April 27 Today in OPC History

On April 27, 1974, the Inter-Church Relations committees of the OPC and the Christian Reformed Church concluded a two-day meeting at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. As LeRoy B. Oliver reported in the Presbyterian Guardian, the purpose of the meeting, in light of “our common conviction that essentially we are one church,” was to explore areas of common work and witness: “In view of this unity that we have in Christ, we feel that we would be derelict in duty unless we made conscious effort to deepen the relationships between us.”

The implementation of this initiative focused on youth ministry, missionary work, production of religious literature, and more frequent pulpit exchanges. “We felt called,” Oliver went on to note, “to renewed effort in bringing the two communions together into a viable, cooperative relationship, one that befits the real unity that we have in Christ.”

Picture: LeRoy Oliver