This is a reprint of the letter from Pastor Dave. Dear Member/Friend of First Reformed Church,

The consistory has set the date for our return to worship in our sanctuary on Sunday, June 7, 2020. It is something that we have been praying for and looking forward to for many months. When we come together, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper and hear a message from God’s word! Yet not everything will be as it was before the pandemic. There will be some changes that we may not welcome, but we can all give grace in this turbulent time. In the next few days, you will receive a letter from consistory where some of the changes will be explained.

I am sending you a pastoral letter because I want to address the loss that we may feel with these changes. A small group under the leadership of our vice-president of consistory, an elder, a deacon, a nurse along with your pastor, discussed the governor’s declaration for church opening. Additional discussion centered around other research submitted, information gleaned from other churches that are in the planning stages for restarting their services, conversations on restarting from about 50 pastors from the Synod of the Heartland and the experience of other churches that have already been meeting. Our Goal was to define and address the safety concerns of all those who gather. Some of us are anxious to get together and commune and others have some fear of what could happen to them or their loved ones. This means that we need to have the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control uppermost in our thoughts, words, and actions.

I want to ask you to be in prayer for the June 7, 2020 reopening service! Please pray for God’s blessing and that God would be evident in our worship, that His name would be praised and glorified!!

Finally, I believe that God redeems all He allows! This time has spiritual meaning for us as a church. Bonnie and I have been praying for the community of Boyden, the nation, and the world. We are praying for a revival and return to a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ!!! Our goal is to utilize the vision statement of our church to define its mission. JESUS SAVES, GROW AND GO! Invite your friends and neighbors to come and worship with us on June 7,2020!!!

Warm regards, REV. DAVID POPPEN SPECIAL TRANSITIONAL MINISTER REDEVELOPMENT PASTOR

*good medical reports for family members, neighbors and co-workers

*the Sacrament of marriage for Zach & Kalena (Dekkers) Fedders on April 24 and Ryan & Jaycee (Darnell) Reiser on March 21. May Christ’s love be in your

hearts and in your home.

*all fathers, grandfathers, uncles and any man who fills a father-role – We celebrate you on Father’s Day and everyday!

*God’s Word, the Bible, a blueprint to live our lives for Him

*the blessings of birthdays and anniversaries

*answers to personal prayers

*each member of Boyden First Reformed Church

*the consistory members and those in our congregation in the medical field who have met to discuss and put in place safety measures so that we can

worship together in the church!

*all those who have continued to work and keep our country going during this pandemic

*teachers and those in education who have had to totally change their methods

and who have continued to teach and pray for our children

*everyone who has done some good in their communities and in our country so that we can all be as safe as possible

*continued healing and strength following surgery for Shirley Baartman and

Todd Warntjes

*healing for health issues for Jeff Neuman’s grandmother Shirley Nolte, Arlys Van Nyhuis’s sister Ardelle and Bonnie Poppen’s friend and co-worker Sue

Vinson

*your Secret Sister

*all fathers and father-figures – that God may be ever-present in their lives and that they feel the love and joy of family and His grace

*all those confined to their homes and care centers

*trust in Jesus to be in control of our lives

*the men and women serving our country – Lord, keep them safe.

*an end to the Covid-19 pandemic

*strength to not follow the ways of the world, but to be faithful people and

obey God’s commands

*the Consistory and Pastor Dave as they make decisions for our church

SUNSHINE FOR THE MONTH: Mom Word Scramble Answers from last month – beautiful, kind, tender, understanding, patient, helpful, wonderful, lovely, sweet, trustworthy, unselfish, angelic, welcoming, cheerful, charming, honest, loyal, strong, respectful, faithful, imaginative, talented, enduring & extraordinary

Dadisms!

