“Where’s my Standard Bearer?” was a familiar refrain in the ears of our business manager when answering the telephone in early January. These calls were a result of the fact that the January 1 issue wasn’t its usual punctual self. Although most of us would have soon tired of listening to these complaints, it was music to Mr. VanderWal’s ears, for each call was another positive (or would we call that negative?) evidence that S.B. is read, appreciated, and even anticipated. 

On December 28 Rev. Miersma preached his farewell sermon in Pella. A week and one half later, January 7, he was installed as pastor of our Holland congregation. However, Pella’s vacant pulpit was to be short-lived, as Rev. Lanting has accepted their call. 

Our Hope, Michigan congregation’s wait for an answer to their call to Rev. Flikkema has been in keeping with the length of their extended parsonage vacancy (1½ years). The reason for this is that Rev. Flikkema has received another call from a Hope Protestant Reformed Church, this one of Redlands, California. As a result Rev. Flikkema has asked for a three-week extension of the call from Hope, Michigan. As of this writing, therefore, Rev. Flikkema is considering calls from three Hopes: Hope, Michigan, Hope, Redlands; and the congregation he is presently serving, the Hope Protestant Reformed Church of Isabel. 

Rev. C. Hanko and his daughter Alice left Grand Rapids in late December for a two-month stay in Bradenton, Florida. He is replacing Rev. Heys who spent the month of December preaching there under the auspices of our First Church in Grand Rapids. 

The bulletins of recent months abound with information concerning nominations, elections, installations, and appreciations of new and retiring office bearers. A glance at sermon themes shows that many of our ministers use these occasions for expositions on the offices of elder and deacon. It seems clear from it all that the Lord has abundantly blessed our churches with capable men of God who, though weak in their own sinful flesh, nevertheless by His grace and Spirit labor faithfully in these offices. In this connection it’s interesting to note that due to personnel changes in consistories and diaconates, many of our church bulletin covers also undergo changes. For some this means a few Sundays with the old covers or a blank side to their bulletins; but for our Wyckoff, New Jersey congregation it serves as a good time to get rid of their misprinted covers. Unless the one I received was an exception, all those who attended their services on December 28 went home after church and read the bulletin cover information from its reflection in the bathroom mirror. 

Since we’re on the subject of Wyckoff’s December 28 bulletin anyway, we might just as well say something about the announcements on the side which could be read without the aid of a mirror: There we find that Prof. H. Hanko was kept quite busy during his visit there during the Christmas holidays by preaching at their evening services and the morning services of the People’s Park Reformed Church. Finally from Wyckoff we learn that the congregation has approved the proposal to add the doxology, “Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow” at the beginning of the morning worship services; and at the end of the morning service their new doxology is Psalter No. 196.

The following selected quote was gleaned from a Hudsonville bulletin: “In the centuries since Adam, men have fallen for the lie rather than believed the truth because they have given more heed to the world’s viewpoint than to God’s. The world in general has filled men with the notions of the Devil. If men will not study the Bible, they cannot know God’s truth. Tragically, men drink from the Devil’s fountains of pleasure and blame God for their stomach aches.” 

—CK