Dear Rose Park,
I went for a run a few weeks ago with the Holland Running Club. There are some runners who keep to themselves and there are some runners who are chatty. I’ll let you decide which camp I fall into. During this past run, I was going stride-for-stride with a particularly chatty runner. Somewhere along the conversation he muttered the phrase, “it’s like our biography shows up in our biology.” I haven’t stopped thinking about the phrase since.
Biography and biology. Our story and our physiological make up. Let me give you an example. Perhaps when you were younger you broke your ankle playing football. As a result, you now walk with a slight limp. Or perhaps you were riding on the handlebars of your friends’ bike, and you badly scraped your knee falling off. As a result, you still feel the scar when you touch it. Or, perhaps more painfully, you experienced a traumatic event as a child. As a result, now certain sights or sounds bring back painful memories. All to say, your story (biography) shows up in your body (biology).
We see this in the life of the church as well. The story of Rose Park shows up in tangible ways. When ground was first broken for a worshipping community, it was the fellowship hall that was built first. So, it’s no surprise when the importance of gathering together still shows up today as we pack the hall for Family Table and church picnics. Or it’s no surprise that the old church bell still rings every Sunday morning welcoming the community and sounding the beginning of worship. Or maybe you’ve noticed a new piece of history hanging on the wall outside Amy’s office. Our beloved Emily VanderSlik, took the time and energy to reimagine and envision putting up the portraits of the Rose Park pastors. For too long, these pictures were hung in the choir room where too few people saw them. With a creative eye, Emily saw to dusting them off and placing them on display in a more prominent position.
Our biography shows up in our biology. It’s my hope that each and every time we walk by these portraits we are reminded of God’s faithfulness in the past, present, and future. It all started on May 27, 1956 when Rose Park held its first worship service. Families gathered to hear God’s Word and be sent back to their communities to be salt and light. They gathered for baptisms, communion, Wednesday night dinners, softball games, and mission trips. They were led by pastors with names like VanderBeek, VandeHoef, Schuiling, Balk, & VanOpstall.
Some sixty years later, we still gather to hear God’s Word, participate in the sacraments, and have dinners on Wednesday’s. Though the families in the neighborhood have changed, our mission still remains the same: connect the disconnected, empower the connected, and reconcile all things to God.
By gleaning from the past and remaining faithful in the present our eyes see a bright hope in the future not only for Rose Park but for the entire Church.
Grace & Peace,
