Thirteen Congregations Honored for 150+ Years of Ministry
Executive director Steven Timmermans reads the text of the plaque to delegates
Karen Huttenga
The Christian Reformed Church in North America was born in 1857, which makes it 161 years old this year. Since 2007, several congregations have reached their 150th anniversary. This year, synod decided to acknowledge these milestones by providing congregations with commemorative plaques.
The recommendation to create and present plaques came to synod from the historical committee, a standing committee of synod that serves to record and archive historical moments and records of the denomination.
On behalf of the historical committee, executive director Steve Timmermans presented the plaques to thirteen congregations: First CRC of Oostburg, Wisc., which celebrates its 150 years in 2018, and twelve churches which have recognized these anniversaries between 2007 and 2017.
- 1857-2007: First CRC of Grand Rapids; Graafschap CRC (Holland, Mich.); Noordeloos CRC (Holland, Mich.).
- 1865-2015: First CRC of Grand Haven; Central Avenue CRC (Holland, Mich.); Lafayette (Ind.) CRC; First CRC of South Holland, Ill.
- 1866-2016: Grace Valley CRC (German Valley, Ill.); Niekerk CRC (Holland, Mich.); First Christian Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa.
- 1867-2017: Ebenezer CRC (Berwyn, Ill.); First CRC of Wellsburg, Iowa.
Three of these congregations had delegates present at Synod 2018. They came forward to accept the plaques on behalf of their church.
Other congregations will receive their plaques from classis representatives who receive the plaques in their stead and promised to deliver them promptly.
Each plaque says the following, “In celebration of God’s richest blessings, the Christian Reformed Church in North America acknowledges [church] on the occasion of their 150th anniversary. [dates]”
The plaques also include Psalm 126:3, “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”
Now that the practice has begun, future synods will also honor congregations who have reached 150 years of ministry.
For continuous coverage of Synod 2018 including the live webcast, news, video recordings, photos, reports, liveblog, social media links, and more visit www.crcna.org/synod.
