NOVEMBER 2007 VOL. 11 NO. 1

1 A PUBLICATION OF WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

“I know the plans I havefor you, says the Lord,plans for your welfareand not for harm, to giveyou a future with hope.”

Jer. 29:11

Like the people ofIsrael exiled in Babylon,

it is difficult for Christians in NorthAmerica to look to the future with hope.After all, the church appears to be losinginfluence in our society. While member-ship and worship attendance decline,cultural critics such as Sam Harris in hisLetter to a Christian Nation hammer awayat the core of Christian beliefs and com-mitments. Moreover, Christians engagein contentious disputes regarding wor-ship styles, social issues and politicalperspectives.

Like the people of Israel, we wonderwhether the church has a hopeful future.

My friends, we are people of hope—bold, outrageous, audacious hope. Weknow that God has plans for our welfareand not for our harm. Our hope is builtupon the grace of God, “who has given usa new birth into a living hope through theresurrection of Jesus Christ from thedead.” (1 Peter 1:3)

I have witnessed remarkable signs ofhope throughout churches in NorthAmerica. As one who has been privilegedto visit hundreds of churches, many ledby graduates of this seminary, I canreport that God is at work in our congre-gations. I have seen vital, faithful, hos-pitable communities where worship isrich and authentic, the gospel is humblylived and shared, local and global mis-sion are engaged, and persons are trans-formed by the Word and Spirit.

Through your financial support andyour prayers for the ministry of Western,you have shared in the future hope thatis ours through Jesus Christ. We aredeeply grateful.

People of hope, “rejoice with an inde-scribable and glorious joy!” (1 Peter 1:8)

In Christ,

DNVPresident Dennis N. Voskuil

Notes from

Student Stories

I packed up my little red Saturn and asan afterthought tossed flip-flops and a pairof shorts into my trunk. I was headed toSeattle for the summer. My four day tripgave me time to reflect and pray, and as Ipassed through the mountains I began tocry. I had returned from the mission fieldthe year before, and the transition back tothe States had been stressful, along withmy first year at seminary. I longed forchange, and to pursue God’s calling formy life I instinctively knew I had tochange, but I was scared.

Dr. Matt Floding had tried tocall attention to the change mylife needed. He encouragedme to find a summer internshipthat would allow me to relaxand be filled up while beingchallenged and mentored.Matt was envisioning change ofa spiritual nature; I was look-ing for change of a vocationalnature. I wanted to explorecareer opportunities. Mattgraciously let me choose myown way, and so I headed to Seattle to geta taste of working with immigrants andrefugees. Really, I was going there to beefup my resume.

It’s funny, God doesn’t care a lot aboutresumes. So when the Seattle gig turnedout to be a total bust, I shouldn’t havebeen surprised. The internship was a farcry from a good fit, and by the time Iheaded to Iowa for General Synod, I wasready to pack it in and go back to Michi-gan.

Turns out, when you’re ready to give upon your plans, God is often waiting toreacquaint you with His. At GeneralSynod, I “happened” to meet a guy namedRandy. I had no idea what church he wasfrom or even if he was a pastor, elder orjanitor. I jokingly asked him if his churchneeded any interns. He said he knew justwho to ask.

Less than a week later, Randy—the Rev.Dr. Randy Wieland—took the risk of hiringme. I packed up my Saturn again anddrove to Glendale, AZ. I couldn’t believe Iwas doing it. Pastor Randy said I’d workwith youth, and VBS would start in threedays. I thought about that lonesome pairof flip-flops and shorts I had tossed intomy trunk—I’d need them!

By mid-July it was more than clear Ihad made the right decision. I worked pri-marily with children and junior high stu-dents, taking part in many activities, achildren’s outreach event, and a junior

work project. I was also able to preach. However, what I did all summer

isn’t what matters most. I thought Iwanted practical experience withoutengaging people at a deep level,something to look good on aresume. What I got was anexperience that restored me inevery aspect. My time at Christ’s

Community Church in Glendale,AZ did more to prepare me for ministrythan any previous experience. People

like Pastor Randy and mentors Jay VanGelder and Kelly DeYoung invested in me,engaged my heart, and led me to emotion-al, spiritual, mental and vocational trans-formation. I was filled up and sent backto Michigan renewed and refreshed.

All in all, I had needed a change; I need-ed to be changed. I didn’t expect such amid-course correction in plans, butnonetheless, it was just the change I need-ed. Instead of hearing God say, “You arecalled to do x, y and z,” I heard Him say, “Iwant you to be a part of what I’m doing inthe world. Come with me and believe Iknow how to use you.”

