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ClarionTHE CANADIAN REFORMED MAGAZINE

VOLUME 45, NO.13 JUNE 28, 1996

The House of Commons and the Church of God

290 CLARION, JUNE 28, 1996

When children make maps in social studies classes,they usually regard the boundary lines of countries andprovinces as permanent. Just as the lines of rivers and moun-tain ranges and seas are fixed, so also the lines dividing onepeople and one nation from another are seen as stable andenduring. The late 20th century shows this to be indeed anaive misunderstanding. Boundaries are changing rapidly.The former USSR has divided into at least 14 nations. Yu-goslavia has disintegrated and nobody knows for sure whatwill arise from the fires of war. Hong Kong is about to re-turn to the Chinese after a long lease to the British expires.China also is looking with nationalistic aspirations uponTaiwan. East Germany has united with West Germany.Struggles continue in Northern Ireland to break that land andpeople out of the United Kingdom.

And then, there is Canada with its Quebec problem.We have a secession-minded party in control of Quebec’sgovernment. We have a large group of federal members ofParliament from Quebec who are also committed to Quebecsovereignty. The recipe for massive change is being dailymixed. Canada as we know it is in serious jeopardy, after alifespan of only 130 years. Apart from the Quebec ques-tion, we also have massive sections of land being ceded toaboriginal control. For example, in the North, we haveseen the creation of essentially a new province in whichfewer than 18, 000 aboriginals will gain a portion of landalmost half the size of British Columbia (the Nunavut deal).

The thoughts of church members differ widely on thequestion of Canada’s future. Some are of the mind that itwould be better for Quebec to separate as soon as possibleso that the rest of the nation can get on with its life. Accord-ing to them, the national agenda has far too long beendominated by Quebec concerns and influence. Otherchurch members are convinced that Canada must remainunified, even if force will be required to maintain that uni-ty. Then, too, we also hear voices of separation in parts ofthe country other than Quebec and even opinions for amal-gamation of one or more provinces with the U.S.A.

In such an unsettled political environment and with suchdiversity of opinion, how must the church pray? May aminister pray in public worship for the unity of Canada?How can he do so when some members of the congrega-tion may be well convinced that the dissolution of Canadaas we know it is not only inevitable but even desirable?

Such questions force us to think about the relationshipbetween the church and the nation, between Christians andthe political organization of society. How do we see our-selves as church in the midst of the nation? What is the placeof a nation in the light of God’s everlasting Kingdom?

Judgment of God upon the nationsIn the first place, it should not surprise a Christian that

nations come and go and that boundaries change. Change is

not new. Think of how the Israelites displaced theCaananites only to be themselves exiled by the Assyriansand Babylonians. Recall, too, how the power of Assyriawas overcome by Babylon which then fell to Persia only tobe succeeded by Greece and Rome. In more recent eras,we can call to mind the predominance of the British Empireas well as the might of other colonizing nations such asPortugal or the Netherlands. Today, their territory is lostand their power diminished. For God not only raises up thenations to do his bidding but also brings them down again.The nations are in his hand as a drop in the bucket.

The reality is that nations may experience God’s judg-ment in their history. When nations drift from godliness,abandoning a way of life shaped by the Word of God, theycome under wrath. Large sections of the Old Testamentprophetic writings are devoted to oracles against the na-tions of that time (see, for example, Isaiah 13-23; Jeremiah46-51; Ezek. 25-32). In a similar vein, we may also call tomind the reluctant journey of Jonah to Niniveh, the capitalcity of the Assyrian empire, to proclaim God’s sovereigntyover its citizens.

In such portions of Holy Scripture, we see that AlmightyGod never relinquishes His claim and jurisdiction over thenations. Whether they know it or not, they are answerableto Him for the way they live as a people before Him. After all,He is King of all the earth, not just of Israel. Interspersedthroughout God’s oracles of judgment upon Gentile nationsare to be found rich messages forecasting the ingathering ofthe Gentiles. In other words, the judgment upon the nationsonly serves the larger purpose of extending God’s eternal rulein the hearts of men. The fall of nations and the rise of nationsmust serve God’s church-gathering work.

Is Canada as a nation under judgment? It can only amazeus that the Lord’s wrath has not broken out with fiery inten-sity. We live in a nation that largely disregards the livingGod. It is a nation that has banished the Name of the Lordfrom public life and only barely tolerates at this time the al-ready all-too-quiet witness of a believing Church. TheChurch’s critique of society has largely focused upon issuesof public morality such as a declining marriage ethic, grow-ing aggressiveness of the homosexual movement, abortionand similar horrors. Of equal concern, however, are themore refined and socially-acceptable iniquities like greed,lust and selfishness. These sins affect the Church in verypowerful ways. It may even be asked whether Canada as anation has declined precisely because a spirit of world-con-formity has entered the church. If the church fails to be saltby seeking God’s Kingdom and its righteousness, whyshould anyone be surprised to see the world rotting? Afterall, there is no other salt! Also for this reason, judgment be-gins with the household of God. But it does not end withthe household of God. It extends to the nations, too.

EDITORIAL

By R. Schouten

Should a Minister Pray in Public Worshipfor the Unity of Canada?

Idolatry of governmentAs church members who want to

keep the first commandment, we alsoneed to reflect upon our understandingof the role of government. It wouldseem that despite a modest turn to theright, Canada is still in many ways ananny-state. Government is regarded bymost citizens as a provider of all sortsof good things. Job security, welfarepayments, help for childcare, guidancefor business, funding for students, per-mission to broadcast, grants for research– all this must come from the omnipo-tent and everywhere present hand ofgovernment. Instead of seeing God asthe overflowing fountain of all good,many so regard the state. Through thestrong arm of the state, we are all en-abled to reach our potential! Blessingscome from Victoria, Edmonton, Win-nipeg, Toronto or Ottawa as govern-ments pursue their vision of what makesfor the good life. It would seem thatmany people will experience great dis-appointment as also this idol comescrashing down around their feet underthe judgment of God. The truth is thatgovernment cannot guarantee welfarenor did God assign that role to them. Allthose who trust this idol will one daystand empty-handed as it turns out to bebankrupt and unable to help. Chris-tians need to repent of their trust ingovernment and turn in humble, dailydependence to God who alone can pro-vide us with all things needful for bodyand soul. Our security is in Him alone,for He hears the cry of those who callupon Him and His arm is not short-ened to help them.

Multicultural communion?Canada has long been proud of its

multicultural approach to civic life.The goal is integration of varied culturesand ethnic groups into a rich nationallife characterized by mutual respect andunity, while retaining diversity. Many ofus have been conditioned to accept therhetoric of multiculturalism withoutquestion. It goes without saying thatbelievers should demonstrate love andrespect for all and seek to do good toall men and women. It is also true thatthe rich diversity of human culture issomething to be celebrated not de-plored. Nonetheless, we should bewilling to ask some questions of themulticultural philosophy.

In many ways, multicultural philos-ophy sounds like a secular version ofthe communion of the saints in theChurch of God. As Christians who con-fess the catholicity of the Church, webelieve that all ethnic groups, all lan-guages, all cultures are made one inChrist. In Christ, there is neither Jew norGreek, slave nor free, male nor female,

for all are one in Christ (Gal. 3:28). Ac-cording to Paul in Eph. 2:11-16, it is inChrist that previously hostile people arereconciled to one another. In the bodyof Christ, people find each other and areunited as brothers and sisters under Godtheir Father. Unity of mankind is ulti-mately possible only through the bloodof the Mediator who came and preachedpeace to those who were far away andpeace to those who were near.

In other words, the answer to racialtension, to ethnic rivalry and interna-tional warfare is the Church of JesusChrist. In the Church and there only,the curse of Babel is reversed and theunity of mankind becomes a living real-ity in the one Spirit Therefore, apart froma strong church with a living witness toChrist, fragmentation of the national fab-ric in a multi-cultural and multi-racialcountry such as Canada is inevitable, es-pecially in the face of a decline of strongnational government. Where there is nounifying faith and no strong nationalleadership, people will tend to dividealong racial lines. We may concludethat multiculturalism is an idol in dangerof imminent collapse.

Our prayersHow do we pray for a country

which wants to build its national houseon a rotten foundation? Should we prayfor unity pure and simple? It would

seem better to pray for justice andpeace, for the restraining of the ungod-ly, so that as church members we maylive quiet lives in all godliness and ho-liness (1 Tim. 2:1-2) and so that the min-istry of the Gospel of peace and unityin Christ may progress. We should praythat the Church would be faithful inCanada as salt and light, thus showingthe way to God’s lasting city.

As believers we know that all polit-ical organizations have lifespans deter-mined by God’s blessing or judgment.Besides, we have no long-term com-mitments to any national government.True enough, we want to be good citi-zens. We want to do good to all menand show respect for authority. How-ever, our aspirations are not tied to thewell-being of Canada as such. For herewe have no lasting city (Heb. 11:10, 14,16, 13:14). In a sense we are strangersto the proceedings of national life. Wehave our citizenship in God’s Kingdom(Phil. 3:20, 21). Our loyalties lie in thisKingdom and for it we work and pray.The only permanent nation, after all, isGod’s holy nation, His chosen race,His royal priesthood (I Pet. 2:9, 10).which He has called and saved to livewith Him in eternal blessedness in anew creation. May our life in Canadatoday serve the life to come in God’severlasting Kingdom.

CLARION, JUNE 28, 1996 291

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IN THIS ISSUE

Editorial – Should a Minister Pray in Public Worship for the Unity of Canada? — R. Schouten………290

Meditation – Be Wise with Wisdom! — H.J.J. Feenstra …………………292

The House of Commons and the Church of God — G.Ph. van Popta ………………293

Ray of Sunshine — Mrs. R. Ravensbergen ………296

The [email protected]— James Dykstra …………………297

When One Member Suffers — F.G. Oosterhoff ………………299

The Value of Fasting — Wes Bredenhof ………………300

CRWRF ……………………………301

Annual Women’s League Day of the Manitoba Canadian Reformed Churches………………303

Our Little Magazine — Aunt Betty ……………………304

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Originally published asWees wijs met de wijsheid,Woord en Wereld # 11Uitgeverij Woord en Wereld,Ermelo 1989Translated by T.M.P. VanderVen

The Lord comes first (Proverbs 3:1-2)

A fairy tale often ends with the state-ment that they lived happily long everafter. The wisdom teacher, on the otherhand, starts with the happiness of a longlife. Listen:

My son, do not forget my teaching,but let your heart keep mycommandments;for length of days and years of lifeand abundant welfare will theygive you.

