1987 - Oak Lawn Public Library

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A Century of Blessings
CALVIN CHlJI\.CH
FOR REFERENCE ONLY
OAK LAWN PUBLIC LIBRARY
REFERENCE SERVICES DEPT.
Anniversary Text
Great is His love toward 11S, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Psalm 117:2
Anniversary Song
Within Thy Temple, Lord
Within Thy temple, Lord, In that most holy ptdCe,
We on Thy loving kindness dwell, The wonders of
L'ace.
Men sing Thy praise, 0 God, Where'er Thy Nmne is known;
By every deed Thy hand has wrought Thy righteousness is shown.
Let Zion now rejoice, And all her children sing;
Let them with thankfulness proclaim The judgments of their King.
Mount Zion's walls behold, About her ramparts go,
And number ye the lofty towers That guard her from the foe.
Observe her palaces, Mark her defenses well,
That to the sons that follow you Her glories you may tell;
For God as our own God Forever will abide,
And till life's journey close in death Will be our faithful Guide.
Psalter Hymnal No. 89
B 0 8 1988
OAK LAWN PUBLIC U~fMtn
Contents
Page
Introduction
2
Origins
8
The First Buildings and the First Pastors
13
Dark Days in World Affairs
17
The Days of the English Language Question
,The Church Grows in the 1920s
. . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21
24
The Community Holds Fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 30
Farewell to Dutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 32
Leaving Englewood .... . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 36
Settling into the New Community. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. 43
The Most Recent Years of Outreach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 46
Calvin Church Today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 51
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INTRODUCTION
The Planning Perspective
The opportunity to plan for a 100th anniversary is an exciting challenge. In
late 1984, the Council of Calvin Church appointed a 100th Anniversary Committee to plan a celebration appropriate to the occasion.
Where do you begin with such an awesome task and responsibility? How can
you develop a plan worthy of such an occasion as this? From what perspective do
you build a program? Initial discussions developed around one central theme: the
countless blessings we asa church have received from the Lord. This would set
the stage for the entire planning perspective.
As a committee we decided that we did not want to dwell on or over-emphasize
Calvin Church's past achievements but did want to recognize the fact that we
had received many blessings from the Lord, allowing us to be involved and
instrumental in building His Kingdom for 100 years. The Lord's blessings on
Calvin Church have been evident and abundant.
The selection of our anniversary theme, "A Century of Blessings," reflects the
focus of the celebration. Psalm 117:2, "Great is His love toward us, and the
faithfulness of the Lord endures forever," was the text selected to express scripturally the faithfulness of the Lord and His love throughout our generations. Our
anniversary song, Psalter No. 89, "Within Thy Temple, Lord," based on Psalm
48, provides a versification of the goodness of the Lord to the Church, past,
present, and future.
After the overall tone of the celebration had been set, the committees began
planning in earnest. Following committee and Council recommendations, the
congregation approved a special $30,000 anniversary project to underwrite the
entire one-year cost of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee health
and literacy program in the Krim and Kuranko areas of Sierra Leone, Africa. This
would be a lasting and fitting memorial to remember our centennial in a special
manner.
Many events, programs, promotions, and publicity have been part of our
celebration. A church banquet, hostess dinner, organ recital, special banners,
anniversary book, displays, display case, special bulletin cover, a Dutch service,
worship services involving our former pastors, receptions, publicity, and special
choir, band, and music are some of the features that have taken place during this
anniversary year.
"
Council selected five people to handlecthe centennial celebration. The amount
of work and detail necessary to orchestrate this event required additional people
with specific areas of responsibility assigned. Linda Bieze chaired the anniversary
book sub-committee; Ann Boerema, who replaced Natalie Boonstra, chaired the
historical sub-committee; Aud Lemmenes provided the leadership for the banquet
sub-committee; Harold Schnyders, who replaced Ed Vander Weele, headed the
promotion sub-committee; and Bob Wiltjer chaired the program sub-committee.
The five committee chairpersons comprised the 100th Anniversary Steering
Committee with responsibility for the entire celebration. Each sub-committee
was composed of many volunteers from our congregation, and these individuals
have been integral components in the overall centennial planning.
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The efforts of all the people involved in the anniversary are sincerely appre~
ciated. Many people have given unselfishly of their time and talents. Others have
donated labor and material. The support of the Council has been most assuring.
Let me add a special thank you to the Anniversary Steering Committee for their
dedication and commitment to making this anniversary an event to be remembered.
Above all, we thank the King of the Church for a century of blessings, and it
is our prayer that our celebration is a reflection of the faithfulness of our Lord.
Bob Wiltjer
Chairman
Anniversary Committee:
Linda Bieze
Ann Boerema
Aud Lemmenes
HaroJd Schnyders
Bo9.Wiltjer
The lOath Anniversary Steering Committee: (standing, l. to r.) Audley Lemmenes, Robert
Wiltjer, Chairman, Harold C. Schnyders, (seated, l. to r.) Linda Bieze, Ann Boerema.
3
A Note About the lOOth Anniversary Book
This book commemorating the lOath anniversary of Calvin Christian
Reformed Church is a result of the efforts and contributions of many people. It is
unique in that it includes personal reminiscences from many present and former
members of the church, offered in their own words. Historical photos were also
contributed by many other members and friends.
Several individuals' contributions to the book call for recognition. Photographs
of the church organizations and activities today were taken by Claude Bos, Jack
Mulder, and Don Retsema. The cover photos of the Englewood and Oak Lawn
buildings were contributed by the Wiltjer family and David Vander Woude. The
manuscript was typed by Diane Brouwer. The graphic design of the book was
developed by Lou Pearson, and printing was provided by Cal Hulford.
Finally, without the faithful work and insights of the lOath Anniversary Book
Committee, this project could not have been completed. The members of that
committee are Lena Bulthuis, Lou Pearson, Peggy Schoenherr, John Speelman,
and John Van Howe. Together, we offer this book to you to commemorate the
Century of Blessings enjoyed by Calvin Christian Reformed Church.
Linda Bieze
Chairwoman
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Dear Congregation,
Congratulations! What a significant year this is for us as a congregation. There
is so much for which we can and should be thankful.
The centennial celebration of a congregation is an occasion for many and
varied activities and expressions. Looking back at events that make up the 100
years of existence and recalling the contributions made by the individuals who
participated responsibly in those events, the appreciative member finds himself
or herself expressing thanksgiving to God for the fulfillment of His promise, "Lo,
I am with you always." Although I, as your pastor, have shared only a few months
of your 100 years, I join with you in praise and thanksgiving to our God on this
anniversary.
One hundred years of blessings. Through the preaching of the Word God has
called and strengthened you. Through the elders He has given you guidance,
d!rection, admonition, and encouragement. Through the deacons you have
received and have been involved in the work of missions. And all the while you
have enjoyed communion with one another in Christ Jesus. You have seen your
children and grandchildren grow in the faith and profess their faith. You have
gathered in various societies to study the Scriptures. In all of this has been
reflected the glorious Reformed heritage which has been given to and defended
by you. The Calvin Christian Reformed Church of Oak Lawn should certainly
praise God from whom, through Christ, all blessings flow.
I must, however, add a word of warning and challenge. The full significance of
this year will not be realized by reflection upon the past, or even by expressions
of gratitude for blessings received. Your congregation, with all its various aspects
and ministries, exists for a purpose. That purpose is the promotion and extension
of the Kingdom of God, of which this church is but a small part. The Gospel you
hear must be preached to others. As members of the body of Jesus Christ, you
must apply the Word in the home, the school, the store, the factory, and wherever
you find yourselves in the marketplace of life. Unless you, mern.bers of a richly
blessed congregation, use this year to dedicate or rededicate yourselves to this
Kingdom task, you really have no reason for continued existence.
God grant you the faith, courage, vision, and devotion to make this, the
centennial year of them all - Pro Rege - for the King.
John Hellinga
Participating on Installation Suriday (left to right): Rev. Dr. Alexander C. De long, Rev. John
Hdlinga, Rev. Jua7). Boonstra. Not pictured: Rev. Neal Punt.
5
THE WHITE HOl'SE
WASHl:-iGTON
May 26, 1987
To the Congregation of Calvin Christian
Reformed Church of Oak Lawn:
Congratulations on your 100th anniversary. I know you
must be very proud to have reached this milestone.
As a nation united under God, our best efforts are
directed toward the achievement of that enduring peace
which is founded on respect for the God-given worth and
dignity of every human person. In this commitment, the
work of America's religious institutions is more important
than ever. The comfort, compassion and moral guidance
traditionally provided by churches and synagogues continue to inspire men and women in their selfless pursuit
of the common good. We Americans are a proud and
patriotic people. But we have always recognized that we
owe our first allegiance to the God Who has so generously
endowed us, for it is by His blessings that we prosper.
Nancy joins me in sending warm best wishes for your
celebration. May God continue to bless you in all your
endeavors.
6
*
*<:~:~.~~:»
..
~
...:
/f
f*
THE VICE PRESIDENT
WASHINGTON
June 1, 1987
Dr. Harold Schnyders
for the Council of the
Calvin Christian Reformed Church
of Oak Lawn
101st and Central Avenue
Oak Lawn, Illinois 60453
Dear Dr. Schnyders and all Church Members:
It is a pleasure to commend the Calvin
Christian Reformed Church on the memorable
occasion of your Centennial.
Your church can stand tall in the knowledge
that you have honored and furthered the cause of
Christianity in America. This is undoubtedly a
very proud moment for everyone at the Calvin
Christian Reformed Church, and Barbara and I are
delighted to join in your celebration and faith.
May God bless this anniversary with a beautiful
day and a most replenishing service.
7
ORIGINS
The year was 1887. Grover Cleveland, who proclaimed that "public office is a
public trust," was nearing the end of his first term as President of the United
States.
.
Chicago was celebrating its 50th year as an incorporated dty. Sixteen-years
earlier the Great Chicago Fire had nearly destroyed the young city. But in 1887,
it was well on the way to reaching more than one million in population. Three
years earlier, the world's first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, had been
erected in Chicago.
That skyscraper might have seemed like a 19th century Tower of Babel in the
city made up of so many immigrant communities. One of the smaller of those
communities, the Dutch, had originally clustered around the First Christian
Reformed Church of Chicago, founded in 1867 and located at 14th Street and
Ashland Avenue. The Christian Reformed denomination itself was only 30 years
old. In 1885, the denomination had only 65 churches. (By comparison,in 1980
it had 828 churches.)
.
But as the Chicago Dutch immigrant community grew, enclaves moved to
other sectors of the city, including the suburban Englewood community on the
southwest side. In 1887, these Dutch families, with Lubbert Wieringa .as their
spokesperson, suggested to the mother church that an Englewood congregation
be formed.
The new congregation was organized on October 5 and 12, 1887. Classis had
appointed the pastors of two sister churches, Rev. W. Greve of Chicago and Rev.
H. Van Der Werp of Roseland, to assist in organizing the new church. Because
Rev. Van Der Werp missed the Englewood train stop on October 5, a second
meeting was held October 12 for him to install the new Consistory members. The
four original Consistory members were elders J. Bottema and L.Wieringa (at
whose home at 7112 Lowe Avenue the organizational meeting took place) and
deacons P. Van Dijk and L. Ben~. The new church, first known as the Holland
Christian Reformed Church, had thirty~three charter families and single persons.
The Chicago Tribune of October 12, 1887, was reporting large~scale events "An Unknown Number Die - Terrible Railroad Accident Near Kouts, Ind."
and "Grover Sees the Falls
He Gets a View of the Minneapolis Water~Power."
But the new little church did make headlines in De Wachter, the Dutch language
denominational newspaper, which, On Oetober 19, 1887, recorded the minutes
of that first congregational meeting. Here is an English translation of those
minutes:
After consent of the H. C. Reformed congregation in Chicago, of which we
were members up to the present time, Classis approved that we be organized as
an independent congregation, and a Committee was appointed consisting of the
ministers W. Greve and H. Van Der Werp, and Elder C. L. Clousing. On
October 5 we met at the home of Brother Wieringa. The usual procedures, under
the leadership of Rev. W. Greve, were performed, and the male members chose
the Brothers Johannes Bottema and L. Wieringa for Elders; and the Brothers F.
Van Dijk and L. Ben~ for Deacons.
8
That evening, after the sermon by our Counselor Rev. H. Van Der Werp,
these Brothers were confirmed in their offices.
May the Lord bless us further to the honor of His name, for the extension of
His Kingdom in this populous neighborhood; for the refreshing and comfort of
the elderly among us, who find it difficult or almost impossible to meet with the
mother church in Chicago; and for the preservation of church and spiritual life of
our young people who may now expect to find fulfillment of their needs in their
own circle and vicinity.
We are small of courage and weak in strength, especially when we consider
what we have been called to do and the work that is voluminous and weighty in
a new congregation. But may the Lord, whose strength is fulfilled in weakness,
and Who is near to the soul that flees to Him, be our shield and· great reward.
May our expectation and hope be in Him, and then we will not be put to shame.
He Himself has promised it!
In name of the Consistory,
Johannes Bottema, President
Englewood, Ill., 12 Oct., 1887
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"Small of courage and weak in strength" may have been an apt description of
the thirty~three families and single persons who first made up our congregation,
but their faith was great. Calvin Church member Lena Bulthuis reflects on who
these folk were.
Our Roots
What were the people like who organized the First Englewood congregation?
Have you sometimes wondered about that?
After reading the minutes of the first meeting held on October 5 and 12, 1887,
you will have noticed that they were God fearing, farsighted, and caring people.
They were concerned about their elderly who found it "difficult or almost impos~
sible to meet with the mother church in Chicago." They were interested in the
welfare of their young people "who may now expect to find fulfillment of their
needs in their, own circle and vicinity."
From the last paragraph of the minutes you will notice that they confessed their
limited courage and their weakness in face of "the work that is voluminous and
weighty in a new congregation." Then note how they placed their complete trust
in the Lord "who is near to the soul that flees to Him." What wonderful faith they
displayed as they organized the First Englewood congregation, later to become
the Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Oak Lawn.