As part of Western’s dual track M.Div.-M.S.W. program, I need to find a goodMaster in Social Work program, andwouldn’t you know it? Arizona State Uni-versity’s M.S.W. program is housed direct-ly across from the church…

Students from Western Theological Seminary serve Christ in a variety ofways and in diverse locations each summer. Using their spiritual gifts andseminary training, they step into roles such as pastors, teachers, youth work-ers, hospital chaplains, mission coordinators, worship leaders, and campdirectors, to name a few. Often placed out of their comfort zone, studentsexperience growth they never anticipated…

Jennifer McAlpine

NOVEMBER 2007

Jennifer McAlpineChrist’s Community Church, Glendale, Arizona

Tanner Smith The Journey, Aurora, Colorado

Kenita Harris North Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Last summer I had the privilege of being ministered to by themembers of North Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo, MI. Itsounds strange—a seminary student going to a “teach-ing church” to be ministered to, but in many ways thatis what I found in this old, small Presbyterian churchon the urban corner of North and Burdick.

My first Sunday at what I call “North church” wasunlike anything I had ever experienced. I soon realizedNorth church is a uniquely embracing church, welcom-ing people from all backgrounds—from judges to per-sons living in adult foster homes, black and white, maleand female, the mentally challenged and even the men-tally ill. Everyone felt comfortable worshipping together.

I did not realize how close to God’s presence I was.God ministered to me through many of the members who lived

with mental illness. My initial reaction to worshipping withthem was apprehension. Sitting on the front pew that first

Sunday, I began to second guess choosing North asa teaching church experience. My sense of fear wasoverwhelming. What was I afraid of? I was afraidof the other—people who seemed different than me.Over the next ten weeks I slowly but surely came tolove the members of North church. I entered into acommunity of Christian believers who throughChrist’s love disarmed my fear of the other.

When I delivered my first sermon, I was not surehow to share the Word of God in a context where agood portion of the members were mentally chal-lenged or living with mental illness. I had witnessed

Pastor Linda MacDonald lovingly interact with the congrega-tion during morning worship. Abrupt interruptions were notuncommon. She would graciously hold a conversation with amember right in the middle of a sermon. I could only think,“What am I going to do if the same thing happens while I’mpreaching?” Sure enough, it did. God was right there helpingme embrace a faith experience over which I had no control.Yet, after preaching that first sermon, one of the women in theback of the church yelled, “Amen, sister!” At that moment, Iknew God was smiling down on me.

A few times I joined North’s Togetherness Group—a ministrythat fosters social activities for persons living with mental ill-ness. We attended baseball games and played bingo. We satat the table talking about family and friends. We talked aboutthings that frustrated us, and sometimes we didn’t talk at all.Issues like finding a place to live or disagreeing with familyabout medications greatly impacted their everyday lives. Weall shared the same space and time during the Prayers ofGod’s People. During those times of vulnerability brothersand sisters expressed thanksgiving and requested prayer justas I did. We all needed God in our lives, and that made usthe same. The fear I once had was disarmed by God’s love

2

snack. The services strive to use multimedia and attempt to beas creative as possible. The table decorations usually reflect thetheme of the service. My last week at the church I preached asermon related to the movie, Shrek the Third. The tables weredecorated with Shrek Pez dispensers, Shrek Happy Meal toys,and Shrek snacks. I wore a green 7-11 smock, which was themost Shrek piece of clothing I could find.

The Journey was a highly different experience from what we’reused to, but we quickly came to truly love the people in the com-

Rocky Mountain High

My wife Kristin and I spent thesummer in Aurora, Colorado, aneastern suburb of Denver, in anew church start called TheJourney.

Over the past two years ofseminary I’ve felt that I needed tolearn as much as I could aboutnew church starts. It’s not that Ifelt God was calling me to plantnecessarily, but rather to beinvolved in the RCA’s aggressiveplanting goals in some way. Mysummer experience did not dis-appoint in giving me valuableexperience and insight into theoften messy world of planting achurch.

The church we served para-chuted into the community abouta year and a half ago. The con-gregation is made up of about 50

adults and 30 children, many of whom find The Journey to betheir very first church and Pastor Andy Robinson to be their veryfirst pastor. The church meets in an elementary school gymnasi-um, and people sit around tables. It is quite common for some-one to get up in the middle of the sermon to retrieve coffee and a

A PUBLICATION OF WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARYNOVEMBER 2007

Tanner and Kristin at the Garden of the Gods

Journey kids sing about Jesus.

Pastor Linda MacDonald and the congregation pray for a sister in Christ.

Kenita Harris

shared from heart to heart during prayer. The Bible says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect

love drives out fear…” (1 John 4:18, NIV). After I leftNorth church I realized how influential the membershad become in my life. God’s presence dwells within acommunity of believers who embrace the life experi-ences of all. We embrace God’s kingdom by valuingthe sacredness of God’s presence in each person’s lifestory.

My experience at North Presbyterian taught me thatsometimes a pastor needs to be ministered to. Weneed to sit in the pew and let the lives of those weteach preach to us. The members of North Presbyter-ian preached to me, and for that I am thankful.

