CHURCH NEWS

Calls Declined:

To the Hamilton, (Ancastor) Ontario, Canada, Congregation, by Rev. J.J. Van Eekeveld of Zeist, the Netherlands.

To the Clifton, New Jersey, Congregation, by Rev. J.J. Van Eekeveld, of Zeist, the Netherlands.

To the Rock Valley, Iowa, Congregation, by Rev. J.J. Van Eckeveld, of Zeist, the Netherlands.

To the Norwich, Ontario, Canada, Congregation, by Rev. A.W. Verhoef of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Cananda.

To the Corsica, South Dakota, Congregation, by Rev. A.W. Verhoef of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada.

MRS. R. GRISNICH

On Wednesday evening, December 14, 1983 Mrs. Grisnich was unexpectedly taken away by death from the side of her dear husband, children, and grandchildren. Her pastor, Rev. M. Heerschap, conducted the funeral for her large family and many friends in the church of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. He spoke on Phil. 1:6: “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it.”

We have known the family when they lived in Hoofdorp, the Netherlands. They were one of the first immigrants with whom we lodged in 1948 when on a Thursday we preached twice in the Reformed Church of Monarch, Alberta. The deceased mother had lived many years as one of the quiet in the land, with fear and trembling. Her end was “peace”, as her son informed us. The Lord sustain the husband and father who had been married to her for 60 years, and sanctify the blow to his true and eternal welfare.

In times of apostasy from the old truth many families dishonor their parents and step upon their hearts, not going to church any more, or they follow a religion that is not according to the truth in Christ Jesus. The church (building?) does not save us. Jesus, the Son of God, saves His people from their sins, and He does so by meriting and applying salvation. He saves from the greatest evil, namely sin, and brings to the highest good, that is fellowship with God. And if it shall be well with us, this must become reality for us in heart and life between our cradle and our grave. May it become reality in that family by the work of the Holy Spirit.

The oldest son of the Grisnich family telephoned me the same evening that the mother died. I appreciated that. I think it must be about 50 years ago that we buried the mother of this deceased friend in Lisse when I was pastor in Leiden there from 1929 to 1932.

Rev. Lamain

MR. C.R. KICKERT

After a very lengthy illness Mr. C.R. Kickert passed away on December 13, 1983. The funeral service was held Friday, December 16 at Lansing, Ill.

For several years there were no office bearers in our church in South Holland, still two friends of the Congregation took care of the outward needs of that little flock, Mr. Kickert and Mr. J. Witvoet.

Rev. Lamain spoke for the family and friends on Ps. 90:12. Rev. Horton, the Reformed minister of the church to which Mrs. Kickert belongs also spoke. May the Lord strengthen the widow with her dear children and grandchildren, and also the old mother, 98 years old with three daughters and one son living in Chicago Heights.

Mr. Kickert attended the church in South Holland from the time they began to use the English language there.

May the Lord bless the words spoken both in the Funeral Home and on the cemetery for the family as well as for the many friends that attended the funeral service. The responsibility lies upon us, but the blessing for our soul must come into our heart from heaven.

Editor

ABRIDGED MINUTES OF CLASSIS EAST’S MEETING (OCTOBER 25–26, 1983)

The prayer service for Classis East was conducted by Rev. J.R. Beeke in the Clifton church, October 25, 1983, on Matthew 16:18, “And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The minister’s theme was, Jesus Christ Publishing the True Church’s Divine Charter, divided into the following thoughts: (1) the true Church established from eternity; (2) the true Church built in time; and (3) the true Church preserved unto eternity.

the following morning Classis met in the Franklin Lakes/Clifton Netherlands Reformed Christian School building at 9:00 a.m. On behalf of the calling church of St. Catharines, Rev. Beeke opened our gathering with the singing of Psalter 350:1, 4, 5, the reading of Psalm 132, and prayer. In his opening remarks, Rev. Beeke commented on various matters which had transpired since our last classical meeting, including such joyful events as the acceptance of Kalamazoo’s call by Rev. Hofman who hopes to arrive shortly in our Classis; the dedication of the Franklin Lakes/Clifton school building; the commemoration of Clifton’s 100 year anniversary as a congregation; and the sparing goodness of the Lord in bringing Rev. Lamain to the eve of his 80th birthday. Rev. Beeke wished Rev. Lamain several more years in the midst of the Church, accompanied by God’s blessing upon him, his wife, family, and congregation. Other events to remind us of the frailty of life were also recalled, including the deaths of the former Rev. VanHaaren (Netherlands), the former elder Peter VanBrugge (Unionville), and former deacon VanderWaal (Bradford). The death of the former elder Maassen of Rock Valley was also mentioned, together with the failing condition of elder Henry Spaans of Corsica. Since our last classical gathering, the Lord has graciously restored Rev. Verhoef from his heart attack, and Rev. Kieboom has been granted emeritation. May the Lord sanctify all His ways to our hearts.