From the information available on twelve of the thirty~three charter members
you will see that these people, with the exception of one, came to this country to
seek improved economic opportunities. But that was not their only reason. They
also came with the avowed purpose of extending God's Kingdom in their new
homeland.
It is interesting to note that twelve of the charter members originated from
various church affiliations in the Netherlands: Hervormd, Christelijke Gerefor~
meerd, and Dutch Reformed; yet they all blended into one church fellowship the First Christian Reformed Church of Englewood.
May we, the descendants of our godly predecessors, carry on the tradition and
the example they set for us. God has richly blessed our congregation through "A
Century of Blessings." May He continue to shower His love and mercy upon us,
and may we and those who follow us respond in faith and obedience.
Lena Bulthuis
10
Charter Members of First Englewood (1887)
Achtien, Albert
Achtien, Mr. and Mrs. J.
Arends, Alida
Ben~, Mr. and Mrs. L.
Borgman, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
Bottema, Mr. and Mrs. Johannes
Broeksema, Haipes
Bultema, Mr. and Mrs. H.
Bultema, Janneke .
Buning, Mr. and Mrs. J.
Deckinga, K.
Deckinga, Mr. and Mrs. O.
Doorn, Mrs. Hendrika
Drolinga, J.
Frieling, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob
Holtrop, Arie
Holtrop, R.
Huizinga, Mr. and Mrs.· Perk
Kelder, Mrs. H.
Kooi, Mrs. Johannes
Kruizinga, B.
Natelborg, Mr. and Mrs. Henry
Natte, L.
Riddering, Mr. and Mrs. Harm
Schipsma, Mrs. G.
Van Dyk, Mr. and Mrs. P.
Van Dyken, Mr. and Mrs. Hendrik
Vastenhouw, Mr. and Mrs. Gerrit
Venema, Mrs. Pieter
Visscher, B.
Weidenaar, Mr. and Mrs. A.
Werkman, Mr. and Mrs. H.
Wieringa, Mr. and Mrs. Lubbert
Information A vailable on Twelve Charter Members
(taken directly from information in the Archives of Calvin College and Seminary)
Occupation
Religious
Age A££iliation
, Alida Arends
'Thomas Borgman
'Johannes Bottema
Day Laborer
Farmer's Hand
Day Laborer
55 Hervormd
29 Hervormd
21 Hervormd
'Haipes Broeksema
Day Laborer
31 Gereformeerd
Name
Plus Yearo£
Plus Chi!, Depart, Province and
Women dren ure Municipality
0
1
1
0
1
1868 Kloosterburen
1873 Groningen, Eenrum
1867 Groningen, Kloosterburen
1
2
1866 Groningen, Ulrum
0
0
1867 Groningen, Uithuizen
1
0
2
1867 Zuid Holland, Goedereede
1854 Groningen, Einssum
1
1
0
0
4
0
1873 Groningen, U ithuistermeeden
1873 Groningen, Eenrum
1869 Groningen, Kloosterburen
0
1
4
1
1856 Utrecht, Amersfoort
1879 Friesland, Dokkum
Christelijke
Christelijke
'Janneke Bultema
Without Occupation 22 Gereformeer'd
Dutch
, 'Hendrika Doorn
32 Reformed
Hired Girl
'Jacob Frieling
Day Laborer
37 Hervormd
Christlijke
'Perk Huizenga
Day Laborer
27 Gereformeerd
'Harm Riddering
Day Laborer
35 Hervormd
'Hendrik Van Dyken Farmer's Hand
23 Hervormd
Christlijke
'Gerrit Vastenhouw Carpenter
44 Gereformeerd
, , 'Pieter Venema
Baker
30 Hervormd
'Designated as "not well to do" and Reason for emigrating: "Economic Opportunity."
"Designated as "indigent" and Reason for emigrating: "Economic OpportunitY:,'·, , 'Designated as "well to do" and Reason for emigrating: "Improved social class."
11
Rev.J. VanDerWerp
1889 ~ 1892
Rev. l. A. De Kru)'tcr
1975·1966
Rev. L Van Dellen
1894 ~ 1907
CALVIN 0lR1STIAN REFORMED CHURCH
1962 ~ Todar
A Century of Blessings
CALVIN CHUl\.CH
1 noea~ 1887.·
Dr. A. C De long
1968 -1974
~
1987
Rev. S. Vroon
1959 ~ 1968
Rev. P. D. Van Vliet
1919 ~ 1923
FIRSf CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
OF ENGLEWOOD
FIRSf CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
OF ENGLEWOOD
1895·1930
1931·1961
Rev. A. Brink
1953 ~ 1958
Rev.l.Wc:5tra
1923 ~ 1929
Rev. W.!(ok
1942 ~ 1953
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Rev.G.J.H=
1908 ~ 1918
Rev.CHuissen
1929.1941
THE FIRST BUILDINGS AND.FIRST PASTORS
Homes in the suburb of Englewood, according to advertisements in the
Chicago Tribune, were selling for $3,750. It was probably a great financial under~
taking for the young church of not~well~to~do members to buy lots and build the
first building. No pictures of that edifice have survived, but while it was being
erected in the winter of 1887, the congregation met on the second floor of
member Henry Natelborg's home. During that period, the first society, the Young
Men's Society, was organized December 1, 1887.
On New Year's Eve, 1887, the congregation huddled around a wood~buming
stove to worship for the first time in its new frame church building.
The first pastor to accept the call of the young church was 37~year~old Rev.
Johannes Van Der Werp, who came from the South Olive, Michigan, church on
May 23, 1889. He served First Englewood, his third charge, three years and a few
months, during which time the membership of the congregation increased steadily.
Later, in 1914, Rev. Van Der Werp became a pastor in the Reformed Church
in America, having left the Christian Reformed denomination because of a
disagreement over the baptismal form then in use.
After Rev. Van Der Werp left First Englewood in 1892, the church was
without a pastor for some time. But in 1893, the year of the World's Columbian
Exposition held in Chicago, Rev. Lubbert Van Dellen of Nieuwe Peke1a, the
Netherlands, sparked new growth in the young church with his acceptance of its
call. Here is a translation of the original Dutch call letter:
North America
Englewood, Ill.
October 23, 1893
To the Reverend L. Van Dellen
At Nieuwe Pekela
Groeningen, Netherlands
Worthy Brother
Greetings!
The Consistory of the Holi. Chr. Ref. congregation at Englewood, Ill. has an
important matter to communicate to you.
This congregation has been vacant for considerable time and the need is great
for a preacher of the Word. The Consistory hominated the following brothers:
Rev. F. Wilandt, Niekerk, Michigan
Rev. L. Van Dellen, Nieuwe Pekela, Netherlands
Rev. C. Kuipers, Katendrecht, Netherlands
After consultation and prayer under the leadership of the Counselor, the
following was chosen by the male membership:
Rev. L. Van Dellen
at Nieuwe Pekela, Netherlands
So herewith comes our plea to you: "Come over and help us." We hope heartily
that before long we will receive your reply that you are prepared to preach to us
the Word according to the forms of Unity, the Dordt Church Order, with certain
stipulations of our Church.
13
Since this congregation has been vacant for considerable time, we have great
need for a leader of our own. With the Lord's blessing the congregation has many
opportunities for extension.
From our side, remembering that a laborer is worthy of his hire, we promise to
pay you the sum of $700.00 namely, seven hundred dollars, free housing, and
$250.00 for transportation for you, yours, and your belongings, plus free fuel.
; May the Lord impress this call upon your heart and give you the guidance of
His Holy Spirit as you consider it.
We hope to answer any questions faithfully and truthfully that you may have
in connection with this call.
May God's best blessing rest upon us all and may God before long grant us the
privilege to greet you as our pastor.
With prayer for your welfare and brotherly greetings:
Ekk~
J. Bottema
B. Visscher
E. Bol
L. Bere
De~oru
P. Van Dyk
H. Werkman
M. Buwalda
J. Riemersma,
Counselor
Chicago, Illinois, 523 W. 14th Street
Address is: P. Van Dyk
6007 Sangamon Street
Englewood, Illinois
North America
(Translated from the original letter deposited in the Archives of Calvin College
and Seminary by Rev. and Mrs. William Dryfhout, nee Ann Van Dellen. )
Born in Kollum, Friesland, the Netherlands, into a family who were members
of the Seceder Church (as opposed to the State Church), Rev. Van Dellen
attended seminary in Kampen and had served four congregations over 26 years
when he was called to Englewood at age 52.
According to an obituary for Rev. Van Dellen in the 1920 Yearbook of the
Christian Reformed Church, the Englewood congregation in 1894 "was comparatively small and young in years but in many respects like the churches in the
Netherlands. "
During Rev. Van Dellen's tenure t~ee highlights of the church's history
deserve note. First, the congregation had outgrown its small frame church building, and so in 1895-1896 a larger building, "with a good pipe organ" (according
to the 1920 Yearbook), was built. Because of continuing growth, a gallery was
added to this second building in 1907.
A second highlight of this period was the October 1, 1900, founding, together
with the neighboring Reformed Church at 62nd and Peoria Streets (which today
is the Calvary Reformed Church in Orland Park, Illinois), of a society for Christian education. This society soon built a grade school to educate its children in a
Christian context.
'In March of 1903, a third highlight of the period was the founding of a first
"daughter" church, Second Englewood, which was organized as an English speaking congregation. (It may be difficult for us in the late 20th century to believe,
but at the beginning of this century all worship services, society meetings, and
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Consistory proceedings at First Englewood were conducted in Dutch! The form~
ing of a separate English~speaking congregation was the first hint of a serious
conflict to come in the 1920s that would last until the 1950s!)
The mundane (and not~so~mundane) month~by~month business of running
the young ,church just after the tum of the century is reflected in these excerpts
from Consistory minutes (translated from the original Dutch):
January 21, 1900 - Art. 9
A communication was received by the Consistory from Consul Berthoff in
regard to the marriage of Queen Wilhelmina which will be solemnized on Feb~
ruary 7, asking us to join them in celebrating this event in a festive way with
music and speeches and other ways related thereto. The Consistory decided that
on the evening of the marriage of Queen Wilhelmina we too would like to
celebrate, but according to the way we are accustomed to doing.
The second church building,
1895~1931.
15
August 19, 1910 - Art. 7
It was decided to buy 20 tons of coal for the church: 9 tons soft coal and 11 tons
Chestnut, since we can now get it at a cheaper price.
August 19, 1901
Art. 10.
An investigation will be made regarding the electric light in the church
because the bills vary a great deal and the last bill was so much higher than the
previous ones, and what the reason might be for this.
Aughust 19, 1901 - Art. 11
The Building Committee was requested to have a cover made for the refuse
container.
September 2, 1901 - Art. 9
An investigation was not initiated in regard to the amount of the electric bills
since it was determined that during the period in question we did use more light.
In the future we will take note of variations in the amounts of the bills.
December 2, 1901- Art. 6
A Committee from the Sunday School asked whether it would not be good to
have the Sunday School meet on Sunday afternoons and not to have a worship
service at that time. The Consistory did not act on this.
December 2, 1901 - Art. 7
A letter was received in regard to the establishment of a Holland Home and
asking whether our church could be used on an evening during the week to
discuss that plan and then to inform the congregations about this. But because we
don't know any particulars about this matter, the Consistory decided not to
acquiesce until we receive further information.
July 7, 1902 - Art. 8
Resolved to have the janitor's home, both the horse barns, and the fence
between them painted with two coats of the best quality and to let the work out
to painters who are members of our congregation. This work is to be done under
the direction of the Building Committee.
July 7, 1902 - Art. 10
Resolved, that 7lst Street, in front of the church, which is not fit to be used
by horse and wagon, be filled in with cinders. The Building Committee will be
asked to have this done.
"
July 7, 1902 - Art. 13
Resolved, to place a sign on the church property, reading as follows: "Ifpersons
are found doing' scandalous deeds near or to the church, a $10 reward will be
given to the person who can point out the guilty ones."
September 1, 1902 - Art. 12
Request was made to start a new class in Sunday School for children 13 to 15
years of age, which was approved by the Consistory.
September 1, 1902 - Art. 7
Decided to notify the organists not to play hymns while parishioners are
leaving the pews at the end of the service and that it would be more edifying to
playa short and familiar verse of a Psalm.
Rev. Van Dellen accepted a call to Middleburg, Iowa, in 1907, but when he
retired from active ministry in 1914, he returned to First Englewood as pastor
emeritus, where he remained until his death in 1919.
16
DARK DAYS IN WORLD AFFAIRS
In 1908, Rev. Gerrit J. Haan of Grand Rapids, Michigan, accepted the call of
First Englewood to become its third pastor. Rev. Haan, whose parents were
missionaries, was born in the Dutch East Indies, moved to the Netherlands at age
9, and then to the United States at age 14. He came to First Englewood, his third
charge, at age 33.
The 1955 Yearbook called Rev.Haan "a forceful preacher with a sound know~
ledge of Scripture and the Reformed faith, and the gift of teaching. First
Englewood continued to grow under his pastorate, and each Sunday he led three
services which filled the church.
In 1913, a second daughter church, the First Evergreen Park Church, was
formed. Also during that year, Rev. Haan's book Messias Gezocht en Gevonden
(The Messiah Searched For and Found) was published.
Meanwhile, a Great World War was raging in Europe. President Woodrow
Wilson had tried to keep the United States neutral, but in 1917 Congress
declared war on Germany. Also during that time, an influenza epidemic was
ravaging the country. Between the war and the influenza, nearly every family was
touched. None of First Englewood's Service personnel was killed, but some 20
church members died in the epidemic.
Two members of Calvin Church today have looked back on those dark days
and the brighter ones that followed.
