Christian Reformed Church

Following its Calvinist heritage, the Christian Reformed Church regards the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper as "holy signs and seals" by which God confirms the saving promises of the gospel. Such sacraments depend on the faithful proclamation of the Word. In recent years, the fairly uniform liturgical observance of these sacraments has been eroded by the influx of ethnic groups who have contributed many of their own traditions. The Christian Reformed Church (CRC) was traditionally an immigrant church shaped by a Dutch tradition that traces its origins back to Calvin and the Swiss Reformation of Zwingli. Like other churches in this tradition, the CRC recognizes baptism and the Lord's Supper as the two sacraments explicitly instituted by Christ and essential to the corporate life of the church. Actual sacramental practice grows out of the distinctive Calvinist conviction that in worship God is not merely present but also active by means of Word and Spirit, so that when the …