In Memoriam: Rev. John George Van Ryn
Patient, humble, kind, and a gracious listener, John Van Ryn was a peacemaker who was able to stay calm in difficult situations. He died July 1 at age 90.
Stories from people, congregations and ministries of the CRCNA, reported by The Banner's news editor and a team of regular correspondents and Church Worldwide news from the Religion News Service. Send news tips to news@thebanner.org.
Patient, humble, kind, and a gracious listener, John Van Ryn was a peacemaker who was able to stay calm in difficult situations. He died July 1 at age 90.
Tim Bossenbroek, pastor of Hessel Park Christian Reformed Church in Champaign, Ill., was one of the organizers of Guns to Garden Tools, a community anti-violence event July 29-30.
Still leading a weekly online Bible study and participating in the annual meeting of the Christian Community Development Association that he helped to organize decades before, John Perkins continues to mobilize Christian communities.
Having written nearly 40 books across a number of genres: fiction, autobiography, theology, essays, and sermons, Frederick Buechner died Aug. 15.
At its triennial Churchwide Assembly in Columbus, Ohio, the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States reiterated its commitment to develop Native leaders in the church and encourage the return of land.
Bethel Christian Reformed Church, in Sioux Center, Iowa, is one of several congregations working to resettle displaced Ukrainian families.
“You never want justice and equity to be dependent on goodwill,” says Rabbi Julia Watts Belser, long-time disability justice advocate in Washington, D.C.
Monica Schaap Pierce, the new executive director of Christian Churches Together, USA, sees the group’s “intentional focus on relationship-building … as important as ever given the urgency of unity in our divided world.”
In Washington, D.C., members danced and sang to a global selection of hymns and grappled with the power of song to change the world.
Laurie Hiemstra, an orthopedic surgeon in Banff, Alta., who grew up in the Christian Reformed Church, is the 77th person and first woman to lead the national association.
A July 27 letter from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to the Ecumenical Patriarch speaks to concerns for the entire global Orthodox Christian community.
An excavation project in its 10th season in an ancient Galilean synagogue at Huqoq uncovered intricate mosaic floor panels dating back nearly 1,600 years.
Jim Kok loved being a pastor and touched many lives during his 65 years of ministry. He died July 3 at age 90.
Pope Francis apologized for 'the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality.'
Groups of Canadian churches asked for a listening session with the Christian Reformed Church Canada Corporation board in January 2022. Now the board is inviting participants to two more times of “honest sharing and careful listening, (and) of building relationships.”
Meeting by video conference July 25, the directors of the Christian Reformed Church in North America Canada Corporation discussed plans for fall meetings and followed up on past board work.
Peter Elgersma, serving Christian Reformed Church ministries in Canada since 2018, left that work as of July 5. Lesli van Milligen, the Canadian office’s team leader for regional engagement, adds directing congregational ministries in Canada to her duties.
The lawsuit comes amid a slow-moving schism in the United Methodist Church largely over the ordination and marriage of its LGBTQ members.
About a 10-minute walk from the campus of University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Cragmor CRC hopes to deepen its relationship with students. The congregation is starting with prayer.
Resolved at a scaled-back General Convention July 8-11, the move comes as U.S. Interior Secretary kicks off a national tour listening to the stories of survivors of American Indian boarding schools in the United States.
Americans are increasingly willing to only support politicians that share their views on abortion, according to a new survey.
Rock Rapids (Iowa) Christian Reformed Church celebrated its 100th anniversary June 25, 2022.
The Rev. Oleksiy Zavada, a Greek Catholic priest in Ukraine, discusses funerals, parish life, and ministering amidst war.
A pastor and minister of outreach, Kwan Yiu Timothy Chan was tenacious in his service to people and to God. He died June 8 at age 71.