Fa i t hFa i t hFa i t h ofofof

A u t u m n 2 0 1 3 A u t u m n 2 0 1 3 A u t u m n 2 0 1 3

Experience God’s Word Express God’s Love Equip God’s People

P e o p lP e o p lP e o p l eee

The Newsletter of Faith Christian Reformed Church

On this year’s 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism, I remember with fondness the only “side trip” our family took while I was studying in the Netherlands. For a weekend, my wife, four kids (ages three to twelve) and I made a pilgrimage to old Heidelberg, Germany. Since we were discipling the family in the catechism, our dream was someday to visit its namesake. We were sur-prised with a top-floor room in De Hollandsche Hotel, where we had panoramic views of the castle of Frederick III (who authorized the writing of the catechism), the Church of the Holy Spirit (where Caspar Olevianus, a co-writer, was pastor) and the Neckar River, a finger of the Rhine. The next day, we toured the castle and the church and saw The University of Heidelberg, where Zacharias Ursinus, the principal author of the catechism, taught. The professor completed the catechism in 1563 and lectured many of the first Dutch Reformed pastors there prior to the building of their own seminaries in the Netherlands. Most memorable for me, however, was the first night in the hotel, overlooking that grand, old, lit-up city. Our family recited Lord’s Day 1 of the catechism. Over the years, we had memorized some of Heidelberg’s greatest hits, such as Lord’s Day 1, 7, 10, 21 and 45. But nothing tops the charts like the first: “My only comfort. . . .” Of course, we were not the first family to study the cate-chism together and in church. The catechism, after all, is the third-best-selling Christian book of all time, following only the Bible and Pilgrim’s Progress.

In the early days of the Dutch Reformed church, there was no second “worship” service as such. The second gathering on the Lord’s Day, rather, was an informal teaching service for the entire family, based on the Heidelberg Catechism. The minister would come down from the pulpit and provide a brief explanation of the questions and answers for the week, field questions, encourage discussion. The children were invited forward to recite the catechism answers (using a simpler version for the little tots). Eventually, some families started ditching the second ser-vice because of embarrassment over their children’s failure to recite the answers correctly. Pastors then started provid-ing separate catechism classes for the children and young people’s recitations, while the entire family continued to at-tend the main catechism service – a practice that held strong almost to the end of the last century and is still in vogue in some congregations. Now, 450 years later, the catechism is still as young and vibrant as ever, a hands-down favorite in countless churches in many cultures worldwide. Its warmth, personal focus and inspiring summary of guilt, grace and gratitude continue to glow in the hearts of God’s people. By Dr. H. David Schuringa, as published in the April 10, 2013 issue of Chris-tian Renewal. Pastor Greg’s fall evening sermon series, “A 450th Anniversary Tour of the Heidelberg Catechism,” began September 15.

M y H e a r t B e l o n g s t o H e i d e l b e r g

This past summer 13 of our high school students and leaders went west to Omaha, Nebraska. We partnered with

an organization called Group Publishing to do home repairs for people

who could not afford it or could not physically do it themselves.

About 300 students and leaders came together for the week. Our

group got the project of

scraping, caulking, and

painting the house of a man

named Paul. A quiet man, it

was clear by his house that

he has been in hard times for

a while. The first 2 days the

students put a lot of sweat

and time into scraping.

Then we spent a day and a

half priming and another day and a half painting the house. We had peo-

ple on the ground, up on 32 foot extension ladders, and on various other

roofs and ladders to complete the project. The change by the end of the week was pretty amazing. Cont’d next Page

Omaha Serve Trip

INSIDE Tapestries of Life

P2

Youth Ministries

P3

Women’s Bible

Study P3

Boot Camp P3

Mom2Mom P3

Baptisms P4

On about the third day of work a neighbor of Paul came up and

asked why we were doing this for Paul. We shared that we were a

group of Christians that were helping with nearly 50 projects in the

city. The neighbor told us that about 10 years ago he tried to con-

vince Paul to let him help paint Paul’s house, but Paul refused.

The neighbor said that he was glad that he was willing to let us

help. It was encouraging to our group that even though Paul was a

quiet man it seemed he has opened up to accepting more help from

people. Our prayer is that this openness in Paul would open even

wider to the help that he can find through the Holy Spirit. He

talked about his faith while we were with him, but it was hard to

Omaha Serve Trip, Cont’d.