II
A Few Memories
The year was 1914 and I was only a boy, but I do remember some things that
to me seemed important. We had lived around nnd and Morgan Street in
Englewood, but about this time my father moved our family to a farm at 69th and
Crawford, now known as "Pulaski Road. It was then wide~open spaces, but today
it is all developed with homes and stores. In those days, it was common for some
of our church members to own and work on farms.
We continued attending First Englewood Church because it was the closest
Christian Reformed Church. Our trip to church meant walking six blocks
through all kinds of weather to the street car for a one and one~half hour trip
(each way) to attend worship services.
My father served in Council part of the ti'tne and sometimes arrived home from
meetings at 1:00 a. m. or later, depending on the street car service.
The produce grown on the farm was brought to the South Water Market in
Chicago by horse and wagon, the common mode of transportation. Farm equip~
ment was considerably different than today, too. Everything moved at a slower
pace.
Most of the traffic was horse~drawn wagons and buggies of all kinds. Fire
department wagons were drawn by three or sometimes six horses. Attending
school was similar to today, but now you have sports and other activities. We had
about four weeks of summer vacation. Kids went to work at a much earlier age but
were not as well educated.
II
17
I can remember a time when sadness struck First Englewood (or the Dutch
Church, as it was called) in 1916 when the Great World War was growing.
Nation after nation became involved in the war. Finally, America became
involved and many young men left to go overseas to fight a war with guns,
bayonets, cannons, machine guns, and submarines. Many families were touched
by this war. Soon a service flag hung in the hallway of our church with a blue star
for each serviceman. Then some blue stars changed to silver for the wounded, but
thankfully none turned to gold stars for those killed.
What a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving on November 11, 1918, when peace
was declared! Because we lived in an age of no radio or TV, we in the country
didn't get this good news until that evening or the next day.
When I was about 13, we moved to Englewood, which was not real new to me
because I had been going there at least once a week to attend church. Living in
Englewood was different, though, with houses crowded together, streets paved
with bricks, and everyone watching each other. It was too crowded. But I came
to like it, just as others did. It was OK.
When we came to Englewood some of the houses still has gas lights instead of
electric, and some homes still had toilets under the back porch with running
water that froze sometimes. A man with a torch used to come around on a bike
tortight the gas street lamps.
During the years up to about 1920, horse,drawn vehicles were most prominent.
An electric street car system operated on tracks imbedded into the street with
trolley cars carrying the passengers for a 5 to 7 cent fare. Gradually cars and trucks
started to replace the horse,drawn vehicles.
Once again sadness and concern entered our congregation because of the
surprise attack by Japan on December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor. We were now
involved in World War II. From our large congregation (415 families) 160 young
men were called to serve their nation at war. Many were wounded and seven did
not return. They were personal friends of mine, young men with whom I had at
one time or another probably studied Scripture in Sunday School or Young Men's
Society as their Bible leader. As a youth elder, I often wrote letters to them.
As a memorial, please allow me to mention the names of the seven who died
for their country:
John De Witt
Leroy Dykstra
Herb Hanko
Harry Hoogeveen
Richard Reinders
Fred Schaaf
Gerrit Vander Schoot
It was a happy time when VE and VJ days arrived and our young men began
returning to their country and homes. The war ended in 1945. It was truly a time
of thanksgiving.
18
Until 1920 all the services were conducted in the Dutch language, so as kids
we heard a lot of Dutch. Some of are thankful for the opportunity to speak and
understand Dutch. But the change to English speaking was better. Of course,
there were English as well as Dutch services. During the years 1900 to 1920 many
immigrants arrived from Holland, so much Dutch was spoken. Some of the
catechism was taught in Dutch, too. Even some in the Christian School.
During the early days young people didn't have much opportunity to be out
later than 9:00 p. m. and only- on evenings that were explainable to caring
parents. So it was a privilege tbjoin one of the Young People's Societies that met
each Tuesday evening. During this time, up to about 1937, a good deal of Dutch
was spoken at deacons' and elders' meetings, and some of the minutes were
recorded in Dutch. You wouldn't believe the pipe and cigar smoke present at
some meetings years ago! Since 1 grew up in this congregation, 1 have many
memories of old and young who were a part of my life and the lives of my parents
back to the early 1900s. These memories are a blessing, and taught me much
about the love of Christ and His Way of Salvation.
1can only say, "Thank you, Lord, and please continue to bless and keep Calvin
Church as we look to the future. "
A son of Calvin CRC since 1909,
Marty Kuipers
In Retrospect
As we approach the 100th Anniversary of Calvin Christian Reformed Church,
1 can recall many changes in home and church life.
First, let me say a little about my home life. 1 came from a family of sincere,
devoted, God~fearing and loving parents. 1 had five sisters and three brothers.
Being the youngest of the family, 1 never new my three older sisters, since they
died suddenly in two months' time during the influenza epidemic. Today, my
brother Nick and 1 are the last of a family of eleven.
This was indeed a sad time for my parents, and yet they took their baptismal
vows seriously, to instruct their children in the fear of the Lord. They accepted
God's loving covenant promises ,"which gave them comfort in the time of sorrow.
It was Psalm 32:8, which meant so much'to them, which says, "I will instruct
thee and teach thee in the way thou shalt go. 1 will guide thee with mine eye."
We were living on the farm with few conveniences, yet God provided us with
our needs. We always had our share of snow, and winters were cold.
There were no church services on Sunday evening. They were held in the
morning and in the afternoon. Sunday School was held after the afternoon
service. All the worship services, as well as Sunday School and catechism classes,
were in the Dutch language.
Eventually, the Consistory proposed an English service at night. This became
a reality and was rather difficult at first, but it took us out of our little Holland
and we became Americans.
19
The services were one and one~half hours long. The congregational prayer
lasted about one~halfhour. It was customary for the Consistory to stand up during
this prayer. After the service, they would all shake hands with the pastor, which
signified approval of the sermon.
Collections were not taken with baskets as they are now. They used a long pole
with a bag at the end. (Sometimes a lady would lose her hat during collection, if
it was hit with the bag!) After the service, we had a long streetcar ride, and then
we walked 10 blocks before we were home.
After supper our family would sit around the large heating stove, enjoying the
cozy glow through the isinglass windows of the stove. Around this stove is where
my father would read us the Bible stories which we loved. Afterwards, he would
ask us questions about the stories he had read. This was pleasant and happy time
in our home life, just being together.
On Communion Sunday, which we had four times a year, we used a large silver
cup for wine. Everybody drank from it. Then came individual cups. The change
wasn't accepted very easily.
In the spring, a special day of prayer was held according to the Church Order.
This was held during the day because many families still lived on farms. It was a
special day in which we prayed for crops, industry, labor, and the Church. This
Prayer Day service is now held in the evening.
Our church, then known as the First Christian Reformed Church of
Englewood, grew by God's blessing. At one time we had over 400 families.
Sunday School had 325 children and 22 teachers. They attended a teachers'
meeting every week to be instructed by our Pastor.
All the societies met on Tuesday evening. First, we had a song service together
before each one went to his or her own study group.
When the Second World War broke out, many of our brothers and sisters in
the Lord living in Holland were in great need. The Consistory of our church,
through the diaconate, decided to help them. We sent boxes and boxes of
clothes, which our people brought to the church. The deacons also bought
clothes to send to them. Because sending clothes to Holland became very costly,
the Consistory decided to hold a special collection. The Lord provided them with
a large collection on this special Sunday to supply their need.
As I look back at this time, I see the marvelous way God has blessed Calvin
Church with ministers who preached the full counsel of God. We experienced a
rich blessing through their ministry. For this we give God the praise as generations
come and go. As Psalm 78:3,4 says:
a
Things we have heard and known, ~
Things our Fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children;
We will tell the next generation
The praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
His power, and the wonders He has done.
John Speelman
20
THE DAYS OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE QUESTION
After Rev. Haan left First Englewood, Rev. Peter D. Van Vliet accepted the
call, coming from Lucas, Michigan, to Chicago in 1919 at age 30. Although born
in the Netherlands, Rev. Van Vliet spoke both English and Dutch fluently. He
was able to help First Englewood begin its slow transition to becoming an English
speaking church, first by giving Sunday evening lectures in English. Soon Sunday
School and catechism classes were also held in English.
In 1920, the church officially changed its name from the Holland Christian
Reformed Church to the First Christian Reformed Church of Englewood. On
Sunday, October 31, 1920, while the Chicago Tribune predicted, "G.O.P. Landslide
Harding to Defeat Cox in Tuesday Election," the renamed church began
its first Sunday evening English-language service.
Rev. Van Vliet's daughter, who now lives in Memphis, Tennessee, remembers
the years her father served First Englewood Church.
I Remember!
In the winter of 1919, the Van Vliet family moved to the big city of Chicago;
father, mother and four children. Ted was only four months old. It was not a
happy time. Although the war was over, the flu and smallpox epidemic was not,
and the generally depressed feeling prevailed even among the children. There
were discussions about vaccination - was it right, or was it wrong? The ambulance was often in our area picking up the folks with smallpox, whether they were
young or old. I remember hearing about little folk being taken right out of their
mother's arms. Often my father was called to reassure and comfort the broken
hearted parents. The sober conversation of the children, the general dreariness of
the season, the adjustment to a new home, new school, new church, all contributed to the homesickness which daily overwhelmed me.
Added to this was the curtailment of our playing. Although the church property was quite large, housing parsonage, church, and custodian's house, it seemed
very small to children coming from the country.
But there are more pleasant memories, too. I remember the full church every
Sunday, the solemn procession of the Consistory to their seats and Mr. Martin
Stob to the lectern just below the-'pulpit on the raised platform in the front of the
church. He presided for the first part of the~ service. One Sunday morning a very
unusual thing happened. A big, well-dressed Black man came into the sanctuary
during the singing of a Psalm. He proceeded up the aisle slowly to the only empty
seat - beside us. The minister's family had a special pew. My mother gave him
a welcoming smile and shared her Dutch psalm book with him. Imagine our
surprise when he fervently joined her in the singing of that Dutch psalm! After
the service she, of course, got acquainted with him. He was from the Dutch West
Indies and was studying at the University of Chicago. Homesick and lonely, he
had looked in the phone book for a Holland speaking church and thus made his
way to the First Englewood Christian Reformed Church. Mother invited him in
for coffee, and my parents enjoyed getting acquainted with him. He came often
after that.
21
Another occasion which stands out in my memory is a church wedding. I
remember when Jennie Beukema and John Weidenaar were married in the church
on a Wednesday evening. The bride was so beautiful and the groom so handsome!
I was much impressed. Of course, I remember only the ceremony. It was the very
first church wedding I ever attended, and it made an idelible impression on me.
Of course, at first, the worship services were in the Dutch language. How we
sang the psalms! They are deeply ingrained in my heart. So dear were they to me
and my husband that at his funeral service in December of 1986 the organist of
the Second Presbyterian Church of Memphis played three of them: numbers 89,
42, and 68! Yes, I can still speak and read the Dutch language. It is precious to
me, but I have learned that our God has His people in every language all around
the world. I know that the present Calvin Christian Reformed Church of Oak
Lawn realizes that, too, today.
This anniversary is an occasion for praise and adoration. I join you in that!
Elizabeth Van Vliet De Witt
Another member of Calvin Church, Charles Overzet, shares his memories of
church life from his childhood in the nineteen hundreds up to the departure of
the church from Englewood in the early '60s.
Memories of First Englewood Church
The history of our church as I, a life-long member, know it is as follows. I'm
told I first went to church at the age of two. This was when we had our second
wooden structure. I was baptized by Rev. G. J. Haan, but I knew him only when
he returned as a guest preacher. He left in 1918 and I was born in 1913. My father
was an elder, and since we were three boys in our family, my mother would take
my two older brothers with her and I would sit with my father in the elders'
bench. This was when the elders sat on the west side on the first platform and the
deacons on the east side. During the service one of the elders read the portion of
the Scripture from which the minister would preach. They called this elder the
"voorlezer," meaning he would read first. At that time the elders and deacons
could be re-elected year after year.
In 1919 we received Rev. P. D. Van Vliet. I remember going to Sunday
School, as everyone does, but we went until we were 16 years old. In the primary
class we had a teacher by the name of Henrietta Doornbos. She became very ill
with some kind of blood poisoning, so on Easter Sunday, Foster VanVliet and I
visited her. She treated us to a slice of lamb shaped cake, which was a real treat
for us.
22
In those years, we had Lord's Supper four times a year. Mr. Braak, the baker,
baked a large loaf of bread in a pan three feet long, one foot high, and one foot
wide. It was the janitor's job to slice it in strips and place them on a large silver
platter. We had eight large wine cups, like the one on the Communion table
today, and a large decanter for the wine.
The church grew fast in the 1920s and '30s while Rev. Huissen was our pastor.
At the time, we had about 415 families, which made it necessary to have four
services. In 1930 we voted to build a new church. Many members were skeptical
since people were unemployed because of the economic depression of 1929. The
building cost $95,000, even with much donated labor and material. IfI'm correct
the organ cost $10,000 and the chimes $800. The young people took upon
themselves to pay for the organ in amounts of 10 to 25 cents per week.
In those years we had both Holland and English Men's Societies and also
Ladies' Aids. Once a year the Holland Ladies' Aid would give a social and would
invite two delegates from each organization of the church who were expected to
take part in the program. Often I was asked to give a Holland reading. I still have
one poem entitled "De Farizeer en De Tollenaar" which translated means, "The
Pharisee and the Publican." Nearly every lady would get a new dress for this
social; it was one of the highlights of the year.
One very special event at First Englewood was when missionary Johanna
Veenstra came from Africa. The church had more than a full house; the people
stood against the walls on both the main floor and balcony.
One thing that struck me was when we turned the keys of the church over to
the New Friendship Church. We had a meeting that night with their congrega~
don. Many of our people said they would not go because they felt bad since we
were forced to move, but when the time came they went to the meeting anyway.
