Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan.

Minister Activities

Rev. Slopsema declined the call he received to serve as the pastor of First PRC in Holland, MI. Rev. K. Koole, of the Grandville, MI PRC, declined the call to become professor in our seminary. Per synod’s decision, the call was then extended to Rev. R. Cammenga, of the Faith PRC in Jenison, MI. Rev. Cammenga subsequently accepted that call. Rev. M. Dick declined the call to serve as Eastern Home Missionary for our churches. Rev. W. Bruinsma declined the call extended to him to serve as the next pastor of First PRC in Edmonton, AB, Canada. First has since called Rev. S. Key. The Loveland, CO PRC has extended a call to Rev. W. Bruinsma to serve as their next pastor. Rev. W. Bruinsma has also received the call to become the next pastor of the Covenant PRC in Wyckoff, N.J.

Young Adult Activities

A word of thanks goes out to Shealagh Wierenga, a member of First PRC in Edmonton, AB, Canada (and one of the 63 young adults who attended the Young Adults Retreat in Redlands, CA, July 4-8, sponsored by Hope PRC), for providing the “News” with a detailed summary of the week. Space does not allow us to include everything she wrote, but we certainly appreciated her taking the time to write. The theme of the retreat was “The Role of Young Adults in the Church.” The first speaker was Rev. M. VanderWal, pastor of Hope PRC. On Monday, July 4, he spoke on “The Need to Find and Have a Role in the Church,” emphasizing that young adults are called to love their church, to know their place in it, and to be active in it. The following evening Prof. B. Gritters focused on “The Specific Role and Responsibilities of Young Adults in the Church.” There was especially one word that Prof. Gritters used to describe the role of young adults in the church, and that word was “serve.” He encouraged them to look up to the older people in the congregation to learn from them, to look down to the children and young people to be an example to them, and to look across to other young adults to have good friends, to be good friends, and to encourage them in the way of faith. The retreat also featured discussion topics on “Financial Support by the Y.A. of the Church and School” and “Challenges to Antithetical Living Faced by Y.A.” Some of the activities included fireworks on the 4th of July, a trip to Big Bear Lake, including the added “bonus” of seeing a real forest fire on the trip back to Redlands, a trip to Huntington Beach on the Pacific Ocean, and a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. Shealagh concludes by adding, “I only hope that someday I can go back to visit, as they all were a great bunch of people. Well that, and the weather was fantastic! Hot and sunny the whole time—what could be better than that?!”

Young People’s Activities

The Young People of the Kalamazoo, MI PRC spent the week of July 22 through 29 in and around the Wingham, Ontario PRC. They arrived mid-afternoon July 22 and camped at the home of one of the members of Wingham for the week. A time of fellowship between the Wingham congregation and the Kalamazoo young people took place Saturday afternoon with a softball game. Sunday was spent in worship. Monday evening Rev. M. DeVries, pastor of Wingham, gave the first of two speeches geared for young people, speaking on “Young People Need the Church.” Tuesday evening Rev. Bruinsma, Kalamazoo’s pastor, spoke on “The Church Needs Young People.” In addition, the young people from both churches enjoyed several recreational activities throughout the week.

Evangelism Activities

Members of the church in west Michigan were invited to attend a four-class (it turned out to be a five-class) series on “The Doctrine of the Antithesis,” given by Prof. H. Hanko, and sponsored by the Reformed Witness Committee of Hope PRC in Walker, MI on the evenings of July 5, 12, 19, 26, and August 2. The sub-topics were 1) The Idea of the Antithesis; 2) The Antithesis in the Church; 3) The Antithesis in Home and Family; 4) The Antithesis in the World, Part I; 5) The Antithesis in the World, Part II.

The Evangelism Committee of Georgetown, PRC in Hudsonville, MI invited their congregation to join them in distributing literature and invitations to their church in their church neighborhood Saturday morning, July 23. Plans were to go door to door, handing out a simple gospel tract, leaving information about Georgetown, and inviting neighbors to worship with them.

Mission Activities

Rev. J. Mahtani preached his farewell sermon for the Pittsburgh Mission during the evening service Sunday, July 12, choosing as his text I Corinthians 3:10-17, under the theme, “Take Heed How Ye Build.” He was installed Friday evening, July 15, as the third pastor of the Bethel PRC in Elk Grove, IL. Rev. C. Haak, Bethel’s second pastor, preached and conducted the installation service.

Rev. R. Miersma, along with his wife, Sharon, finally were able to conclude business with the banks in Ghana and received approval for the transfer of funds to the United States. Rev. and Sharon were able to leave Ghana July 28 and fly to Amsterdam. From there they flew into Sioux Falls Friday evening. We thank God that He has given safety to the Miersmas as they traveled from the now closed mission field in Ghana, and we pray God’s care for the brothers and sisters there. May the Lord preserve them and their churches in the truth and unite us to them in glory.

Congregation Activities

Rev. G. Eriks preached his farewell sermon as pastor of the Loveland, CO PRC on July 24. He chose to preach from II Corinthians 13:11 under the theme, “Brethren, Farewell.” The day before, Saturday, July 23, the Loveland congregation gathered for a farewell program for the Eriks family. The program began around 6:00 P.M., followed by a light lunch and a time to say farewell.

The congregation of First PRC in Grand Rapids, MI sponsored what has now become their annual Summer Singspiration on Sunday evening, July 24, in their church auditorium. In addition to audience singing there were vocal and instrumental numbers and a collection for the Evangelism Society of First.