Reflections of Ministry

Goodbye... and Hello

by Mary Wisner ‘01

3A PUBLICATION OF WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

munity. They are incredibly honest about what God hasdelivered them from and what they still struggle with.Some people who attend the church don’t believe in Godand, perhaps, don’t ever intend to. They come becausethey are made to feel that they belong and are loved.

The Journey “strives to create a barrier-free environ-ment for people to meet Jesus.” While removing barrierscan be uncomfortable, tricky and messy, it allows peopleto come to love the God who deeply loves them withouthaving to walk into a church building—which often canbe a scary experience. People who at one time feltopposed to church and who often assume the church isopposed to them, quickly come to realize that the peoplewho love Jesus also love them, and more importantly,Jesus loves them, too. Many of these folks would nevercome to understand this often obfuscated truth if therewasn’t an informal place like The Journey to encounter it.

Whether Kristin and I plant a church or not, time willtell, but my summer experience leads me to believe Godis moving in RCA church plants to bring God’s lost chil-dren home, where they belong.

Though my husbandand I are contentand happy here, wefeel we must alwaysbe open to the pos-sibility that Godmay be calling us tonew horizons. There-fore, we occasionallytest the waters, asin this case. Yourad caught my atten-tion as possiblybeing a good fit.

This was the explanation Igave in my cover letterresponding to an ad in theChurch Herald. It was thetruth. The ministry in my lit-tle upstate New York churchwas going well. No one waspushing me out. I loved thepeople there. So, althoughthe ad had sparked my inter-est, it didn’t really matter tome if things didn’t go any fur-ther than sending in theresume.

Unlike my first time candi-dating for a position as Minis-ter of Word and Sacrament, Idid not widely distribute myprofile and did not broadcastthat I was looking. It wasimperative that my congrega-tion did not have to wonder iftheir pastor was staying orgoing. I did not want toundermine their trust that aslong as I was there I would befully invested in them.

From that first inquiry,however, an interview wasgenerated that led eventuallyto a new call. Once it wasfinalized, my concern turnedto how to leave gracefully.When should I leave? Howmuch time did the congrega-tion and I need to makearrangements, bring someclosure, and say “good-bye”properly? On the other endwas a congregation who wasanxious to receive me. Theyhad already begun placing mein their midst. How long

could I keep them waiting? I wanted to acknowledge

and respect all the emotionsthat come with a changesuch as this: the disappoint-ment, grief, anxiety, andexcitement. On my last Sun-day leading worship, we hadcommunion together andused a Liturgy of Farewell.Using that liturgy helped usall to express thanksgivingand forgiveness, to recognizethere were things left undone,and to release each otherfrom promises made at myinstallation.

I have arrived in Michiganand started in a new min-istry. There is so much to getused to… new faces, newministry, new roads, evennew computer formats.

At times I find my thoughtsdrifting back to my “other”congregation, and I shoot aprayer of thanksgiving andintercession heavenward. Iwonder how they are gettingalong. But, I do not wonderabout God’s call. I firmlybelieve in His call upon ourlives no matter what thevocation. Like so many inthe Bible, we are sometimescalled to move, to leavebehind people and ministry inorder to be used by Him inanother setting.

I “tested the waters.” Hepaved the way. I know aslong as I keep my focus onHim I will not sink.

NOVEMBER 2007

__________Rev. Mary Wisner ‘01 is Minister ofChurch Life, First Reformed Church,Holland, MI

A Journey worship service

A few of the members of North Church

•Holland, MI

Western Theological Seminary unveiledits one-of-a-kind residence hall on Friday,September 14 with a ribbon-cutting cere-mony, an open house, a lecture, and apanel discussion by disability experts.

Over 200 people came for the dedica-tion and to tour the facilities where semi-nary students are sharing living spacewith cognitively impaired young adults.

Erik Carter, author of Including Peoplewith Disabilities in Faith Communities: AGuide for Service Providers, Families, andCongregations, spoke to students andcommunity members about reaching outto those with disabilities.

Audience questions were taken at thepanel discussion featuring Nella Uitvlugt,executive director of Friendship MinistriesInt’l, Mark Stephenson, director of disability concerns of the ChristianReformed Church, and Ruth Stegeman, executive director ofDisability Network.

The idea for Friendship House sprangfrom a seed planted in 1989 on Africansoil, when Dr. Jaco Hamman’s homileticsprofessor at Stellenbosch Seminary invit-ed some students to live with his adultautistic son. Years later Jaco and his nextdoor neighbors in Holland started dream-ing of a housing complex where seminari-ans and adults with special needs couldlive together and discover the face of Godin the other.

The seed was watered and nurtured byWestern Seminary and many others in

the community, and the Ralph andCheryl Schregardus Friendship

House has become a beau-tiful reality.

The Friendship House is Dedicated

4

WTS Student Council president Miriam Ippel leads the crowd in a prayer of consecration. WTS board member Nancy Claus and WTS alumRobyn Saylor '85 tour the Friendship House.

The ribbon is officially cut by President Dennis Voskuil,benefactors Ralph and Cheryl Schregardus, Friend res-

ident Amanda Kragt, and WTS resident David Veldt.

