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Description
The purpose of this meeting of the Consistory of the First Reformed Church of Holland was ostensibly to discuss the building program but it turned into an attack on the pastor, Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte, and how he allegedly was not performing his duties as pastor of the congregation. "Some of the brethren are of the opinion the Rev. van Raalte should lay aside some other activities, for example, preaching in other congregations and his writings... They indicate that in the last few years, the power of his preaching seems to have disappeared." Van Raalte explained that he worked often into the night to the point of exhaustion. He admitted that he was not able to do the studying he should but that is due to the fact that he spends so much of "his time in the congregation is used to visits to sick and depressed members." He is also fully aware "that there will be many who dislike him, no matter what." Van Raalte promised to labor among his people to the best of his ability and "to labor with a blessing."
Date
3-28-1853
City
Holland, Michigan
Source
The original documents are held by Archives and Special Collections, Hope College Library.
Rights
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Recommended Citation
Van Raalte, A. C. and Buursma, William, "Meeting Notes of the Consistory of the First Reformed Church" (1853). Van Raalte Papers: 1850-1859. 244.
https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1850s/244
Notes
In Dutch; translation by Rev. William Buursma.
Description of the document and reference to The Joint Archives of Holland [now called Hope College Archives and Special Collections] by Dr. Elton J. Bruins.
About the collection:
Elton J. Bruins, long-time professor in the Department of Religion at Hope College, spent years collecting documents by and about Albertus C. Van Raalte, founder of Holland, Michigan and early patron of Hope College. Documents were gathered from dozens of public and private collections, making a nearly exhaustive collection of Van Raalte's writings and reflections. It is these documents that make up the "Van Raalte Papers."
Digitizing the Van Raalte papers was supported by the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York. The project was done in partnership with Heritage Hall at Calvin University, which also digitized its Van Raalte collections.