Dear Editor: 

May we at this time ask you for a little space in theStandard Bearer please? 

It is now nearly one year and eight months since we met in our church building. It was on September 20, 1953 that we as the continuation of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa had to find a meeting place for our services. 

For some weeks we met in Western Christian High School. It was at that time that we asked the Rev. M. Schipper who was then pastor of our church at South Holland, Illinois to labor with us and for us. 

Our separation from the other members of what was at that time the Protestant Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa was due to the fact that the delegates of Classis West decided to recognize Rev. De Wolf and not to recognize Rev. Hoeksema and Rev. Hanko. When they decided to go along with Rev. De Wolf, they made themselves guilty of schism. 

Some of our members went to what was our consistory at that time and asked for a hearing about these matters. The Consistory said that it would not give them a hearing. They would not set a date for the hearing. Instead they put an announcement on the bulletin that at an indefinite time they would decide about these things for the congregation. 

One of the consistory members could see that the consistory was .doing wrong. All we could do was to separate from that part of the consistory and recognize only that consistory member who wanted to stay with the Protestant Reformed Churches. 

A committee of three was appointed together with this one consistory member who remained faithful. They met from time to time and decided that a congregational meeting should be held so that we could elect more officebearers and have a complete consistory again. This was announced from our pulpit two successive Sundays. The meeting was held at our Doon, Iowa church. And a complete consistory was elected. 

The consistory then decided to ask the Rev. H.C. Hoeksema of our Doon church to serve us with advice. The Rev. Hoeksema was the only minister in Classis West who remained with the Protestant Reformed Churches and who did not leave to side with Rev. De Wolf—who himself left the Protestant Reformed Churches by his act of schism and of refusing to abide by the decisions of Classis East and of the First Protestant Reformed Church at Grand Rapids, Michigan. By refusing to take the matter on which he could not agree with his consistory and Classis to the next Synod and by setting himself up as a separate consistory, he left that Protestant Reformed Churches. 

For six weeks we held services in the Western Christian High School building. We then rented the basement of the Community Building in Hull. Here we still are conducting our services at this time. We cannot use this building for our catechism classes, so we asked for the use of the Township Hall. It is a very old and small building, but the instruction and the Word of God taught our children is not harmed by this. 

In November of 1953 we made a trio and called the Rev. M. Schipper, who after prayerful consideration had to decline our call. After this we extended four more calls which were also declined. In December of 1954 we extended our sixth call, this time to the Rev. John A. Heys, who the Lord at His appointed time gave us as a shepherd of our own, who also faithfully serves us with the truth which we missed for so long a time.

We are thankful to our God that He made all things well with us, although at times it did look dark to us. 

May He give us grace to continue to put our trust and our hope in Him and continue to give us the truth of the Protestant Reformed doctrine in the preaching on the Sabbath and in the instruction our children receive in the catechism room. 

Our congregation at present numbers 33 families and 151 souls. We wish to thank the Rev. H.C. Hoeksema for all his labors in our behalf. 

We likewise wish to thank all the ministers and students who preached for us during our vacancy and also the various churches who gave us the services of their ministers when tie needed the assistance of their pastors. 

May the Lord bless us richly as a congregation and minister that we may fight the good fight of faith and be faithful unto Him who has called us with an holy calling. 

In the name of the Consistory of the Hull Protestant Reformed Church 

Peter Jansma, Clerk