Disability experts answer questions.

NOVEMBER 2007

Pho

to b

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rand

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5

Dennis and Betty Voskuil Chair in Old Testament

Since 1994, Rev. Dr. Dennis Voskuil, a former pastorand professor of Religion at Hope College, has guidedWestern Theological Seminary through an unprecedentedperiod of growth and change. During his tenure, newfacilities were added and old ones renovated, old programswere redesigned and new ones developed, but most signifi-cantly, enrollment rose from 139 to 237. Dennis has keptthe seminary centered on “Preparing Christians called byGod to lead the Church in Mission.” Hisfocus and leadership have placedthe seminary in a vibrant, strongposition to serve Christ’s churchfor years to come.

In response to Dr. Voskuil’sleadership and because ofthe support and personalencouragement of his wife,Betty, Western’s Board ofTrustees is honoring thiscouple by establishing theDennis and Betty VoskuilChair in Old Testament.

More than 120 years after thefirst faculty chair was endowed for$30,000, in 2007 the cost for endow-ment has risen to two million, but the purpose remainsthe same: financial stability and the assurance thatgrounded theological education will continue.

If you wish to honor the Voskuils and help establish thefaculty chair, send your donation clearly earmarked forDennis and Betty Voskuil Chair in Old Testament to West-ern Theological Seminary.

Racial Ethnic Partnerships for Ministry

Did you know that 39% of RCA congregations started inthe last three years are racial ethnic in composition, and47% planned for the future are too? There is a need for100 more ethnic church plant leaders in the next fiveyears.

Western Theological Seminary is preparing leadershipfor racial ethnic congregations, and the following initiativeswill strengthen our efforts:

1) Two full-tuition scholarships for Master of Divinitycandidates intending to lead racial-ethnic congrega-tions.

2) Ten scholarships for the Certificate in Urban PastoralMinistry (CUPM) program—this 2-year program is forpeople called to serve the church in urban settings.

3) Two scholars nurtured by racial-ethnic Christiancommunities to teach part-time at Western whilecompleting their Ph.D. studies.

To contribute to any of these vital projects or to requestadditional information, please contact the AdvancementOffice at 800-392-8554 or advancement@westernsem.edu.

WTS BoardAnnounces

New Initiatives

NOVEMBER 2007

Nick Monacelli of WZZM 13 interviews Friend resident Seth VanderBroek. A segment on Friendship House aired on September 13.

Dr. Erik Carter speaks about reaching out and learning from those with disabilities.

September 14, 2007

A PUBLICATION OF WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY6

Faculty Interview

Was there a person in your childhood whoinfluenced you?

There were a lot of people, but FrancesEllwood taught the Bible in our Baptistchurch, and her love for God, for people andfor scripture was contagious. She also hadthe sense that God was going to do some-thing special with my life. She is in her 90snow and still prays for me each day. Rela-tionships like that were formative.

What led you into ministry?In high school I spent a number of

summers overseas doing mission work. Iwas kind of an “activist” when I camehome—excited about evangelism, socialjustice, and discipleship. So when Ientered college, I was a Christian Educa-tion major. Soon this changed to a Philos-ophy major and then a second major inEnglish. I started to experience the mys-tery of the gospel inpowerful new ways as Ilearned to love Godwith my mind.

In my senior year Ispent six months inUganda with a Christ-ian community devel-opment organization inan 80% Muslim area. Iwas the first Westernermany of the people hadseen. We would takebicycle rides down nar-row, dirty, potholedroads and end up at adifferent church eachSunday. They’d throwa white gown on meand I’d preach. Jump-ing in and getting involved was a good wayto become passionate about ministry.

Uganda was also verysobering. The deep problemsof poverty and other strugglescrashed any idealism I hadabout Christian ministry, yet Irealized that the complexitiesare precisely why we needgood Christian thinkers.Where is the gospel and whereis God in the midst of theseconundrums?

Did Uganda change you in other ways?As the only Westerner in the area in a lit-

tle grass thatched hut, I faced notonly culture shock but the end ofthe rope for my Arminian, Baptisttheology. I realized that the gospelis much more powerful than whatI can do in my own decision. Ican’t even be in charge of my spiri-tual life; the Spirit is. Coming intothe Reformed tradition, I couldtruly experience that the fruit ofthe Spirit was not anxiety and self-righteousness, but love, joy, peace,and the things we can’t produce onour own.

How did your work at a homelessshelter shape you?

It was good to be in an environ-ment where academiccredentials didn’t matter. Igrew and learned from thehomeless guests. Working therealso shot through the romanti-cized notions of sin so commonin American Christianity.Everybody at the shelter wasmessed up and they knew it.To deny it is folly. And theyalso knew that sin has no Hol-lywood glamour in real life—it isfundamentally self-destructive.

If you could preach one ser-mon to every congregation inthe RCA, what would it be?