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1 NKJV

Rufus McDaniel, born in rural Ohio in 1850, was licensed to preach when he was only ninteen. He was soon afterward ordained into the Christian Church and married. His blessings were tripled by the births of Clarence, Minnie and Herschel. Clarence, the firstborn, followed in his father’s footsteps and became a minister in the Christian denomination. The daughter, Minnie, married an Ohio boy and lived nearby in Dayton. It was Herschel who broke his dad’s heart by his untimely death in 1913. After Rufus had buried his son, he realized anew that joy and contentment cannot be based on human affection or external gift. They flow from an endless relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Out of that experience, he wrote, “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart.” Rufus went on to pastor churches in southern Ohio for many years before retiring to Dayton to be near his daughter. He wrote over a hundred hymns, but this is the only one that has endured. It, too, would have been lost to us but for the great evangelist Billy Sunday, who counted it among his favorites. This notice appeared among the obituaries in the Dayton Daily News on February 13, 1940:

REV. MCDANIEL, NOTED WRITER OF HYMNS, DIES The Rev. Rufus H. McDaniel, 90, retired Congregational Christian minister, died at 9 am Tuesday at the home of the daughter, Mrs. Frank R. Liesenhoff … He had been ailing for some time, but had been seriously ill about one week. The Rev. McDaniel, who celebrated his ninetieth birthday on Jan. 29, composed and published more than one hundred hymns that have been used by all denominations, yet he received nothing in the way of cash remuneration. He was the guest on Ken Randolph’s program over WHIO the day after he had celebrated his eighty-ninth birthday, and sang “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart,” a hymn he wrote many years ago and which is now one of the best known of its type in evangelistic circles.

50 YEARS AGO

The annual church picnic was held that was also a farewell for Dikki Hansen, a foreign exchange student from Norway who was staying with Mr & Mrs L.V. Grooters.

Congratulations were offered to Mr & Mrs Dwayne Alons for the birth of their baby boy.

Vacation Bible school had approximately 175 children in 18 classes.

25 YEARS AGO

Blake Lee Mulder, son of Tami Mulder & Rich Mulder, was baptized.

Congratulations were extended to Gary & Gladys Verrips on their 50th wedding anniversary.

The All-Church picnic and RCYF vs. Consistory Softball game was held.

10 YEARS AGO

An open house for the 55th Wedding Anniversary of John R. & Ruth Boender was held.

Sympathy wishes were extended to Angela Lode and family for the passing of her father and to the De Wild family in the loss of Barb’s husband, Larry Lyells.

5 YEARS AGO

An open house for Toni Ten Haken’s 90th birthday was held at Fieldcrest.

Congratulations were extended to Ashley Warntjes and Danielle Kooiker for their Professions of Faith.

Greyson Kooiker, son of Danielle Kooiker, was baptized.

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My Name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:19-20 Worshipping together in the Sanctuary!! We are so excited to finally be able to worship together in church! What a joyous time this will be!! While it is very important to protect each other and follow the guidelines to safely worship together, this is a time that we have been longing for! Praise God! Thank you to everyone who has been working diligently to put the safety measures in place, meeting and praying about the current times, and having to make difficult, sometimes unpopular, decisions. Thank you to everyone who has continued to mail and/or drop-off tithes and offerings. Your dedication to Boyden First Reformed Church is so wonderful! Shout-out to Dads! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, grandpas, uncles and anyone else filling the father role to kids! “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 Bible Studies! Prior to the Covid-19 restrictions, there were several Bible studies that were going on. It will be to the discretion of each group as to when they will start up again. Practice safety and protect each other, particularly those in high-risk populations. Pray for God’s guidance and feel free to visit with the Consistory if you have any questions. Mother/Baby Baskets! We used to ask for donations for this ministry the end of May. Of course, due to Covid-19 and the restrictions in place, we were unable to do so. We will explore this mission later in the year if this is something we can again take part in. Please pray for the mothers and babies who benefitted from this program and remain in need! Awana! We would still like to have a cook-out and Store for our Awana kids sometime this summer. If anyone is interested in helping out with this, please visit with Teresa H., Ken H., Brent & Shari F., or anyone working with Awana. Help us give our Awana clubbers a night of fun and recognition of their hard work during a difficult year. “We are Women of God – we are strong; we are beautiful; we are valuable; we are virtuous; we are loved; we are fearfully and wonderfully made!”