These verses repeat the promise whichMoses had passed on to all the peopleof Israel in the Name of the LORD, butnow these promises have a personal ad-dress. Recognize in all of this the natureof the proverbs; but do not, therefore,belittle the deep truth contained in thisadmonition and promise. If we ac-knowledge the LORD to be the FirstOne in our life; if we reckon with Him

in all aspects of our life, then we willexperience how His peace will pene-trate everything and will make our lifefull and rich in all its dimensions.

Peace – shalom. These words meanmuch more than the absence of war.The Bible even speaks of the shalom ofwar, as when David asked Uriah for areport about the success of the militarycampaign. Shalom – peace, that meanswelfare and prosperity, order and har-mony. Peace is not merely a feeling; itis a particular state of affairs. Wisdomprepares the way towards such a stateof shalom.

From Scripture Proverbs 3:1-2Deuteronomy 6:1-3

2 Samuel 11:7Luke 2:14

Loyalty and faithfulness (Proverbs 3:3-4)

Loyalty and faithfulness are essen-tial ingredients of wisdom. The KingJames Version calls these qualities mer-cy and truth – typical covenant words.The words loyalty and mercy indicatean attitude of solidarity in outlook andinclination, as well as in deeds. Withthis attitude we approach others withwhom we live in close relation in ourfamily, marriage, the church, our work.

These relationships are not governed byour own subjective self as voluntarymembers of a particular group. Mercyand loyalty must govern each relation-ship in which we live and work, ex-pressing true Christian solidarity in anattitude of openness to the other. Wewill help and defend the other whennecessary; we will assist and supporteach other.

All of this does not come about in asudden emotional outburst, but as anexpression of continual faithfulness.Faithfulness should be there all the time,without interruption – loyalty and faith-fulness. Faithfulness refers to truthful-ness, reliability, and enduring resolve.

To whom should this loyalty andfaithfulness which is demanded from usbe directed? The answer given by theBible is perfectly clear. This doublecommand of faithfulness points us inthe very first place to the LORD andthen to our neighbour. In this way, theLord Jesus summarized the whole lawaccording to its essence and meaning.

We must do our best to gain a goodreputation and to obtain the favour ofpeople and of God. Remember whatwas said about Jesus as a young boy,And Jesus increased in wisdom and instature, and in favour with God and

What’s inside?“Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law . . .” These

are the opening words of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Noble words. Good words. But does the recog-nition that God is supreme really function in the country – in the Parliament? The recent passage of Bill C-33 suggests No.We have included three articles which deal with how we ought to interact with the civil government. Mr. James Dykstratells us about how the RefNet was recently used to send thousands of e-mail messages to parliamentarians. Rev. John VanPopta seeks to answer whether consistories of churches have an obligation to address legislators on ethical matters. An-other issue which has been bothering Canada of late is the threat of Quebec’s secession. The editorial, by Rev. RobSchouten, addresses whether ministers ought to pray in public worship for the unity of Canada.

The Lord Jesus warned His people that in the world they would face persecution. Dr. F.G. Oosterhoff writes aboutpersecuted children of God in Africa.

You will also find a report on a church building project in the Dominican Republic, and a little article on fasting.We wish you a pleasant Canada Day on July 1. And to our American readers: Happy Independence Day (July 4)!

GvP

MEDITATION

By H.J.J. Feenstra

BE WISE WITH WISDOM!

Priorities, loyalty and faithfulness

man. It can be difficult at times to gainsuch favour and such a reputation withGod and man. Even fellow churchmembers may hinder you in your ef-forts. Catechetical students who want todo their best are often laughed at byothers. Gossip about families can behurtful. Instead, we should encourageeach other to increase in stature and infavour with God and man, and in thatorder – God and man.

There is much apostate theologywhich turns everything upside down

and disrupts life. Liberal theologianssuggest that the second great com-mandment should become the first, andthe first should become the second:When you love your neighbour (i.e.,allow him to live his own life), thenyou demonstrate that you love God.However, this view is without goal andnorms for the love for one’s neighbour.Only when we first of all love God andaccept all that He says, only then do weknow how to treat our neighbour in

love – also when necessary by oppos-ing him.

Loyalty and faithfulness – make surethat these two are kept together! Hangthem as a necklace over your heart;wear them as a wedding ring which youwill never take off your finger.

From Scripture Proverbs 3:3-4Matthew 22:37-40Song of Songs 8:6

Luke 2:52


Recently the Canadian House ofCommons passed Bill C-33 whichamended the Canadian Charter ofRights and Freedoms to include aclause which forbids discrimination onthe basis of “sexual orientation.” ThePrime Minister earlier had suggestedthat this would not happen becausethe term “sexual orientation” was too illdefined. Yet, because of enormouspressure from the homosexual lobby inCanada the Minister of Justice intro-duced a bill amending the Charter andthe Liberal majority in the Housemoved it through the mandatory threereadings in less than two weeks. At thetime this is being written the bill is be-fore the Canadian Senate for approvaland then when passed it will go to theGovernor General for Royal assent andso will become the law of the land.

As Reformed Confessors we believethis to be an abomination before theLord God. There is an increasing ten-dency to treat or regard homosexuals asa special class of human beings enti-tled to special consideration withrespect to their “orientation” or “incli-nation.” This has happened over thepast decades. As our society has fallenaway from the truth of God’s Word thenorms and standards of Scripture areheard less and less in daily life.

What role if any does the churchhave to play in all this? In the pastdecades among the Canadian Re-formed churches in Canada variouspolitical action groups have formed(ARPA). The Christian Heritage Partyhas been formed. Many church mem-bers have addressed governments andpolitical parties and election candidatesabout issues and presented policy ideasbased on Scriptural principles. But doesthe church have a role as church?Should the church as consistory addressgovernments on issues that affect themoral fabric of the nation or must it besilent and leave this work to the mem-bers of the church?

SCRIPTURECalvin on Government

In Paul’s first letter to Timothy heurges Timothy and us to pray for allmen, for kings and all who are in highpositions. When Calvin writes aboutthe magistrates in the Institutes of theChristian Religion he says that the mag-istrates should be faithful as God’sdeputies.1 The civil government isplaced in authority by God and themagistrates are to exercise their rule toHis honour. The condition of the churchis entrusted to the magistrate’s protec-tion and care.2 Calvin points us to Psalm

2:2 where David urges all kings andrulers to kiss the Son of God. They are to“submit to Christ the power with whichthey have been invested, that He alonemay tower over all.”3 Calvin argues thatthe magistrates are the “protectors andvindicators of public innocence, mod-esty, decency and tranquillity. . . .”4

This teaching of John Calvin is reflectedin the Belgic Confession, Article 36. TheReformer also wrote that though a na-tion was free to make such laws as itsaw fit, he denied that “those barbarousand savage laws such as gave honorto thieves, permitted promiscuous in-tercourse, and others more filthy andmore absurd, are to be regarded aslaws. For they are abhorrent not onlyto all justice, but also to humanity andgentleness.”5 Calvin, however, grantedthe state freedom to legislate punish-ments according to need. There mightbe times when certain vices need thespecial attention of the magistrateslest everything go to ruin.6

Sermon on the MountThe Lord Jesus teaches His disci-

ples that they were to be the salt of theearth, a light on a lamp-stand, and a cityon a hill top. Salt is a preservative thatwhen liberally applied will prevent de-cay in meat and other foods. In and ofitself it has little value. You cannot eat

The House of Commons and the Church of God

By G.Ph. van Popta

only salt. A lit lamp has no value whenhid. Light is not hoarded and kept in abushel or trapped under a bed. Saltand light give benefit only when ap-plied to their surroundings.7 The LordJesus also taught that a city on a hilltopcannot be hidden. The church mustnot think that it exists for and of itself, asif it has intrinsic importance.8 It is to bepreserving salt. It is to be a bright light.It is to be a visible city. Only one thingis important. The spreading of the lightof God and reflecting the glory of HisSon. What counts is the glory of God.

The Ten CommandmentsThe law of God must have an im-

pact on the world. J. Douma points outthat since the time of the Reformation athree fold distinction has been made inthe function of the Law.9 The first con-cerns the meaning of the law for publicand political life. The second uncoversthe guilt of sin. The third use is as arule of thankfulness. The third use is asa norm, the second as a mirror, the firstas a safeguard. Calvin says that this firstuse of the law restrains men from sin.

This is especially true for those whoare not yet believers. He points us toPaul who writes in 1 Tim. 1:9-10 that“the law is not laid down for the just butfor the lawless and disobedient, for theungodly and sinners, for the unholy andprofane, for murderers of fathers andmurderers of mothers, for manslayers,immoral persons, sodomites, kidnap-pers, liars, perjurers. . . .(RSV).” Thisshows that “the law is like a halter tocheck the raging and otherwise limit-lessly ranging lusts of the flesh.”10


CHURCH ORDERArticle 28

The church order of Dort as revisedand adopted in the Canadian and Amer-ican Reformed churches addresses thesematters. Article 28 says that the office-bearers are to encourage and teach thecongregation that they are to show obe-dience, love and respect to the civil au-thorities. They are also to endeavour,also by communication, to secure andretain the favour of the authorities to-ward the church so that the church ofChrist may lead a quiet and peaceablelife, godly and respectable in every way.We see here then that it is the duty of theoffice-bearers to communicate with thecivil authorities. W.W.J. Van Oene sug-gests that beyond church, family andpersonal prayers letters could be sent tonewly elected officials assuring themthat prayers and intercessions will beraised to God for them.11 In the pastDutch synods, for example, have sentcommunications to their monarch toassure the love and the respect of thechurches represented at synod.

Article 30Article 30 of the Church Order also

has bearing on this matter. There it saysthat the assemblies of the church shallonly deal with ecclesiastical matters.This might seem to preclude the churchspeaking to the government at all andso contradict article 28 but this is notso. H. Spaan in his discussion of thematter suggests that “political, socialand economical questions are ecclesi-astical matters when doctrinal and eth-ical issues of sufficient moment andmagnitude are involved according tothe Word of God. . . .”12 Not everythingthat a government does falls under thisrule but there are times that the churchshould not be silent. It should speak upwhen issues of sufficient moment andmagnitude are involved.