I would preach the gospel.The punch line of many sermonsin America is that you should try

harder to do good things for God. But that’snot the gospel. The gospel is that God has

brought the dead to life, and weare not our own but belong toJesus Christ. We need detoxfrom the idea that we are self-made persons. Our decisionsare not at the center of the uni-verse; God’s love is.

The good news is that yourtrue life is life in Christ, in theSpirit—which is a gift from God.It’s bigger than you. By theSpirit, you are a child of God,and you are united to Christ’sbody, the church. Living intothis identity is an act of grati-tude and worship rather thananxiety and guilt.

What do you want your stu-dents to learn from you?

I want my students to experi-ence a new world. In a sense Iwant to give them a cultural

immersion into the expansive world of theChristian tradition. The texts I use aremeant as surprising and revealing stopsalong a journey—our journey of life in Christ.

I use a lot of historical sources in myteaching, because I am confident the Spiritworks through persons who received Scrip-ture in the past. When students areexposed to the thought of Calvin, Gregoryof Nyssa and classical theologians, they areamazed. They see things they could neversee if they were just reading Scripture fromthe perspective of 2007. I don’t lift up thehistoric Christian tradition as a hoop they

have to jump through, but as a preciousgem, without which they are going to beimpoverished.

How do you see the church impacting ourpost-modern culture?

The decline of the Enlightenment’s influ-ence is an oppor-tunity for thechurch. I’m notsaying the churchshould reinventitself for a newculture or age.That itself is justanother Enlight-enment myth.The church doesnot reinvent itself;the church livesinto its God-givenidentity, which isgiven in God’sWord and empow-ered throughGod’s Spirit.

We need tostart looking at our functional traditionsand rediscover our much deeper, catholicidentity. In a postmodern environment,some are finally starting to overcome ouraddiction to “the new.” There is a revival ofinterest in the way “tradition” can helpopen up biblical truth and change ourpreaching, worship, and celebration of thesacraments. This “tradition” is not a returnto the 1950s but to the surprising andexpansive biblical wisdom of the 250s andof the 1550s (and so on). This is not toreinstate everything that was present then.Rather, it’s a way of overcoming the idolatryof our own age by communing with ourancient brothers and sisters who wereshaped by God’s Word and Spirit.

with Todd Billings

J. Todd Billings Assistant Professor of Reformed Theology

Dr. Billings leads "The Confessions on Tap," an opportunity for students to discuss the theological

confessions of the Reformed Church in a relaxed setting.

b. 1973; Hometown: McPherson, KSB.A. Wheaton College, 1995; M.Div.,

Fuller Theological Seminary, 1999;Th.D. Harvard Divinity School, 2005

Married Rachel Castañeda in 2002 (2000-2005) Staff member, First Church

Shelter (UCC), Cambridge, MA(2005-present) Assistant Professor of

Reformed Theology, WTSOrdained in the RCA, November 11, 2007Author of: Calvin, Participation, and the

Gift: The Activity of Believers in Unionwith Christ

For Todd’s articles and book recommen-dations, visit: www.jtoddbillings.com

LifeNotes

Meeting with Muslim clerics and villagers in Uganda, 1994

NOVEMBER 2007

Todd's head is decoratedwith a traditional claycovering in Ethiopia,

where he taught for ninemonths, 1995-96.

7A PUBLICATION OF WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY NOVEMBER 2007

Everyone has a story. This week I heard two students’stories of being called into ministry. One is called to preachthe gospel, and the other is called to change the lives of kidsin the inner city. I wish each of you could hear these storiesfirst hand.

Unfortunately, I heard two other stories this week as well.One of Western’s brightest first year students enrolled withdebt of over $40,000, and another student declared bank-ruptcy as a result of loans taken out to pay for seminary.

I am blessed to hear many of the first kind of stories, and it will be an honorto have one of these students as my pastor some day. But I hear far too manyof the second kind of story as well, stories from students whose ministries arebeing compromised as a result of debt load.

Every dollar given to Western Seminary is one dollar that does not have to beraised through tuition, and it is a dollar that won’t be borrowed by a student topay for seminary. Yes, it costs money to train our pastors and leaders. Ourgifts, yours and mine, make this preparation possible. Will you join me inrelieving some of the burden already assumed by those entering full-timeChristian ministry? Will you be part of their story?

To learn how you can become a partner with Western Seminary, contact me atken@westernsem.edu or (616) 392-8555, x111.

Ken NeevelVice President of Advancement & Communications

Are you in the story?

Ken Neevel

Faculty NewsFaculty NewsJ. Todd Billings, assistant professor

of theology, was ordained as Ministerof Word and Sacrament in theReformed Church in America onNovember 11 at the seminary’s Mulder Chapel.

Last month he traveled to Cam-bridge, MA to present “The Lord’sSupper and Dissent” for the 20thanniversary celebration of FirstChurch Shelter.