Rev. Beeke based his opening words on John 20:19. Calling this “the first classis meeting of the New Testament Church,” he stressed the importance of the critical point on the apostles’ agenda — a missing Jesus, as well as the threefold miracle that transpired during their meeting: (1) Jesus came, (2) Jesus stood in their midst, and (3) Jesus spoke peace. The meeting was declared open with the wish that Christ might also come to stand in our midst as chairman, and grant us that peace that passes all understanding.

President: Rev. W.C. Lamain (by rotation)

Assessor: Rev. J.R. Beeke

Clerk: Elder J. Beeke

Treasurer: Elder M. Vlietstra

1. The following written report and financial statement was submitted by the Macedonia Mission Society of the Netherlands Reformed Congregations:

Since our last report in March 1982, fifteen new blue booklets containing thirty-one sermons have been published. We have now printed a total of 224 booklets containing 379 sermons. The first booklet was published 20 years ago. At the present time 3,200 copies are printed of each.

We continue to receive requests for the Bible History of John Vreugdenhil, and as was reported before, the greatest number coming from Africa — most coming for Nigeria, and some from Ghana. Many students begin the course, but few complete it. If a student completes the course of 72 booklets, he is sent a Bible, but still it does not encourage them. At the present time we have approximately 6,000 names in our files. We receive an average of 1,650 answer sheet per month.

The Bible History booklets are used in our schools. However, all answer sheets are corrected at the schools. Also, a total of 1,655 were sent to various other organizations.

The number of participants doing Church History remains about the same, with 60 answer sheets being received each month.

However, these books are used at the schools also, and during the past year a total of 9,580 were sent to them. As with the Bible History, all sheets are corrected at the school.

The New Zealand depot started two years ago continues to request more booklets. During the past year 1,438 Bible History booklets were sent to them and 95 Church History.

May the Lord remember us in this work, and also those who receive it, that it may be a blessing unto many.

DONATIONS RECEIVED from Netherlands Reformed Congregations during reporting period April, 1982 thru September 30,1983.

Candian U.S.

Artesia, Calif. $ 235.00

Bradford, Ont. $ 750.00 600.90

Chilliwack, B.C. 1,000.00 808.20

Clifton, N.J. 2,304.00

Corsica, S.D. 614.15

Franklin Lakes, N.J. 5,122.00

Grand Rapids, Mich. 3,059.57

Hamilton, Ont. 511.82 406.88

Kalamazoo, Mich. 550.00

Lynden, Wash. 505.00

Norwich, Ont. 2,000.00 1,603.80

Rock Valley, Iowa 1,423.98

St. Catherines, Ont. 601.00 482.18

Sheboygan, Wis. 287.51

Sioux Center, Iowa 702.00

Sioux Falls, S.D. 156.05

South Holland, Ill. 125.00

Sunnyside, Wash. 75.00

Unionville, Ont. 1,589.81 1,285.56

Waupun, Wis. 184.85 American General Mission Fund 4,000.00

Banner of Truth Tract Fund 200.00

Bible Truth Books 30.00

Franklin Lakes “Lois Circle” 200.00

Macedonia Mission Society of New Zealand 150.00

Rock Valley “Martha Guild” 200.00

Sioux Center “Dorcas Society” 200.00

2. Rev. Beeke gave a report on our denominational book publishing committee — Netherlands Reformed Book and Publishing Fund. Volume 2 of Rev. Kersten’s Dogmatics is now available for $7.50, with indexes. The complete set of two volumes is $15.00. A memorial book commemorating Clifton’s 100 years as a congregation entitled, Not Consumed, is available for $2.00. Since our last meeting, Religious Stories for Young and Old, vol. 4 ($2.50 each) has been printed, and volumes 1, 2, and 3 have been reprinted ($2.00 each). A pamphlet, What is a Netherlands Reformed Christian School?, is available for 25 cents. A small Psalter for the exclusive use of our congregations is now available for $3.75. The Teacher’s Workbook for assistance in teaching from the Bible Doctrine Student Workbook is again available for $9.00 per copy, but must be reserved for elders and teachers. Certificates and church forms are also available now, including baptismal and profession of faith forms. Several volumes are currently waiting for typesetting, such as Van Reenen’s volume on the journies of the children of Israel, the life histories of several of our ministers, etc. Final translation efforts are being expended on several other volumes, including Rev. Kersten’s writings on Zechariah and Hebrews 11, as well as Rev. Golverdingen’s Rev. Kersten: Life and Facets. (All orders should be sent to Netherlands Reformed Book and Publishing Fund, 1020 N. Main Ave., Sioux Center, IA 51250.)