The church is not to take on therole of the state and begin to legislateand to punish with fines and imprison-ment. Nor is the state to interfere withthe authority of the church in exercisingspiritual discipline and censure. Eachhas its role and function under God asoffice bearers endowed with authorityin their own place. The weapon of thechurch is the Word of God. But itshould then also use that weapon byaddressing those in authority. Thoughthe church must pray for those in civilauthority it must not then think that itneed not proclaim the truth to thosevery magistrates for whom it prays.

Van Dellen and Monsma, in theirChurch Order commentary, write that

when article 30 states that only ecclesi-astical matters are to be dealt with weshould not think this means that the“instituted church as such has no mes-sage for and interest in things govern-mental, social, economic, educational.It assuredly has.”13 This is not a license,however, for the church to engage inall sorts of political action and lobby-ing. Nor should it be seen as a directiveto set up all sorts of consistorial, classi-cal or synodical committees to examineevery kind of social and political prob-lem in the land. The church’s task is toremain a beacon of truth in a darkworld. But part of that task is to speakout on ethical issues of sufficient gravity.

There is no law regulating abortionin this country. Should the church notspeak to this issue? Shall we not bearthe burden of guilt with our fellow citi-zens for our silence? Throughout thewestern world, the “right to die” groupspromote euthanasia. The “gay rights”lobby badgers governments into re-moving the bridle of laws againstpromiscuity, adultery and sodomy.Shall we be silent? We must speak outas individuals but should we not com-municate to the magistrates that thechurch which prays for them accord-ing to the direction of Scripture alsoabhors these things because of theteaching of that same Scripture?

ConclusionAs J. Douma writes, “we must not

pull the church and the world apart, butwe must differentiate them.”14 The firstuse of the law must not be isolated fromthe gospel for then we will quickly fallinto humanism. But neither should wenegate it by leaving it to function onlyin the church, for then we fall into An-abaptism. We must “not close our eyesto this world, with which God, in Hislong suffering, still wants to concernhimself. And if God also gives His lawin order to make possible a bearable so-ciety for Gentiles and non-believers,then we cannot remove our hands fromthe world.”15

May the church then continue tobe a light in this world, even as our na-tion abandons the direction given byGod in His Word. Let the church alsospeak out on matters that affect themoral and ethical framework of ournation and so be a preserving salt. Thechurch must raise a prophetic voice andpoint legislators and magistrates (forwhom we pray) to the Word of God,lest the Lord turn in anger and come injudgment against our nation. Rev. J.L. Van Popta is minister of theCanadian Reformed Church in the Na-tion’s Capital.

14.20.624.20.53ibid.44.20.954.20.1564.20.167J. Van Bruggen, The Sermon on the Mount:a travel guide for Christians. Premier: Win-nipeg. 1986 (p. 24).8ibid. (p. 26)9J. Douma, Christian Moral and Ethics.[trans. J.P. Elliot, A. Pol] Premier: Win-nipeg, 1983. (p. 44).102.7.1011W.W.J. Van Oene. With Common Con-sent. Premier: Winnipeg, 1990, (p. 130).12H. B. Spaan. Christian Reformed ChurchGovernment. Kregel: Grand Rapids 1968(p. 79-80).13I. Van Dellen and M. Monsma. The ChurchOrder Commentary. Zondervan: GrandRapids, 1951.(p. 136)14J. Douma, Christian Moral and Ethics.[trans. J.P. Elliot, A. Pol] Premier: Win-nipeg, 1983. (p. 46).15ibid.


CHURCH NEWS

CALLED to the Church at Lincoln, ON

Rev. E. Kampenof Port Kells, BC

* * * CALLED to the Church at Coaldale, AB

Rev. J. de Gelderof Smithville, ON

* * * ACCEPTED call to Bedfordale, Australia

Rev. P.K.A. de Boerof Carman, MB

* * *Classis Ontario South held Wednes-day, June 12th, 1996 declared eligi-ble for call Mr. R.J. Eikelboom, B.A.,M.Div., 1-905-318-0459, and Mr.J.P. VanVliet, B.A., M.Div., 1-905-318-6426 Classis gave “preachingconsent” to Mr. R. Pot. Address: 505Upper Paradise Road, Hamilton, ONL9C 5E2. Candidate R.J. Eikelboomreceived a call from the church atFergus, ON and Calgary, AB.


Dear Brothers and Sisters,It is summer time again. Not only does that bring

us (hopefully) the nice weather, but it is also for manypeople time to enjoy some vacation. Schools areclosed, and many other regular activities are can-celled. During the summer months most people wantto spend as much time as possible outdoors. Andthere are many different ways to do that. Many peo-ple are able to take some time off from work, and takea break from their regular routines. It is good to dropsome of the heavy workload or the many responsibil-ities, to relax and to be able to do things that you re-ally like to do. It makes you more fit to pick up thework again later.

Holiday time has disadvantages, too, especially forthose who are unable to take such a break. It is not soeasy when many regular routines are affected by it,which is the case when you depend on a lot of otherpeople. When the people on whom you rely everyday are gone, you look forward to the end of this hol-iday season. You miss the support from maybe anurse, a counselor, a regular visitor, the minister, afriend. What may seem only a short holiday to thosewho enjoy it, is a very long time to those who arewaiting at home.

How do we copes with inconveniences and maybedisappointments while we are unable to take holi-days? Maybe we even have to stay home all summer,and always. Does it make us unhappy, and discontent?That probably could happen if we did not know anybetter. Fortunately we know that our happiness doesnot depend on holidays! It’s nice if we can enjoythem, but we can do without them. The really impor-tant things in our life are always with us. For there isOne Who will never leave us, that is the Lord. Andthe only thing from which we can never take a breakis serving the Lord. The Lord is always there to supportus and help us, and He never leaves us. He does noteven sleep or slumber. This is our comfort when wesee so many people go away.

We have even more than the certainty of theLord’s presence. We also have His promises for our fu-ture. Maybe now we cannot travel and/or see beauti-ful and spectacular sights. But a most exciting futureis awaiting us. Our Lord and Saviour planned that fu-ture for us. He died for our sins on the cross. By do-ing that He opened for us the way to heaven, and toan everlasting future on a new earth. No one has ever

taken a holiday nearly as exciting as the Life that ispromised to all those who rely on Jesus Christ as theirSaviour. It is a Life free of sin and evil, and it will lasteverlastingly. When the Holy Spirit works faith into ourhearts so that we really believe that those promisesare for us, then we can also be happy now. In spite ofall the disappointments that we may have to endure. Infaith we may know that it is only a little while longeruntil we are allowed to be with our Lord, and be partof the crowd that surrounds His holy throne withpraises and thanksgiving. And that is not only for ashort holiday, it will go on forever and ever.

Hark how the adoring hosts aboveWith songs surround the throne!Ten thousand thousand are their tongues,But all their hearts are one.

To Him who sits upon the throne,The God whom we adore,And to the Lamb that once was slainBe glory evermore.

Hymn 23:1,8

Birthdays in August:5: Philip Schuurman

156 St. Catharines StreetUnit 12Smithville, ON L0R 2A0

9: Rose MaldaOakland Centre53 Bond StreetOakville, ON L6J 5B4

18: Fenny KuikBox 35, Group 606Winnipeg, MB R2C 2Z3

23: Jack Dieleman5785 Young Street, Apt. 704Willowdale, ON M2M 4J2

Happy Birthday to You! and until next month,

Mrs. R. Ravensbergen 7462 Hwy. 20, RR 1

Smithville, ON L0R 2A0

RAY OF SUNSHINE

By Mrs. R. Ravensbergen“He will not let your foot be moved, He who keeps you will not slum-ber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Psalm 121:3,4


Anyone who has ever tried to steerpolitics in a Christian direction haslikely felt lonely, and unable to makea difference. For a Christian to makea contribution he often needs back-up. It sometimes seems that he musteither compromise his message tomake it more palatable, or else some-how find support in the larger Christ-ian community.

As Bill C-33 – an act to amend theCanadian Bill of Rights and prohibit dis-crimination on the basis of sexual ori-entation – passed Parliament a fewweeks back, this support from the largerChristian community materialized. Itstarted on an e-mail based Reformeddiscussion group called the RefNet.Someone mentioned that Bill C-33 wasto be moved through the House ofCommons in as speedy a way as possi-ble. Haste was necessary for the gov-ernment so there wouldn’t be time toorganize opposition to this potentiallycontroversial and embarrassing bill.

With the government trying to passthis legislation as quickly as possible,knowing the average speed of letterssent by Canada Post, there seemed littleopportunity to let Members of Parlia-ment know that much of the Christiancommunity was solidly opposed to thismeasure. However, the Internet –where this RefNet discussion was hap-pening – is a strange and mysteriousplace. A response came quickly that notall hope was lost. There was a place inNepean, Ontario which accepted e-mail messages and would forward it toa Member of Parliament as a fax.

This was a marvelous solution to theproblem, but though it provided somehope, it was not a complete answer.Many of the Christians on the RefNetwanted to contact not just their ownMP; Alan Rock, the minister sponsor-ing the bill; and the Prime Minister, butalso the other 292 MPs as well. Thisfax service did not allow for that. Sinceit was provided free of charge, the op-erators of the fax-by-e-mail gatewayasked that faxes be limited to ten perperson per day. At that rate, to contactall 295 of the elected representativeswould take a month. There only was

about two weeks left in which to act,so a quicker method was needed.

The big break came when someoneon the RefNet revealed that Membersof Parliament had recently been given e-mail by the House of Commons. Hap-pily, they even knew the domain namefor Parliament, the oddly phrased“parl.gc.ca”. For e-mail knowing the do-main name is like knowing the street ad-dress of an office building for regularmail. It will get your mail to the rightbuilding, but you need more informa-tion to get it to the correct office.

What had to be discovered was theindividual address of each MP. The ad-dresses were set up using the first fiveletters of the MP’s last name, followedby the first initial. If I were an MP, thiswould mean that my Internet addresswould be [email protected]. The te-dious task to see if this formula workedwas undertaken by someone in Ottawawho mailed each MP, one by one, all295 of them. He was able to discover222 of the e-mail addresses this way.