This month Dr. Billings’ first book isout: Calvin, Participation, and the Gift:

The Activity of Believers in Union with Christ, in the ChangingParadigms in Historical and Systematic Theology Series withOxford University Press.

Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling JacoHamman co-led a workshop in October called, “Listening toScripture: What Does Scripture Say about Domestic Violence?”for the Engaging the Heart: A Call to Action conference for faithleaders, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI. DuringOctober/November he led a 4-week series on Families of Graceat Third Reformed Church in Holland: “The family under fire;”“The family and its emotional processes,” “The family: woundingand wonderful” and “Goodenoughfamilies.”

Chris Kaiser, professor of his-torical and systematic theology,announces his new book: Toward aTheology of Scientific Endeavour:The Descent of Science (Ashgate,2007). Beardslee Library featuredhim and his book in a READ posterfor Theological Libraries Month.

Theresa Latini, Assistant Pro-fessor of Pastoral and Congrega-tional Care, will be leaving WTS for an opportunity to work withPh.D. students at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN at the end of2007.

Missiology and Evangelism associate professor Vern Sterkand adjunct professor Carla Sterk accomplished significanttasks in Chiapas last summer. Vern finished the Concordance ofthe Chenalho Tzotzil Bible (the Bible the Sterks helped translate).Carla completed revisions and formatting of the new ChenalhoTzotzil Hymnbook. Both publications should be ready for distrib-ution this month.

Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs Leanne VanDyk represented the USA at the Worldwide Conference on Train-ing Clergy for the 21st Century at Princeton Theological Semi-nary on June 27, 2007.

This fall New Testament professor Robert Van Voorst beganserving a term on the editorial council of the Church Herald. Healso preached at Third and Trinity Reformed Churches in Holland,Fifth Reformed in Grand Rapids, and Tinley Park Reformed in Illi-nois. On Sunday mornings in January he will speak on “Essen-tials of the Reformed Faith” at Fifth Reformed Church in GrandRapids.

In September Wadsworth published the sixth edition of Dr.Van Voorst’s Anthology of World Scriptures, a college-level text-book. The Shanghai Publication Board has approved his intro-ductory textbook, Reading the New Testament Today, for transla-tion into Chinese and for use in Chinese universities establishingdegree programs in Christian studies.

Calls to the Class of 2007

Diversity GrantThe seminary has received a $20,000 grant fromthe Wabash Center to support and encourage ourefforts to increase our racial-ethnic diversity. Thegrant will be used to fund faculty colloquies,community conversations, consultants to evaluateour community, and speakers who can help uslearn to identify multi-cultural competencies forour curriculum. The grant will be administered bythe newly-formed Diversity Committee, under theleadership of Cynthia Holder Rich, associateprofessor of continuing theological education.

Master of Divinity graduates:

Eric Bogerd of Ada, MI—in search processAnna Hunsberger Bogertman of Holland,

MI—Associate Pastor, Second ReformedChurch, Zeeland, MI

Lon Bouma of Kalamazoo, MI—ChurchPlant, Within Reach, Kalamazoo, MI

Brion Brooks of Hudsonville, MI—AssociatePastor, Church of the Servant, GrandRapids, MI

Ben Bruins of Alto, WI and Sarah VanZetten Bruins of Grand Rapids, MI—Associate Pastors, First ReformedChurch, Randolph, WI

Tony De La Rosa of Downey, CA—Pastor,Conklin Reformed Church, Conklin, MI

Dan Eisnor of Huron, OH—Pastor, NewHope Community Reformed Church,Wausau, WI

Travis Else of Cedar Falls, IA—Pastor, TheConnection (RCA), Harrisburg, SD

Jeff and April Fiet of Wheaton, IL—Pastors,Dumont Reformed Church, Dumont IA

Toby Gruppen of Holland, MI—New ChurchStart Pastor, Christ Memorial ReformedChurch, Holland, MI

Jody Habinck of Orange City, IA—Associate Pastor, Bethel ReformedChurch, Sheldon, IA

Kurt Henry of Zeeland, MI—AssociatePastor, Community Reformed Church,Zeeland, MI

Nick Knebl of Holland, MI—U.S. ArmyChaplain, Holland, MI

Mike Kopchick of Grand Rapids, MI—com-puter work

Krista Veenstra Kopchick of Grand Haven,MI—Master of Social Work Program,Grand Valley State University, Allendale,MI

Greg Larsen of Grand Rapids, MI—Congre-gational church youth work

Catherine Martin of Delton, MI—in searchprocess

Darin Namminga of Avon, SD—in searchprocess in Winston-Salem, NC

Billy Norden of Dublin, OH—Assoc. Pastor,Wyckoff Reformed Church, Wyckoff, NJ

Jennifer Petersen of Mattawan, MI—Pastor,Servant’s Community Church, GrandRapids, MI

Phillip Pratt of Flint, MI—in search processAllen Richardson of Allendale, MI—Pastor,

Bethany Reformed Church, Canton, SD

Jeff Roessing of Holland, MI—HouseChurch leadership and Walden GreenMontessori School, Spring Lake, MI

