From week to week a steady stream of church bulletins arrive on Linwood Street. This continuing supply of news is appreciated. News editors who invent their copy in the absence of news to report find themselves in a not too enviable position. Occasionally something just a little bit different arrives in the mail. This week such an item arrived—a church directory. You say, what could be interesting about a church directory? The 1976 directory of our Randolph, Wisconsin, congregation is unlike any directory I have ever seen. In addition to the list of church members with names, addresses, and phone numbers, this directory contains a two page history of the congregation, a picture of their new church building, congregational statistics, times and days of public worship, catechism and societies, church committees and officers, information about the Reformed Witness Hour, birthdays and anniversaries of all church members arranged by month and day, the 1975 church financial report, special collection schedule for 1976, church building use. rules, a memoriam listing and even a page for ‘new listings, additional information, et cetera.’ With so much information already in the directory it would be difficult to find much additional ‘et cetera’ to include! 

The council of our South Holland congregation recently announced that the church building debt had been retired—for which they are thankful. The new project in South Holland is the purchase of a new church organ. A special collection for the new organ was taken on December 14. The goal of this collection was $5,000 or $50 per family. 

Our Southeast congregation celebrated a rather special anniversary with their pastor on February 8. The following notice appeared in the Southeast bulletin: “The Council, along with the congregation takes this opportunity to extend our sincerest congratulations to Rev. Schipper on this his 70th birthday. May God bless him in the remainder of his life upon the earth, even. as He has done in the past, giving him the peace and joy of Psalm 16:11 ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.'” I believe that Rev. Schipper is the senior minister serving the Protestant Reformed churches—in age that is. Rev. C. Hanko is the senior minister in terms of years of service in the ministry. 

The consistory of Pella has asked various ministers to supply their pulpit while their pastor, Rev. G. Lubbers, is in Jamaica for nine weeks. Rev. C. Hanko was requested to fill the Pella pulpit on February 1 and 8. In addition to preaching in Pella, Rev. Hankoplans to show slides of the New Zealand-Australian trip he took with Prof. Hoeksema last summer, in Pella and also in the Hull, Iowa, area if the weather permits travel to northwest Iowa. 

During the last two Sundays of 1975, Rev. Dale Kuiper, Hudsonville’s missionary pastor, occupied Rev. Hanko’s regular place on the pulpit three times. Upon his return to his home in Skowhegan, Maine, Rev. Kuiper reported that he enjoyed his stay in Hudsonville and also the opportunity to break the bread of life. 

Hudsonville, as you may recall, has plans to build a new church building. In fact they have sold their church building and are meeting at Hudsonville Public High School. The land which the congregation had purchased for their new church home was subsequently included as part of a new industrial park. Not wishing to have their new church hidden behind a warehouse, the congregation decided to sell their land and purchase another plot in what they hope will be a more desirable location. 

A Quiet Thought from the Southeast bulletin: 

“Most of us are a bit fearful of what men may say of our actions, but doesn’t the thought trouble us more when we think of how God judges our actions? After all, man’s judgment is of a passing nature, but God’s judgment is perfect and final.” 

—KGV