Again we return from a very good trip to Tapestries of Life in Mexico. We are very thankful for God’s protection and for giving us

the opportunity to serve him in this place.

This year, as always, provided us with many great times in working, sharing, uplifting, feeding, and just serving God and others in

many ways. The challenges of the elements of weather, flooding, border issues,

and serving in a poverty stricken area are always with us. Yet, we continue to see

God’s faithfulness in everything.

We are always encouraged with progress that is seen since our last visit. This

year we saw a completed footing and concrete pad and about 5 courses of block

starting to give form to the cafeteria ― this is the final building needed so children

can occupy the orphanage, which has been about 15 years in the making.

Twenty-two volunteers gave their time and resources to continue the work at

Tapestries of Life. This commitment is amazing in view of the dangers that have

kept so many groups from continuing with this ministry. We do see improvement

in the towns we travel through. We see more children playing in the street and

more activity in the towns than we have over the last few years. The area is still,

however, a battle ground for drug cartel power and drug trafficking. We need to

continue to pray for peace to take hold in these border towns so families can live a normal life again.

This year we had the opportunity to work with some volunteers that wanted to join a group. We had a pastor and three of his church

members with us from a Baptist Church in Texas interested in supporting this ministry. We also had a man from Iowa who has been

volunteering his time with shipping items from the U.S. down to the ministry in Mexico. Joining us also was a single woman from

Germany who was able to spend time in the U.S. and wanted to volunteer some time. It was really great to meet new faces and some

who have been part of the ministry that we never knew before. Working side by side with people you’ve just met is a really great

experience.

Our mercy ministry day of feeding the poor in the city meeting place is still a

high point for all of us. Again, we saw the miracle of food multiplying to supply

food bags for everyone who came and stood in line for it. We actually had food

left over after seeing many more people in line than we had bags for! Sound fa-

miliar?

We as a group continue to thank our church for all the prayer and financial sup-

port that we have seen over the years, and for partnering with this life-changing

ministry in a very depressed, poor and crime-stricken area.

Please continue to pray for the project that is slowly coming to completion in

northern Mexico. God has certainly called us to continue to the finish line and we

are excited to finally see that completion is possible in the next few years.

tell what he truly believed. We hope that when he looks at the

outside of his house he will be reminded that God makes all

things new.

Working on the house was only part of our experience. Our

home base was Grace University. We slept in their dorms and

were able to use their cafeteria. In the morning and in the

evening we would have a large group worship experience where

we sang together and our pastor for the week led us in messages.

It was a spiritually refreshing and physically exhausting week in

Omaha. We were all glad we could be a part of it.

–Bryce Vander Stelt

Update on the Mission work at “Tapestries of Life Ministries” in Guadaloupe Mexico.

Little boy (left) about 5-6 years old whose parents have both been murdered by the drug cartel. Everyone in the town is too poor to adopt him so he moves from house to house each day as the town shares the task of raising him. He would be one of the first to be brought to the orphanage if it could open today!

Sifting Sand for the Building

Distributing Food

The bag held by the little boy (right) is one of almost 200 made by women in our church for the food distribution. The sewing “bee” was organized by Ellyn Nicodem and held at Friendly Stitches Sew & Vac on August 22.

This Newsletter provides the Faith CRC congregation information about our ministry, events, and people, while honoring our Lord Jesus Christ. People of Faith is published 5x/yr. by Faith CRC, 1070 S. Prospect Ave., Elmhurst IL 60126. (ed.- kjgreenfield@sbc.global.net) Senior Pastor – Dr. Gregory D. Schuringa – 630/279-1779 Church Office – 630/279-1776 Fax – 630/834-5748 www.faithelmhurst.org

