The Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church, the 60-member ecclesiastical board that works on behalf of synod in between meetings of synod, approved Lee Carter, a member of Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Lansing, Ill., as the next director of the congregational support ministry Th
To send letters to the editor, please see our guidelines at thebanner.org/letters.ThanksOver the years I've developed a real appreciation for the writings and wisdom of Rod Hugen. However, in this last piece (“Thanks for What You Do,” January/February 2026) Hugen hit a new high. Thanks for what you
South of Somewhere: A NovelBy T.I. LoweReviewed by Ann ByleJuniper (Junie) Wilder retreats to her beloved grandmother’s beach-front home on Sullivan’s Island, S.C., after time in jail and rehab. Grief at losing her husband and then her grandmother spiraled into a drunk driving charge and the hardest
The Christian Reformed churches in southern California gathered for a joint service of worship and thanksgiving Sunday, April 19, marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of the CRCNA’s oldest institution, Calvin Theological Seminary.Inspired by plans to celebrate the sesquicentennial in wester
Former pastor at Madison Square Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., and campus minister at Grand Valley State University in, Allendale, Mich., Rev. Darrell Delaney has been appointed new director of the Christian Reformed Church’s media outreach, ReFrame Ministries.Delaney will start work May 11, as part
As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.Tanisi.In Cre
Young Midori is excited as she tugs at Jichan—her grandfather—and pulls him toward the peach orchard, asking, “Is it ready yet?” Jichan hands Midori a peach and asks her what she hears when she bites into it. Crunch! The peach is hard and inedible.Midori is impatient, wondering when the peaches will
Christian author Mitali Perkins is renowned for her middle school and young adult novels, such as Bamboo People and You Bring the Distant Near, as well as her children’s picture books—Holy Night and Little Star: A Story for Christmas, Bare Tree and Little Wind: A Story for Holy Week, and more.In thi
The Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church in North America approved Rev. Lora Copley as its candidate to present to Synod 2026 for the long-term editor-in-chief appointment.Copley is currently The Banner’s interim editor, serving since December 2025. The Banner’s most recent editor-i
If you loved The Devil Wears Prada, you will probably relish the sequel, if only to be reunited with the Fab Four from the first movie: Miranda, Andy, Emily, and Nigel—Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci.It’s great fun to catch up with their characters 20 years after we left
ThereforeGo Ministries recently appointed Amanda Roozeboom as executive director of the organization that has long been the main resource partner for youth ministry in the Christian Reformed Church.Roozeboom comes to the position after 10 years serving other roles at ThereforeGo, most recently as di
What is identity? For many of us, our personal identity might be bound up in vocation. For example, Belinda is a banker; she always has been and thought she always would be. But when she retires, what is she? For others, identity is bound up in a relationship—often a child (or spouse). Darryl is Tyl
As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.A couple of y
In first grade, everything Mrs. Zuidema wrote on the chalkboard looked fuzzy. I’d break my pencil point so I could walk up to the sharpener, slo-o-owly passing the board to read it. Once, I squirreled my brother’s binoculars into my desk, thinking I’d sneak a peek at the board when no one was lookin
As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.My church was
The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Fredrick Nzwili, was published April 15, 2026 on religionnews.com. It has been lightly edited for Banner style.As the war in Sudan entered its fourth year in mid-April, the bombed Episcopal Church of Our Sa
After 107 years, the original sanctuary of New Holland (S.D.) Christian Reformed Church, has seen its last service. On April 26 congregants celebrated the final service in the building before it will be torn down to make room for a new, larger construction to begin in June. A fellowship hall, connec
In this charming, rhyming picture book, author Hosanna Wong invites children to understand what God says about them and the names he calls them: “No matter where you choose to go, / the people you meet, or the things you do, / it’s important that you always know / the wonderful things God says about
To Olivia is a difficult grief story of a couple who has lost a beloved child. An additional layer to the story is just who this married pair happens to be: the famous author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal, whose fragilities and failures make the story painful and true.The movie’s artful filmi
Written in free verse and based on her Hmong family’s escape from Laos in May 1975 when the country fell to a communist regime, author V. T. Bidania relates the narrative from the perspective of her oldest sister, Gao Sheng, who was 11 years old at the time. Bidania herself was a few months old as t