With thanksgiving to God, we begin the new publishing year for the Standard Bearer. Since the first issue of the magazine appeared in October of 1924, this begins the 96th-volume year. Let us not overlook God’s faithfulness in providing the financial means and the writers all these years. For the coming year, 39 men and women have agreed to contribute from one to as many as ten articles for the SB.

What changes will come for Volume 96? The writ­ers added to the list this year (though some have writ­ten in the past) include Revs. V. Ibe and S. Key (“Meditations”), and Revs. N. Decker and A. Spriensma (“All Around Us”). Rev. W. Bruinsma agreed to add to his writing load (as writer for “Go Ye into all the World”) by contributing also to “When Thou Sittest in Thine House.” Rev. J. Holstege agreed to join Rev. W. Langerak (with his full agreement) in “A Word Fitly Spoken.” Prof. D. Kuiper will resume writing “Min­istering to the Saints” after some time of writing on other topics, most recently the Synod of Dordt.

We call attention to two new rubrics for the coming year. Rev. C. Griess will be writing articles on apologetics in “I Believe.” And Prof. Kuiper plans to write short articles on church history in “Pillar and Ground of the Truth.”

We thank all the writers of the past year for their valuable contributions and wish the current writers God’s blessing in their work.

Another change deserves special mention. For the first time in many years, Prof. D. Engelsma will not be a regular contributor in the SB. At the annual SB staff meeting in June, Prof. Engelsma informed us that this was at his request. Prof. Engelsma’s SB articles first appeared in the mid-1960s. Through the years he was a regular contributor to the rubric on doctrine. A number of his special topical series have been print­ed as pamphlets (for example, “Modern Bible Trans­lations”) or as books (for example, Hyper-Calvinism and the Call of the Gospel) or as chapters in books. Many of his topical series are as pertinent and valuable today as when they are written. (I encourage the reader to revisit the series on Reprobation in the Canons, Homosexuality, or especially, Education in the Refor­mation.) He has reviewed countless books. And we do not overlook the most monumental contribution, namely, the sixteen years of being the sole editor of the SB (1988-2004).

Prof. Engelsma’s writing was profitable because it was always carefully and thoroughly researched, clearly presented, and antithetically analyzed. This continued to the last article published in the September 15 issue, completing his treatment on Eschatology. On behalf of the many readers through over five decades, thank you, Prof. Engelsma. Your writing will be missed. We look forward to more profitable books from the RFPA authored by you, if God permit. Is it too much to hope for a complete Dogmatics?