Ben wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan.

Rev. den Hartog and his family have returned to the United States, and the Lord willing, the family will be moving to Randolph, Wisconsin where Rev. den Hartog will take up his labors as pastor of the congregation there.

In preparation for their move there, the congregation recently held a general housecleaning of the parsonage.

And also in connection with the return of the den Hartog family to a much colder climate than Singapore, the students of Heritage Christian School in Hudsonville, Michigan, collected money in what has become their annual Christmas collection, to aid the den Hartog children. The thought behind the collection this year was that after having been in Singapore so long they needed much clothing, sporting goods, and other items. It was hoped that the money collected would help them adjust to life back in the States. And according to one source, over-two hundred dollars was raised by the students of Heritage.

Heritage Christian School in Hudsonville, Michigan, and Hull Protestant Reformed Christian School in Hull, Iowa, recently were forced to conduct special building fund drives for the express purpose of reducing some of their load of debt. Heritage received $36,710.00 in cash and pledges, while Hull raised $10,430.00 and an additional gift of $2,000.00 was given from the Ladies’ Guild of Hull. We can all be very thankful that not only has our Heavenly Father given us Christian Schools, but that He has also given us the means to support them.

The congregation of Byron Center has made plans to hold their church’s Sledding and Snowmobile Party for January 31, although looking out the window right now there is no snow anywhere in West Michigan. This can change in a hurry, however.

Up here in the North, winter can seem to last forever and perhaps you will find yourself longing for a chance to get away to the warmer climate of sunny Florida. If you do get down there this winter, you are invited to spend Sunday at the Protestant Reformed Chapel in Bradenton. This chapel meets twice a Sunday, at 10:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M., at the Bradenton Christian School, 3304 43rd St. West, Bradenton, Florida. Rev. C. Hanko is the pastor there, and for more information about the chapel and its activities, or directions on how to get there he can be reached at 813-755-7344.

This year the congregation in Kalamazoo, Michigan, had Christmas cards for the missionaries on the table in the foyer of the church, with the idea that all of the families of the church sign them. When this was completed, the cards were sent out. It seems like a rather nice idea. Perhaps it even helped these missionaries through the holiday season even though they were apart from families and friends back home.

The night of December 21, the Federation Board of our Young People’s Societies held their annual Christmas Singspiration in Hudsonville. Mr. Phil Van Baren had opening remarks and led the large crowd in prayer. He then turned the remainder of the hour over to the very capable leadership of Mr. Jim Vander Kolk as director and the accompaniment of Miss Betty Haveman at the organ and Mr. Gerald Miedema at the piano. Between singing from the Psalter and a song sheet of Christmas carols the audience was favored with special numbers. First Mr. Gerald Kuiper sang a solo, “Angel Voices Softly Singing,” which was followed by a duet, “Star of the East,” sung by Mr. Jim Daling and Mr. Randy Van Dyke. Later a flute duet of “O Holy Night” was given by the Misses Heather and Heidi Kreuzer. And it should also be noted that during the singspiration the children were also asked to come to the front and sing “Away in the Manger.” The collection was for the 1987 Young People’s Convention. Rev. G. Van Baren closed the hour with prayer.

Christmas Singspirations were also held in many of our other churches as well, some of which were Hull, Edgerton, and Randolph.

From Southeast in Grand Rapids we find that at their last congregational meeting they approved a proposal involving various remodeling projects including the extension of their church narthex.

The Church Extension Committee of First Church in Grand Rapids has prepared a very attractive brochure about their church which was mailed the first week in December in the neighborhoods around their church. Over 3,000 copies were sent to homes in the area.

The Free Christian School in Edgerton, MN presented their school Christmas Program the night of December 19.