Though this allowed most of theMPs to be contacted, it still meant thateach person who wanted to mail all ofthese MPs had to type up all the ad-dresses. This, to say the least, would bea tedious and time consuming project.So, using a student e-mail account at anOntario university, a number of RefNetmembers managed to automate theprocess, allowing the owner of this ac-count to forward messages from 874people to each of the 222 MPs.

If you stop to figure it out, this is astaggering amount of mail. Since eachof the 222 MPs received 874 messages,that meant that at least 194,028 mes-sages were forwarded from that accountin a matter of only a few days. This factwas not lost on the administrator of theParliamentary server. The woman whomaintains the House of Commons’ In-ternet connection saw close to 200,000message come from the same e-mail ad-dress in southern Ontario. She jumped tothe conclusion that there was an at-tempt to “letter bomb” the House ofCommons. Letter bombing is a seriouscharge, and though it does not actuallyinvolve any explosive devices, it can beincredibly disruptive to Internet service.

Letter bombing is, in a nutshell, sendingso many messages to one address that itcauses that person’s e-mail box to fill tooverflowing. This either prevents newmail from arriving, or causes older mail,perhaps still unread, to be discarded. Inan extreme case, this may cause the sys-tem at which the mail is being received,to slow down or even crash. Letterbombing is a way that the ‘Net commu-nity disciplines those who have violatedthe often unwritten rules of etiquettethat provide civility in the cyber world.

Though letter bombing was not theobjective, it was an easy conclusion toreach. The Parliamentary administratorcomplained to the university adminis-trator. The Internet account of the stu-dent who had done the e-mail forward-ing was summarily cancelled. Watchingthis cancellation happen was much likean seeing an accident occur. Readingthe final posts of the poor guy who hadhis account closed was like watchingthe inevitable collision occur, alwaysknowing that it was going to be painful.One by one, I read this man’s final posts,and dreaded the inevitable momentwhen I knew that there would be nomore. He tried to do something good,and ended up losing his account.

Though it is tempting to portray thetermination of this account as religiouspersecution, this would be an unjusti-fied and unfair conclusion. It is true thatthe student who was forwarding themail was doing so because of his reli-gious opposition to the bill. However,at this university, and all others that I’mfamiliar with, Internet accounts aremeant to be used only for academicpurposes. University administrationswill usually turn a blind eye towards asmall of amount of personal e-mail,but when nearly 200,000 messages ofa clearly non-academic nature wentthrough this account, it became verydifficult for the system administrator toignore this violation of the rules. WhileI feel sympathetic towards someonewho trips up while trying to do a gooddeed, I still have to acknowledge thatthey knew the rules (or if they didn’t,they should’ve) and ignored them.Though the rules were ignored in thename of a good cause, they were still ig-

[email protected] James Dykstra


nored. Simply because you are doingsomething good doesn’t give you theright to do something wrong. If some-thing similar is to be tried again, itshould done from a commercial ac-count. If greater Internet resources areneeded, there is the possibility for thisand the charge for the service will beadjusted accordingly.

In attempting to portray a Christianpolitical witness, certain questions mustbe asked. One of the most obvious iswho were the 874 people who forward-ed messages through this account? Theyweren’t all members of the RefNet dis-cussion group, since that group has atbest 150 participants. The fact of thematter is that it’s almost impossible toknow who was forwarding messages viathis service. News of this setup wasmade public knowledge when a RefNetmember was interviewed on Edmonton-based gospel music station CJCA. Thismeant that the mail forwarding waswidened from a conservative Reformedwitness, to a more generally Christiantestimony. However, news of the mailforwarding didn’t stop at listeners toCJCA. An Edmontonian who had heardthe broadcast posted the details of thisto three widely read Internet discussiongroups; can.general, can.politics, andont.general. There is no way of knowingexactly who used the mail forwardingservices after having read about it inthese publicly available, internationallycirculated forums. What is very well pos-sible is that some who read the news andchose to respond, may have done so inan unchristian manner. What passes foran argument against the homosexuallifestyle is often little more than thinlydisguised hatred and bigotry. Whilemaking this mail forwarding available tomore people increased the potential toexercise our democratic rights, it maywell have discredited the Christian mes-sage sent by mixing it in among a wealthof anti-homosexual hate mail.

One also has to wonder why theParliamentary administrator complainedabout the flood of mail to her system.Though 194,028 messages is a stagger-ing number, the best information I’vebeen able to get suggests that it should-n’t have been that unreasonable for theInternet connection on Parliament Hillto handle that volume of mail. Whatdid cause the problem was that all the e-mail messages came from the same re-turn address and that gave the impres-sion of letter bombing. Was that a fairconclusion? What I’ve been able to findout says that yes, it was. That many mes-sages apparently coming from the sameperson makes you appear guilty, even ifyou’re not. If Christians want to contacttheir MPs again in an organized man-ner, a way must be found to clearly andeasily demonstrate that all these e-mailmessages are from different people. Thisproject is not as difficult as it sounds,for it is basically a modified use of anInternet mailing program such as theone that runs the RefNet. It’s not a mat-ter of inventing new technology, but ofusing existing capabilities in a more ef-fective manner.

Ultimately, one must ask whetherthe exercise of mailing all those MPswas worth the trouble. Members of Par-liament represent a distinct geographi-cal area and it is their job to present theviews of Canadian citizens within thatarea to the federal government. Sincethe Parliamentary system is based onthis geographic representation, MPs willlikely have little interest in hearing fromCanadians who do not live within theirparticular riding. If you are not in anMP’s riding, you can’t vote for or againsthim, so practically he doesn’t need to beconcerned about your views. As well,under this geographical method of rep-resentation, an MP’s job is to representhis own constituents. If you don’t livewithin his riding, theoretically he shouldnot be at all concerned with what you

think. An MP who represents an areaother than where you live is not moral-ly obligated to listen, and practicallymay simply not care. If you don’t be-lieve this, have an off the record discus-sion with someone in your MP’s office.Ask them how much attention they payto mail that doesn’t come from theirown constituents.

None of this is meant to suggest thatthis whole episode was a failure. It wasanything but that. True, mistakes weremade, though not all would agree as toexactly what they were. However, eventhough errors were committed, and eventhough Bill C-33 was easily passed bythe House of Commons despite the bestefforts of the RefNet community, the en-tire affair can be considered a success.Christians in the Reformed communityhave not always taken seriously theirduty to be the salt of the earth and a pub-lic witness to the world that a Christianvision of justice needs to be followed bythe government. Sometimes this lack ofinvolvement has been due to a lack ofnumbers. Other times it has been be-cause of a lack of organization. The ef-forts made to present a Christian visionof justice to the government regardingBill C-33 represent a remarkable changefrom this pattern. The Reformed commu-nity, using the technology of the Internet,found the numbers and the organizationto call their rulers to account beforethe Creator. True, the bill passed any-way, but when dealing with the gov-ernment, we may not measure successin those sorts of terms. Someone oncesaid that Christians in the world arecalled not to be successful, but to befaithful. On that score, the Christians ofthe RefNet discussion group were a re-sounding success.

In the few minutes a day that he’s noton-line, James Dykstra is a junior highteacher and graduate student in history.


A recent editorial in the magazineChristianity Today, entitled “Our Ex-tended, Persecuted Family,” mentionsthat most western Christians do notlive typical Christian lives. Whereaswestern Christians enjoy prosperityand freedom, the typical Christian life isone of persecution and suffering. TheBible makes that very clear: in theworld, Jesus warned His followers, theywould be oppressed and persecuted.The Bible also tells us that the churchis a body. When one member suffers, sodo – if the body functions properly – theother members.

Persecuted Christians in China, inIran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and otherArab nations, and also in a predomi-nantly Muslim country like the Su-dan, ask western believers that theyshow Christian solidarity with their suf-fering. They ask for our prayers, formaterial support (Bibles, Christian liter-ature, in some cases medicine), and forpolitical intervention (via letters toMPs , letters to the editor, and by simi-lar means).

Clarion has drawn attention to theplight of persecuted Christians before,and some readers have responded. Weintend to provide information on thepersecutions on a regular basis, andhope that more and more our evange-lism committees, schools, as well as pri-vate Christians, will come to the aid ofour persecuted family members. Wehave an obligation to help. As theSouth-African Frontline Fellowship (anorganization that concerns itself withproviding help for persecuted Christiansin Africa) reminded fellow-Christiansin a recent issue of its Newsletter: “As-suredly, I say to you, inasmuch you didit to one of the least of these mybrethren, you did it to me.” Mt. 25:40.

Slavery in Africa*Slavery lives on, in all its ancient

horror. In the West African nation ofMauritania, between eighty and ninetythousand human beings are owned out-right by other people. Across the conti-

nent, in the war-ravaged African countryof Sudan, chattel slaves number in thetens of thousands, according to Christ-ian Solidarity International. Most are thechildren of black Christian and animistvillagers, taken in raids by their tradi-tional Arab enemies, now formed intomilitia by the Muslim government inKhartoum in its war to subdue the south.

“Nothing has changed in the wayof life of these Arab groups for the pasthundred years,” said a report written in1995 by the Comboni Fathers, Catholicmissionaries in the Sudan. Their onlyprogress has consisted in the provisionof large amounts of modern weaponsand up-to-date transportation. The timeof long lines of enchained slavesmarching north is over. Now truckloadsof children are seen moving in the sametraditional direction.”

These modern slaves often serve asmaids or cooks, or as farm labourers orcattle herders. Many were taken tooyoung to remember their homes or fam-ilies. Some who have tried to escapehave been branded, or have had theirAchilles tendons cut; some have beencastrated. Many, both male and female,are regularly raped.

PersecutionIn the Sudan, the north and south

have been fighting since 1983, and thewar has killed one and a half million ofthe country’s twenty-seven million peo-ple. Between six and eight million,mostly blacks, have lost their homes.Christian groups say that government-backed militia and troops raid black vil-lages, burning huts, killing men, steal-ing livestock, and taking women andchildren into captivity.

“My mother, my two children, twoof my sister’s children, and I were athome when the Arabs came,” AbukMarou Keer of Nyamlell, a blind, twen-ty-five-year-old woman, told ChristianSolidarity International last year. “Mymother tried to hide some of our be-longings,” she said, “and then we rantoward the river.”

