Trivia question

There is one seminarian in the newly begun Theological School in the Philippines. Brother Jeremiah Pascual and his wife Leslie joyfully received of the Lord their first child, a son named Iohanne Cauvin (Yohan Covin). According to Tricia Smit’s newsletter that young man is pogi! So what does pogi mean in Tagalog? Answer later in this column.

Minister activities

Rev. E. Guichelaar received the call from Kalamazoo PRC as Rev. DeVries plans to become emeritus at the end of the year. Rev. DeVries preached his farewell sermon in the morning of January 5, with a brief program and lunch to follow.

Rev. J. Mahtani preached his farewell sermon at Cor­nerstone PRC December 8, and was installed as Grandville PRC’s minister on loan to Singapore on December 29. The Mahtanis are hoping to leave for Singapore as soon as permission is granted by the Singapore government.

The newly organized Unity PRC formed a trio of Revs. J. Engelsma, E. Guichelaar, and R. VanOverloop. On Decem­ber 18 their call was issued to Rev. VanOverloop.

With Rev. Mahtani moving to Singapore, Cornerstone PRC has formed a trio of Revs. J. Engelsma, G. Eriks, and R. Kleyn. They planned to call on January 5.

The congregation at Lacombe, AB Canada extended a call to Rev. Heath Bleyenberg, pastor in Providence PRC, Hudsonville, MI on December 15.

Rev. Daniel Holstege and his wife Leah welcomed their new baby on December 10. Violet Joy, their fourth daugh­ter, is doing well and is the first baby born to our mission­aries in the Philippines. We thank God for caring for the mother and the newborn babe!

Church profile—watch for Hudsonville’s next!

Those of you who have not yet submitted your congregational profile please do so soon, and if possible include a picture of the congregation.

Congregational activities

This is almost another trivia question. Let’s say it is another trivia question: There is one congregation in the PRCA where the current membership includes five ministers. Which congregation is that and can you name those ministers? We won’t keep you in suspense. Grandville, MI PRC holds the membership of five ministers. Their present pastor is Rev. Nathan Decker. The other ministers are: Prof. Brian Huizinga, Rev. Ken Koole, Rev. Jason Kortering, and Rev. Jonathan Mahtani. That’s quite a bunch. I’m guessing pulpit supply is not a problem there or anywhere close by!

Many from the Siouxland congregations of Calvary, Doon, Heritage, and Hull traveled to balmy Edgerton, MN in the evening of December 22 for the annual Christ­mas singspiration there. The temperature was almost 40 degrees and the roads were clear. That has not always been the case. The singing and fellowship were enjoyable as usual. Since Rev. Daniel Kleyn left Edgerton some years ago, there have been no Aussie Anzac cookies on the refreshment menu, but there were plenty of other choices —we almost didn’t notice! Already looking forward to next year.

Sister-church activities

Pastor Martyn McGeown of the Limerick Reformed Fellowship (Republic of Ireland) spoke at the Youth Camp of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia, which took place from Saturday, December 28 to Friday, January 3. He gave seven speeches/sermons, and then preached in Brisbane EPC on the Sundays of January 5 and 12. Now that’s a busy agenda!

Here is only one of many quotes taken from the bulle­tin of the Covenant PRC of Ballymena, Northern Ireland: “God bless your work. I watched quite a few sermons over the last months—good and truly edifying words that are always biblical, and very practical for understanding this world. I am still looking to learn more about Calvinism. I listen to the Reformed Witness Hour and it is a good source for absorbing Reformed teachings”—Finland.

Seminary activities

The seminary completed its first semester and exams in December. The January Interim class in the seminary this year is “The Schism of 1953” taught by Prof. R. Dykstra, and is meeting January 6–10 and 13–15.

Trivia answer

If you guessed that pogi means “handsome,” then you are correct! If that baby would have been a she, we could call her maganda, which means “beautiful” in Tagalog. There’s your Tagalog lesson for today. More trivia next time.