Congregation Activities

Reflecting on the words of Psalm 84:2, “My soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord,” we call your attention to the anniversaries of the Hull, IA PRC, organized on March 16, 1925; the Doon, IA PRC, organized on March 17, 1926; the Bethel PRC in Roselle, IL, organized on March 29, 1989; and the Covenant of Grace PRC in Spokane, WA, organized on March 31, 2009.

A recent bulletin from the Wing­ham, Ontario PRC reminded their congregation of an organized church skate on Saturday, February 16. The first hour was scheduled to be a free skate, while the second hour was reserved for hockey.

The Hope PRC in Redlands, CA asked for everyone’s help on Febru­ary 16 to remove the driveway and grade for a new one at their parson­age. This event could never happen at a parsonage in one of our West Michigan communities in Febru­ary. If there was any type of work bee, then it would be to remove snow from the driveway rather than remove the entire driveway.

The congregation of the George­ town PRC in Hudsonville, MI was invited to a picture/video program on Sunday evening, February 10. This program featured a report on the work done by Georgetown’s delegation of Prof. B. Gritters, Rev. C. Haak, and Elder D. Wassink and their recent trip to the Reformed Christian Church in Vellore, India and the Grace Foster Home.

We were reminded recently of just how much our world continues to change with regard to increas­ing lawlessness. A new commit­tee on Security and First Aid was organized at the Loveland, COPRC, and from their first report to Loveland’s Council we learn that it was decided to lock the entry doors to their church after the start of each worship service. This is the first line of defense in preventing any disruption during the worship service. A member will remain in the narthex for several minutes to allow entry to any late comers. Loveland now joins an ever grow­ing list of our churches who have already implemented similar safety procedures.

The Activities Committee of the Providence PRC in Hudsonville, MI invited their congregation to a fun-filled night of sledding and games on Saturday, February 9. Plans called for the congregation to meet at Johnson Park for sledding and tubing in the late afternoon, fol­lowed by pizza, dessert, and games at Hope PR Christian School.

That same day, February 9, the Program Committee of members of the Byron Center, MI PRC hosted their annual sliding party at Byron Center Christian Middle School. Sliding was the main order of busi­ness for the afternoon, followed by dinner at Adams Christian School.

Evangelism Activities

The Reformed Witness Commit­tee, comprised of our PR Churches in Iowa and Minnesota, along with the Dordt Bible Study of Dordt College, sponsored a lecture given by Prof. D. Engelsma entitled, “Christianizing the World?” on Fri­day evening, February 8. This topic promised to be a very timely one, well worth the hearing, especially as our young people continue to be bombarded with the call to “make this world a better place.”

The Evangelism Committee of the First PRC in Edmonton, AB, Cana­da recently put three new pamphlets in the back of their church, hoping that those publications would be profitable in addressing acquain­tances with regard to the truth of God’s Word. The first was entitled, The Proper Use of God’s World, by Prof. H. Hanko; the second, For Whom Did Christ Die? by Rev. A. Stewart; and the third, The King­dom of God, by Prof. D. Engelsma.

Young People’s Activities

The Young People’s Society of the Grace PRC in Standale, MI hosted their annual “Night of Music” on Saturday evening, February 2 at Grace PRC. Those there that eve­ning enjoyed some great musical tal­ent provided by Matt Fisher, Bryan Westra, The Fourthrights, Eric and Gabrielle Phelps and more. A free-will offering was taken to help defray the costs of this year’s convention for the young people of Grace.

School Activities

Have you noticed, as we have, the many different announcements already crowding our church bulle­tins advertising for teachers needed? It seems these announcements grow more numerous and start earlier each year. We even notice that one church published the list elsewhere because of limited space on their bulletin.

Somewhat related to the above, we can also report that the mem­bers of the Heritage PRC in Sioux Falls, SD met in January to discuss the possibility of forming a school society. At that meeting on January 28, the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws were approved, and the Association for PR Education was officially constituted. Three men from Heritage were also elected to the Board.

The members of First PRC in Edmonton, AB, Canada also met together on January 24 to deter­mine interest in their school society, discuss future plans for the school society, and elect new officers. This society is not new. Rev. J. Marcus writes that “he believes it was orga­nized in the 80’s, but had not met for years.” Now obviously there is a renewed interest.

Minister Activities

Rev. D. Overway accepted the call from the Hope PRC in Walker, MI to serve as their next pastor.

Sunday, February 17, the Ran­dolph, WI PRC voted to extend a call to Rev. Cory Griess, from Calvary PRC, to serve as their next pastor.