First, Rev. Vroon spoke and th~n Rev. Freeman spoke. Rev. Vroon told them we
dedicated the building to God and asked them to do likewise. That night we saw
real unity of Black and White. After the meeting we were served coffee and
cookies and the children had chocolate milk.
Charles J. Overzet
Having ushered First Englewood Church into English language worship ser~
vices and societies, Rev. Van Vliet left in 1923 to serve a church in South Olive,
Michigan. He was remembered in the 1964 Yearbook as "a humble and unpreten~
tious man" with a "fine and ready sense of humor." A writer in The Banner
remembered him as a man of energy: while at Englewood he also taught for more
than two years in a Mission Training School, The Nathaniel Institute; and, later
in his life, "the distances he covered (on foot) would have dismayed many a
younger man. "
23
d
THE CHURCH GROWS IN THE 19208
In the "roaring '20s," Henry Ford was putting America on wheels, gangsters
like Al Capone were running a bootleg alcohol industry from Chicago, Charles
A. Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean, the stock market was soaring,
and First Englewood Church was growing.
In 1923, Rev. Isaac Westra accepted the church's call, moving from Middle~
burg, Iowa, to "the large and busy church" of First Englewood (as a writer in The
Banner called it) at age 37.
The minister and his wife became busy in the life of the community. Henrietta
Kolkman Westra was "the busy hostess," notes a 1984 memorial article from the
Neland Avenue (Michigan) News, "entertaining visiting ministers and parishion~
ers. Word of her hospitality apparently reached the saloon two blocks away, and
she had to learn to say no (in English) to those looking for a handout from a
generous lady."
The church grew from 240 to 280 families during Rev. Westra's pastorate, and
repeatedly the question of putting up a new building was raised, but funds were not
available. As an alternative, the church began to hold four services each Sunday,
two in Dutch and two in English, one in each language led by a guest minister.
To get a better idea of the size of the church then, note some of the societies
listed in the church directory for 1928:
Men's Bible Class
Senior Young Men's Society
Junior Young Men's Society
Choral Society
Young Ladies' Society
Vrouwen Vereeniging
(Ladies' Aid)
Ladies' Aid Society
Sunday School
21 members
30 members
14 members
61 members
39 members
34 members
28 members
289 children
Also, during Rev. Westra's fruitful pastorate, four young men of the church
entered the ministry: John Weidenaar, Henry Stob, George Stob, and John
Steenwyk.
In 1929, Rev. Westra accepted a call from the Lynden, Washington, church,
and Rev. Christian Huissen accepted the call of First Englewood. He was 33 y~ars
old when he left Hull, Iowa, his first church, to come to First Englewood.
Rev. Huissen met a church weary of four services each Sunday but unable to
raise the funds needed to put up a larger building. The stockmarket had crashed
in October, 1929, and the nation was sinking into an economic depression. Rev.
Huissen was "full of ambition and confident that the God of Nehemiah was still
living," wrote J. Sluis, clerk of the Consistory in the April 17, 1931 Banner. He
and the Consistory succeeded in convincing the congregation that, despite the
hard times, they could put up a new building.
Costs were estimated to be $77,000 for the building plus $15,000 for furniture
and an organ. (For an idea of the magnitude of this cost, note that a new Oakland
V~8 automobile was selling for $981 in 1931.) The old building was demolished
24
in September, 1930, and the brick building, seating 1,000 in its sanctuary, was
dedicated March 25, 1931.
Later, in the November 18, 1937 Banner, clerk of the Consistory John Vande
Werken wrote, "Our pastor proved to be a captain who knew his compass, and
piloted us through the turbulent sea of this building program, amidst the stress of
the times."
The third church building,
1931~1961.
25
A Century of Blessings
CALVIN CHUI\.CH
Acrowning glory of the new edifice was its three~manual Moller organ. On the
Sunday of the church's dedication, the organist played Handel's "Hallelujah"
Chorus, which "leaped and danced through our vast auditorium," wrote J. Sluis
in 1931.
Music has always been an important part of the Christian life and worship of
our church. Margaret Vande Werken recalls the development of music at First
Englewood and at Calvin Church.
A History of Music in Our Church
To reminisce, from 1910 to 1920, three or four organists played alternately for
the three exclusively Holland language services at our church. Their knowledge
of music for worship was meager. Most were amateurs, having had little or no
professional musical training. Preludes consisted mainly of familiar hymns or
the Genevan Psalm tunes. A psalm was sung while the offering was received.
Offertories were introduced at a much later date, perhaps in the late '30s.
The old two~manual tracker~action organ didn't help matters. It contained a
very limited number of stops and the keyboard action was rigid, slow, and difficult
to master.
During the early '20s two young women were added to the list of organists. As
they were regarded good pianists, they did their best without any organ training.
It was also about this time that an English service was introduced. In the mid~'20s,
two English services were held and two in the Dutch language.
In 1924, after having served as organist for 20 years, Henry Kramer retired and
placed the reins in the hands of his son Frans D. Kramer. Even though only a lad
of 14, he mastered the old organ well. It was then that we began to realize the
true meaning of music in the worship service, for he introduced us to a wealth of
good religious as well as classical music by the great masters, especially Bach
and Handel.
In 1931, I began my career as assistant organist, strictly as a novice. I had
played the organ on only a few occasions, not for services, because there was
much to learn in order to manipulate the large, three~manual Moller organ. But
Frans was my mentor and teacher. I could never have succeeded without his
expertise. All the rudiments involved i.ii the learning process were cle¥ly
explained.
Frans and I were practically the sole organists for 18 years when salary was
practically nil. All through the '30s we received only $10 a year. Those were the
years of the great Depression. Even the pastor's salary was only $3,000 annually,
but he preached and we played for the love of the cause, and above all for
God's glory.
A choir, then called a Singing School, was organized sometime in the 1890s
and existed until the late 1920s when it disbanded. The type of music sung,
especially during the early period, was not much more than a hymn form, which
is to be understood, for few had any knowledge of notes or note values. Later they
resorted to rather simple forms of Lorenz's cantatas and anthems.
26
Frans Kramer at the console of the Moller organ.
27
d
In 1931, a new choir was organized with Frans Kramer as director and Dorothy
(Vande Werken) Kelder as accompanist. During that period and to the present
time the Senior Choir has performed many works of the great masters -Handel's
"Messiah," Haydn's "Creation," DuBois' "Seven Last Words," Stainer's "Crucifixion," Mendelssohn's "95th Psalm," and other miscellaneous works and anthems.
That same year a Junior Choir was organized (Frans Kramer, director - Margaret Vande Werken, accompanist) with 50 children ranging in age from 8 to 14
years. They studied two- and three-part music and sang it well. On occasion they
accompanied the Senior Choir in concerts. The Junior Choir existed for 12 years,
but then was forced to disband for lack of members and interest. In 1953 the
Junior Choir was reorganized and directed by Mrs. Dorothy Kelder. Due to illness
she had to discontinue her services and the choir continued under the leadership
of Miss Jean Hoekstra. The choir disbanded again and in October 1958 was
reorganized under the directionof Mrs. Ann Boerema with Mrs. George Venhuizen
as accompanist. After the move to Oak Lawn, the choir continued for ten years
under Ann Boerema's direction. During that time Nancy Boerema, Marilyn
De Vries, and Ruth Kamp also served as accompanists. Since that time others
have served as Junior Choir directors, including John Huizenga, Claude Bas, and
Jodi Van Vliet. During the past year the Children's Choir was made up of Sunday
School children under the leadership of Betsy Retsema.
Prior to the '30s, our congregational singing lacked luster, due perhaps to the
fact that we had no hymnal we called our own. Upon recommendation of Synod,
Council decided to purchase the Unjted Presbyterian Board of Publication's
Psalter. It contained only the Psalms of David set to hymn tunes plus confessions
and creeds. In 1934, the Psalter Hymnal (Red Cover Edition) was published by the
Christian Reformed Church Publication Committee, and Council purchased it for
our use. With our pastor's admonishing us to "sing it and mean it" we became a
better singing congregation. Organists, too, were told how to phrase and articulate
hymns so that they would become more meaningful to the congregation.
In December, 1949, Frans Kramer, our head organist for 25 years, passed away
at the age of 39. (Salary for the entire year at that time was $350 for the head
organist and $175 for the assistant.)
With his demise, I became head organist. Since 1950 until the present time we
have had 20 assistants, most having served for a short term, perhaps one to four
years. Three are still serving in that capacity: Ruth Baas, Marilyn De Vries, and
Marilyn Mulder, who have served the longest, ranging from about 10 to 17 years.
The style of musical compositions, both in organ and choral arrangements, did
not alter much until the '70s. Many hymns'diverted from their original harmony
to more modem and contemporary form, as was also the case with choral
anthems. Those so popular in the past are practically out of print. Some organ
compositions have withstood the test of time and are still favored and occasionally requested.
At the approach of the '80s our 50-year-old Moller organ was constantly in
n~ed of repair. Accordingly, in the late '70s a fund was set up toward the purchase
of a new one. Subsequently, at the onset of 1982, the front of the church was
remodeled to accommodate our new Schlicker organ, which was dedicated on
May 23, 1982.
28
The Calvin Band directed by Del Hubers.
Recent additions to our music department are a band directed by Del Hubers
and the possibility of organizing a handbell choir.
Now, at the very beginning of our 100th anniversary celebration, it pleased the
Lord to send us another one of His servants, Rev. John Hellinga. We deeply
appreciate his insight into solid church music in the Reformed tradition. May his
work among us be richly blessed.
With gratitude to God, having been given a language through which our souls
may speak with instruments and voice, let us endeavor to do it well.
Margaret Vande Werken
....'
In 1933, Chicago celebrated its Century of Progress by hosting a World's Fair.
Four years later, First Englewood celebrated its 50th anniversary with special
services presided over by Rev. Huissen. The church had grown to 300 families.
Throughout his 12~year tenure at First Englewood, Rev. Huissen was noted for
his "clarity, conviction, and vigor," wrote John Weidenaar in the May 27, 1966,
Banner. In 1941, the same year the United States entered the Second World War,
Rev. Huissen accepted the call of the Eastern Avenue Church in Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
29
d
THE COMMUNITY HOLDS FAST
With the nation at war and many of First Englewood's young men and women
being called into military service, 50~year~0Id Rev. William Kok accepted the
church's call, leaving a position as assistant to the president of Calvin College to
serve this, his third congregation.
Rev. Kok has been called "an orator skilled in drawing his fingers across the
heart strings of God's people, making those hearts vibrate with jubilant song and
with conviction." (So wrote Dr. William H. Rutgers in the July 22, 1977,
Banner.) But he was also a man known for his stem rebukes from the pulpit to
inattentive young people! During his ministry, First Englewood grew to 415
families, and another daughter church, Auburn Park, was formed in 1946 with
85 families from First Englewood.
Rev. Kok and several members of First Englewood were among those instru~
mental in founding Elim Christian School for handicapped children in 1946.
Chicago was expanding. Its first subway opened in 1943, work began on the
Congress Expressway (now the Eisenhower) in 1944, and in 1947 the Chicago
Transit Authority consolidated the city's bus, streetcar, and elevated~subway
lines. But the Dutch community in Englewood remained physically and emotion~
ally close~knit. Theresa Wiltjer remembers those post~war days.
The Good Times
Those oEus who lived in Englewood before moving to the suburbs, I think,
would have to say they were enjoyable days. Most of us had basically the same
standard of living. There was little peer pressure because not many families were
that affluent. Social life for most of us centered on the church and its activities.
School functions were few. The church and school picnics were highlights of our
social season.
Our first years of catechism classes were held on Saturday mornings, which
today would interfere with biddy basketball. Junior Choir met on Tuesday after
school, but today that would present a transportation problem. There were
separate girls' and boys' societies which met on Tuesday evenings, but you walked
there, unless, first of all, you were fortunate to have a car, and second, you were
lucky that Pa would let you take it. The 'Church library was open before these
society meetings. The Holland Ladies' Aid met on Monday evenings twice a
month. Senior Choir met on Thursday evening. Reaching these many activities
was no problem because one walked! (What's that?) The neighborhood was quite
safe, and since most of the congregation lived within walking distance, there was
usually someone to walk with. The big treat was to walk to "The Greeks" at 74th
and Halsted Streets for ice cream after one of these meetings. (This was the same
family that now operates the Oak Lawn Restaurant on 95th Street near Central
Avenue.)
30
We were not all "goody goodies." There was a group that "hung out" on certain
street comers and "peeled rubber" with their cars, occasionally. There was no TV
to entertain you. Your spare time was spent reading, playing games, and working
puzzles. The warm weather would bring everyone out to sit on their front porches,
and when you took a walk, you knew practically everyone on the block by name.
Sometimes we knew a little too much about each other.
When fellow parishioners started moving out of the area, it was not easy to
accept. The suburbs seemed so far away, and we thought we had the best where
we were. For that period of time I think we did. But I believe we have been led
to better things. True, the convenience of being able to walk to church and
school is, for the most part, gone. Now when we walk it's for our health, not to
get somewhere.
.
Our standard of living has certainly improved in the past 26 years since we left
Englewood. We have all upgraded our homes, and though we talk about the good
old days, we must admit we certainly have good days now. The church has
extended its outreach. We have become more aware of our neighbors surrounding
the church and what their spiritual needs may be.
In retrospect, a memorable part of our century of blessings has been here in
Calvin Church, as well as in Englewood.
Theresa Wiegers Wiltjer
One Sunday in the early 1950s, the community's beautiful church building was
nearly lost, recalls Marion Dykstra.
Fire!
A seemingly uneventful Sunday somewhere around 1951 or 1952 turned out to
be one I will never forget. It was on this Sunday at the end of the morning
worship, just before Rev. Kok gave the Benediction, that my father stood up and
announced there was a fire in the church. We had been late for church that
particular Sunday morning and so our usual seats were taken, leaving us the side
balcony in which to be seated. Sitting near the exit, we could see and smell
smoke rising through the sta'irway tower. Since this was a main exit for both first
floor and balcony people, we, as well as what seemed like hundreds of other
people, exited down the stairway, through the smoke, out onto the sidewalk.