Thursday Morning & Evening Women’s Bible Study There is something special that happens when people come together to study God’s Word. God always speaks through His Word and there is always something to apply to our lives. With good fellowship, food, and friends added in, it’s a sweet experience. Thursday Morning Women’s Bible Study has started its 6th year. We have enjoyed 5 different Beth Moore studies over the last 5 years; this year we decided to use Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted, by Priscilla Shirer (daughter of well-known author and speaker, Dr. Tony Evans). This study of Jonah encourages us to see life interruptions as divine interven-tions. “Interruptions have a way of revealing whether we really mean it when we say, ‘Lord, not my will, but yours be done.’” After completion of this study in January, we will study more Minor Prophets using The Wiersbe Bible Study Series, covering Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Malachi. For the many women not able to come to a daytime study, we created an evening class which meets at “the House.” Both the daytime and the evening classes meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month and are off to a solid start with great attendance, with a good mix of ages and church backgrounds. As always, the morning class, which meets from 9 to 11, offers excellent childcare. For more information, contact Sarah Schuringa @ 630-279-0016 or sschuringa@sbcglobal.net.

―Sarah Schuringa

Fall Youth Ministries: Fall is here and the youth ministries are once again busy at the church. Asylum is our group targeted to anyone in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. We meet one Friday night a month at the youth house; during the evening we have times of discussion, and games, as well as prayer groups (new this year for Asylum). The Gathering kicked off on September 8 with a murder mystery night where they had to figure out who the culprit of crime was. This year in The Gath-ering we are talking about how to find hard answers to hard questions. How we answer these questions says everything about our character. If you have not been to a meeting of The Gathering recently we start out our nights with a meal provided by parents. Once the meal is complete we have a time of discussion and activities and then each night ends with prayer groups. If you are a high school student or know of a student who is looking for a youth group to belong to, our door is always open to new faces. It’s a place where we can enjoy each other’s company and dig deeper into God’s word! What if you have already graduated from high school? There is still a place for you to connect. Our young adult small groups have been meeting on Tuesday and Thursday nights for the past year and during that time we have been continually adding new faces into the groups. People in these small groups can be anywhere from college age through their twenties. Our nights together start out with a meal that is served up pot luck style by the members of the group. Each group has either a video series or a book that they are working through together. We read a chapter or watch a video and then we have time for open discussion about our thoughts on what was said. It is great to share ideas with one another and help each other grow in our understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Whether you are in junior high, high school or you have been out of high school for a while, at Faith we hope that you can find a place to get connected. All of these groups exist so that we can have relation-ships with other Christians where we can share how God is at work in the world around us. We encourage each other in struggle and celebrate with each other during the good times. It’s all about relationships and preparing each other to spread God’s love into the world. Come and join us! ―Bryce Vander Stelt

Boot Camp We recently celebrated a year of boot camp at Faith Church. The group consists of people from Faith CRC, Elmhurst CRC, and the surrounding community. We have had as many as 27 people and as few as 8, with a core group of about 15. It has been fun to see the group get stronger and more physically fit, but also grow closer to each other. Friendships have blossomed and a community has been formed. During the hour we spend together we sweat, chat, laugh, and push ourselves and each other to work as hard as we can. I have really enjoyed getting to know this group and hearing how being a part of this class has enriched their lives. ―Rachel Baron, Boot Camp Instructor

Mom2Mom At the recent Ministries Fair at Faith Church, I was manning a table for Mom2Mom. An older grandma from our congregation came up and said that this ministry is so important because you need that friendship and support when you are a mom. She remembered that when her children were little, all the moms would get together in each other’s homes, and how that doesn’t happen as naturally today as it used to. She’s exactly right, and that is exactly why Mom2Mom was started last year. Mom2Mom is off to a great start again this year. This new ministry for moms at Faith CRC meets twice a month for fellowship, encouragement, discussion, prayer, and mentoring. We have a really nice group of about 20 moms, and a fantastic group of 10 mentor moms. This year we are reading through a great book by Jill Savage, titled, No More Perfect Moms. The book teaches us how to love our real and imperfect lives, homes, children, husbands, friends, and to find freedom and grace in Christ. For our first meeting, we gathered at nicely decorated round tables, shared brunch, watched a brief introduction DVD to our book, and just spent time getting to know one another with good discussion questions.

Cont’d on Page 4

Matt and Niki Tazelaar pre-

sented Alex Lucas, born April

16, 2013, for baptism on July 7,

2013. His older brothers are

Jacob and Liam; his grandpar-

ents are Tom and Ruth Tazelaar

and Mike and Linda Schuette.

