Nepotism In The Church?

In November, 1854, nepotism was questioned in the Dutch Reformed Church. Someone, using the nom-de-plume En Clique Tegenstaander, en Tegenstreever, wrote to the editor of the S A Commercial Advertiser and Cape Town Mail, on November 2, saying: I have been informed that it is contrary to the discipline of the Hollandische Gereformeerde Kerk in the Netherlands and in this Colony, for several members of one family to serve as parochial ministers, in one presbytery. Can you or any of your readers confirm this? I understood that this disciplinary rule was implemented to prevent one family taking control of the Presbytery, and arranging positive answers to all their questions and their votes? The Rev Andrew Murray Senior is the minister in Graaff-Reinet; his son, John in Burghersdorp; another son, William in Middelburg and yet another Andrew Junior in Bloemfontein. His son Charles, who is about to be ordained, it is said intends to answer a call to the Duivenaar’s Fontein church, in Hope Town. Then Rev A Louw, minister at Sannah’s Poort [later re-named as Fauresmith, southern Free State], is about to marry, Rev Andrew Murray Senior’s daughter. If, in one generation, five or six members of one family, may thus unite votes; may they not, in the second or third generation, swamp the whole Synod, absorb its fees, salaries, and offices?

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