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Description
This meeting of the Consistory of the First Reformed Church of Holland was concerned mainly with complaints. Jan Laarman accused Mrs. Boer of violating a purchase agreement. A committee was appointed to meet with her. Deacon Keppel reported that a member by the name of Hoffman has been spreading slanderous statements about the pastor for more than a year because Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte, "for the sake of money, has brought the congregation into an impure church." Hoffman would be admonished for these statements. A Mr. Bos gave offense because of a union with his housekeeper outside the bonds of marriage. He would be barred from the Lord's Supper until he confessed his sin. A Mr. Mulder complained that the consistory dealt too lightly with a Mr. Schrader in "connection with windmill activities." Members present were elders Broek, van Appeldoorn, Hekhuis, Jonker, and Labots and deacons de Weerd, Wilterdink, and Keppel. Van Raalte served as both president and clerk at this meeting.
Date
8-22-1853
City
Holland, Michigan
Source
The original documents are held in The Joint Archives of Holland.
Rights
This digitized material is intended for personal research/study only. The original documents may not be reproduced for commercial use in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from The Joint Archives of Holland.
Recommended Citation
Van Raalte, A. C. and Buursma, William, "Meeting Minutes of the Consistory of the First Reformed Church" (1853). Van Raalte Papers: 1850-1859. 382.
https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1850s/382
Notes
In Dutch; translation by Rev. William Buursma.
Description of the document and reference to The Joint Archives of Holland 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.