Gayla R. Postma, The Banner’s longtime news editor, is retiring effective Oct. 30. Postma has served in the role (shared for the past three years) since 2002.
Her writing career with the Christian Reformed Church’s magazine began in 1983, when the periodical launched its news network. Postma, then 23, covered Classis Toronto and neighboring Classis Hamilton (regional groups of churches).
Postma began covering synod, the CRC’s annual general assembly, in 1997 and in recent years has written a guide to the lengthy agenda for the yearly gathering. Under her editorship, The Banner’s synod reporting earned recognition from the Associated Church Press for several years, including Awards of Merit for in-depth coverage in 2015 and 2016.
Postma says she’s most proud of helping the news section keep up with readers’ changing consumption of media and being able to “make governance issues, like the work of synods and boards, more accessible to our readers.”
The Banner’s editor-in-chief, Shiao Chong, agrees. “Gayla has a great ability to make dry and sometimes dense church governance materials accessible,” he said. “We will also deeply miss her wealth of experience and institutional memory.”
Postma worked with four different editors-in-chief as news editor. She was part of the team that transitioned the magazine from its subscription model after Synod 2005 adopted an every-household Banner.
Bob DeMoor, Banner editor from 2003 to 2015, said, “Her creativity and hard work contributed immensely to our shaping The Banner into an every-member magazine with both print and online components.”
DeMoor remarked on Postma’s courage and persistence that “came with a deep love for the Lord, the church, our readers, and our Banner staff as a whole.”
“Gayla wasn’t always immune from controversy or getting into a pickle or two,” DeMoor added. “But she was always a heaven-send for a respun magazine trying to find its way and for those who cared enough about our church to read and heed the truth.”
Postma, 61, lives in Morrisburg, Ont., with her husband, Gary, who retired as a Christian school administrator in 2017.
The Banner editorial team will continue covering news from meetings of classis (a regional group of Christian Reformed churches), synod, and the Council of Delegates (the group that provides governance for the denomination in the interim of synod).
About the Author
Alissa Vernon is the news editor for The Banner.
