HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-05-20, Page 59deadlines read
Immigrants hold successful church
from the Clinton News -
Record,
Augusta, 1949
Established just a little
more than- a year ago, the
local branch of the Christian
Reformed Church,
(originally Dutch Reformed
Church), has grown from
just a few people with a
small attendance every.
Sunday, to a congregation
consisting of 25 to 30 Dutch
families or about 100 people., -
The editor of the News -
Record had the gratifying
and rather unique ex-
perience of visiting the
church service held Sunday
afternoon last; the services
are conducted every Sunday
afternoon at two o'clock in
the Clinton Presbyterian
Church, Rattenbury St.,
East.
The minister is Rev. Ralph
J. Bos, Owen Sound, whose
territory covers a large part
of Ontario. The group which
assembles in Clinton, comes
from the territory roughly
embracing the Wingham,
Goderich,, Kirkton, Mitchell
area, with about six families
from around Clinton,
Goderich and Londesboro.
A school bus comes every
Sunday loaded with bright-
eyed children from the
Exeter-Kirkton district. A
Sunday School session is field
after' church, with about 40
children in attendance.
The services are con-
ducted mostly in Dutch, as
the majority Of the members
of the congregation have
emigrated from Holland only
within the past year. In order
that they might learn the
English language the more
readily, some English is
being used. For example, at
the beginning of Sunday
afternoon's service, a hymn
based on Psalm 65 was sung
in English. The text and
theme were also given in
both Dutch and English. .
Rev. Ralph J. Bos, the
regular minister, speaks
both Dutch and English
naturally, and is a great help
to these new emigrants and
their families. It is his aim to
have them all speak English
as quickly as possible, and
he has this end in view.
The form of the service is
very similar to that used by
the Presbyterian Church -
not ritualistic. Rey. Mr. Bos
Page 31
declared that the members
of the Christian Reformed
Church and himself were
most appreciative of the
action of the Clinton
Presbyterian Church
congregation in allowing
them to worship in the
Presbyterian Church every
Sunday. It was a true
Christian gesture, he said.
The Christian Reformed
Church is affiliated with the
Reformed Church of Holland
to which a majority of the
immigrants belong. It
.started in 1940 --to provide
religious services that
blended the native tongue
and the English language.
At present in all. Ontario,
there are six home.
missionaries and four
pastors of established
churches providing religious
services for the Dutch im-
migrants.
Christian 'Reformed
Churches are well
established in Sarnia,
Chatham, Hamilton and
Brampton.
Every Sunday afternoon after church, members of the
Christian Reformed congregation joined together for a
dinner and evening of entertainment. This photo, taken in
the 1950's, shows the Greidanus, Buruma and Harkema
families at the Greidanus home in Londesboro. (photo
courtesy of Mrs. Gary Haakl
Christian Church today
Today the Clinton
Christian Reformed Church
has a steadily growing,
always active congregation
of more than 155 area
families taking part, for a
total of 710 members.
The worshippers formally
organized as a congregation
on November 20, 1949 and
sure then the church has
expanded and branched off
into several other com-
munities. Just south of
Clinton- is the church's
closest affiliation, the
Vanastra Christian Church,
with their own congregation,
and minister Rev. Peter
Mantel.
The Blyth area Christian
Reformed Church was born
from the Clinton group. and
in the fall of 1978 another 43
families, some 175 members,'
established their own
congregational family in
Goderich.
•In 1976 Rev. Arte Van -
Turn to page 3 2 •