Boyden RCWM Executive Committee

Kathy Beek

Teresa Harms Ranae Kleinwolterink

Lisa Nelson Tamie Uittenbogaard

The newlywed couple from last month was Zach & Kalena Fedders!

Another couple from our church also got married recently – do you know this beautiful family?

Fund Balances of April 2020 Awana $1,938.02

Benevolent Fund $11,606.28

Building & Repair Fund $6,355.41

Charity Fund $912.37

General Fund $15,579.32

Memorial Fund $5,029.34

Mission Fund $6,832.51

Scholarship Fund $15.37

Great Father … Appreciative Son

An Arizona man named Ruff wrote to a newspaper to tell about his father. Ruff said his dad’s first priority was to be a good father. He supported his children in their various activities: football or baseball games, scouting, school activities, etc.

Ruff said his dad, a heavy-equipment operator, was physically big but was also big-hearted. Ruff saw him help a dog that was hurt, and go out of his way to help the poor. He saw his father’s eyes moisten when he held his baby granddaughter for the first time.

His father had taught him to drive, to use tools correctly, not to be greedy, and to be respectful of others. The good father had taught his son how to be a good man.

Ruff ended his letter to the paper with these words: “I guess … I thought I’d reach a point in my life where I could be self-sufficient and not need him. That was a young man’s thinking. Now that I’m over 40 and he is gone, I think about him every day and miss him. And I need him.

“So for all the times I didn’t say it: Dad, I love you.”

- Adapted from a letter in The Arizona Republic

... Congratulations to Jonah Fedders! Jonah Fedders completed his course work at Dordt University in December of 2019, majoring in Communications with a minor in Business. In January, 2020 he accepted a position at People’s Bank in Sioux Center as a financial consultant. On May 8 he graduated in a virtual ceremony from Dordt University. Way to go Jonah!!

… Zach Fedders and Kalena Dekkers were united in marriage on Friday, April 24 in Ireton, IA. As you can imagine their original plan of a church wedding was not able to happen because of Co-Vid. This didn’t damper their spirits as they just went to their plan B. That plan was getting married with immediate family in attendance in a neighbor’s backyard complete with a beautiful treehouse. It was a night to remember. They hope to renew their vows on August 28 at the Ireton Christian Reformed Church with a reception to follow in Hawarden. The happy couple is making their home in Ireton. Congratulations Zach & Kalena!!

Simple Joys

*Knock something off your to-do list today. Even if it’s a very small thing, you’ve probably been talking about doing it for far too long. Just DO it and bask in the satisfaction of having one less thing to accomplish in your life! *Skip rocks on a lake or pond. Why? Because it’s fun, it’s free, and it’s the perfect way to spend some peaceful time alone with your thoughts. *Seek out and thank a war veteran. Rather than on Veteran’s or Memorial Day, do it on an average day so it comes as a pleasant surprise to the individual who served.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY1 2 3 4 5 6

Michael Van Der BrinkPeg Noack Alan Warntjes Butch Warntjes Tom & Bobby Reuvers (46) Paul Moret

7 8 9 10 11 12 13CommunionRoger Voskuil Consistory 8 pm

Vera BoenderDylan MillerRobbie Warntjes Ashlyn Van Der BrinkMark & Cindy Warntjes (40) Jeff & Shauna Neuman (12)

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Rev. Dr. John Hartog 1st Day of Summer

Flag Day

Lorinda Van Roekel Les & Carla Starkenburg (39) Davis Van Roekel Chris & Holly Starkenburg (10)21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Happy Father's Day!

Rev. Dr. John Hartog

Marlin & Tamie UittenbogaardMarv & LuEtta Heemskerk (52) (41) Sherry Schomaker David Mouw Doug Van Roekel

28 29 30

Richard Schwanke

Norlan & Roxa VanRoekel (57) Nic & Kaitlyn Rosenboom (2)

JUNE