Simultaneous to our exit was the welcome sight of the fire trucks. I was impressed
by what I thought was their reverence for a church, since they approached
without using their sirens. Safely and quietly the congregation stood outside until
the fire fighters had extinguished a small blaze in the janitor's workroom in the
basement. Spontaneous combustion of oily rags was determined as the cause and
there was little damage.
Marion Overzet Dykstra
31
FAREWELL TO DUTCH
Rev. Kok accepted the call of the Immanuel Christian Reformed Church in
Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1953, and later that year Rev. Arnold Brink
accepted the call of First Englewood. He left a post as educational secretary of
Calvin College and Seminary to join the Englewood congregation.
The 1950s were years of "cold war" with the Soviet Union, the Korean War,
the Eisenhower Doctrine to prevent Communist penetration in the Middle East,
and Senator Joseph McCarthy's investigations of supposed Communist subversion
in the United States. Also in the 1950s, a strange new communication gadget
appeared in many homes (although not many Christian Reformed ones). Televi~
sion was moving in.
The world was rapidly changing, but First Englewood Church still held lovingly
to its old ways, for at least one service was conducted in Dutch each Sunday.
In 1957, First Englewood celebrated its 70th anniversary.
1887
ANNIVERSARY
1957
FIRST CHURCH OF ENGLEWOOD, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Marinus Wiegers
We, members of First Englewood,
Are meeting here tonight,
To laud the Name of our God:
His majesty and might.
He showed to us His glorious grace,
Revealed to us His love,
And showered us, though undeserved,
With blessings from above!
Today we do commemorate And in a festive mood How our fathers organized
A church in Englewood.
This happened many years ago,
Exactly seventy,
Whatever things have taken place
Are told by history.,
To know our church and know it well,
That what we know may last,
We must be willing to sit down,
And look upon the past:
For only then, and then alone,
Will we appreciate
The blessings which we now enjoy
As we commemorate!
The history of any church
Tells unmistakably
32
The good and bad in years that passed,
Whatever it may be.
The good and pleasant, to be sure,
Do richly have their share;
But things that have a bitter taste,
They too are always there.
These observations perfectly
Do fit First Englewood,
For if we contemplate the past,
Tis not all for the good.
We too can boast of glorious things
Performed in unity;
But then, again all loveliness
Went in obscurity.
We may feel sorry and lament
That in the church below
Not always love and charity
In harmony can grow;
-And yet, 'twill not be otherwise,
No matter how it pains
True unity cannot be found,
As long as sin remains.
There shines, however, in this dark,
A ray of brilliant light;
God, in His love and faithfulness,
Takes pityon our plight.
His promise, to maintain his church,
Is everlasting, sure;
He overrules the faults of men,
His counsel will endure.
With that in mind, we view the past,
And, as we take a look,
What happened in First Englewood,
Is as an open book;
We see so clearly in the things c'
That in the past took place,
The guidance of a loving God,
And tokens of His grace.
With servants He provided us,
A consecrated seven,
Who, faithful, and unceasingly,
Showed us the way to Heaven;
The glorious Gospel brought to us,
Was powerful and quick,
And never once did our God,
Remove the candlestick.
Besides the preaching of the Word,
Some more activities
Are taking place in our midst,
By the societies.
Of these we have a goodly share,
All ages, old and young,
And at the age of seventy,
We are still going strong!
The labors of these groups we should
Not underestimate,
The benefit for self and church,
We must appreciate;
For this is true without a doubt,
It leaves no room for guessing;
All those who do participate,
Receive the greatest blessing.
As we these blessings summarize,
And count them one by one,
Let us exclaim with thankful hearts
"Behold what God has done!
'Twas all through grace that we received
These favors manifold;
We were not worthy of the least,
His mercy is of old!"
So, as we celebrate tonight,
Let heart and mouth proclaim
The wondrous workings of the Lord,
And His most glorious name!
May we the lessons of the past
With wisdom take to heart,
So that our lives the 1110re become
Godly in every part.
Dear Lord, we would not go from here
~ Without Thy guiding hand;
Lead Thou the way, and bring Thou us
into the Promised Land;
Protect from all that would do harm,
Give wisdom from above,
So that we may continue on
In unity and love.
33
A Century of Blessings
CALVIN CHUl\.CH
And finally, on December 22, 1957, "Americanism" won out and the last
Dutch service was held at First Englewood.
Rev. Brink and his wife Pauline, now retired, live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
He recalls with fondness the "Delft touch" of that Englewood community.
The Best Years of Our Life
We were at First Englewood Church from 1953 to 1958, and our whole family
agrees that they were the best years of our life. There were first impressions that
were utterly astounding. One of the first was the beautiful church building. It
remains, in our estimation, the most beautiful Christian Reformed Church.
Another first impression that caught us a little by surprise was to find simple little
Holland people tucked away in walk-up "flat" buildings. We learned, in time,
that this was true of all ethnic groups in a large city, but it was new to us at first.
As a minister, I found nothing so heart-warming as to see that same beautiful
church building full of people for every service. I was soon able to spot quite
accurately who was there and who was not, and who might be visitors, because
people almost always sat in the same places every Sunday. Then, the volume of
enthusiastic singing, led by the full-throated tones of the great Moller organ who can forget it?
We enjoyed living in the spacious parsonage. We were asked, when we came,
whether we would object to the Boys' Club activity in the parsonage basement.
We sensed immediately what a Godsend that would be as a means of keeping our
son Harvey occupied and off the streets in the evening. The whirring of machinery, the noisy clamor of boys, punctuated with the quiet voices of the crew of
faithful mentors, all of it became music to our ears!
The Boys' Club.
34
We were amazed at the love of the congregation, which was shown over and
over. There was the group of women who came every spring to take care of
cleaning the seemingly endless array of "Venetian blinds." There was the crew of
men who were provided without fail to clean the walls and ceilings of the
Chicago soot. There were oh, so many little tokens of love at Christmas time and
often throughout the year. We never again have had so much good home~made
"banket"!
We loved the contact with what may be called the "Delft touch." In those
days, 30 years.ago, more Dutch was spoken than today. In the providence of God,
although w~ were all Americanyborn and bred, that language and those customs
were known to us and dear. We recall the Holland Ladies' Aid and its annual
"social" to which loyal ftiends came from all over Chicagoland to feast on raisin
buns with cheese, ham buns, and to laugh again at tried and true "Yankee Dutch"
and "Groninger" jokes and readings. Who can forget the "Olie Koeken" that were
made for every congregational meeting? We hear again the sheer beauty of old
long~meter Psalms sung by the little scattered congregation at the Holland ser~
vice, usually led by our dear friend and neighbor from the Second Church, Rev.
Oliver Breen. .
During that time people were applying for Social Security and needed verifica~
tion that they were indeed 65 years old or older. This meant delving into and
deciphering old record books, stored in the study of the parsonage, to find
baptismal dates.
The Second World War had ended less than a decade before and there was
growing correspondence with relatives and friends in the Netherlands, just pulling
themselves upright and crying out for all sorts of relief, or seeking to emigrate to
America. Letters had to be translated or written for those who knew the Dutch
no longer. The memories of that correspondence, then the helping of some to
come to our shores, helping them to adjust, conducting marriages and baptism
services in the Holland language - Ah, these are precious memories!
If the Lord does not return before then, may Calvin Church live another
hundred years. What is more, because she is part of the body of Christ, she shall
live forever!
Arnold Brink
35
LEAVING ENGLEWOOD
Rev. Brink accepted a call from the Burton Heights Church in Grand Rapids,
Michigan, in 1958. The following year, Rev. Simon Vroon accepted the call of
First Englewood, his fifth charge. He came from the East Saugatuck, Michigan,
church.
But Englewood was changing. Many of the church's families were moving to
the suburbs - Evergreen Park, Oak Lawn, Palos Heights. In 1960, the Council
appointed a Long~Range Planning Committee to determine where the families
were going and where the church might relocate to continue to serve its families.
Upon their recommendation, the congregation voted to buy land at lOlst" Street
and Central Avenue in Oak Lawn, across the street from Chicago Southwest
Christian School. Later that same year, the congregation voted to sell .the
Englewood church property and begin building in Oak Lawn.
Suddenly, the transition gained momentum. The New Friendship Baptist
Church bought the Englewood property and the last services of the Christian
Reformed Church were held there Sunday, October 22, 1961. It was a sad time
for many because First Englewood was the only church they had ever known, and
it was an unsettling time because there was no new church home to move to, yet.
For over a year, our worship services and society meetings were hosted by sister
churches and schools in both Englewood and Oak Lawn.
Finances for the $450,000 Oak Lawn building project were approved, ground
was broken, and the cornerstone was laid June 23, 1962. Once again, the name
of the church was changed - to Calvin Christian Reformed Church. (In 1920,
the name had been changed from one recognizing ethnic roots - the Holland
Christian Reformed Church
to one recognizing its community strengthEnglewood. Now, as that community dispersed, the church claimed its identity
from the 16th century Reformer whose theology helped shape its own - John
Calvin.)
The new, colonial~style church, complete with an education wing and home
for the pastor and his family, was completed and dedicated February 13, 1963. At
the same time, the church celebrated its 75th anniversary - although it must
have felt as if they were a new church just starting in this new community.
Rev. Vroon retired from the active ministry from Calvin Church in 1966. He
and his wife now live in Holland, Michigan. They recall those difficult years of
transition for First Englewood.
~
Harmony in Difficult Times
It is a pleasure for me to write an article commemorating the lOOth anniversary
of Calvin Christian Reformed Church, once known as the First Christian
Reformed Church of Englewood in Chicago. We well remember the commemora~
tion of the 75th anniversary, which took place at the time of the dedication of
the present church in February, 1963.
It is now 19 years since I retired from the active ministry and as pastor of
Calvin Church. We still have many vivid ahd happy memories of the congrega~
tion and our experiences, and it warms our hearts to recall many of the experi~
36
ences of those busy but happy years. During my active ministry I served five
congregations and also had a period of service as Chaplain in the U.S. Army. I .
like to characterize my ministry of nine years in Calvin Church as a beautiful
climax to a blessed ministry of 36 years in the Lord's vineyard.
My wife and I moved into the parsonage on 7lst Street in August, 1959. We
lived in the shadow of the beautiful church building, built so well by the First
Englewood people in 1930. Installed in this beautiful church building was a
three~rank Moller organ, so well suited to the building and a real aid to worship.
This organ was played by some very capable organists and served the congregation
well until the new organ was installed in the present Calvin Church building.
The transition period, moving the congregation from Chicago to Oak Lawn,
will be remembered by all of the members of Calvin Church who lived through
that period. It was a difficult time of testing and soul~searchingfor the congrega~
tion. The membership was gradually moving out of Englewood. The younger
generation tended to leave the inner city and move to the suburbs into newer .
homes and better living conditions. The rapid influx of racially and culttirally
different people into Englewood made it well nigh impossible for our people to
remain and maintain our church properties there. One must live through such
experiences to understand the reasons First Englewood in a few years decided to
relocate in Oak Lawn.
The church properties were sold to an evangelical Baptist group of Black
people well suited to serve the growing Black community. They baptized 149
people the first year in Englewood. We well remember this congregation gather~
ing on Halsted Street near 7lst and marching into their new church, accom~
panied by Mayor Daley and several aldermen, and with a band playing "When
the Saints Go Marching In.''
A new and difficult era confronted our congregation. For the members remain~
ing in Englewood, a service was held every Sunday in the Second Englewood
Church, and services were started in the Sward School in Oak Lawn. This
arrangement continued until the new church properties were completed. This
was a particularly difficult time for the congregation, scattered as it was. My wife
and I moved three times.
The present building, dedicated in February, 1963, stabilized the congregation
and opened up a new era. God blessed our efforts and prospered Calvin Church,
and we rejoice in the growth and prosperity of Calvin Church to this day.
A number of facts which deserve mention stand out in our minds..
The Lord blessed us with an excellent ~ouncil of talented men who gave
leadership to the congregation during this difficult period.
We enjoyed the excellent services of a Building Committee and a capable
Finance Committee. All of these men gave much of themselves and their time to
the Lord's work. We praise the Lord for such dedicated and devoted servants of
God, the backbone of Calvin Church. To this day I love those men who helped
make my pastorate in Calvin Church so pleasant. They were loyal to God's Word
and our Reformed faith. Deep and lasting friendships were formed and continue
to this day.
It was a real blessing to work with these men, the kind of men a minister can
work with and enjoy their fellowship and loyalty. God bless the faithful Council
members of the years gone by, as well as those who serve at present. The Calvin
Church I knew was always an orderly, well governed congregation, as it appears
to me to be today.
37
We loved Calvin Church. The congregation was composed of people who
loved good biblical preaching and solid doctrinal sermons based upon the Heidel~
berg Catechism. Past ministers were staunch, Reformed men who left their mark
upon the congregation. I felt perfectly at home in this type of congregation and
sought to continue in these traditions, and did so with much joy and happiness
at Calvin Church.
We were especially impressed by the love and cooperation of the congregation
during the transition period. Many decisions had to be made; many congrega~
tional meetings were held. I do not recall any lack of harmony and cooperation,
or any strife in all of these meetings and difficult decisions to be made. This also
was evident in the financing of the new church and parsonage. The monies
needed to build the new properties were obtained from our own people on a loan
basis. Our people had faith and confidence that the Lord would also prosper our
efforts financially. To the best of my knowledge the debt on our church properties
was paid off at least one year before all of the financial obligations came due.
I well remember that congregational work for the minister was always plentiful.
Many of the older generation required much spiritual care, and many calls had to
be made. Many funerals were conducted. Many catechism classes had to be
taught. One fact stands out in my memory. The late George Beukema, mortician,
member of the church and Building Committee, remarked to me one day, "I
wonder who will be the first member whose funeral will be held in the new
church." Soon after the new church was dedicated, Mr. Beukema died suddenly,
and he was the first whose funeral was held in the new church building.
