July 10, 2006

Dear brother Vantil;

Thank you for your letter and attachments dated April 21, 2006. Council has discussed your request to have us "liberate" from Synods Neerlandia and Chatham decisions, as well as your statement which accuses the "URC of failure to properly administer the keys of the kingdom", and decided to remind you of the following:

The Aldergrove Council has made a decision which supports the decisions made by these broader assemblies to recognize the URCNA as a true church.

In our opinion, the URCNA continues to remain a faithful reforming church organization, as is evident from the documentation in the Acts of these respective Synods. We would also point you to the official URCNA website, to the Acts of the 5th Synod of the URC, held June 15th to the 18th, 2004, specifically pages 88 - 92.

Your arguments have not convinced us that the decisions of General Synods Neerlandia and Chatham to extend ecclesiastical fellowship with the URC is in conflict with the Word of God and the Church Order, nor do properly substantiate your accusation that the URC fails to properly administer the keys of the Kingdom. We wish you the Lord's blessing in recognizing the Lord's church gathering work.

With brotherly greetings
On behalf of Council,

C. Dehaas, Chairman

H. van Delden, Corr. Clerk