Ontario Classis Meeting a Family Affair

Classis Quinte was a family affair in January for delegates from Cephas Christian Reformed Church in Peterborough and Maranatha CRC in Bowmanville, both in Ontario.

At the late January meeting, Grant Pypker and his daughter Tracey-Ann Van Brenk were the elder delegates from Cephas, while Maranatha CRC sent deacon Corrie DeJong and her son, elder Reuben DeJong, to the same meeting.

Grant Pypker is serving his second term as elder at Cephas; his daughter is a first term elder and a first-time delegate to a classis assembly. When asked how the congregation decided to appoint two elders from the same family, Grant remarked, “Actually the council and congregation had more difficulty with the hurdle of electing a woman elder.” Tracey-Ann was elected in July 2013. She is the first woman elder ever to serve at Cephas Church. “I feel honored, blessed, and humbled to serve on council with her,” Grant said.

Although Corrie De Jong is serving her second term as a deacon in the Bowmanville church, she was a first-time delegate to classis at the January 28 meeting. “I had a very enjoyable experience at classis—it was good and exciting to be part of the deliberations, and to hear the discussion firsthand,” she said. Her son Reuben, who serves as youth elder on the Maranatha council, has been a delegate to classis at previous meetings.

After mentioning some of the accomplishments of classis that day, he said, “The only downside to the day was a two-hour drive home in heavy traffic through a snowstorm at the end of the day.”