Regular attendance at Sunday night worship services continues to decline in the Christian Reformed Church, according to a survey reviewed Monday at the Grand Rapids-based denomination's annual meeting. Respondents to an online survey also reported less-frequent private prayer, bible reading and spiritual devotion time than they did in a similar questionnaire six years ago...

Membership may be declining and the denomination's publishing arm shrinking, but the Christian Reformed Church in North America is not dying, its executive director said. Speaking to the church's annual Synod meeting at Calvin College, the Rev. Joel Boot on Monday, June 10, in a half-hour speech declared that the CRC "is not the Titanic," according to a report by The Banner, the church's magazine...

Michael Le Roy's career has been deeply molded by Reformed theology, one of the many reasons he accepted the offer to become the 10th president of Calvin College in June 2012. "I love the worldview tradition--that's why I love Calvin," he said. "But also through the course of my life as an academic, I've come to see the real value of the heart side. The heart chases the mind."...

Illiana Christian High School senior Olivia Holesinger is excited to begin her journey toward a career as an occupational therapist. Holesinger will attend Calvin College in Michigan for a pre-occupational therapy program...

Paige is the daughter of Dennis and Laura Burrell. She has one older sister, Megan Burrell.  Her sister attends Sacramento State in California.  Paige is extremely close to her family and knows family is everything.  Paige and her family attend Calvary Reformed Church in Ripon,CA and are active members...

The new exhibit at the Atrium Gallery of Second Christian Reformed Church in Grand Haven features calligraphic work from the Pen Dragons Calligraphy Guild of Kalamazoo. “As It Is Written: The fine art of calligraphy” runs through Aug. 16. The Kalamazoo guild was organized in 1983 to foster an appreciation of calligraphy, and promote the study and practice of calligraphy as an art form...

Dazed and grief-stricken. That's how many in Moore, Oklahoma and the surrounding region are feeling today after a two mile-wide (3.2 km) tornado with winds of up to 200 miles per hour tore through the city on May 20, killing more than 20 people and injuring at least 230. World Renew, an organization with more than 40 years of experience responding to horrific tornadoes and disasters in North America, is responding in partnership with Reformed Church World Service...

A home foreclosure prevention program will try to promote its pot of available money by partnering with religious leaders in the Grand Rapids area. Step Forward Michigan plans a press conference Monday, May 20, to announce a campaign to engage clergy and their congregants in the effort to increase awareness of free assistance...

Two member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC) from Reformed and Lutheran traditions have united to become the United Protestant Church of France. The merger of the Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France was celebrated at a joint national synod from 8 to 12 May in Lyon, France...

A public memorial service for Tim Bosma, the man from Hamilton, Ont., who was slain after taking two strangers on a test drive in a truck he had for sale, is scheduled for Wednesday at a local convention hall. John Veenstra, pastor at the Ancaster church Bosma attended with his wife and two-year-old daughter, said Sharlene Bosma decided to have a public service for her husband, and that the family remains grateful for the public support shown throughout their ordeal...

The horror is hard to put into words, but Mike Bylsma said it as good as any. “It was just a cruel thing,” he said outside the Covenant Reformed Church on Parnell Rd., where a prayer vigil was held Thursday night for the family of homicide victim Tim Bosma. “It’s just unbelievable.” A member of the church’s congregation, Bylsma was one of an estimated 300 people who attended the special service to offer comfort and support...

A senseless tragedy that stole the life of an Ancaster man in his prime has pulled local church communities together. Family and friends here in Sarnia-Lambton are mourning the loss of contractor Tim Bosma, who was found dead this week after he took two men for a test drive May 6 in a pickup truck he had been trying to sell. Bosma’s sister Jen Noordam and her husband Chris live in Sarnia-Lambton...

The widow of Tim Bosma spoke briefly to the media Wednesday afternoon from the Ancaster Christian Reformed Church. Sharlene Bosma thanked police for their efforts, the public for volunteering and spreading the story through social media and the press for keeping Tim’s name in the headlines...

Laura Babcock, 23, was last seen in Toronto on June 26, 2012. She hasn’t been heard from in almost a year. Her last phone call, according to phone records, was to Dellen Millard, the 27-year-old Etobicoke man charged with the murder of Ancaster resident Tim Bosma...

Having grown up in a single-parent home, Katilynn Schroeder knows what life can be like for a single mom. "I know how hard it was for her (mom) to have to sacrifice," Schroeder, of Sheboygan Falls, said. "So then when Mother's Day came around we (my brothers and I) painted a picture and we just did little things for her to make her feel special." Now at age 19, Schroeder and her husband are expecting their second child, so Schroeder also knows what it’s like to juggle the responsibilities of motherhood as a young parent...

In the midst of the worst days of their lives, Tim Bosma's family is finding solace in their faith. "We're Christians. In the end, even if it isn't the way we want it, we know God is with him … and that brings us peace," Bosma's brother-in-law Chris Noordan said. Noordan said his family got a glimmer of hope Thursday when they received news from police that Bosma's cellphone had been found in an industrial part of West Brantford...

Dallas Willard, an American philosopher, professor and author specializing his studies in Christian spiritual formation, died early Wednesday morning at age 77 after enduring a battle with stage four cancer. Willard, a philosophy professor at the University of Southern California and prolific writer, passed peacefully, uttering his last words, "thank you," from his hospital bed...

Just two years after celebrating 50 years as a congregation, Pioneer Christian Reformed Church sold the church building and property, at 3110 17 Mile Road, west of Meijer, without knowing where they were going to meet. They just knew that God said it was time - so they took a leap of faith. According to Pastor Jim Alblas, the congregation had purchased 60 acres of land at the corner of Algoma and 17 Mile about ...

On Friday, May 3 2013, the students and faculty of Chicago Christian High School set aside time to serve in Palos Heights. From 9-12, the 370 knights worked at 12 different locations in Palos Heights. Almost 70 students served at Lake Katherine, pulling invasive weeds, planing grasses and trees, and spreading wood chips...

Three years ago, I presented a quiz concerning Holland's history. Because Holland is celebrating Tulip Time, I offer another round of historical Holland trivia. Good luck!...

Hymnals are more like telephones than automobile tires. Tires wear out visibly and require replacing. Telephones, on the other hand, seldom wear out, yet still get replaced when updated models offer new features attractive enough to warrant the change. Like telephones, hymnals are built to last. Aiding their durability is the fact that they get limited outings (mostly on Sundays, often in the hands of gentle users)...

On Thursday afternoon various church, trade union and community leaders voiced strong criticism of an approach to affirmative action that is aimed at ensuring that the national racial demographics are reflected across South Africa, regardless of province or region. More than 15 church, trade union and community organisations pledged their support for Solidarity's affirmative action case against...

As floodwaters start to recede in the area of 54th Street and Averill Avenue SW, neighbors who were affected by the widespread flooding are assessing the water damage their homes sustained. Todd Grotenhuis, who lives across the street from Ideal Park CRC, at 320 56th St. SW, said he has 18 inches of water in his basement and expects to need new furniture...

Over 300 evangelicals representing 25 states gathered in the nation's capitol Wednesday for worship, prayer and meetings with members of Congress in an effort to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. The events, organized by the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT), began with a press conference in front of the Capitol, followed by a praise and worship service a few blocks away at Church of the Reformation...