Joy and thanks to God filled our hearts as large numbers of young people came
to know their Lord and confessed their faith in our blessed Savior. I shall never
forget that there were also several of the older generation who made confession
of their faith, some of whom I had worked with pastorally for several years. We
also witnessed several adult baptisms. These are all blessings a minister does not
soon forget.
Before I close this article I cannot refrain from mentioning the active social life
we often enjoyed with so many of our Calvin Church people. How often we were
entertained, taken out for meals, invited into their homes. These were all deeply
appreciated. We were just one large, happy, church family. We praise God for the
years of service we were permitted to enjoy in Calvin Church.
Our hope and prayer is that Calvin Church may continue to enjoy our Lord's
favor and blessings. May we all remain faithful to the Word and our precious
Ref9rmed faith. We are living 'in a rapidly changing world, but God's Word
abides forever: "Be Thou faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life."
In Christian love,
Rev. and Mrs. S. Vroon
Music continued to be an important part of church life for this congregation.
Harold Boonstra, a member of Calvin Church since 1971, recalls the music
ministry of which he has been a leader.
38
Music at Calvin Since 1962
Choir singing in the worship service was not permitted when the congregation
still worshipped in Englewood. Nevertheless, the choir was an important activity
in the life of the congregation back then. It enjoyed an excellent reputation
under directors Frans Kramer, Jo Jurjaans, C. Willard Clutter, and others.
After the move to Oak Lawn, I was asked to be choir director in 1963. Because
First Englewood was known to have had excellent choirs in the past, I considered
this to be a great challenge and I decided to accept the position. The choir was
asked to sing in the worship service about once a month. It was small then about 16 to 20 members. Margaret Vande Werken was organist and Mrs.
Antoinette Vander Woude was pianist for the first few years.
The Senior Choir: (front row, 1. to r.) Fenetta Kuiper, Theresa De Boer, Grace Reddel, Barb
Grimberg, Trudy De Windt, Alice Staub, Wilma Lindemulder, Marilyn De Vries, (accom~
panist) , (second row, 1. to r.) Sandy Sales, Ida Oostema, Ann Swierenga, Chuck Marcus, Gus
Van Den Brink, Jacob Staub, Phyliss Zylstra, Sylvia Van Dyke, (third row,!. to r.) Marilyn
Wiltjer, Calvin Hulford, Rich Sales, Ray Zaagman, Clarence Bulthuis, Ruth Beenes, Violet
Oostema, (back row, 1. to r.) Carol Mudde, Carolyn Sales, Bruno Brouwer, Henry Swierenga,
John Mudde, Robert Novak, Richard Dykstra, Lucy Kooyenga, Thelma Bulthuis, Theresa
Wiltjer. Not pictured: Ann Boerema, Jim Boerema, Bonnie Decker, Betsy Hulford, Dave
Persenaire, Wilma Persenaire, Betsy Retsema, Jayne Van Den Brink.
As the years progressed, the choir grew in numbers and participated more fre~
quently in worship services. It gradually gained a reputation of being one of the
finest church choirs in the area. In the early 1970s its membership rose to 55 to
60 members. In 1973, the choir, in conjunction with the choirs from Orland Park
and Palos Heights, presented Haydn's "Creation" with a 20-piece orchestra. This
was performed in our sanctuary. The following year this same group performed
works by Mendelssohn. In December of 1974 the Prophecy, Advent, and Christmas portions of Handel's "Messiah" were performed. In the years 1976 and 1977,
respectively, recordings of favorite anthems and of DuBois' "The Seven Last
Words" were produced by the choir. These recordings were eagerly sought by
39
members of the congregation. During those years the accompanists were Carol
Van Dellen, Marilyn De Vries, and Sandra Zylstra, with Marilyn Mulder as
organist for the "Messiah" and "Seven Last Words" presentations.
In 1978, I took what turned out to be a one-year leave of absence. Dr. Gerald
Hoekstra served as director for that year.
In the spring of 1983 and of 1984, the choir again joined forces, this time with
those of First Oak Lawn and Kedvale, to present "The Crucifixion" by Stainer.
Participation of the choir in the worship services throughout these past 20
years became more and more a recognized and important function. The choir's
library continued to grow, and its repertoire increased. Some 200 anthems are
presently on file.
I retired in 1985, having served as choir director for 35 years in various
churches. Bruce De Windt was appointed and serves Calvin Church at the
present time.
The Moller pipe organ, which served the congregation so well in Englewood
for some 30 years, was moved to the new Oak Lawn building. It continued to
function well for about another 15 years. Soon after that, however, the organists
noticed that the instrument did not playas well as it should. The leathers, coils,
and reeds in the organ were wearing out, and it became obvious that extensive
repair work would have to be done.
After several months of investigative work, the Music Committee decided
(with the advice of consultants) that rebuilding the organ would not be wise. In
1977, the Church Council approved the investigation of purchasing a new organ.
Margaret Vande Werken, Marilyn Mulder, Martin Kuipers, Aud Lemmenes, and
I were appointed as the Organ Committee.
Senior Choir director Bruce De Windt.
The console of the Schlicker pipe organ.
Council approved the committee's proposal to purchase a new 36-rank
Schlicker pipe organ, and this was approved by an overwhelming majority at a
congregational meeting in December, 1978. The new organ was installed and
dedicated in the spring of 1982.
Harold Boonstra
40
Support of mission endeavors had played a part in the mffilStry of First
Englewood, reflected primarily through the congregation's support of Bena Kok
(sister of Rev. William Kok), a nurse~missionary to Nigeria, and Dirk Aardsma,
a Chicago~area evangelist who organized what was to become the Immanuel
Christian Reformed Church. In 1965, the relocated church broadened its mission
support by calling Rev. Juan Boonstra, an Argentine native and Spanish language
minister of the denomination's Back to God Hour, to be Calvin Church's
associate pastor.
Rev. Boonstra recalls how he and his family became a part of the Calvin
Church family.
Associate Pastor Rev. Juan Boonstra.
From P.D. Van VIietto Spanish BroadcastMinistry
In 1965 most of the officials at the Back to God Hour lived on the south side
of Chicago. It was thought advisabie that the next~to~be recruited should reside
in the southwest suburbs
with several churches in that area, it would prove a
good "public relations" move.
My wife Natalie is a granddaughter of one of the former ministers in Engle~
wood. So it was that, with the picture of Rev. P. D. Van Vliet in the Consistory
room, Calvin CRC was asked to be the calling church for the minister of Spanish
broadcasting. The consistory quickly acquiesced . . . and so we joined Calvin
Church.
Many and wonderful things have happened for us at Calvin Church since those
days, not the least of which was that all our children (three boys and a girl) com~
mitted their lives to the Lord while attending there. One is still a member, andthe others have transferred to new locations.
41
"Old Englewooders," with their rich tradition and solid faith, have been
increasingly replaced by a variety of members. A considerable number of college,
educated people grace our pews. This was not the case in 1965. An occasional
non,Dutch name reminds us today that the Church of Jesus Christ is not an
ethnic society.
Perhaps the most astonishing and healthy change we have seen through our
years at Calvin is the increase in missionary consciousness and the corresponding
contributions to the mission cause. Time was when the traditional thing to do
was to participate in the support of Miss Kok (a daughter of the Englewood con,
gregation) to the tune of $1,000. This went on for years. When she retired, it
looked to many as if our responsibility had ceased and, maybe, we-could do away
with that commitment.
With considerable prayer and much effort, however, the congregation decided
they should begin support of the Spanish broadcast of the Back to God Hour.
This commitment has remained uninterrupted and has increased for almost all of
the last two decades. Even more impressive is the Faith Promise program by
which so much money has been raised and so many ministries have been sup'
ported.
We have counted it a privilege to be associated with Calvin Church and pray
that the next 100 years will be as eventful and meaningful as the last 100. Thanks
for your respect and your love!
Juan Boonstra
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1987
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@-S1
42
SETTLING INTO THE NEW COMMUNITY
After nine years of service to Calvin Church, Rev. Vroon retired. In 1968, the
Rev. Dr. Alexander C. De long, then president of Trinity Christian College,
accepted the church's call to be its tenth pastor. It was the fourth congregation
he had served.
.
Embarking on its second decade in the suburbs, and bolstered by the wise and
heart'warming pastoral work and memorable, extemporaneous preaching style of
Dr. De long, the congregation grew to approximately 175 families. Dr. De long
also attracted a following of students from Trinity Christian College, who kept
the church from slipping too deeply into suburban complacency.
In fact, a spirit of evangelism was firing the Christian Reformed denomination,
and Calvin Church along with it. The congregation began to reach out to its new
community.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Calvin Church was not only growing and
reaching out, but it was a good place to grow up in. Barb Wiltjer Vree recalls
growing up in Calvin Church.
Part of the Calvin Family
"If, after six months, you kids still don't like it, we'll leave Calvin and go back
to West Evergreen." That's what my parents promised. I thought this would be a
snap. I could continue to dislike Calvin for that short amount of time, and then
finally we'd be back where we came from, where I thought 1'd never want to leave.
That was back in the summer of 1972. We had been members of West Evergreen CRC (previously Auburn Park) for as long as I could remember. A small
church, but warm and friendly all the same. I had grown up there and had many
friends who attended there. We had all gone to catechism, Calvinettes, and
Sunday School together.
The decision to change churches wasn't an easy one, but it was with the
thought of our "growing up" years in mind that my parents felt it was time to
make a change. They wanted us to be exposed to and involved in more activities
that would help to strengthen our faith and love for the church, and they felt
Calvin CRC was the best choice.
After our first Sunday at Calvin; I knew that this six-month trial basis was not
going to be easy. My parents came back to"the car with smiles from ear to ear.
They instantly liked the church and the friendliness of the people. I tried not to
like it, but even on the first Sunday, two girls whom I didn't know had stopped
and talked to me.
And who couldn't be attracted to the warmth of Dr. De long? He was always
so straightforward and down to earth in his preaching that you couldn't help but
listen attentively.
I really didn't notice when the six months were up, because long before that
our whole family had come to love Calvin and really felt as if we were a part of
its family.
43
As kids, we became involved in the catechism classes held on Monday nights.
Of course, the most desired seat in the class was in the back row, right next to the
folding room divider where one could study the questions a little longer, figuring
Dr. De Jong would start with the first row. But "Doc" had been around. He never
started asking questions at the same spot twice.
Attending Young People's Society was really exciting because of the large
number of teenagers involved. The counselors kept us busy with a myriad of activ~
ities - such as car washes, campouts, and road rallies. Every Thanksgiving
morning we went horseback riding. We'd return to church for the morning
service full of mud and other things. Somehow the balcony was always reserved
for the Young People - no one else cared to join us.
We also had lots of weekend outings and camping trips. One particular camp~
out was at a huge camp ground in Wisconsin. We spent the afternoon canoeing
down the river, occasionally tipping over each other's canoes, especially the
counselors'. An hour or so before dusk, we'd play "Capture the Flag," in which
each team would attempt to find, capture, and return the opposing team's flag to
their own hill. Dr. De Jong would come out and join us for Saturday supper and
spend the night in the luxury of the counselors' tent. He'd emerge early the next
morning - a little stiff, but would hike with us up the hill where we'd have our
sunrise church service under the pavilion.
In looking back, my perspective and feelings on the church have changed.
'When I was younger, I looked for the church to entertain me, more or less. It was
a bit of a selfish thing
what can the church do for me? Now, I look at the
church as a place where it's important for me to put into it what I want to get out
of it. The church desires and needs my participation. Not just for my own
gratification, but for the growth and enrichment of others as welL And when that
happens, church becomes a place where one desires to be.
And that's the special thing about Calvin. The people of Calvin are a "family"
and seek to include everyone in that family. People aren't just concerned about
their own growth, but are actively interested and involved in that of their
"brothers and sisters. " That was something that I was beginning to get a sense of
when we first joined Calvin, but now know through experience and involvement
with the church.
Well, it's been 15 years since that trial basis, and I couldn't imagine being
anywhere else!
Barb Wiltjer Vree
44
Dr. De Jong and his wife Joanne, now retired and living in Orland Park,
Illinois, recall the years they served Calvin Church.
Anniversary Note
Thank you for inviting us to share in your 100th birthday celebration. We still
think of ourselves as members of the Calvin Church family. Happy memories of
the turbulent late '60s and early '70s are still fresh. The waves of history then
were choppy, often violent with burnings, assassinations,· marches, even a Presi~
dential resignation. Those were the times of struggle, argument, disagreement,
generation gaps, morality revolutions, and more.
The Lord calls us to remember. This is an urgent command. Remember! Forget
not! Believers remember in a special way. The Lord's Spirit makes the past
present, and we still joy in the gifts we received years ago. That is why our 100th
birthday celebration is vibrant, happy, deeply meaningful. The Lord then is Lord
now. His presence then is still with us, making this birthday bright with gratitude,
joy, and hope. The miracle~working energies of God's faithful love, alive in the
past, are still working today.
In the Lord's presence we remember our days with Calvin Church's family.
Friendships made then still endure. Words of encouragement spoken years ago
still speak. Comfort from our Lord at funerals; songs of joy at wedding receptions;
intimate sharing at counseling sessions; prayers offered in hospital rooms; sermons
preached and sacraments celebrated . .. all this and more makes our celebra~··· .
tion grace filled and Christ honoring. May the Lord's gifts of love to us abound
in divine generosity, and, more importantly, may the Lord's presence be with us
daily until we see Him face to face in glory.
The A. C. De Jong Family
A Century of Blessings
CALVIN ClIUl\.CH
I~
45
-(
THE RECENT YEARS OF OUTREACH
After serving Calvin Church for six years, Dr. De Jong returned to Trinity
Christian College in Palos Heights as professor of theology. Rev. John A. De
Kruyter, pastor of the Seymour Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, accepted the
call of Calvin Church in 1975. It was his sixth charge.
