First Christian Reformed Church at 15 S. Church St. will hold its final worship service this Sunday, concluding 164 years of ministry to the Zeeland community.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
After 164 years of serving the Zeeland community as a beacon of faith and hope, First Christian Reformed Church is closing its doors.
The church at 15 S. Church St., one of the oldest in the Christian Reformed denomination, will hold its final worship service on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. A decision to close was made last year after a time of declining membership and attendance.
About 60 church members and friends gathered the night of May 27 to share stories and memories of their experiences at First CRC.
“I got married in this church, my husband’s funeral was in this church – there’s so many memories (here),” said Shirley Klingenberg, 89, who has attended First CRC her entire life.
“I was in choir (for 40 years), played piano in the church sometimes … singing is really important to me. It’s always been,” she added.
Klingenberg’s husband, John, was an elder and deacon at First CRC. The couple was married for 62 years before John passed away in September 2020. She shared a memory from when she was a little girl.
“We had to memorize a psalm from the psalter hymnal, and we had to sing it,” Klingenberg said. “I was taking piano lessons, and I don’t remember who our teacher was, but I was playing this psalm, and my legs were short, and I couldn’t pump those pedals.
Our teacher came and pumped the pedals for me.”
Another lifelong member, Marcia Steigenga, 86, shared a story from when her father, a church elder, served on the committee responsible for the sacrament of communion.
“In those days, they got the loaves of bread from the bakery, and I think two elders had to get together at (people’s) houses and cut the crust off and then cut all the pieces,” Steigenga said. “My mother, being the thrifty Dutchman that she was, (thought) ‘you couldn’t throw away all that crust,’ so she cut them up, put cheese under the broiler, and that’s what we could eat.”
The origins of First CRC actually date back four years before the church opened. In December 1858, a group of parishioners from Noordeloos Christian Reformed Church in Holland Township – one of the CRC’s founding congregations from when it split from the Reformed Church in America – expressed interest in forming a CRC congregation in Zeeland. At first, the request was refused, according to an account from the Zeeland Historical Society.
However, an increasing number of families were settling in Zeeland and traveling five miles northwest to the Noordeloos church for Sunday services proved to be challenging at times because of the distance.
Finally, a branch group of 20 people was given permission to meet twice every Sunday in a log house on the corner of Church Street and Cherry Avenue. Elder Jan Rabbers, a lay leader, conducted the reading services, according to the historical society account.
Finally, on April 1, 1862, permission was given to the Zeeland members to organize the First Christian Reformed Church of Zeeland. The Rev. K. Vanden Bosch, who was already the pastor of Noordeloos CRC, also served the fledgling Zeeland congregation.
Services were held in Dutch. After two years, a small church was built on Main Avenue.
In March 1870, the Rev. J. Stadt accepted a call to become the first fulltime Zeeland pastor. A new brick church was built in 1878.
In the early 1900s, the issue of whether services at First CRC should be in English arose, out of concern that younger members might leave to attend an English-speaking church. In 1913, church members were surveyed, and 36 families favored an English-speaking church. That led to the formation of Third Christian Reformed Church, the first English-speaking CRC congregation in Zeeland, in March 1914, according to the Zeeland Historical Society.
Later, another daughter church of First CRC, Bethel Christian Reformed Church, was formed. Bethel has since merged with Third CRC after its building and surrounding property were acquired by Mead Johnson Nutrition last year for its modernization project that is pending before the city.
The brick church stood until 1950, when the structure was torn down and construction began on the current building on the same site. During construction, parishioners worshipped at Third CRC for a period of 10 months. The first service at the current
building took place on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 23, 1950, according to an account in the Zeeland Record.
A slide show depicting the demolition of the previous church building and construction of the current building was shown during the May 27 program. The slide show had been put together by longtime First CRC member Angie VandenHeuvel, who died last Nov. 5, less than a month after she celebrated her 100th birthday.
In addition to holding regular worship services on Sundays and Wednesdays, the church hosted many events for the Zeeland community, most notably performances of Handel’s “Messiah” by the Zeeland Civic Chorus during the Christmas season.
