Trivia question

How many members of the Rev. Richard Smit family moved to Antipolo in December? And do you know the name of the subdivision in which our missionaries reside? Answers later in this article.

Minister activities

Upon receiving a decline from Rev. B. Huizinga, First PRC of Grand Rapids, MI formed a new trio of Rev. J. Mahtani, Candidate D. Noorman and Rev. C. Griess. On December 14 the congregation called Rev. Griess to be their next pastor.

Southwest PRC announced her new trio consisting of Revs. A. Brummel, J. Mahtani, and Candidate D. Noorman. On December 17 the call was issued to candidate D. Noorman.

December marked 40 years of service in the PRC ministry for Rev. Kenneth Koole. He was ordained as minister in 1977 and served the churches of Randolph, WI; Redlands, CA; Faith in Jenison, MI; and Grandville, MI PRC since 2002.

The congregation in Grandville thanked him for his faithful labors in their midst and on behalf of the denomination. A coffee social was planned for a Sunday evening in January. We too give thanks to God for a faithful servant in Rev. Koole! May God also continue to use him for the good of the churches in the years to come. In the summer of 1976, as a student, Rev. Koole ably filled the pulpit of the vacant PR congregation in Doon, IA. Ask him sometime about the light pole in center field. The congregation of Byron Center PRC welcomed Rev. A. Lanning and his family with an open house on December 30, a great opportunity to meet their new pastor before his installation. Rev. Lanning was installed by Rev. S. Key (his father-in-law) on December 31, with a welcome program/singspiration held after the evening service.

Pastor A. denHartog has been asked by the Contact Committee of our denomination to serve our sister church in Singapore, the Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church, for an extended period. CERCS will be without its own pastor after Rev. A. Lanning leaves in December to take up the call to Byron Center PRC. The denHartogs are planning to be in Singapore at least until after the PRC synod of June 2018 makes a decision on the CERCS calling a minister-on-loan, the Lord willing, from our denomination. Let us pray for the Lannings, Covenant ERC, and the denHartogs during this time. The denHartogs planned to leave for Redlands, CA, December 19, to spend some time with their children and grandchildren there. They will fly out of Los Angeles for Singapore on January 23, 2018, D.V. Candidate D. Noorman is supplying the pulpit of CERC from December 29-January 16.

Sister-church activities

From the bulletin of the Covenant PRC of Ballymena, Northern Ireland:

The church visitors, Rev. Nathan Decker and Sid Miedema, will be in Northern Ireland from Thursday 18 January to the morning of Thursday 25 January. The congregational dinner will be held on Friday, 19 January. On Wednesday, 24 January, Rev. Decker is planning to give a lecture on “Living Wisely in a Digital Age.” They will be with the Limerick Reformed Fellowship from 25-29 January.

Congregational activities

As they usually do, the members of the congregation at Immanuel PRC of Lacombe, AB, Canada shared ollie bollen after their New Years’ service. Yum, yum.

The Psalm Choir began its new season on January 8. Practices are at 2:00 p.m. at Hudsonville PRC. All are invited to sing Psalms of praise to our God.

Grandville PRC voted to install new LED lighting in their parking lot.

The congregation at Hudsonville PRC voted to reseal their parking lot.

Psalter revision surveys have been submitted to the PRCA consistories, who will then submit a report of their findings to the Contact Committee of our churches.

An expansion project open house at Trinity PRC in Michigan was held on a Saturday in December, so that adults of the congregation could walk through the addition and see the progress that had been made. Expansion committee members were on hand to answer questions and explain details.

School activities

The Heritage Christian School Society (Hudsonville, MI) recently held a special meeting in which it approved a plan for a seven-room expansion. Fundraising has begun and is expected to continue into 2019.

Many of our schools presented band, orchestra, and choir programs during the time of Christmas.

Many registered to attend the Tasting Bee to be held at Adams Christian School on Thursday, January 18. Punch bowl and appetizers were to be served as guests arrived. Also, all registered guests were to receive a cookbook, but there were additional books available for purchase. That sounds like a delicious evening!

Seminary activities

The seminary’s interim course this year is “The Theology of John Calvin” and taught by Prof. R. Cammenga. Classes meet from Monday, January 8, 2018 through Wednesday, January 17, 2018, in the morning, 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Any who were interested in attending were welcome.

Trivia answer

Rev. Richard Smit and his wife Tricia took with them these children: Jay, Irene, Rosalyn, Seth, Carl, Ryan, and Silas. Their two oldest children, John and Rebecca continue to reside in Hudsonville, MI while the others have now taken up residence in House 12, on 7th Avenue. The name of the subdivision in which all three of our missionaries currently reside is the Beverly Hills Subdivision. I have wondered about our missionaries purchasing their own jeepney, and think it might be worth considering. Jay could be the designated driver. His younger brothers tell me he would be the ideal choice! More trivia next time.