“We were captured at the riverbank. All the captives were gathered to-gether and we were forced to walk, car-rying the property looted by our cap-tors. We were beaten when capturedand from time to time en route to ourdestination – an agricultural labourcamp at a place called Araith, eighteenmiles to the north. On the way, fourmale captives were murdered by theArabs and many women raped.

“We know of two children of ourfriend Achan Akol Kyii who were soldat Araith and sent away with their mas-ter on a horse. We were there for nearlytwo months. Ten days ago we werelucky to escape. We told our guardsthat we were going to stretch our legs.They probably thought we could notget away because of my blindness.”

Anonymous and forgottenSurvivors of these raids say that

Christians are often singled out andkilled. Boys are often pressed into mili-tary service. Slaves are forced to con-vert to Islam. Sometime prisoners areransomed. Bishop Macram Max Gassisof the Sudan testified before a congres-sional committee last year that hischurch had been instrumental in theliberation of fifty abducted children.“Their parents or relatives approachedme after having identified their childrenand needed money to be given to theabductors in order to liberate them,”he said.

Such testimony has helped bring theissue before the public, and public offi-cials have taken some steps. The UnitedNations has condemned the slave trade.The United States has cut off its relativelysmall amount of development aid toMauritania and has opposed WorldBank loans to the Sudan and Maurita-nia. Nevertheless, the internationalcommunity’s clout is limited. The Orga-nization of African Unity does not inter-fere in the international affairs of itsmember states. The Sudan receives opensupport from Lybia and other countries.Mauritania continues to receive aid fromthe French government, which argues

When One Member SuffersBy F.G. Oosterhoff


The Value of FastingBy Wes Bredenhof

that quiet diplomacy and economic de-velopment will prove more effective inimproving human rights.

Mauritania and the Sudan remainremote in Western eyes, their peoplehandicapped by the realities ofgeopolitics and economics. The aver-

age annual per capita income in bothplaces is roughly $55. They offer nosugar or oil or cotton or tea – nothingto hang a boycott on. As the twenty-first century approaches, the slaves ofMauritania and the Sudan are anony-mous and forgotten.

*Excerpts from an arti10cle by JosephR.Gregory, entitled “American Slavery1996,” published in First Things, anAmerican religious magazine (R.C.),May 1996; 1-800-783-4903. Reprintedby permission.

Religious fasting is not very com-mon today, either in the Canadian Re-formed churches or elsewhere. Perhapsthis comes from a lack of understand-ing concerning what fasting is and whywe should do it. Fasting for religiouspurposes is denying the natural appetitefor food out of a desire to bring glory toGod’s Name through the mortificationof sin. Fasting is abstaining from food,not for legalistic reasons, but out of asincere desire to glorify God. It is alsofor the purpose of putting to death sinswhich still cling to us (though we willnever entirely succeed), humiliatingourselves before God, mourning andgrieving over sin, and enjoying God’smercy and grace, knowing that Godhas washed away our sin with the bloodof Christ.

Why should we fast? The answer issimple: because it is taught in Scripture.In Mt.6:16, Jesus says, “Moreover,when you fast do not be like the hyp-ocrites. . . .” Jesus expects that His peo-ple will fast in the same way that He ex-pects His people to pray and give alms(Mt. 6:2,5). Christ Himself fasted for 40days in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13).When we look back to the Old Testa-ment we find many examples of God’speople fasting. Nehemiah fasted whenhe heard about Jerusalem’s dilapidatedcondition (Neh.1:4). David fasted whenthe son he brought forth by Bathshebawas on the brink of death (2 Sam.12:16). When we flip back to the NewTestament we find the early church fast-ing at the ordination of elders (Acts14:23). 1 Cor. 7:5 admonishes hus-bands and wives to “give yourselves tofasting and prayer.” Other examplescould be brought forward, but it should

be clear that fasting is taught in Scrip-ture both by way of example and ex-hortation.

But why does God teach us to fast?Fasting is always associated with griefand mourning in Scripture. In Luke5:34, Christ says, “Can you make thechildren of the bride-chamber fast,while the bridegroom is with them?”The disciples could not fast while Jesuswas with them, because it was a timefor rejoicing. However, we live in thetime when the bridegroom has goneaway, and now, Jesus says in Luke 5:35,is the time to fast. We fast out of griefand sorrow for our sins. We fast be-cause we realize that we grieve Godcontinually because of our inordinatewickedness. The end of fasting is the joyof knowing that Christ has paid for all ofour sins and saved us.

Who should fast? Only those whocan do it out of worship for God (notout of superstition, legalism, orhypocrisy) should fast. Generally speak-ing, all Christians should fast. Thereare instances where people may havemedical or psychological problems (i.e.diabetes or eating disorders) in whichfasting is not advisable. Children canalso fast, but they should only do it forshort periods of time so as not to de-prive them of their necessary nutrition.They must also be taught the reasons forfasting, so as to give them a proper per-spective on it.

When should we fast? We can fastas individuals when we have personalneeds or problems in our lives. If youare wrestling with a particular sin orare experiencing some kind of person-al turmoil, it would be advisable to setaside a day or days of fasting. We can

also fast as families and churches un-der similar circumstances. Finally, weought to fast as a nation if called uponto do so by the civil government.

How should we fast? Scripture givesus solid guidance on this question. InMt. 6 Christ teaches us that we oughtnot to make a public spectacle of ourfasting. Keep it to yourself as much aspossible. Only tell those around youwho need to know, such as your family.Don’t look downtrodden or act pecu-liarly, your fasting is only between youand God. Do not try to draw attentionto yourself in your fasting.

Also, do not fast to a point whereyou physically harm yourself. Set real-istic times for fasting. If you have hardphysical labour to perform consider apartial fast, eating only to satisfy whatyou need and not to satisfy your ap-petite. Drinking plenty of water duringa fast is also necessary since your bodycannot function very long otherwise.Spend the day as much as possible inScripture reading, prayer and medita-tion. Avoid worldly activities and con-centrate on your reason for fasting,namely sanctification.

We must continually desire to bemade holy. The Puritan Richard Sibbesonce wrote, “He that looks to be happy,must first look to be holy.” Fasting is ameans of sanctification, a way to holi-ness. It must not be viewed as a way tosalvation, since that is a free gift ofGod’s grace. Fasting is for God’s chil-dren who desire to serve Him betterand to each day more and more reflectHis image until they are completely re-generated in the hereafter by the HolySpirit and live in perfect communionwith the Father.


From time to time, the Canadian Re-formed World Relief Fund responds torequests for support of Short-term Vol-unteer projects which fit our mandate.The following report is of a two-weekwork program which John, Ann and JimBultje went on to the Dominican Re-public last year. We contributed to-wards the cost of building materials fora structure to be used for worship, edu-cation and other community activities.Local businesses donated tools neededfor the project, and the Bultjes them-selves paid for the trip and their livingexpenses. It was a good opportunity forthem to show love and support to Re-formed believers elsewhere who havenot been blessed with the material ad-vantages our society offers.

By way of background information,the Reformed churches in the D.R. be-gan in the early 1980s in response to ra-dio broadcasts of the Back to God hourand missionary effort. The churcheswere instituted in a Reformed manner,and according to all accounts, are faith-ful churches. Though young, also interms of their spiritual maturity, theyhave not been affected by liberalism.Because of distance, there is no formalrelationship with the CRC Churches ofNorth America. There is a sincere desireon the part of members to be faithful toGod’s Word. As an example, there istremendous pressure on many Haitiansto work seven days a week in the sugarcane fields in order to earn enough tosupport themselves and their families.Yet, in faithfulness to the fourth com-mandment, they forego this and chooseinstead to gather in worship on theLord’s Day. Members of these churchesare the poorest of the poor in the D.R.and have no means to construct suchbuildings for themselves. So, it is won-derful that they can be encouraged bythe witness and practical help of be-lievers elsewhere. Read on for an ac-count of the Bultjes’ experience.

DOMINICAN WORK CREWIn January of 1995, a work crew of

thirteen volunteers went to the Do-minican Republic for the purpose ofconstructing a building for worshipand education in the village of JuanSanche and to repair other such build-ings in the area. Our “tour guide” wasPastor Neal Hegeman, an OrthodoxChristian Reformed pastor, now of Li-gionier Ministries, who had spent manyyears in the D.R. as a missionary. Hehelped us through the cultural and lan-guage difficulties and taught us muchabout the people in the local area. Whymust outsiders come to build churchesis the question that comes to mind.There are two reasons. The main one isthat most of the people in this area areHaitian refugees whose only abilitiesare to cut sugar cane. According to thelaw of the land, this is all they may do,and they are treated as dirt by the oth-ers. Another reason is that several of thechurches have memberships made uponly of women and children.

Before we left from Toronto Airport,two things had to be done. The first wasto gather in prayer, asking for God’sblessing and protection on our trip. Thesecond thing was to divide the moneyamong ourselves. We had received over$8,000 in donations, money to be spenton materials for the work we had to do,ie. paint, brushes, cement, lumber, etc.We were warned that pickpocketing,holdups, and bribes were very commonin the D.R., so it would be safest not tohave one person holding all the money.Since we had almost four times theamount of luggage allowed, PastorHegeman had to do some fast talkingto the airline authorities in order toavoid paying extra charges. After learn-ing that we were on a mission trip, theywere very good about letting our lug-gage through.

After a long, but uneventful flight,we landed in the D.R. capital of SantaDomingo. At the airport there was a lit-tle bus waiting for us – we thought therewas no way we and the luggage couldpossible fit. But we managed! The trip

Canadian Reformed World Relief Fund

Typical housing for the Haitians.


to the village of Sabana Grande wasvery tiring. The roads were terriblyrough, and we also had to deal with aflat tire. We arrived at the mission sta-tion at 1 a.m., quickly made ourselvessome beds, and then tried to sleep. Itseems, however, that everybody in thisvillage owned several roosters, whocrowed enthusiastically and early everymorning. After having breakfast andpreparing our lunches, we would goout to the building site, about half anhour’s drive away. It seemed that every-thing had to be done the most difficultway possible. Cement blocks had to betaken off the truck by hand. We had tomix our own cement. The water forthat we had to haul from a stream near-by. This stream provided the locals withtheir drinking water, and was where thewomen did their washing, bathing, andwe even witnessed one woman clean-ing out the innards of a butchered cowin the same stream! In order to operatea power tool, such as a circular saw, wewould have to scrape a bit of coating offthe wire and hook on. Even then theelectricity was not guaranteed to beworking. The building materials oftenhad to be picked up by “taxi” – a mo-torbike. The building went up quickly,and we had plenty of time to go tocheck other buildings and make thenecessary repairs.

