The call that First Church directed to Rev. Heys to be Missionary to Jamaica was done for Synod which appointed it to be the calling church. Because this involves our entire denomination First Church asks that the missionary-elect be, remembered in your prayers that he may know the will of the Lord for him in this matter.

Rev. Vanden Berg, of Oak Lawn, declined the call he had received from our church in Pella, Iowa. Their next trio included the Revs. Decker, Lubbers and Woudenberg, and the call went out to Rev. Decker, of Doon, Iowa.

January and February’s weather in the plains states raised havoc with the schedules of mid-week meetings and many of the Sunday services, as revealed in the bulletins of Edgerton, Hull, Doon and Forbes.

The Men’s Society of Doon traveled to Edgerton to meet with that society Feb. 17 to discuss the sixth chapter of Revelation. The after recess program featured a paper by Mr. Fred Hanko. The men of Hull’s congregation received a special invitation to this Combined meeting to spend an hour of spiritual fellowship with them.

In the calendar of future events found in one of Kalamazoo’s bulletins the people were reminded that Rev. Heys was scheduled to give an illustrated lecture on the work done among our friends in Jamaica. So, one by one, our churches are becoming better acquainted with the site and with the people who have been so mysteriously drawn to the truth as it is proclaimed from our pulpits and on the pages of our publications. And with such a champion of the cause, as is the man beside the screen with his pointer, who can resist his enthusiasm to help those hungry and thirsty souls in their search for spiritual nourishment!

One of our church bulletin announcements went like this: “The consistory decided that bulletin announcements dealing with social functions should be kept as brief as possible”. The reason for this might have been due to the general lack of space available for these, but it might also have been prompted by the few which come to the bulletin clerk’s desk which have caught the contagion of the Advertising Agencies of the public press.

The Board of Doon’s Prot. Ref. Chr. School has decided to eliminate the kindergarten class for the year ’69-’70 because of the paucity of eligible students. One of the Prayer Day sermons in our churches was an exegesis of Psalm 37:5, “Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” The pastor was a means of The Hearer of our prayers to encourage his flock (are the special mid-week services in all our churches poorly attended?) to receive their support from this inspired text.

Hull scheduled their Annual Prayer Day Service a day earlier to make it possible for Rev. Lanting, of Edgerton, to supply their pulpit on Tuesday evening and be able to serve his own church on Wednesday.

At a conference attended by ministers, elders and seminary students held in South Holland at the time of the Classis West meeting Rev. Engelsma gave a paper on “The Genealogy of Jesus”.

Loveland’s consistory has graciously released Rev. Engelsma for six weeks to work in the Pella area in behalf of the Mission Committee. This will be a greater hardship for Loveland’s pulpit committee because the seminary supply will not be available to them as it was to Southwest and Hudsonville. So another congregation is willing to be content with reading services that Pella may enjoy the lively preaching of the Word.

The Annual Society meeting of our new Covenant High School was held March 13, electing new board members and adopting the budget for ’69-’70. The new board members are H.P. Meulenberg, of the Adams area; Gordon VanOverloop of the Hope area; Bernard Windemuller, member-at-large. 28 new members signed up and the society adopted the huge budget of $112,000.00, anticipating a $40,000.00 drive and some $4,200.00 from church collections and $67,000.00 from tuition at $600.00 per student. The twelfth grade will be added next year, and, with the graduates from Hope and Adams coming in, it is expected that the enrollment will be about doubled. If we can judge the caliber of the Board members and the staff there will be no toleration of sit-ins, student demands, nor any of the other expressions of rebellion abounding in the world today which threatens the very existence of normal educational institutions. “And be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may know what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”Rom. 12-2. 

. . . see you in church 

J.M.F.