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The July 4 public celebration at Graafschap Christian Reformed Church in Holland, Mich., is an annual opportunity to share history and community spirit. This year the event came a few weeks after the dedication and open house of the church’s new youth center and the refurbishment of the Graafschap Heritage Center, which now includes a collection of Bibles brought from the Netherlands to America by the founding members of the church.
Bill Sytsma, founder and curator of the heritage center, is grateful for the recent donation of Staten Bibles, the first Dutch translation from the original biblical languages, which date to the time of the arrival of the Dutch settlers who formed Graafschap village and eventually founded the church. “We always love to share our culture,” Sytsma said, noting the July 4 celebrations that connect with a pancake breakfast at the fire hall less than half a mile (800 m) away.
“It's a big community event that includes a car show, a tractor pull, a petting zoo, barrel rides, games, and a lunch,” Graafschap CRC pastor Philip Kok said. A tractor and wagon go back and forth transporting visitors from the church to the fire department. The yearly event also seeks to raise funds for someone in the community who needs help. Sytsma noted hurricane relief in past years and this year support for a family facing medical needs.
Graafschap CRC is sometimes called “the mother church” of the Christian Reformed Church in North America because of its inclusion in the first group of churches that formed the denomination in 1857 and for how many “daughter” churches grew from its planting efforts. The history of the formation of those churches and their changes over time is told in the heritage center, which first opened in 2007.
Kok, who’s been at Graafschap CRC for the past six years, said the congregation is “attempting to live into the hospitality that the Bible tells us is so important—friendliness, care, and authenticity being the hallmarks of such hospitality. We also strive to be Bible-based and Jesus-centered in all that we do.”
The Graafschap Youth Center was dedicated June 1 and will house the church’s GEMS and Cadets—girls and boys programs for elementary-school students—and middle school and high school programming.