June 20, 1960

Rev. G. Van Baren, of Doon, has declined the call from our church in Randolph, Wisconsin.

Candidate Jason Kortering will be eligible for a call one month after his appointment, and will have the usual six weeks to make a decision.

Professor H.C. Hoeksema will be the guest speaker on the Ref. Witness Hour for the five Sundays of July. The subject for his radio sermons is taken from the Prophecy of Hosea 7, the general theme being, “The Apostasy of the Church.” The speaker has labeled his sermons with titles taken directly from Scripture, and are: “The Unturned Cake,” “The Inconsistent Mixture,” “The Silly Dove,” “The Deceitful Bow,” and, “The Church that Misses the Mark.” Read and study this portion of Holy Writ and be prepared to listen to the Ref. Witness Hour each Lord’s Day for the distinctively Reformed exegesis of this chapter.

Were you there? . . .

. . . May 22, at First Church where the Prot. Ref. Men’s Chorus rendered their Spring Concert. The director, Mr. Roland Petersen, chose to render some of the old favorites and some that were new to the audience. The program was augmented by a male quartet from Southwest Church and by a ladies’ trio from Southeast Church. The final number, “Creation,” by Richter, was a stirring climax to the program, and one fitting to climax the entire day of praise worship.

. . . June 6, at Hope Church where the Commencement Exercises of our Seminary were held. The lone graduate, Candidate Jason Kortering, spoke on “The Unity of the Church.” The Rector, Rev. H. Hoeksema, gave an address answering the question, “What is a Minister of the Word?” This listener got a mental picture of a mother in the home serving the best of food to her hungry family, when the speaker described the Minister of the Word as one who al­ways serves the Word to God’s hungry flock. The speaker, in his personal message to the graduate, stressed that the all-important labor of his calling was to minister the Word of God without equivocation, thereby also refuting the lie of Satan to which the flock of God is continually exposed.

. . . June 10, at First Church, where our Adams St. School had its Commencement Exercises. The Class of 1960 holds a unique position in the school’s history, for it is the first class to have attended Adams St. school from kinder­garten through the ninth grade. They were the first to have the privilege of having ten years of Protestant Reformed edu­cation on the grammar school level. Rev. H. Hoeksema, who was the Commencement speaker 10 years ago, was again on the platform in the same capacity. His message to the gradu­ates was an exhortation to be prepared to fight the battle of faith, the battle in which the Church Militant is always en­gaged and which is centrally fought around the banner of the truth of the Scriptures. The speaker ended his address to the class with the words: “Never forget, graduates, you have been taught in the Truth of the Word of God: walk in that Truth!”

. . . June 12, again at Hope Church, where the Hope Heralds gave an after service program. This group is a male chorus, twelve members of Hope Church. One of their mem­bers, Roger Kooienga, could not sing with them due to in­juries suffered in an auto accident several months ago. The chorus was assisted in presenting the program by trumpet soloist Donald Knoper and by vocalist Arnold Dykstra. The men sang without a director, following the lead of their able accompanist, Lois Schipper.

. . . If you were unable to attend any or all of these events you missed something very worthwhile.

Did you know . . . .

That a new organization has been born in our circles? It is “The Covenant Witness Committee,” and is to be found in the congregation of the Hope Protestant Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is directly answerable to the Consistory of that church. In a letter accompanying their first mailed pamphlet we find this paragraph: “We believe that, as a congregation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, it is our calling to witness to the truth which our God has given us. Since the very heart of this truth is the doctrine of God’s everlasting covenant of grace, we believe this deserves our special attention . . . To this end, we have decided to compose and send out a series of pamphlets dealing with this and related subjects to be mailed to all who are interested throughout the country. This project will cover a number of pamphlets that will arrive at your home at regular intervals in the future. The pamphlet which is en­closed with this letter is introductory.” And another sentence which the Committee will appreciate in this column: “In order to accomplish our purpose as effectively as possible, we covet your aid in sending us names and addresses of people whom you know to be interested in these pamphlets, so that we can enlarge our mailing list.” More about this wide awake organization, and an excerpt from the first pamphlet, in our next issue.

In our vacationing this summer, shall we “remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy”?

Let us heed the conclusion of Ecclesiastes: “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

. . . . see you in church.                               

J.M.F.