Rev. De Kruyter brought to Calvin Church a strong, Reformed, exegetical
preaching ability. But he also brought to Calvin an enthusiasm that sparked
greater neighborhood evangelism efforts and mission support, and an organiza~
tional ability that helped Calvin build a committee structure that helps the
Council manage the large church and its ministries.
Other changes also came to Calvin Church during Rev. De Kruyter's tenure.
Approximately 16 years after it was moved from Englewood, the aging Moller
organ was judged too costly to continue to repair. A special Organ Committee
recommended the purchase of a 36~rank Schlicker organ. After the old organ was
removed and before the new organ was installed, the sanctuary was remodeled
and redecorated in early 1982, and the church building was modified to be more
energy efficient. The latter even prompted one humorous incident, reported by
the Building Committee:
"We were consCious of energy saving possibilities, so while the front wall of the
sanctuary was open,over 100 bags of insulation were poured in from the top,
before the plasterer closed off the ceiling. The insulation seemed to be swallowed
up in a botterriless pit, causing several trips to several sources to find enough
insulation. We joked about a hole at the bottom, but the joke became no joke
when, in the middle of the night, on one of the coldest nights of the winter, Neal
Adema, our janitor, came to church to find the furnace off and approximately 50
bags of insulation in the basement! The insulation had gone through a very small
hole down in the basement! You can guess what our first job was the next day!"
During the same period, it was decided to repair the church building's distinc~
tive steeple, which, because of rain seepage, was causing a rusty stain on the bal~
cony ceiling. Attempts to find a firm to make the repairs were not succeeding,
but with the help of neighboring St. Linus Catholic Church, which was having
its bell tower extensively repaired, an architect was found who identified and
supervised the repairs of the steeple, which cost just over $24,000.
Finally, on Sunday, May 23, 1982, the renovations and redecoration culmi~
nated with the dedication of Calvin Church's new Schlicker organ. As repora.ed
in the Calvin Newsletter, that morning, "For the very first time, the congregation
heard the beautiful tones of the organ in the prelude based on the tune '0 God
Our Help in Ages Past.' A festive processional by the choir then followed, with
trumpets, trombones, and tympani joining the organ and choir. Later in the
service the choir sang the anthem 'Psalm 150' by C. Franck. Verse four of this
psalm was also used as the text for the Rev. John De Kruyter's sermon on the topic
'Praise Him with the Organ'.
"Rev. De Kruyter also introduced Mr. Stanton Peters, the Schlicker Organ
Company representative. Mr. Peters presented the organ key to Harold Boonstra,
Organ Committee chairman, and to Margaret Vande Werken, head organist.
Both responded with a short speech. This· was followed by a meaningful organ
dedication litany in which the entire congregation took part.
46
...
The Senior Choir took part in many worship services, including dedication of the new organ.
"Marilyn Mulder, Marilyn De Vries, and Margaret Vande Werken were the
organists for the morning service. Brenda Hook and Ruth Baas shared the organ
console in the evening service in which the spirit of celebration and dedication
continued. After the evening service, Marilyn Mulder presented a short organ
demonstration talk which proved to be of help in 'getting further acquainted'
with the new instrument."
.
The Tuesday Evening Women's Bible Class made a special contribution of a
cymbelstern and chimes to enhance the instrument.
In another highlight of the 1980s, Calvin Church joined.with all of Classis
Chicago South in celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Christian Reformed
Church September 26, 1982, at a memorable evening worship in the Rockefeller
.
Chapel at the University of Chicago.
Under Rev. De Kruyter's leadership, Calvin Church became more active in
missions and local evangelism. In"1977, the church celebrated its first Mission
Emphasis Week which culminated in a Faitl;' Promise pledge to support missions
and evangelism. As an outgrowth of Mission Emphasis, the church hired Jeff
Clousing, from Caledonia, Michigan, as director of youth and evangelism in
1984. Mr. Clousing ably led these aspects of ministry for two years, including
directing Calvin Church's first Summer Workshop in Ministries teams during the
summers of 1985 and 1986.
The years of evangelism activities originating in Oak Lawn and reaching out
to many parts of the world are recalled by Dan Veurink.
47
1
Evangelism Impressions
Bringing the Gospel to our neighborhood and beyond has been a part of Calvin
Church for many years. Here is a summary of what has been done in the last 15
years.
Let me begin with four projects which were carried on for years but now exist
no more. These are Chicagoland Missions, the Helping Hand Mission, the
World Home Bible League's South Chapter, and the Oak Lawn Convalescent
Home.
Our church became involved with Chicagoland Missions while still in
Englewood. Along with three other Christian Reformed Churches, we worked to
establish home mission chapels, including the Emmanuel Chapel in Burbank, led
by evangelist Dirk Aardsma, which today is the Emmanuel Church. We were
active in Chicagoland Missions for over 20 years.
For over 20 years our church sent John Speelman and many others to West
Madison Street to help bring the Good News to "skid row" people. Some of our
collection money went there, too, to help support Clarence Laning as he led this
effort to bring hope to men and families ruined by liquor. Some of our number
went there weekly, and others went as needs called for reinforcements. These
"street people" would be given food only if they first heard the Bible message.
Indeed, it was a sad day when circumstances in housing, costs, neighborhood
changes, and staff replacement caused the end of the whole mission in 1985.
The World Home Bible League South Chapter was a volunteer arm of the
World Home Bible League for encouraging local churches and members in getting
Bibles into community homes. For many years it was successful in helping
evangelism committees get church members involved in giving out tracts, testa~
ments, and Bibles. The South Chapter even had its own portable booth, and
many church members were asked to help with this outreach at fairs in McCor~
mick Place and elsewhere. As an organization it lost support and was disbanded
about four years ago. I was at that rather sad last meeting, but I was glad that our
church was among the few "faithful to the end."
Lena Bulthuis was led of the Lord to be the moving force in ministry to the Oak
Lawn Convalescent Home. For many years she labored there and asked our help.
Many of us helped and she thanked us for it. The Home and the senior citizens
appreciated our weekly services.
On~going outreach projects include our weekly Women's Coffee Break with
nursery and Story Hour, monthly Sunday services at Windsor Manor Convalescent
Home, monthly singing and tract minist:t1 at Oak Forest Hospital, continuous
New Testament distribution at many local waiting areas, a reaching out to sailors
at' the Seamen's Mission, an annual Daily Vacation Bible School for neighbor~
hood children, a Welcome Wagon that tries to contact every family new to our
area, and for the last two summers, a Summer Workshop in Ministries that
contacted about 90 percent of our immediate neighbors.
For challenging ourselves to greater outreach, we focus each winter on Mission
Emphasis Week. Speakers and projects inspired us to raise our commitments in
giving time and money for reaching others for Jesus.
I will never forget that first Mission Emphasis Week ten years ago. After the
Faith Promise pledges were counted, the total was far beyond the Evangelism
Committee's expectations. It ended in a real boost for the Back to God Hour's
infant television ministry.
48
The Back to God Hour! We have strongly identified with them, and I believe
our heart is one with this local~global CRC ministry. It possibly all began with
Rev. Juan Boonstra and LR~3. This small South American broadcast developed
into a full Latin American Spanish ministry which we still love to support.
However, locally, we are now also involved in the Faith 20 television program.
This calls for many volunteers who spend a few hours there every month as
telephone counselors. This is certainly one way to reach hurting unbelievers and
also believers. Sometimes we really share in joy and praise, too!
When reflecting upon the generosity of our many members who have con~
tinued to give and give again, especially of their time, I can only give praise and
thanks to God who is our great motivator. May we praise Him forever!
Dan Veurink
After serving Calvin Church for 11 years, Rev. De Kruyter retired from full~
time ministry. He and his wife now divide their time between homes in Florida
and Michigan. Rev. De Kruyter recalls the years of his ministry at Calvin Church.
What Calvin Church Has Meant to Me
I still remember when the call came to be Calvin's minister. It scared me a bit.
It warmed me too, because I had been a minister in the Chicago area before, and
I had most warm feelings of that experience. But above all it challenged me.
Why, you ask? Because it looked, way back then, as if that might be my last
charge in the ministry. It was one last opportunity to help a church be all that a
church should be. And I was excited about it. I was thoroughly challenged to do
something in my last church for the Lord. That's what Calvin Church meant to
me when I first became its minister.
And now, what does it mean to me after the service is over? After the years
have passed? This. People coming to visit us in the South and saying: "Your
ministry brought me closer to Christ." I'm thankful for that. I'm deeply grateful.
It makes the whole experience of 11 years as Calvin's pastor entirely thrilling.
God was good to us at Calvin, and good to you. But most of all, I'm thankful for
what I could do in an evangelistic way while I was Calvin's pastor. I cherish the
memory of instructing many, many people through the years in the teaching of
our Lord. Some had no religious background, some came from other churches
where their religious experience had been meaningless to them. Some came with
deep problems. Some came with perplexing questions. Working through each
situation was a real blessing. And during the entire 11~year stay at Calvin there
seldom was a time when I was not working with someone in this evangelical way.
That's what comes to the top of my memory when I think of Calvin Church.
And I remember Mission Emphasis Weeks. We began that program together.
Some were cynical about it, not very enthused. But there were the few who
caught the vision immediately and helped in implementing it. I'm thankful to
them and grateful for their patience as they stuck with it until more began to see.
It was a growing ministry that changed the giving habits of many, changed the
tilt of many a person's spiritual life from an inward self~concern to an outward
concern for others. That's what I remember about Calvin, its change from a
church concerned rather much to be loyal to tradition to a church more con~
cerned about sharing that tradition with others.
49
s
And I remember with warmth and love the privilege of sharing God's love and
concern with many sick and dying. I have no statistics to quote, but I have
recollections of many weekly calls on the sick and dying, sometimes in the midst
of tragic emergencies, sharing the Word, and a prayer, and a word of encourage~
ment. I know those visits were appreciated. But I also know that they did me so
much good. They evidenced how God's people respond to His Word with faith
and hang on when there doesn't seem much to hang on to. I remember with love
and appreciation those whom the Lord has taken to Himself. I remember with
gratitude those whom He spared for greater service.
So, as I close, what I am saying is essentially this. I remember what is so very
obvious to me. The Lord blessed me while I was at Calvin. I hope He did you, too.
John A. De Kruyter
The fourth and present church building, dedicated in 1963.
50
'-----------------------~~
CALVIN CHURCH TODAY
Today, 100-year-old Calvin Christian Reformed Church, born as the Holland
Church and raised as the First Englewood Church, finds itself 168 families strong.
The church is now located in the suburbs of Chicago. On a clear day, if you stand
on a ridge and look northeast you can see Chicago's 20th century "Tower of
Babel," the Sears Tower, the world's tallest skyscraper. But Calvin Church has
grown up from that band "small of courage and weak in strength." In January of
1987, Rev. John Hellinga of Sioux Center, Iowa, accepted the call to be the
church's twelfth pastor and the first pastor of its second century.
Calvin Church has not forgotten its roots but is growing in spiritual strength
from them. Harold Schnyders looks back with affect-ion to those roots, but he
also joins all of Calvin Church in looking to the future.
One Retrospective Inside View of
First Englewood/Calvin CRC Church
My first memories of First Englewood include a clear view of its beautiful and
imposing interior with its balconies on three sides, the largest of which could seat
approximately 200 people. My "pew" was the last row of the east side balcony. As
a seven-year-old, I would often peer over the three rows of the balcony faithful
whose seating location seemed as predestined as my own . . . Vissers, front row
east; the Deckers, rear row west; and so on.
Scanning beyond the brown, iron pipe railing with its periodic eight-inch
support posts perched along the length of the varnished wooden top (of width
equal to two Psalter Hymnals), I could see the rigid preaching stance of Rev.
William Kok, wearing the black tails and dark gray pin-striped trousers, somewhat
reminiscent of Winston Churchill. As a forceful· pulpiteer, his face would frequently flush red as he presented his "hell fire" condemnation of the congregation's trespasses. There was no mistaking the familiar bald head rimmed with
sparse white hair. Occasionally, this preacher would pause in his sermon to
publicly rebuke an unruly group of young people or to awaken a sleeping individual in the far comers of the large, rear balcony.
The raised pulpit platform w~s graced with the same two flags which are now
in the front of Calvin Church. There ~ere three "high backed" chairs with
a~ched tops matching the shape of the stained glass windows along the side balconies. The varnished wood matched the wood panels at the rear of the pulpit. The
center chair had the highest back and was reserved for the preacher. Rising high
above the pulpit were the organ pipes in three semicircular ranks of tall pipes
separated by ranks of smaller pipes partially exposed through a carved wooden
facade
magnificent, to be sure. The organ console was positioned in a shallow
sunken pit which divided the front rows of the center section of the main floor.
Who will ever forget the coveted "two-by-fours," four mini-pews seating three
people each in the darkest comers of the sanctuary under the rear balcony? And
then . . . that beautiful stained glass window on the 7lst Street side, depicting
the ark of the covenant with the two golden angels with wings fanning out over
the ark and tips almost meeting at the center. This large stained glass window
appeared transcendent when exposed to the brilliance of full sunlight.
51
..
i.
My personal potpourri of flashbacks includes catechism classes with retired
elementary school principal Klaas Hoeksema (with his grey hair in a brush cut)
in the basement classroom on the street side of the church, societies meeting in
the Societies' Room with a wall lined with book shelves fronted by glass doors,
well defined sidewalk circles of relatives and/or friends for post,worship "kletzing"
and smoking where each predictable seating location in church rearranged itself
into rigidly predictable small assemblies at prescribed locations on the expansive
sidewalk at the front of the church, lock,outs for late,comers to Rev. Kok's
catechism classes, exuberant congregational singing of the Psalms in response to
the full use of the Moller organ's power, a church parking lot which had only 20
parking places, the large parsonage west of the church whose basement was used
as a wood,working shop for Boys' Club, the janitor's house owned by the church,
our daughter church (Second Englewood) located but a block away from its
parent, the large percentage of members who could recall their immigration and
"Old Country" roots, the dark varnished Consistory Room door which opened
directly to the main sanctuary aisle, unleashing a parade of elders and deacons led
by the minister at the beginning of each worship service.
