American Reformed Mission

    American Reformed Mission was an United States Protestant Christian missionary society of the Dutch Reformed Church , that was involved in sending workers to countries such as China during the late Qing Dynasty....
  • Dutch Reformed Church
    Dutch Reformed Church

    Dutch Reformed Church was one of many branches of churches established during the Protestant Reformation in Europe in the sixteenth century. While the Dutch Reformed Church was based in the Netherlands, other churches holding similar theological views were founded in France, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, England, and Scotland....
  • Christian Reformed Church in North America
    Christian Reformed Church in North America

    The Christian Reformed Church in North America is a Protestant Christian denomination which follows Reformed Calvinism theology. The church promotes the belief that Christians do not earn their salvation, but that it is a gift from God despite one's failings and that good works are the Christian response to that gift....


Sources

  • M. G. Hansen, The Reformed Church in the Netherlands, 1340–1840 (1884)
  • J. J. Birch, The Pioneering Church in the Mohawk Valley (1955)
  • F. H. Fabend, Zion on the Hudson: Dutch New York and New Jersey in the Age of Revivals (2000)
  • www.rca.org
  • Minutes of General Synod (Various Years)


External links