Of course, it was not all work andno play. If time allowed, we would gointo the city, and one afternoon wewent to the beach.

On Sunday we visited differentReformed churches with Pastor Hege-man. It amazed us that the Haitianrefugees, in our eyes, had so little to bethankful for. They live in extreme pover-ty. They live in row housing, lookingmuch like barns; but most of us would-n’t even keep our cattle in a building ofsuch condition. They are uneducatedand are not allowed to hold any job inthe Dominican Republic except canecutting, which is a job no one else willdo. Yet on Sundays, it amazed us to hearthem singing with full enthusiasm (bymemory). How earnestly they listenedto the gospel preaching, and how excit-edly they greeted us as fellow Christians.

What a sharp contrast from the voodoodrums that we heard nightly from thecarnival.

We went there with the intent tohelp these impoverished Christians,but we came back with more than wewent with. We all were strengthenedand refreshed to witness the work of theSpirit and Word of God both activelyat work here, and we could not help butshare in the enthusiasm and love thatthe Haitian refugees display for God.What a blessing!

We thank the C.R.W.R.F. for theircontribution and support for this pro-ject. We pray that their work may con-tinue with the Lord’s blessing; for thebenefit of the poor and those who donot know the Lord, for the benefit ofthose who go out to proclaim God’sWord and provide for the poor andneedy, but most of all may this be doneto the honour and glory of God.

In His Service,John, Ann and Jim Bultje

Chatham, Ontario

Gifts for the works of CRWRF maybe directed to:

Canadian ReformedWorld Relief FundPO Box 85225Burlington, ON L7R 4K4

All gifts are gladly received. Donorsof $10.00 or more will be issued areceipt for tax deduction.

Construction of the simple, concrete-block building goes on under the hot sun.

Putting the finishing touches on the Reformed Church of Juan Sanchez.


Around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday,May 8, 1996, approximately 95 womenfrom Winnipeg, Carman and surround-ing areas gathered for a day of fellow-ship and learning. At 10:00 we official-ly opened with the singing of Ps.108:1,4. Our president Mrs. Marry VanDijk led us in prayer and Scripture read-ing of Daniel 12, and 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11. She then welcomed all present in-cluding several elderly ladies over theage of 80. We sang the official leagueday song “Sing God’s Glory.”

Our guest speaker, Rev. R. Aasmanof Edmonton (Providence) was intro-duced after which he gave us a veryinformative and thought-provokingspeech on “Eschatology” (Life afterdeath, Return of Christ). He stressedthat we only have one life to live andwhere we stand in relation to Christ isvery important. We are here to glorifyGod and comfort one another with thewords of our Lord Jesus Christ. Threepurposes for the speech were given: i) towhet our appetites for more Bible study,ii) to be comforted – nothing can sepa-rate us from Christ, iii) to give thanks toGod the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Death is not a natural, biologicalpart of life since man was not createdthis way. Death came as a result of sin,but Christ has defeated sin, Satan, anddeath by His death and resurrection.Death is no longer a punishment but ahelper. God lets us leave this broken lifeand enter into the perfect life which issomething great to look forward to. Butwe shouldn’t glorify death or shortenour lives. Death is still the last enemy.

Rev. Aasman then touched uponwhat happens between death and thelast day. The bible doesn’t say a lotabout this period. More is said abutwhat will happen when Christ returns.He went on to show what the Old Tes-tament and the New Testament says onthis subject. He denounces the heresy

that the soul enters a deep sleep untilthe return of Christ.

He went on to talk about the ex-pectation of Christ’s second coming.We must be ready everyday. The signsdon’t say when Christ is coming but thathe is coming. Signs have happened allthrough history, even in the Old Testa-ment. Signs keep us on our toes, andencourage us to work hard to Christ.

The nature of the second comingwas looked at next. The whole worldwill see Christ return. Humanly speak-ing we can’t understand how this willhappen, but with God nothing is im-possible. It is advisable not to specu-late too much, but to trust it will beparadise restored.

Why is there a final judgment?When we die are we not judged? Yes,but human ideas of judgment are notthe same as God’s. The Final Judgmentwill be for the glory of God and Christ.It will confirm the grace of Christ forthe believers and unbelievers willknow why they were not saved. Thosewho know the will of God and did notbelieve will be judged more severelythan those who did not know. Thosewho work hard with their blessings anduse them to glorify God will be greatlyblessed. Judgment will be the triumphof God’s glory.

Heaven and Hell were looked intomore closely. Hell, also called Gehen-na, is compared to a garbage dump, aburning place full of worms. A lake offire and never-ending darkness with nolast opportunity to repent. It compels usto focus on family life and not wastetime. Heaven, or the new heaven andearth, is Paradise perfected. Heaven andearth will meet and the earth will becleansed and renewed. There will beno more tears, pain, sin and death. Ourlives have to focused on the glory ofGod, and we must use them in that way.

After Rev. Aasman’s wonderfulspeech we enjoyed a fifteen minute

coffee break during which we couldwrite down questions and Rev. Aasmancould sort through them. Discussionand question period brought us to theend of the morning with a half-hourbreak before lunch. Mrs. Celia DeWitpresented Rev. Aasman with a gift anda poem and he was thanked for takingthe time to spend with us. We thensang Happy Birthday to Mrs. FrancesSlaa and entertainment sheets werehanded out.

Rev. Aasman led us in prayer beforelunch after which we enjoyed delicioussalads and dessert pizzas. During lunchwe were requested to fill in the blanksof a poem. The different versions wereread, some serious and some funny. Theoriginal poem was then read and we allhad a good laugh. Mrs. Louise DeWittended the lunch hour with the reading ofPs. 196 and led us in prayer.

After a fifteen minute break we allgathered in the auditorium for a skitcalled “Sweet Shop” which calls for au-dience participation. A number of ladiesended up being called “suckers.”

We met back in the meeting hall tosing the “League Day Song” by Mrs.Liz Buist. Mrs. Maaike Borst read apoem she wrote called “A Smile of aChild.” Mrs. Theresa VanDoodewaardread last year’s minutes of the LeagueDay held in Winnipeg, Mrs. Louise De-Witt then read a humorous story puttogether by the entertainment commit-tee called “Why Farmers Farm.”

Winnipeg thanked Carman for host-ing and inviting them to League Day.All ladies were urged to sign cards forthe Missionaries and Mission Aid work-ers in Brazil. Mrs. Grace Schriemer reada petition from a pamphlet called “Play-ing God” which deals with reproduc-tive technology. We were asked to signthe petition against immoral practices.Mrs. Alice Vandersluis then read apoem written by the late Mrs. An Rookof Carman called:

Annual Women’s League Day of the Manitoba Canadian Reformed Churches

held in Carman, MB

OUR LITTLE MAGAZINE

By Aunt Betty


Dear Busy Beavers,You are just starting your summer holidays. It’s so excit-

ing, isn’t it? A nice, long, hot summer full of fun waiting foryou. Maybe you have plans to go camping. Or you willtake swimming lessons. Maybe you are going on a trip to adifferent part of Canada.

Let’s remember, that wherever we are and whatever wedo, the Lord is there, too. Remember Ps. 139?

Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;...Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, andart acquainted with all my ways. Vs. 2 & 3.

What a comfort!Have a great summer!

JULY BIRTHDAYS!Congratulations to all Busy Beavers who celebrate their

birthdays in July! You share this month with our country!May our heavenly Father give you a blessed year, and a

very happy day with your friends and family.

BIBLE CODE By Busy Beaver Barbara Bultena

Kristin Vandergugten July 1Deborah VanBeek 1Rebecca Kelly 1Joanna Vink 3Amanda Hoeksema 3Shaun Smeding 9David Aikema 9Andrea Meliefste 11Tim Hordyk 12Lorelle Barendregt 13

Rebekah Barendregt 13Barbara Bultena 15Jared Helder 18Karen Terpstra 20Jacquie Selles 22Kimberly VanderVelde 24Crystal Slaa 25Luanne Feenstra 27Melville Buist 29

We, as stones used by the LordShould humbly thankful beHe made us living by His WordA spiritual house to be.

So Christ has set us in the placeHe chose to fit us in.Each one of us, put here in GraceFor we were lost in sin.

Yet one stone thinks his place too smallAnother’s place too wide.One stone wants a more serious callHis neighbour wants more light.

One stone says “That stone over thereBelongs not in this placeIt may have come from anywhereIt’s almost a disgrace.”

The Saviour gathers stone by stoneHe cuts and chisels allHe knows they’re all to failure proneNot fitting for His hall.

Yet all the stones He gathered inAnd chosen by His GraceCleaned through His death and freed from sinHe will put in their place.

His Building shall through the ages riseFor every eye to seeA building to the Builder’s praiseCompleted perfectly.

LIVING STONES

The meeting was closed with the singing of Hymn50:1,6,7 and Mrs. Celia DeWit ended with us in prayer.

A thankful participant.


JESUS’ MIRACLESMatch each miracle Jesus performed (did) with the per-

son for whom it was done.