Matt and Niki say, “We are so

blessed to have Alex born

healthy and happy into our

lives. We are excited to teach

him about God’s love for him.”

The text read for Alex is Psalm 84: 10&12, “Better is one day in

your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a door-

keeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the

wicked. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.”

Gabriella Kaylee Perez was

born June 4, 2013 to Misael

and Nicole Perez. They

brought her for baptism on

July 21, 2013. She has a

brother Jay Misael; her grand-

mother is Deborah Landman.

The text read for Gabriella is

Psalm 23: 1&2, “The Lord is

my shepherd, I shall not be in

want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me be-

side quiet waters.”

Peter Scott Boonstra III,

born April 12, 2013, was presented by

his parents, Peter Scott Boonstra Jr

and Elizabeth Boonstra, for baptism

on August 18, 2013. His older sister is

Madeleine and his grandparents are

Peter and Janet Boonstra. The Scrip-

ture read for Peter Scott is Psalm 119:

73, “Your hands made me and formed

me; give me understanding to learn

your commands.”

Tyler Keith Eizinga, son of Bob and Melinda Eizinga, was

baptized on September 8, 2013. Bob and Melinda are so thank-

ful for the promises and grace of God and they look forward to

raising Tyler in Jesus, with the support of their church family.

The verse read for Tyler is Isaiah 40:11, “He tends his flock like

a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them

close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

We laughed, we cried, we learned things about people we never knew. We ended our time with the Mentor Moms praying for us, which is so encouraging. If you know of anyone who might be interested in this group, please share this information with them. Whether you're a new mom of an infant or an experienced mom with a house full of kids, you'll benefit from this group. Please feel free to join at any time. We meet the 2nd and 4th Thursdays from 9:00 to 11:00. Excellent childcare provided. Contact Sarah Schuringa with any questions at 630-279-0016 or email sschuringa@sbcglobal.net. Register yourself and your children by going to faithelmhurst.org. Mom2Mom’s outreach project this year is to collect new or gently used Bible story books to be passed out to moms and chil-dren from lower income areas. Tom de Vries, a member of our congregation who lives in Gary, IN, has many opportunities in his

Mom2Mom cont’d.

community, through his junk car business, to reach people with the good news of the gospel. He has found that moms with young children are always open to receiving a Bible story book to read to their kids, and are so thankful because they don’t have access to Bible story books like we do. He has already given out many Bible story books that have been collected from New2You, the Timothy Clothing and Toy resale, and garage sales. He tells the moms that these books are from the Mom2Mom group at his church, and that our children have grown up reading them and that we’d like to share them with other moms to read to their kids. Tom says it’s such an easy way to bring the good news of the gospel. He can use as many Bible Story books as we can give. Please feel free to join in this pro-ject by donating any Bible Story books or illustrated children’s story Bibles you no longer need ―you can give them to Tom De Vries, Sarah Schuringa, or any member of the Mom2Mom group. ―Sarah Schuringa

B a p t i s m s

Margaret Grace Huizinga, born on March 25, 2013 to Matt

and Stephanie Huizinga, was

baptized on September 29, 2013.

Her brother is Gavin; her grand-

parents are Ken and Henny

Huizinga, and her great-

grandparents, Ben and Terry

Vander Naald. Matt and

Stephanie say, “As parents we

are excited to have Maggie baptized as a sign of God’s love for

her. We acknowledge Maggie is a gift from God and offer her

up for baptism as a child of the covenant. It is our hope and

prayer that as parents we follow through on our responsibilities

to lead Maggie to a life that is pleasing to him.” The verse read

for Maggie is Acts 20:32, “Now I commit you to God and to the

word of his grace which can build you up and give you an

inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

Graham Matthew Sowers, born

to Matthew and Allison Sowers

on June 20, 2013, was presented

for baptism by them on September

29, 2013. His grandparents are

Herman and Cindy Vander Naald

and Richard and Nancy Sowers.

He is also a great-grandchild of

Ben and Terry Vander Naald. The

verse read for Graham is Jeremiah

29:11, “For I know the plans I have

for you,” declares the Lord, “plans

to prosper you and not to harm

you, plans to give you hope and a future.”