Phil Rose of Grandville, MI—AssociatePastor, Harderwyk Christian ReformedChurch, Holland, MI

John Sanders of Holland, MI—Pastor, OldBrick Reformed Church, Marlboro, NJ

Deb Swanson of Flushing, MI—AssociatePastor, Trinity Reformed Church, GrandRapids, MI

Mark Swart of Holland, MI—Pastor of Disci-pleship, North Branch Reformed Church,Bridgewater, NJ

Greg Town of Pittsford, MI and Becky Townof Kalamazoo, MI—Pastors, TheReformed Church of Prattsville andJewett Presbyterian Church, Prattsville,NY

Tim Truesdell of Hospers, IA—AssociatePastor, Christ Community Church, Daven-port, IA

Master of Religious Education graduate:

Amy Jo Trifan of Kentwood, MI—full-timemom

Master of Theology graduates:

Victor Darvin of Trivandrum, Kerala,India—studying at Ashland TheologicalSeminary, Ashland, OH

Christie Dasaro of Jos, Plateau, Nigeria—Teacher, ECWA Information and Comput-er Science Institute, Jos, Nigeria

Ryosaku Inoue of Kawachinagano, Osaka,Japan—Support staff, RCA JapaneseMinistry in Southwest Michigan

Kevin Jean of Grand Haven, MI—Vice Pres-ident for Development, Geneva College,Beaver Falls, PA

David Kiprono of Eldoret, Kenya—Pastor,Reformed Church of East Africa, Eldoret,Kenya

Gemechisa Mosa of Addis Ababa,Ethiopia—unknown

Abraham Nkhata of Ndola, Zambia—Pas-tor, Kabushi Uniting Presbyterian Church,Ndola, Zambia

Won Taekjin of Seoul, South Korea—study-ing at Calvin Theological Seminary, GrandRapids, MI

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDGRAND HAVEN, MI

Permit No. 10

WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY101 E. 13th St., Holland, Michigan 49423

NewsIn July I. John Hesselink ’53 led a seminarat the Int’l Reformed Theological InstituteConference in Cluj, Romania. In Octoberand November he preached and lectured in several seminaries and universities inJapan and Korea. In both countries he metwith graduates of Western Seminary. Dr.Hesselink continues to mentor graduate students from overseas in Western’s Masterof Theology program.

Curry Pikkaart ’74 announces his newbook, 7 Habits of Highly Healthy People:Antidotes for the 7 Deadly Sins, a powerfulguidebook to spiritual health. Curry is thepastor of Hope Reformed in South Haven, MI.

From East Jerusalem Marlin Vis ’82 reportshe has accepted an appointment to theregional board of World Vision. This willgive him opportunities to travel to placeslike Gaza, where the poorest of the poorlive, and to understand further how the RCAcan serve the “least of them.” Check outMarlin and Sally’s blog:www.marlinsallyvis.typepad.com

On August 22, Matt and Emily Ratering-Youngberg ’02 welcomed into the worldWilhelmina Jean by homebirth. She joins herbrother, Beck Holland. Emily is pastor ofFirst Reformed Church in Little Falls, NJ.

Michael DeJonge ’03 is studying philoso-phy and religion in Berlin, Germany afterbeing awarded a U.S. Student FulbrightAward and an award from the Berlin Pro-gram for Advanced German Studies. He andhis wife hope to stay there through the endof the school year 2009.

Stacey Midge ’03 has been named con-tributing editor of the new e-zine, Fidelia’sSisters, an outgrowth of the Young ClergyWomen Project at www.youngclergy-women.org. The Rev. Midge’s column willfocus on the experiences and issues facingsingle young clergywomen.

This fall Miguel Cruz ’04 began workingtoward his Ph.D. at Fuller Theological Semi-nary’s School of Theology. For his disserta-tion, Miguel will be looking at the spiritualityof the Gospel of Luke. In other news, lastDecember Miguel and his wife Brien wereblessed with their first child, Muireann Lorraine.

Since the beginning of 2007 Barna Kali ’04Th.M. has been serving the Lord in a con-gregation called Ludastelep with 570 mem-bers in Transylvania, Romania.

on to Glory...Nicholas J. Burggraaff ‘34b. Atwater, MI 9/30/1910d. Bloomington, MN 6/7/07Hope College ‘31; WTS ‘34 Reformed Churches served:(1934-50) First, Boonton, NJDismissed to Presbyterian Church, 1950(1950-71) Bethel Presbyterian, E. Orange, NJOther service to the church:Moderator and stated clerk of presbyteriesVisitation minister, Interim pastor

Berend Vander Woude ‘44b. Portage, MI 9/16/19d. Burnsville, MN 6/12/07Hope College ’41; WTS ‘44Reformed Churches served:(1944-48) Normandale, Pekin, IL(1948-55) Alexander, IA(1955-66) Greenleafton, Preston, MN(1966-74) Our Saviour’s Brooklyn Park,Minneapolis, MN