In the late 1990s, some First CRC members and the community saw a need for a youth center downtown. In response, the church built a 19,500-square-foot addition on the site of what was once Van Raalte’s Restaurant to house The Bridge Youth Center, providing social, recreational and spiritual opportunities for young people in the Zeeland community. It opened for the first time on Sept. 11, 2001 – mere hours after the 9/11 attacks, said Jed Mulder, the center’s executive director.
The Bridge has since become its own independent nonprofit entity and will soon be moving into a new space in town.
Another congregation is expected to move into the First CRC space in the near future, but a final announcement has not yet been made.
In the meantime, the historical society has been working with the church to help preserve its history. They have already acquired some items, interim director and curator Audrey Rojo wrote in an email to the Zeeland Record.
“Some of the items being donated include directories, anniversary books, photographs, architectural renderings showing possible designs for the newer building (the actual blueprints will remain with the new owners), a collection plate, an embossing stamp, a banner, a Dutch missionary collection can, a Dutch Bible from the original church building, slides, and more,” Rojo wrote.
Rojo is also happy to hear that, from a preservation standpoint, the building will remain.
“Historic buildings help maintain a community’s connection to its past, and keeping recognizable landmarks like First CRC standing allows future generations to better understand and experience Zeeland’s history,” she wrote. “We are grateful for the opportunity to help preserve the story and legacy of First CRC.”
The Rev. Bernie Mulder, who served as minister of visitation at First CRC for more than 20 years, offered thanks to all the people who dedicated themselves to the church throughout its history.
“I think of the people who served as elders, deacons, Sunday School (and) catechism teachers – all the many people who made it possible for this church to be in session for over 160 years … I will always remember many precious people that are here,” Mulder said. “Thank you for staying to the end. It was a difficult time the last two decades, but we stuck together, and now it’s time to close up and to find a new church to go to.”
Zeeland Record
After 164 years of serving the Zeeland community as a beacon of faith and hope, First Christian Reformed Church is closing its doors.
The church at 15 S. Church St., one of the oldest in the Christian Reformed denomination, will hold its final worship service on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. A decision to close was made last year after a time of declining membership and attendance.
About 60 church members and friends gathered the night of May 27 to share stories and memories of their experiences at First CRC.
“I got married in this church, my husband’s funeral was in this church – there’s so many memories (here),” said Shirley Klingenberg, 89, who has attended First CRC her entire life.
“I was in choir (for 40 years), played piano in the church sometimes … singing is really important to me. It’s always been,” she added.
Klingenberg’s husband, John, was an elder and deacon at First CRC. The couple was married for 62 years before John passed away in September 2020. She shared a memory from when she was a little girl.
“We had to memorize a psalm from the psalter hymnal, and we had to sing it,” Klingenberg said. “I was taking piano lessons, and I don’t remember who our teacher was, but I was playing this psalm, and my legs were short, and I couldn’t pump those pedals.
Our teacher came and pumped the pedals for me.”
Another lifelong member, Marcia Steigenga, 86, shared a story from when her father, a church elder, served on the committee responsible for the sacrament of communion.
“In those days, they got the loaves of bread from the bakery, and I think two elders had to get together at (people’s) houses and cut the crust off and then cut all the pieces,” Steigenga said. “My mother, being the thrifty Dutchman that she was, (thought) ‘you couldn’t throw away all that crust,’ so she cut them up, put cheese under the broiler, and that’s what we could eat.”
The origins of First CRC actually date back four years before the church opened. In December 1858, a group of parishioners from Noordeloos Christian Reformed Church in Holland Township – one of the CRC’s founding congregations from when it split from the Reformed Church in America – expressed interest in forming a CRC congregation in Zeeland. At first, the request was refused, according to an account from the Zeeland Historical Society.
However, an increasing number of families were settling in Zeeland and traveling five miles northwest to the Noordeloos church for Sunday services proved to be challenging at times because of the distance.
