Study of Belhar Confession Urged

Synod 2007 urged the churches to become familiar with the Belhar Confession, a declaration focusing on racial and ethnic unity and reconciliation.

Originally written in Afrikaans and adopted by the synod of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in South Africa, the Belhar Confession is named after a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, where a general synod of the DRMC met in 1982.

The Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa has asked the CRC to consider the Belhar and respond to it.

Synod 2007 encouraged the CRC’s Interchurch Relations Committee (IRC) to host regional dialogues across the denomination, familiarizing churches with the confession and its issues. The IRC will present a recommendation on the adoption of the Belhar Confession to Synod 2009.