Rev. Arnold Brink, who became our pastor in the early '50s, was a minister
with a respected singing voice. Only recently, choirs were allowed to sing from
the pulpit platform. Rev. Brink occasionally sang with these choirs.
In the late '50s, Rev. Simon Vroon accepted the call to be our pastor. The
thrust of a displaced Black population, resulting from the construction of the Dan
Ryan Expressway, caused a disruption of our close knit neighborhood church
community, who perceived this intrusion as an intolerable threat to the safety of
their families as they made their short walks to church, school, and homes of
friends and relatives, all of which were located within the confines of a few
blocks. This Dutch ethnic contingent surrounding our church rapidly disintegrat,
ed as they scattered to widespread locations throughout the southwest suburbs of
Chicago. The inevitable decision to sell our church properties was made, and
they were sold to a Black Baptist congregation.
Our congregation proceeded to approve the construction of a new church
building and parsonage at its present site in Oak Lawn for approximately
$450,000. (At that time, the congregation defeated a proposal to include air
conditioning at a cost of$lO,OOO.) The Moller organ we had grown to love was
to be removed and stored pending its installation in the new building. This
dispersion caused our membership to sink to a low of approximately 120 families.
This core membership faithfully met for worship at the Sward Public School in
Oak Lawn while the new church was unda construction. This decline in mel,ll'
bership and relocation had its benefits, however. We became better acquainted
with the members on the other side of the church. The foundations were being
laid for a friendlier church.
Nevertheless, further jolts into change were yet to come. The late '60s brought
Dr. Alexander De Jong as our pastor along with a contingent of Trinity Christian
College students. They created a stir in the congregation as they attended worship
services in their jeans and long hair. Such incidents forced many of us to re,
examine our attitudes. The church administration included younger elders, one
of whom was barely 30 years old and had never served as a deacon! Women were
finally given the right to vote at congregational meetings in the early '70s. At
first, very few women in our church chose to exercise that right.
52
In 1973, Evangelism Thrust was introduced to Calvin Church as a denomina,
tional program encouraging our churches to make a greater impact in our com,
munities by organizing small Bible study groups with an evangelical focus and for
the promotion of greater ease in self,expression of the faith which is in our hearts.
It also represented a new experience for many of us, namely, getting to know
fellow church members as persons quite different from the way we imagined them
from afar. Our present day Grow Groups began as a natural follow,up to
Evangelism Thrust.
Rev. John De Kruyter extensively re,organized church administration by estab,
lishing a supporting committee structure which included congregational members
from outside the ranks of elders and deacons. He also led the Council in establish,
ing an annual Mission Emphasis Week with its ongoing goal of awakening and
sustaining congregational interest in participating in the work of missions through
prayer, financial support, and active involvement in local evangelical endeavors
such as Bible studies and hymn singing at convalescent homes, Oak Forest
Hospital Lightbearers, Welcome Wagon Ministry, shut,in visiting ministries,
Bible placement in doctors' and dentists' offices, Daily Vacation Bible School,
Women's Coffee Break Ministry, and ultimately, sponsoring two SWIM teams to
assist our church in community outreach.
Enjoying coffee after the Sunday morning service.
The church has grown spiritually by the grace and steadfast faithfulness of the
God of the Covenant. We are no longer as we were, thank God. The face of
Calvin is not the face of First Englewood. Our membership is predominated by
Americans, not Dutch immigrants. Our ranks are more diverse in ethnicity and
religious background through marriage bonds and the effects of evangelism. There
53
are the Nickels, Banks, Novaks, Comells, and Burgers as well as the Boonstras,
Vande Werkens, Speelmans, and Overzets in this part of the body of Christ. That
speaks of a church that is alive and accommodating in the best sense of that term.
Over 100 years we have become more like that body of Christ described in the
Scriptures, every member working with and for each other to the glory of Christ
our Savior. May the next 100 years of God's continuing favor change Calvin
Church even more to that point where our church and the surrounding commu~
nity are unified with each other and the King of the Church.
Harold Schnyders
The Calvin Church Family Photo Album
.~
-i,
~
.~
Calvin Church celebrates Holy Communion with Rev. Hellinga officiating.
Rev. Hellinga baptizes Michelle Joy, daughter of
Don and Joyce Beenes.
54
The Busy Bees: (front low, 1. to r.) Erin Dekker, Kathy Urba,
Kathy Greide; (middle row, 1. to r.) Kristen Vander Velde,
Becky De Groot, Lisa Van Howe; (back row, 1. to r.) Carrie
Saidat, Lauren Togtman, Brenda Brouwer, Kristy Brouwer,
Kristy De Boer. Not pictured: Counsellors Betty Byland, Wendy Togtman.
The Cadets' speedway-seeking top speed.
The Sunday School Choir.
The Cadets: (front row, 1. tor.) Bob VanderVelde, Robert Zylstra, Mike Dekker, Mike Sales,
Mark Du Bois, Brian Huizenga, Jason Miller, Steve Hamstra; (middle row, 1. to r.) Kris Ver
Beek, David Buckley, Greg Oostema, Eric Byland, Mike Huizenga, Mike Boyle, George
Bulthuis, Tim Vande Werken; (back. row, 1. to r.) Bruce Brouwer, Jim Lemmenes, Dan
Griffion, Rich De Boer, Pete Retsema, Ed Saidat, Marcus Tate, David Dart.
55
Janet Novak displays her handiwork at
a Calvinette meeting.
Betsy Retsema leads the singing in Sunday School.
The Calvinettes: (front row, l. to r.) Amy Kloosterman, Andrea Bolhuis, Alida Byland, Heide Gough, Roula Sweis; (middle
row, l. to r.) Kathy Byford, Cindy Brouwer, Carissa Togtman, Carrisa Bulthuis, Christine Marcus, Gina Van Howe,
Jenny Snyders, Amy Retsema; (back row, l. to r.) Debbie Novak, Valerie Yff, Janet Novak, Rhonda Brouwer,
Lisa Kloosterman, Trisha Weigers, Tammy Sales, Cindy Sales, Jenny De Groot.
56
The Young People's Society includes fun with their fellowship: (bottom row, I. to r.) Rev. Manuel Ortiz was a featured speaker
Jenine Bolhuis, Tom Van Howe, Rick Sales, Tim Schnyders, Counsellor Jim
during Mission Emphasis Week 1987.
Vande Werken, Ruth De Boer; (middle row, I. to r.) Diane Venhuizen, Mary Kamp,
Karen Schnyders, Brent Dykstra, Joanne Schnyders; (top row, I. to r.) Kim Sales,
c.J. Bulthuis, Bob Schaaf, Todd·Speelman.
The Young People's Society: (front row, I. to r.) Counsellors Jim and Laura Vande Werken,
Kim Sales, Sharon Van Howe, Michelle Swiney, Ruth De Boer, Jenine Bolhuis; (middle row,
I. to r.) Dan Decker, Tom Van Howe, Brent Dykstra, Jennifer Boss, Joanne Schnyders, Bob
Schaaf, Tim Schnyders, c.J. Bulthuis; (back row, l. to '(.) Dan Mudde, Rick Sales, Harold
Schnyders, Mary Kamp, Jennifer Bruinius, Karen Schnyders.
.~
\'
.
Mission Emphasis·Sunday Fellowship Dinner at Chicago Southwest Christian School.
57
Children enjoy Story Hour while their mothers attend Coffee Break.
Daily Vacation Bible School.
Fellowshipping at Women's Coffee Break.
58
The Men's Society, "Onesimus,": (seated, left to right) William Evenhouse, John Speelman,
John Dykstra, Martin Kuipers (President), George De Vries; (standing, left to right) Paul
Lindemulder, John Overzet, Jacob Stoub, Henry Swierenga, Charles Overzet, Cornelius
Adema. Not pictured: William Vander Velde.
The Young Married Couples' Club (left to right): Gus and Jayne Van Den Brink, Rich and Ruth
Baas, Art and Betty Byland, Jack and Jean De Vries, Don and Joyce Beenes, Rick and Debbie
Wittjer, Sharon and Jay Iwema, Barb and Dan Vree, and Laura and Jim Vande Werken.
The Calvin Fellowship Society meets ~nce a month to hear speakers on various topics.
59
The Women's Bible Class: (seated, left to right) Tena Overzet (Treasurer), Clara Naber, Hilda
Pruim, Margaret Vande Werken; (standing, left to right) Sophie Leffring, Lil Lull, Bernice
Bosma (President), Catherine Vande Werken, Marie Voss (Bible Study Leader). Not pictured:
Lena Bulthuis, Ange De Vries, Grace Spoolstra.
The Women's Bible Study Society: (front row, I. to r.) Cora Poll, Marie Van Howe, Ann Swierenga, Wilma Lindemulder, Grace
Reddel, Marie Lindemulder, Ruby Vander Velde, Sharon Grice, Trudy De Windt; (middle row, I. to r.) Kerry Vander Weele,
Gertrude Buikema, Nell Bulthuis, Fennetta Kuiper, Elizabeth Kuipers, Ida Doom, Dorothy Ridder, Alice Staub, Nellie Terborg,
Margaret Speelman; (back row, l. to r.) Martha Iwema, Violet Oostema, Ella De Moo, Helen Holzkampt, Theresa Wiltjer,
Corinne Eldrenkamp, Jennie Hoogstraten, Shirley De Boer, Jean Hellinga, Viola Zoogman.
60
Today, Calvin Church offers faithful preaching of God's Word and ministry of
the sacraments, education for children, youth, and adults, and outreach to the
community and the world. The future of Calvin Church lies in our oneness in
Christ and in our children, like Amy Retsema, who love Calvin Church and our
unity in Christ.
What Does the. Church Mean to Me?
The church is an integral part of my family. My parents are involved, and since
early childhood I have been coming to church. As I grow older I am becoming
involved in more and more activities, including catechism, Calvinettes, Junior
Choir, the church band, and biddy basketball. The leader of each activity is a
committed Christian and has been an important part of my development as a
Christian.
I admit I don't always enjoy church services, catechism, and Sunday School,
but each program has helped me see that I am a child of God, claimed by God,
and that God has a purpose and plan for each of His children.
'Way back in toddler nursery, I learned to share blocks and puzzles and
started learning Bible stories and Bible songs. Then I was in first grade and began
to see how the pieces in God's big puzzle fit together, starting 'way back with
Creation, Adam and Eve, and sin entering the world. Then I studied Noah,
Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Later on I learned about the prophets
and kings. After all this I wasn't quite sure why I went to church or what the
church meant in my life. Then in fourth grade I started studying Paul and his
conversion and then his spreading of the Good News. Now, I'm learning about
religion and what the Christian Reformed Church believes. I'm learning, too,
that God will use me in the spreading of His Word, and that I am a piece of that
great, big puzzle.
I've learned many things while I've been part of the Calvin Church Family.
The ultimate question is "What has the Church meant in my life?" I have learned
this important fact: Even though everyone in our church dresses differently, acts
differently, and has different gifts and talents, when we are in God's church we
are one in Christ.
Amy Retsema
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Church Staff
Church custodians Adriana and Neal Adema.
The Hellinga family (l. to r.): Mrs. Jean, Chris, Leslie, and Rev. John Hellinga.
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Marilyn Mulder.
Margaret Vande Werken.
Sandra Huizenga.
Marilyn De Vries.
Organists
Ruth Baas.
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Some of the children at the 1OOth Anniversary Church Picnic
dressed like their Dutch ancestors.
Klompen (wooden shoe) dancers highlighted the
100th Anniversary Church Picnic in June.
A barbershop double~quartet sang at the 100th Anniversary Church Picnic.
Children enjoy the contests at the annual Church Picnic.
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The 19608
The Young People's Society, 1961.
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The 19508
Fourpastors and their wives: (front row, l to r.) Rev. andMrs. Christian Huissen, Rev. Peter Van Vliet,. (back row, l to r.)
Rev. and Mrs. Amold Brink, Mrs. William and Rev. Kok.
A Sunday School Christmas party, with teachers Etta Rusthoven and Cora Poll
66
The students and teachers ofEnglewood Christian School
The 19408
World War II brought the five older Stoub sons into the service oftheir country:
(l to r.) Bil~ Pau~ John, Jake, and Clarence.
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The 19308
The Young Men's Society, 1930: (front row, l to r.) Fred Ticgelaar, john Speelman, GeorgeJ De Vries, Clarence Fisher (President),
Elmer Huizinga, Martin Kuipers, jacob Poll,· (middle row, l to r.) Franz Duree Kramer, jacob Ticgelaar, Adncln Pauwe,
Rudolph Gnmberg, Neal Zwyghuizen, Arthur Du Bois, john Overzet, George De Vries, Simon Wildevel,' (back row,. l to r.)
Bernard Bos, George Van der Vliet, Barney Hoek, Derk Weidenaar, jacob Hoek, Nick Grimberg, Gemt Hoogewerf,
George Van der Shoot.
The BuildingCommitteelor the thirdchurch building, 1931: (seated, l to r.) J Vande Werken, B. Vander Loan;
(standing, l to r.) J Venhuizen, M Vroom, G. Vander Shoot.
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,
I
The English~Speaking Ladies' Aid, 1931.
•
The Sunday School teachers, 1931.
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The 1930s
The Young Ladies' Society, 1931.
The 1920s
Sunday Schoolpicnic.
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The Ladies' Aid Sodety.
The 19108
Four generations at First Englewood; (l to r.) Henry Bieze,
his son George, his grandson Henry, and his father George.
Rena and George Schutt, fonner members
ofFirst Englewood, by their garage on
Morgan Street, 1915.
NOTES