Finally, a branch group of 20 people was given permission to meet twice every Sunday in a log house on the corner of Church Street and Cherry Avenue. Elder Jan Rabbers, a lay leader, conducted the reading services, according to the historical society account.
Finally, on April 1, 1862, permission was given to the Zeeland members to organize the First Christian Reformed Church of Zeeland. The Rev. K. Vanden Bosch, who was already the pastor of Noordeloos CRC, also served the fledgling Zeeland congregation.
Services were held in Dutch. After two years, a small church was built on Main Avenue.
In March 1870, the Rev. J. Stadt accepted a call to become the first fulltime Zeeland pastor. A new brick church was built in 1878.
In the early 1900s, the issue of whether services at First CRC should be in English arose, out of concern that younger members might leave to attend an English-speaking church. In 1913, church members were surveyed, and 36 families favored an English-speaking church. That led to the formation of Third Christian Reformed Church, the first English-speaking CRC congregation in Zeeland, in March 1914, according to the Zeeland Historical Society.
Later, another daughter church of First CRC, Bethel Christian Reformed Church, was formed. Bethel has since merged with Third CRC after its building and surrounding property were acquired by Mead Johnson Nutrition last year for its modernization project that is pending before the city.
The brick church stood until 1950, when the structure was torn down and construction began on the current building on the same site. During construction, parishioners worshipped at Third CRC for a period of 10 months. The first service at the current
building took place on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 23, 1950, according to an account in the Zeeland Record.
A slide show depicting the demolition of the previous church building and construction of the current building was shown during the May 27 program. The slide show had been put together by longtime First CRC member Angie VandenHeuvel, who died last Nov. 5, less than a month after she celebrated her 100th birthday.
In addition to holding regular worship services on Sundays and Wednesdays, the church hosted many events for the Zeeland community, most notably performances of Handel’s “Messiah” by the Zeeland Civic Chorus during the Christmas season.
In the late 1990s, some First CRC members and the community saw a need for a youth center downtown. In response, the church built a 19,500-square-foot addition on the site of what was once Van Raalte’s Restaurant to house The Bridge Youth Center, providing social, recreational and spiritual opportunities for young people in the Zeeland community. It opened for the first time on Sept. 11, 2001 – mere hours after the 9/11 attacks, said Jed Mulder, the center’s executive director.
The Bridge has since become its own independent nonprofit entity and will soon be moving into a new space in town.
Another congregation is expected to move into the First CRC space in the near future, but a final announcement has not yet been made.
In the meantime, the historical society has been working with the church to help preserve its history. They have already acquired some items, interim director and curator Audrey Rojo wrote in an email to the Zeeland Record.
“Some of the items being donated include directories, anniversary books, photographs, architectural renderings showing possible designs for the newer building (the actual blueprints will remain with the new owners), a collection plate, an embossing stamp, a banner, a Dutch missionary collection can, a Dutch Bible from the original church building, slides, and more,” Rojo wrote.
Rojo is also happy to hear that, from a preservation standpoint, the building will remain.
“Historic buildings help maintain a community’s connection to its past, and keeping recognizable landmarks like First CRC standing allows future generations to better understand and experience Zeeland’s history,” she wrote. “We are grateful for the opportunity to help preserve the story and legacy of First CRC.”
The Rev. Bernie Mulder, who served as minister of visitation at First CRC for more than 20 years, offered thanks to all the people who dedicated themselves to the church throughout its history.
“I think of the people who served as elders, deacons, Sunday School (and) catechism teachers – all the many people who made it possible for this church to be in session for over 160 years … I will always remember many precious people that are here,” Mulder said. “Thank you for staying to the end. It was a difficult time the last two decades, but we stuck together, and now it’s time to close up and to find a new church to go to.”
The previous building that housed First Christian Reformed Church is depicted in this photo from the 1920s. That building was torn down in 1950 and the current building was built on the same site, completed in time for a Thanksgiving Day worship service.
Photo courtesy Zeeland Historical Society
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