FIND THE MESSAGE! By Busy Beaver Jennifer Post

SUMMER WORD SEARCH!By Busy Beaver Deborah Voorhorst

S W O L L A M H S R A M B D TL W C A M P F I R E A O A R EE A I S N A C K S T K S R I NE T P M A C A N C A N Q B N TP E L D M K R H F E E U E K PI R A F K I E H I G E I Q I EN N Y A I S N E R C B T U N GG L B T F P H G E J O O E G SB S Q A M K D U L R A E S V YA C S P A R K Y P J R S U W AG N I I K S I G N O D E N O DF N E T A N U F R B Z H B W IO U T I R E T U B E V S U X LO S T O V E R O A S T I R V OD B O A T L A M P M Q D N X H

That’s all for this time.Love to you all,

Aunt Betty

1. A nobleman, John 4:46-532. A multitude of people,

Matt. 15:34-363. Jairus, Mark 5:22-414. Bartimaeus, Mark 10:46-525. High priest’s servant,

Luke 22:50-516. Peter, Matthew 14:297. Widow of Nain,

Luke 7:11-168. Mary and Martha,

John 11:39-449. A bridegroom, John 2:1-10

10. Peter’s mother-in-law,Mark 1:30-31

a. son raised from thedead.

b. water became winec. son healedd. brother raised from

the deade. fed with seven

loaves and a few fishf. received sightg. fever healedh. walked on wateri. daughter raised from

the dealj. ear restored

Can you findthese words?sleeping bagplaymosquitoescampfirelampbarbeque

stovematchesmarshmallowsfooddrinkingdishessnacksboat

kneeboardskiingwatersunburntire tubeswimmingholidaysfun


CLARION ADVERTISEMENTS

It is with thankfulness to the Lord, who has again blessed our family,with the birth of another covenant child, a sonBRENT RUSSELLBorn April 12, 1996Charles and Doreen VanderVeenDanielle, Walter and Tara9426-155st, Edmonton, AB T5R 1X1

There is none Holy like the LORD, there is none besides Thee; there is norock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2We praise the Lord for answering our prayers and giving us a daughterSOLÈNE KYTRELLE TERESABorn on April 9, 1996Placed in our arms on April 20, 1996Bob and Theresa Lindhout (nee Veenendaal)5139 Mulberry Drive, Beamsville, ON L0R 1B8

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. . . . James 1:17The Lord, in His wisdom, has blessed us with another child. It is withthankfulness to Him that we joyfully announce the birth ofJESSE HENDRIKBorn Mother’s Day, May 12, 1996.Fred and Theresa Post (nee Doppenberg)A brother for Helena and Joshua10 Baker Rd. S., Grimsby, ON L3M 5H6

Know that the LORD is God! It is He that made us, and we are His; we areHis people, and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3Rejoicing in the Lord, we joyfully announce the arrival of our little girland sisterROBYN DOREENBorn May 10, 1996Dan and Dorothy FlokstraRuby and Cory1319 - 248 St., Aldergrove, BC V4W 2B9

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He haschosen as His heritage! Psalm 33:12The Lord in His graciousness has blessed us with another child, a sonKIERAN JACOBBorn April 16, 1996Derek and Louise Willis (nee Van Veen)Nathan†, Gavin, Janita, ChristianWestminster, CO

With great thankfulness to God, we joyfully announce the birth of ourfirst child, a sonAUSTIN JOHNBorn May 23, 1996John and Brenda Van Amerongen (nee Dallinga)6th grandchild for Dale and Annie Dallinga3rd grandchild for John and Margriet Van AmerongenRR 5, Guelph, ON N1H 6J2

We thank and praise the Giver of Life for entrusting into our care oneof His covenant childrenBRIANNA JOLIENBorn April 29, 1996Andrew and Janet Wildeboer (Berends)62 Crozier Street, Grand Valley, ON L0N 1G0

Thy hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I maylearn Thy commandments. Psalm 119:73With thankfulness to the Lord, we announce the birth of anothercovenant childHANNAH JANINEBorn June 10, 1996John and Teresa Jongsma (nee Bouwman)Martin, Lydia, Angela, Katrina and Harmen545 St. Patrick St. E., Fergus, ON N1M 1N3

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures allthings. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:7,8aWith thankfulness to our heavenly Father who brought us together andcontinues to bless and guide us, weLAURIE BLOKKER and BART LUDWIGjoyfully announce our engagement.May 20, 19964531 Dufferin Avenue, Beamsville, ON L0R 1B5

Give thanks to Him, bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfastlove endures forever and His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:4b,5Happily engaged on May 18, 1996ELSA POPPE and GERRY VANLAARBox 273, Carman, MB R0G 0J0

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17With thankfulness to our heavenly Father, weCHANDRA JOANNE MEERSTRA and PETER EDWARD VANDERBOOMtogether with our parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Meerstra and Mr. andMrs. Peter VanderBoom, joyfully announce our marriage. The cere-mony will take place D.V.. on July 5th, 1996 at 11:00 a.m. in theCanadian Reformed Church at Burlington East.Future address: 329 Rawdon Street, Brantford, ON N3S 6H7

. . . Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures allthings. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.With thankfulness to our heavenly Father who has brought us together,we ADRIAN PAUL VANDENHAAK and SYLVIA VANDERVEEN together with our parents Mr. and Mrs. Andrew VandenHaak and Mr.and Mrs. Derk VanderVeen, joyfully announce our upcoming wedding,to take place D.V., on July 27, 1996 in the Providence Canadian Re-formed Church of Edmonton. Rev. G. Snip officiating.Future address: 6205 - 178 Street #221, Edmonton, AB T5T 2R5

Births

Engagements

Weddings


With great thankfulness to our heavenly Father, weSYLVIA HENRIETTA SIKKEMA and MENZE JOHANNES FEENSTRAtogether with our parents, Mr. and Mrs. Klaas Sikkema and Mr. andMrs. Wim Feenstra, announce our upcoming marriage. The ceremonywill take place, the Lord willing, at 1:00 p.m. in the Maranatha Cana-dian Reformed Church at Fergus, ON, on Saturday, June 29, 1996.Rev. J.G. Slaa officiating.Future address: 5 Raglan St., General Delivery, Alma, ON N0B 1A0

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12In the spirit of Christian joy, ANGELA LAVONNE KIPPERS and LEROY DEAN VANSPRONSENtogether with our parents Andrew and Pieta Kippers and Joe and DietaVanSpronsen, joyfully announce our marriage. It will take place, D.V.,July 5th, 1996 at 1:00 p.m. in the Canadian Reformed Church ofCoaldale, AB. The Rev. G. Ph. Van Popta officiating.

Sid and Hilda Alkema are pleased to announce the marriage of theirdaughterANNA JACQUELINE to DARREN BERNARDson of Ben and Ingrid BartelsThe Lord willing on June 15, 1996 at 1:30 p.m. Rev. G.H. Visscher will be officiating.The ceremony will take place in the Rehoboth Canadian ReformedChurch, Burlington, ON.

1961 – June 20 – 1996With thankfulness to the Lord for guiding them and caring for them,we announce the 35th Wedding Anniversary of our parents DIRK and MARY KOK (nee Leffers)We pray that the Lord continue to be with them in the coming years.Their thankful children and grandchildrenTaber, AB: Pete KokEdmonton, AB: Lyndon and Dini KokCoaldale, AB: Sharon and George Veurink

Gerard, Debra, Brent, Steven, LarissaBarrhead, AB: Rod Kok and Diane Wemekamp903 - 20th Ave. Coaldale, AB T1M 1B3

1956 – June 29 – 1996Psalm 55:22With joy and thankfulness to our heavenly Father for all His care, wewith our family, are happy to announce our 40th Wedding Anniver-sary, D.V.RICHARD and AMIE VELDKAMP (nee Tams)Their children and grandchildrenCoaldale, AB: Harry and Hetti Bultena

Ryan, Brandon, Nicholas, Kaelee, ZacharyChatham, ON: Harold Veldkamp

BradyCoaldale, AB: Sharon Veldkamp

Alison, Geri, Richard, KimberlyMorley and Johanna Pritchard

Trevor, AmberBarrhead, AB: Doug and Danielle Veldkamp

Amanda, Daniel, DustinBox 1048 Coaldale, AB T1M 1M8

1966 – July 16 – 1996With thankfulness to the Lord, we hope to celebrate the 30th WeddingAnniversary of our parents and grandparentsH. WILLIAM (Bill) and GERALDINE KEGEL (nee Grit)With love from your children and grandchildrenHillsburgh, ON: Marie and Andrew Kieft

Alan†, Rachel, EvanSurrey, BC: Valerie and Arnold Sikkema

William, KristinHamilton, ON: Lisa and Brian Vanderhout

Laura, Marlaina250 “C” Line, Orangeville, ON L9W 2Y9

1956 – July 7 – 1996Jeremiah 33:20,21Praising God, who brought them together, we joyfully announce the40th Wedding Anniversary of our dear parents and grandparentsCORNELIS HOFF and AAGTJE HOFF-SCHUILINGLondon, ON: Cathy and Ed Jager

Alanna, Jeffrey, Brittany, Gavin, GraemeKen and Cory HoffHettie and Peter Engbers

Jessica, Christopher, Stephanie, Kaitlyn, EmilyRichmond Hill, ON: Anita and Fred KampenWaterloo, ON: Chris Hoff and Pearl VandeburgtOpen House: July 13, 1996 2:00-4:30 p.m. at Pilgrim Canadian

Reformed Church, London, ON742 Millbank Drive, London, ON N6E 1W2

1971 – July 24 – 1996The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Psalm 126:3With thankfulness to our heavenly Father, we the children and grand-child ofJOHN and DONNA-MARIE BLOKKER (nee Beaudin)announce the celebration of their 25th Wedding Anniversary. We prayfor the continued love and guidance of the Lord in the years to come.