(1974-78) Woodway Comm., Edmonds, WA(1980-89) Lao Comm., Eagan, MN

Samuel Williams ‘51b. Brewton, AL 1922d. Brewton, AL 8/31/07Central College ’48; WTS ‘51Reformed Churches served:(1960-68) Pembroke, St. Anne, IL(1971-90) Community, Oakland, CAOther service to the church:(1951-60) Chaplain, Southern Normal

School(1968-71) Asst Chaplain, Dir. of Upward

Bound, Hope College

Kenneth Leestma ‘54b. Holland, MI 8/5/26d. Seal Beach, CA 9/19/07Hope College ‘52; WTS ‘54 Reformed Churches served:(1954-60) Lincoln Ave., Pomona, CA(1960-66) Bethel, Sheldon, IA(1966-71) Bayshore Gardens, Bradenton, FL(1971-76) Eldorado Park Comm., L. Beach, CA(1976-91) New Life Comm., Artesia, CA(1992, interim) Christ Comm., Carmichael, CA(1993, interim) Glendale, AZ(1993-99) Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove,

CAOther service to the church:(1985) President of General Synod(1991, interim) Bahrain(1991-92) Pastor to Pastors

Rudolph Kuyten ‘59b. Haarlem, Netherlands 5/4/32d. Cheboygan, MI 7/10/07Calvin College ’57; WTS ‘59 (1960-95) Missionary to Japan

J. Samuel Ponniah ’64 (Th.M.)b. 1921; d. 9/18/07Bishop of the Diocese of Vellore,Church of South India

Paul Vande Hoef ‘65b. Boyden, IA 11/25/29d. Grand Rapids, MI 7/5/07Hope College ‘62; WTS ‘65 Reformed Churches served:(1965-69) Aberdeen, Grand Rapids, MI(1969-79) Rose Park, Holland, MI(1979-81) Heritage, Hudsonville, MIOther service to the church:(1976-77) President, Synod of MI

Scott Petersen ‘91b. Richmond, NY 3/2/63d. Hackensack, NJ 8/4/07Hope College ’86; WTS ‘91 Reformed Churches served:(1991-94) Lawyersville and Sharon, NY(1994-2000) Griggstown, Princeton, NJ(2000-07) Fairfield, NJ

Necrologist: Mike VanDoornik ‘60

November 2007, Vol. 11, No. 1 Editor: Carla Plumert Weese Art Direction: RCA Production ServicesEditorial Council: Dr. Dennis Voskuil, Dr. George Brown, Dr. Matt Floding, Ken NeevelThe Commons is published three times a year for alumni/ae and friends of Western Theological Seminary by the Office ofAdvancement and Communications, Ken Neevel, director, 101 E. 13th Street, Holland, Michigan 49423. 1-800-392-8554 or 616-392-8555; fax 616-392-7717. Reproduction in whole or in part by permission only.

Alumline

Special Gifts to Western Theological Seminary

In Memory of:Marian ButeynBlair & Margaret BoggsHarold & Enid EnglundRich & Perry KurtzGene & Jean PochelCarl & Lucille Schroeder

Dr. James I. CookJim & Wandalou BlaineConnie BoersmaDon & Erma BrugginkDale & Mary FrisHope-Geneva BookstoreJohn & Marciel KettFritzi M. SennettJohn & Marian SmithLaura VerPlankJean Weener

Lois England JellemaBill Jellema

Henry MouwEmily Mouw

Lillian TazelaarHelen Frost

The Rev. Paul VandeHoefMr. & Mrs. Sylvan BykerJohn & Thelma CalsbeekCasnovia Reformed ChurchGerald & Louise GebraadBob & Judy HageyAnn HoedemanMr. & Mrs. Derek KatsGerald & Judith KooistraJoy LangstraatJames & Marianne SchlatterNorm & Terry SchuilingMarilyn SchultzPeter & Ruth TerpstraMr. & Mrs. Henry VanAalsburg

Brian & Sandy VandeHoefDennis & Cynthia VandeHoefMr. & Mrs. Duane VandeHoefPeter & Eileen VandenBerg

Helen VandenBergJohn & Marian SmithJean Weener

Gordon & Bertha VanWykPaige Witt Cortes

Jason M. VerbruggeJim & Marcia Verbrugge

In Honor of:Dr. Timothy BrownDr. Nicholas Abid

Rob SterkenDr. & Mrs. Bradley Willoughby

Gifts made between May 19 – November 6, 2007

A New Season for Learning

Journey with the ArtsFive More Monthly Events in This Series!

Global Forums on Critical World Issues

Three Future Gatherings at WTS

Theological and Biblical EngagementTwo Eagerly Anticipated Learning

Opportunities

Developing Leadership for the FutureTwo Commitments with The RCA

Committed to the value of life-longlearning for the whole people of God

journey.westernsem.edu616-392-8555, x128

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