Barb and I are of course happy with the recent restoration and reinstallation of the rooster on the church steeple and for its reminder of the Biblical story of Peter’s denial and subsequent grace.
But we can’t stop thinking about our visit last April to the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk in Opperdoes, North Holland, The Netherlands. We were there to see the home where my maternal grandfather was born and luckily happened to meet the town’s unofficial historian, an old-timer who showed us around for about two hours. He pointed out the traditional rooster high on the bell tower at the front of the church, but of more interest was the hen on the roof near the back of the church. He could not tell us the history of why they chose the hen but did tell us that it is very rare throughout Europe.
Our quick Internet research could not find any theological or architectural rationale for the hen, so here is our speculation: perhaps the “mother hen,” who gathers her chicks underneath her wings, is symbolic of the nurturing role of the church.
When our Dutch friends translated some information on the hen for us, they said the hen was located on the “nave” or the “schip” of the church. That reminded me of a course I took 50 years ago at Calvin College on church architecture. On field trips, professor Boeve often pointed out large wooden beams holding up the roof over the nave, which he said symbolized the congregation all gathered together in the hold of a ship.
When we suggested to our pastors that Lois Massen and Paul Elzinga should start looking for a place on the roof for the Hope Church hen, our pretty punny pastor (yes, that one!) remarked:
“Eggsellent idea! – but let’s not scramble too quickly to do this. It’s not that I’m chicken, just that we should peck away at some other projects first.”
What kind of a yoke is that?
~Dan Joldersma, Hope Church member