John and Marian BlokkerTyson John

Tonja Blokker and Kevin BosOpen house July 27, 1996 from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the CovenantChristian SchoolReg. Rd. 614, Smithville, ON

1966 – June 11th – 1996Through God’s guidance and His infinite wisdom, He led our parentsand grandparents to find happiness together. We joyfully announcetheir 30th anniversary.TOM and GRETA HANSMA (Zeldenrust)Their thankful children: Houston, BC: John and Cheryl Fennema (Hansma)

Jason, Jolene and JesseChilliwack, BC: Marc and Nicole VanWijk (Hansma)

Mitchell, Kelsey and JennaSurrey, BC: Tanya Hansma

Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His exceedinggreatness! Psalm 150:2

Anniversaries

Weddings cont’d


50 501946 – July 11 – 1996Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act. Psalm 37:5

JACOB VANDERHORST and MARRIGJE VANDERHORST (nee DeJong)

May the Lord continue to bless and keep them.Langley, BC: Allie and Brian Dale-Johnson

Alana, HeidiEna and Rob Bontkes

Jeff, Natasja and Kees VanRhee, Marc, TimJustin, Renee

Surrey, BC: Dick and Alida VanderHorstAlisa and Tony Roukema, Karen and Julius, Dana and John-Martin, Rachel, Linda, Meagan

Abbotsford, BC: Danny and Wyn VanderHorstJulia, Terry, Russell, Brenda

Burlington, ON: Jack and Linda VanderHorstJack, Marlaine, Chris, Kimberly, Derrick, Sara

Langley, BC: Margaret and Pete AikemaKevin, Suzanne, Bradley, Robert, Dennis

Mabel and Peter RoukemaAren, Maria, Robyn, Ryan, Stephanie

Coquitlam, BC: Eric VanderHorstLangley, BC: Conrad and Dinah VanderHorst

David, Kyle, JamesNorman and Diane VanderHorst

Amy, Jason, Kayla, MatthewGordon VanderHorstPeter Alan VanderHorst†

21828-52 Avenue, RR7, Langley, BC V2Y 2M7

Dad and Mom were married in Wapenveld, the Netherlands. They left the Old Country aboard the Kota Inten and arrived inQuebec City on June 15, 1948. They spent their first year in Canada in Van Kleek Hill, ON and then moved on to the beetfields of Lethbridge, AB. In 1950 they arrived in Beautiful B.C. and never looked eastward again. Their dream of owning theirown dairy farm was finally realized in 1965.The immigrant years were not easy. Living in small houses with a large family and a small income was trying. Dad worked hardto provide for his family. As well he was an active participant in church life and volunteered many hours to set up and run theWilliam of Orange Christian School. With a new baby on the scene almost every year Mom certainly did not live a life ofleisure. She had one week of holidays every year – in the hospital (with a new baby). No matter how poor the family was, Momalways made the house a home. Along with nurturing children, household chores and some farm work, Mom also gave freely ofher time in Ladies Aid and Women’s Society.Leaving Holland with a dream, some furniture, a toddler and a baby on the way was adventurous but difficult. Saying good-byeto family, some of whom they never met again, was not easy to do. Yet, trusting that God was leading them to Canada and thatHe would provide for them, they took that giant step.Throughout their 50 years together, they have indeed experienced God’s faithfulness and guidance in their lives. They both en-joy relatively good health and are thankful for each day the Lord allows them to be together.We, their children, spouses and grandchildren, give thanks to God for our parents and their marriage and are grateful that wecan share this milestone with them.


FOR RENT/SALE3-Bedroom summer cottage on the bluff overlookingLake Erie 35-45 minutes from London, Ontario.Contact: C. Lindhout

16 Northcliffe Blvd.Toronto, ON M6H 3H1Tel: 416-653-3073

Are there any Canadian Reformed Ministers in theBulkley Valley on June 30th, July 7th, 14th and 21st, andwilling to conduct our worship services at Houston?Please contact

Henry Hansman Ph. 604-845-2111

The Covenant Canadian Reformed School Society invites applications for

HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS

with specialties in English and/or Biology

duties to commence September, 1996.For information contact

The Principal: Mr. Joop HarthoornPhone: (403) 674-4774 (school)

(403) 674-6457 (home)and/or

The secretary for the BoardMrs. Margaret Otten

Box 67, Neerlandia, AB T0G 1R0

Phone: (403) 674-6031 Fax: (403) 674-4883

COME TO THE BEAUTIFUL BULKLEY VALLEY

The Ebenezer Canadian Reformed School of Smithersand Houston has a possible temporary high school po-sition available from September till December 31, 1996.

Duties consist of replacing the Social Studies/Busi-ness teacher who is on a study leave. Familiarity withMicrosoft Works will be considered an asset. Appli-cants with qualifications in other areas will also beconsidered.

For inquiries contact:

Henk Van Beelenat (604)847-3492 (school)

(604)847-5924 (home) or (604)847-3912 (fax)

For contract information callJohn Verhelst at (604) 846-9367

THE THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE OF THECANADIAN REFORMED CHURCHES

The Twenty-seventh Anniversary Meetingand the Twenty-second Convocation

of the Theological Collegewill be held D.V., on

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1996 AT 8:00 P.M.in the auditorium of Redeemer College

(Hwy. 53, Ancaster)with the graduation of three students

and Dr. J. De Jongas the featured speaker.

An offering will be taken for the College.Everyone is welcome.

Advertise in

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Psalm116:15February 8, 1907 – June 2, 1996Our Lord called into His heavenly glory our dear friend and brotherin the LordTHIJS CREDIETPredeceased by his wife Catharine

Friends and Congregation of Abbotsford Canadian Reformed Church

Obituaries

1971 – July 29 – 1996Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore!Psalm 113:2We give thanks to God, who in His grace and mercy has given ourparentsDIRK and LUCIA POT (Sikkema)25 happy years of marriage.We pray for the Lord’s continued guidance in the years to come.With love from their thankful children

Richard and MonicaMartin and RtuhMariska and Jack

Anniversaries cont’d


EBENEZER VILLA, HAMILTON, ONTARIO

We invite inquiries from our church members aboutour unique senior citizen home.We offer:• Rent geared to income, if qualified.• Located right next to the Cornerstone Church on

Stone Church Road East, Hamilton, Ontario.• For all church services audio video directly

connected from Cornerstone Church to all apart-ments and lounge.

• Limited home care available to all residents.• Spacious library with Dutch and English books.• An active care committee arranges for regular enter-

tainment events and a weekly coffee social.• Regular Bible Study in Dutch by Rev. Cl. Stam.• Weekly shopping trip• City transportation nearbyCall: Ike Vanderwoude at (905) 639-8110

orTony Vanderhout at (905) 692-3986

or write: Ebenezer VillaP.O. Box 20052Upper James Postal StationHamilton, Ontario L9C 7M5

Need a second computer?390 Lake Ave., Hamilton, ON L8E 3A2AST Authorized Dealer

Computer prices are dropping!

Complete Pentium systems from $1,300.00 w/8 meg, 1.08 gig IIDD, 14” SVGA

Call us for personal in home service.Always free delivery and setup.Nationwide shipping available.

Full Range of PC’s for home or office, new or used.

Software and accessories.

IITML web page services available across Canada

Call for AST corporate computers.sales, service, repairs, networking and installations.

Call Dave Bosma at 905-560-3447 or e-mail [email protected]

res: 905-692-5967

SUPER BUY ON A SUPER BIBLE

NIV Life Application BibleHardcover Deluxe Edition

Reg. $62.50 SpecialFreight Free $44.95 each

NIV Gift and Award BibleLeatherette Burgundy

Reg. $9.50 Special $5.50 each10 to 24 – $5.25 each

25 or more – $4.95 each

Freight $1.00 on first copy.Add 50¢ each to 24th copy. Add 25¢ each 25th and up.

While stock lasts.

You may pay by VISA, Mastercard or cheque.Please add 7% G.S.T. only.

Christian Book& Record13042 - 82 StreetEdmonton, AB T5E 2T5Ph. (403) 478-2798Fax (403) 478-2002

Open:Monday-Saturday – 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

5205 Harvester Road #2Burlington, ON L7L 6B5

Tel./Fax (905) 631-19291-800-376-7199

T H E M U S I C G R O U PWillem Van Suydam, General Manager

• CONTENT CHURCH ORGANS• DOMUS HOME ORGANS ($6,995.00)• DUTCH CD’S and TAPES• LESSONS• NOW ALSO PRE-OWNED PIANOS


HERITAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL10290 Wadsworth BlvdWestminster, CO 80021303-759-0984

In keeping with our promise to educate our children inthe Reformed faith, we are asking for your support inthe continuing operation of our school. Heritage Chris-tian School faces a deficit of $16,500 for the comingyear. Please prayerfully consider assisting our school.

I would like to support Heritage Christian Schoolwith a donation of

_____ $50 _____ $75 _____ $100 _____ $250 _____ $500

Other__________________________________________

Name ________________________________________

Address ______________________________________

City ______________________ ZipCode __________

SALES POSITIONSAVAILABLE

Due to expansion and promotion from within, PremierSchool Agendas Ltd. has openings for

SALES REPRESENTATIVES

in B.C. and Ontario. Applications may be forwarded to

Mr. H. Stel, General Manager, 31212 Peardonville Rd., Abbotsford, B.C., V2T 6K8.

Preference will be given to articulate self starters. Pre-vious sales experience, computer literacy, and post-sec-ondary education are definite assets. Positions will take effect September 1996.

The MOST news on the Netherlands and the Dutch in Canada

and the U.S.A.

Ontario Edition: P.O. Bag 9033, Surrey, BC V3T 4X3tel: (416) 287-6487 (between 12:00 & 8:00 p.m.)

Western Canada: P.O. Bag 9033, Surrey, BC V3T 4X3tel: (604) 532-1733

U.S.A.: P.O. Box 313, Lynden, WA 98264-0313tel: (604) 532-1733

the Windmill

Ask for our list of book titles by Piet Prins, W.G. van de Hulst and others

CAMPAIGN CALGARYThe congregation of the Canadian Reformed Church in Calgary and the Tyndale Christian School Society have em-barked on a project to construct a facility for church and school. Growth in the school and the cost of renting otherfacilities have put the congregation under pressure to begin construction as soon as possible. Our congregation hasalready purchased property and surpassed the challenge of pledging $50,000 to the new building. Our goal is toraise an additional $200,000. We prayerfully ask for you to support us by:

1. A financial contribution2. Considering a move to this beautiful city

*many jobs available*enthusiastic congregation and school*affordable housing costs

If you wish to know more about this project, contact either:

John Hoogerdijk 1-403-590-0751or

Harry deBoer 1-403-285-7075

You may also send E-mail to [email protected]

CLARION, JUNE 28, 1996

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BE SURE TO INSURE,CALL US TODAY!

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CONCEPT:PROTECT YOUR ASSETS!!ENSURE PEACE OF MIND!

BURNHILL REALTY LIMITED3235 Fairview Street, Burlington, ON L7N 3L1

JOHN MEERVELDAssociate Broker

1(905) 639-33551(905) 528-2177FAX 1(905) 639-7852CAR 1(905) 541-4366

Call me at no obligationl TO LIST l TO SELL l TO BUY

PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FOR YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS

Serving the COMMUNITY SINCE 1980Burlington, Waterdown, Flamborough

Grimsby and Beamsville Area

WALINGA INC.We are presently looking for an energetic innovative

MARKETING ASSISTANTPreference will be given to:

Experience and Agricultural background.Please send your resume to:

WALINGA INC.RR 5, Guelph, ON N1H 6J2

Ph. (519) 824-8520Attention: Terry Medemblik

clarion country other than quebec and even opinions for amal- ... of public morality such as a...

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