If your congregation is located in the City of Holland and you are interested in learning about joining others to build belonging in your church’s context, please consider attending this important event on July 27.
HDC Bringing Brothers & Sisters Homes Together
In recent years, it became increasingly clear to the Holland Deacons’ Conference (HDC) leadership that having all of the Brothers & Sisters Homes close together would provide critical benefits for the 30 men and women for whom these houses are home. Because of that, a little over two years ago, the HDC Executive Board decided to begin taking steps to do just that.
The first step in this process would be to build a new house for Brothers Home 2. Although there are presently two homes not located close to three of the other homes, BH2 was located furthest from the other Brothers & Sisters Homes. The property for this home, located directly across the street from two of the existing homes, was recently purchased from the City of Holland. Additionally, the size and dimensions of the property are more than adequate for two homes. Thus, when HDC is ready to build another home, there will be no need to purchase additional land.
To meet this vision and raise the funds necessary to build the new BH2, the leadership of HDC began planning and preparing to implement a $600,000 capital campaign in 2022. The campaign, which is being co-chaired by Jack Kooyman, HDC’s Executive Director, and James Schippers, co-founder of Lighthouse Group, officially began earlier this year and was christened, Growing Together.
With the help of a matching gift challenge from an anonymous donor, all contributions to Growing Together will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $300,000. Gifts will stop being matched either when $300,000 in pledges and contributions has been received or by September 30 of this year, whichever comes first.
To see the Growing Together brochure and/or watch a brief video about the campaign—featuring residents, staff, and parents— visit the Brothers & Sisters Homes website at brothersandsistershomes.org/growing-together.
Welcoming and Supporting New Neighbors
If you want to better understand how you can support refugees and others who are new to our country, we encourage you to attend an upcoming immigration seminar at Providence Christian Reformed Church on the evening of March 23. Movement West Michigan is facilitating this seminar in partnership with Lighthouse Immigration Advocates. Sarah Yore-Van Oosterhout, Esq. will guide participants through an interactive presentation about the logistics, complexities, and joys of immigration.
As you may know, refugees, paroles, and asylum seekers all have very different journeys towards stability into our community! We want to ensure the faith community is well-equipped with helpful legal information to welcome our new neighbors into the Holland/Zeeland area.
Please mark your calendars for March 23rd from 6-8 pm at Providence Christian Reformed Church! You can RSVP here any time before March 20th. Feel free to spread the word to your own friends and church networks with the link and/or flyer below! We'd love to see as many as possible come to learn about the immigrant journey and possible ways to support our new neighbors.
Decision to Include More Churches . . . One Year Later
At its Annual Meeting last November, HDC’s full board, i.e., HDC Officers and Representatives from CRC member congregations, unanimously approved revisions to the bylaws opening congregational and diaconal participation to beyond Christian Reformed congregations.*
According to HDC Executive Director, Jack Kooyman, “For a number of years we have supported and encouraged our member congregations to develop partnerships with other churches in their work with and in their shared communities. Opening HDC involvement to beyond CRC congregations was and is an important and practical way for us to practice and model this as an organization.” Kooyman also noted, “It is especially encouraging that this decision occurred during a time when there was and continues to be so much division in many churches and denominations. I remain proud of and grateful to HDC’s leadership for their decision.”
Presently, three of six HDC Officers attend other than CRC congregations. HDC will continue implementing outreach strategies that initially reach out to non-CRC churches with whom they already have some type of relationship.
It is the hope of HDC’s leadership that inviting and including participation from the broader Christian community will help to more effectively advance HDC’s mission to “encourage, support, and equip deacons, church members, and partners to collaborate in Christ-like acts of mercy, justice, and compassion that transform lives and communities, reflecting and advancing God’s reign.”
*ARTICLE IV
CONFERENCE MEMBERSHIP
All past and present deacons from Classis Holland congregations of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), local Reformed Church in America congregations, and churches belonging to denominations affiliated with the World Communion of Reformed Churches, both established and emerging, will be eligible and encouraged to participate in the meetings and activities of the Conference. Members of other denominations or congregations will be considered upon request.
Updated HDC + Deacon Orientation →
Clicking on this link will bring you to the slide presentation. For a pdf version of this presentation click here.
HDC recently updated—more like overhauled—its self-guided orientation which is free and online for anyone. This update was largely done in response to the decision by the HDC Board to include more congregations and denominations belonging to the broader “Reformed” community of churches. (See preceding article, Decision to Include More Churches . . .)
HDC’s self-guided orientation is an overview of HDC along with an orientation for those called to serve as deacons or in ministry of a diaconal nature within their congregation and community to which God has called and placed them. So, whether you are a deacon, a pastor, a member of a mission or outreach team, or belong to a church that is considering a partnership with the Holland Deacons’ Conference (HDC), this orientation is for you.
Please check it out and share it with anyone who might benefit from it at your church. It is not our intent or desire to keep this information confined to any single group within the church. The work and calling of deacons is everyone’s responsibility as members of Christ’s Body, the Church. (Ephesians 4:11-12)