Partners in Mission: the PCC and CRCNA

CRCNA PCC

Our World Belongs to God Living Faith

The Statement Concerning Church and Nation

How We Worship

The weekly worship gathering is central to the life of our communities. It is an important part of how we orient ourselves to God at work in our lives and all creation.

Our heritage and anticipated future intersect in worship as we sing, pray and think about our calling. What our communities have been and what we are becoming in Christ is experienced as we gather together.

Both churches now worship in a variety of ways, with diverse people present, building on how Reformed worship was interpreted in our countries of origin.

Who We Are

Christian Reformed Church in North America

The earliest Christian Reformed Church was founded by Dutch immigrants in Graafschapp, Michigan, in 1857. The first in Canada began in Nobleford, Alberta, in 1905. Today, the CRCNA includes just over one thousand congregations on both sides of the Canada-US border, with 262 in Canada. There are 268,052 members in the CRCNA, with 78,400 in Canada.

Worship takes place in Korean, Navajo, South-East Asian, Hispanic-American and African-American congregations, as well as many congregations that include more than just surnames beginning with “Van” on the membership roll.

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

The earliest Presbyterian worship was among German settlers, a Scottish Highlanders regiment and “Protestant Dissenters” in the 1740s and 1750s. With more immigration, very often from Scotland, Presbyterians continued to worship in a variety of denominations until these united in 1875. Together, they formed The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC). In 1925, some Presbyterians joined with Methodists and Congregationalists to form the United Church of Canada. Many of the Presbyterians who continued had names beginning with “Mc” or “Mac,” and the PCC was often referred to as the Scottish church.

Today, the PCC includes 935 congregations across Canada, with over 113,000 members. While the Scottish flag still flies in many sanctuaries, celebrating Scottish contributions, an increasing number of Presbyterian congregations enjoy people from around the world in worship. There are also distinctly Hungarian, Ukrainian, Ghanian, Arabic and Korean congregations.

How We Worship

Christian Reformed Church in North America

We understand the worship service as a conversation between God and people.

Originally based on Isaiah 6, the worship liturgy had been identical across our churches. It included a Call to Worship, God’s greeting, a Service of Reconciliation (including Confession, Repentance and Assurance), and God’s Word (the reading and proclaiming of scripture). Just before the message, rustling could be heard as King or Wilhelmina peppermints were passed down the pew.

Now, worship includes a variety of styles from traditional to blended to contemporary. The organ is no longer the primary instrument, but corporate worship is still understood as a dialogue between God and people: God speaks in one part of the service, the people respond in another. As our churches become more ethnically diverse, the peppermint tradition is not what it once was, though many still pass them out (some things are slow to change).

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

We also understand worship as a conversation between God and people.

Before 1875, the Presbyterian Church within Canada had different ethnicities and denominations represented. While we never experienced a uniform worship service, there was a great deal of similarity between our liturgies. God called us to worship with the scriptures, we responded by acknowledging our sin and asking forgiveness. God responded with assurance and spoke through the Word prompting our response.

Today, our worship includes a variety of styles from traditional, to blended, to contemporary. Yet, it remains a conversation between people and God. Reading and explaining scripture has a central role in worship, reflecting our continued identity as Reformed Christians.

Christian Reformed Church in North America

Councils oversee the work of our local congregations. These are made up of ministers and elders caring for the spiritual needs, and deacons who care for physical needs. The council elects a minister and an elder to attend the classis, a meeting of representatives from the churches in a geographical area. This is held 2-3 times per year. From the classis, delegates are elected to attend an annual Synod meeting, the highest governing body in our church.

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

Sessions provide oversight for our local congregations. These are made up of ministers and elders, also called teaching elders and ruling elders, who care for the spiritual needs of the congregation. Some congregations have a committee of the session which oversees the congregation’s material needs. Others use a separate board of managers. From the session, all ministers and an equal number of elders sit on the presbytery, a collection of churches in a geographic area. In some synods, all ministers and an equal number of elders in the presbytery may attend, while in other synods, presbyteries send a specified number of commissioners. The General Assembly, a meeting of commissioners from each presbytery, meets annually. Commissioners to any of these courts must include an equal number of teaching and governing elders.

How We Serve

Other Partnerships

CRCNA & PCC Shared Partnerships

• The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC)
• World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC)
• KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

CRCNA’s Other Partnerships

• Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
• National Association of Evangelicals  (United States)
• Christian Churches Together  (United States)

PCC’s Other Partnerships

• Project Ploughshares
• Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (observer status)