By Jason VanderLugt I work as a pediatrician at Holland Hospital. One of my responsibilities is assessing and treating newborns when there is a problem. The parents will often ask me “Is he going to be okay?”  Thankfully, most of the time I’m able to tell them yes, he will be fine. But here’s the […]

David Blauw It seems to me that the human political process, whether national, regional or local, is mostly about maximizing the chances of meeting our particular “wants.” It often involves protecting oneself. It involves getting my share; protecting my own; assuring my way of life. Strength begets strength, with the strong more often getting their […]

By Carol Bechtel – originally published on her blog at https://carolmbechtel.com/2020/05/02/roman-roads-how-long-o-lord/ Read: Psalm 13  How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? (Psalm 13:1-2a, NRSV). “How long?” Some […]

Peter Boogaart, Creation Care Coordinator  Judi likes to say, “There’s a song for every situation.” It’s a stream-of-consciousness kind of thing. The kids used to roll their eyes or, worse yet, slink away in embarrassment if this happened in a public place. “Oh Mom!” Time to shop for groceries— “Yes we have no bananas….”  The […]

Ginger Clark, Parish Nurse, R.N. A few months ago, pre COVID-19, I committed to writing this article about the support groups at Hope Church. Support groups provide a chance to be together, sharing the same purpose and concerns, encouraging each other and understanding each other along the way. There are many benefits: you are not […]

If you’re curious what other area congregations have been doing during this period of social distancing and how they are holding worship online, the Holland American Guild of Organists (AGO) has been collecting descriptions from area organists. Visit the website of the local AGO to see descriptions from Third Reformed, Second Reformed (Zeeland), Grace Episcopal, […]

By Cindi Veldheer DeYoung, Chaplain, Spectrum Health Medical Center, Grand Rapids, MI In case you think Easter is in the rearview mirror, I want to tell you about some resurrection stories that continue to stir up hope and faith. An ICU nurse told me our phone call needed to be cut short because the staff […]

Hope Church life changed abruptly on Friday, March 13. That day, a special meeting of Consistory was called. Consistory decided due to the COVID crisis to suspend any further in-person meetings at Hope Church. Life changed abruptly at that time in many ways literally all over the world. The particular impact on our life as […]