In conjunction with this report, Rev. Beeke answered Norwich’s point, explaining that the cost of the books was set on a non-profit basis only. Thus, church collections are still urgently needed to offset overhead costs which includes postage for shipping approximately 10,000 books sold each year, translation expenses, as well as free samples of some volumes sent to Reformed seminaries throughout the world, etc. In general, most churches have faithfully taken up an annual collection for this worthy cause as mandated by Synod, though a few are becoming lax in this matter. Delegates are kindly requested to check with their deacons as to whether they are collecting for this fund on an annual basis.

May the Lord richly bless the printed work throughout our denominational circles to the glory of His Name, the edification of His people, and the conversion of the unconverted.

In response to a delegate’s concern Rev. Beeke promised that the Book Committee will continue to make every effort to provide books for very young children, though such stories are often hard to locate. Assistance in this matter will be appreciated. Suitable material should be forwarded to the chairman of the committee.

3. Elder De Bruine gave a report of his trip to Florida concerning the possibility of beginning to form a church of our denomination on the west coast of that state. After his report was heard, it was agreed that this group (especially those who live there in the winter months) try to read sermons, for the time being, in one another’s homes when they assemble together, and we hope that the Lord might open a way of more clarity. It was suggested that Elder De Bruine and the Franklin Lakes Consistory continue to obtain more information and report back to the next classical meeting.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. May children be baptized if their parents have television? If not, on what grounds may this be denied?

Classis gave a threefold ground for denying infant baptism in the case of parents who possess television: (1) The scriptural ground of the fifth commandment, which is being transgressed openly when parents continue to disobey church authority which is designed for the welfare of its members. (2) The ground of the baptismal vows in general and the third question in particular, which is openly being denied when television is allowed in the home. (3) The ground of former ecclesiastical decisions based on the directives of God’s Word to walk separately from the world (cf. Synodical decisions of 1950, 1968, and 1980).

Finally, Classis stressed that parents who choose television above an outwardly godly walk and obedience to the church are themselves depriving, and sinning against, their own children.

2. Under the Immigration laws of the United States and/or Canada, are we allowed to call candidates from the Theological School in the Netherlands?

The Kalamazoo delegates informed the Classis that this question arose in the congregation after a candidate of the Netherlands was called. A consistory member of the Kalamazoo consistory investigated this question with the authorities of the Immigration office in Detroit, Michigan. A xeroxed copy of the laws regarding the emigration of ordained ministers was mailed to all consistories of our Classis.

After some discussion, it was agreed to ask the Kalamazoo consistory to pursue this question further, also with the Consul in the Netherlands. It was stated by the Canadian delegates that they do not have such a law in Canada.

3. It is requested that Classis meet at least once each year even if there are no points to be discussed.

The Classis decided to meet once a year on a definite date set by the Classis.

Wish for clarification of the transfer of membership papers.

Classis gave its approval to forward this point to Synod so that unanimity may be exercised on this matter in accordance with the Church Order of Rev. DeGier.

A consistory was given advice on the following questions: (1) Concerning the taping of the sermons of students, Classis reiterated that this was forbidden. (2) Concerning the election of church officers who belong to a union, Classis upheld the most recent synodical decision that this should be avoided when possible. (3) Concerning the idea that classical points be more detailed in the future.

No other consistory had any questions on the respective credential papers.

After voting, the following delegates were chosen (listed alphabetically) to attend the Synod to be held in June 1984 (D.V.):

Rev. J.R. Beeke

Elder J. De Bruine

Rev. H. Hofman

Rev. W.C. Lamain

Elder L. Baum

Elder J. Beeke

Elder A. Fintelman

Elder N. Greendyk

Elder L. Nieuwenhuyzen

Elder G. Van Leeuwen

Moderatorship appointments of vacant churches (pending the arrival of Rev. Hofman, D.V.) were made as follows:

Rev. W.C. Lamain:

Rev. J.R. Beeke:

Rev. H. Hofman:

Hamilton and Norwich

Clifton and Unionville

Bradford & St. Catharines

Unionville will be the calling church for the next classical meeting which will be held, D.V., on September 26, 1984, in Norwich, Canada (unless points are received in the coming months which demand immediate attention, in which case Classis will convene on March 21, 1984). Rev. Lamain will lead the prayer service the preceding evening commencing at 7:45 p.m.

CLOSING

Rev. Lamain made some closing remarks acknowledging the Lord for His goodness in permitting us to meet in unity this day. Psalter 291, verse 12, was sung. Rev. Lamain then closed this meeting with prayer.

Elder J. Beeke, Clerk

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