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The First Reformed Church South Holland is celebrating its 175th year.
The First Reformed Church South Holland is celebrating its 175th year. A monument salutes the church as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
James Oord is the pastor of the First Reformed Church South Holland. The church is celebrating its 175th year.
The First Reformed Church South Holland is celebrating its 175th year.
James Oord is the pastor of the First Reformed Church South Holland. The church is celebrating its 175th year.
James Oord is the pastor of the First Reformed Church South Holland. The church is celebrating its 175th year.
First Reformed Church in South Holland is marking 175 years of history that includes members operating a stop on the Underground Railroad and inspiring a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Congregants of the church at 15924 South Park Ave. gathered Saturday for a barbecue celebrating the milestone.
It started as the True Dutch Reformed Church when South Holland was still known as Low Prairie, which was home to Dutch and American settlers. The first incarnation disbanded but the same congregation of 16 families reorganized it as the First Christian Reformed Church.
Rev. H. Vander Werp delivered the first sermon when they met for services in an onion warehouse. The church built a small building on a lot on 162nd St. and moved to its current location in 1896.
First Reformed Chuch is now on its fourth building, which was built in 1951 after the previous building shifted too much after having been built on a dry creek bed. The church affiliated with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church two years ago and has striven to continue to serve the community.
“There’s been a lot of interesting history,” pastor James Oord said. “It started as a church of farmers, Dutch immigrants who formed a small community in what’s now the south suburbs. We serve the south suburbs and the South Side of Chicago and change with the community. It was founded by people fresh off the boat. They were immigrants who cleared down when wolves were still living in the area. They lived harmoniously with a lot on their plate while a handful of families decided to start a church.”
Church members Jan and Aagle Ton took part in the Underground Railroad, using a wagon with a false bottom and a boat to smuggle runaway slaves across the Calumet River to assist them on their journey to freedom.
“They could have said, ‘not my country, not my problem,'” he said. “So much was on their plate. But their farm was a station where freedom seekers could stay. It was a safe place for the night. The church was so close-knit they had to be aware of it and supporting them. They believed in radical empathy. They were in a new country helping formerly enslaved people who were freedom seekers. As the pastor looking at our history, I think that’s in the DNA of this congregation. Chicago kept growing and swallowing farmland until this became part of the Chicago sprawl. We want to bring that same empathy as changes go on around this church.”
A memorial on the church campus was installed in 2011 by a Boy Scout to pay tribute to its role in the Underground Railroad. Pedestrians often pause there to reflect.
“It’s a spot people come to for reflection. They sit on the bench and ponder,” he said. “We made it accessible for our community. It’s a landmark that’s inviting. People may not know the full story behind it. It’s a really great touchpoint for our community.”
People also often jog through the campus or stop to take pictures, especially when the leaves turn red in the fall.
“It’s a beautiful building that’s been kept up,” he said. “It’s got really beautifully stained glass that was designed and installed by two artisans, Giannini and Hilgart, who did work for Frank Lloyd Wright houses. It’s a classic church reminiscent of a European church from the old days. One of the things I love about the sanctuary is it’s not big and drafty and imposing like so many churches. It has wood tones and is very light and very welcoming. It’s a classic traditional church in a way we can be proud of. It’s kind of a landmark for our community.”
In 1924, the church was featured in Edna Ferber’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “So Big,” which is considered her masterwork. It follows Selina Peake DeJong, who comes to South Holland to be a teacher and ends up running a family farm.
“It’s a very interesting character that’s a retelling of what South Holland was like when it was predominantly a Dutch Community. It changed details but captured the feeling and how it can feel to come from the outside to a loving community that can be difficult to break in. Our church has always been known as friendly and welcoming. It’s welcomed outsiders. It’s a very interesting book we just had a book club discussion about. When it came out in 1924, it caused a bit of a stir in South Holland.”
First Reformed Church celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1948. The congregation marked the occasion with four candles celebrating its values, such as its dedication to mission work and commitment to the truth of God’s words and the story of the Gospels of God’s good creation hurt by human sin but restored by God’s grace, Oord said.
First Reformed Church has maintained a loyal congregation that shares core religious values of seeing the gospel preached and the word of God celebrated, Oord said.
“They also have a deep connection with place, with this region and these neighborhoods,” he said. “It’s part of our religious and spiritual values. It’s part of the 175-year heritage that we care about grace and the community. We have a deep commitment to the area.”
The church has a long history of being involved in local government, counting village board members among its ranks over the years.
“We’ve been involved in the village in big and small ways,” he said. “We’ve been involved through our service ministries. We partner closely with the Chicagoland Prison Outreach. We have a deep concern for this place, for the neighboring community. There’s a real care.”
The congregation once exceeded 1,000 members and is no longer that large but it’s a close-knit community that’s friendly and welcoming to new faces, Oord said. It meets for worship at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday and has Bible studies and sometimes midweek services.
Its ministries include a clothing closet it opens to the community twice a month, a food pantry and day care.
“It’s full of life with 80 or 90 kids singing, laughing and learning,” he said. “We do have a variety of Bible studies and a group called Oasis for sixth- through 12th-grade kids from local churches in the neighborhood where they can learn and study the Bible and also just socialize and engage in fellowship.”
South Holland has long been a community of churches. More than 30 churches are active in the village.
“Most of the pastors are part of the ministerial association that meets once a month for fellowship and to work on projects together,” he said. “The village government sends representatives. South Holland has the water towers with the ‘Faith Family Future’ slogan on them. The churches here have a great history and a legacy of being involved with the local community.”
First Reformed Church has worked to stay relevant by having a multigenerational, multiethnic congregation. It has a blended worship style in which a traditional hymn might be played on the old pipe organ and followed with a song from the Black church tradition and then a contemporary song with a praise team with guitars.
“The heritage of our church is empathy, compassion and caring for people who are not like us,” he said. “We have good soil to grow here. We’ve been around 175 years and with God’s blessing we’ll be around another 175 years.”
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The First Reformed Church South Holland is celebrating its 175th year.
The First Reformed Church South Holland is celebrating its 175th year. A monument salutes the church as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
James Oord is the pastor of the First Reformed Church South Holland. The church is celebrating its 175th year.
The First Reformed Church South Holland is celebrating its 175th year.
James Oord is the pastor of the First Reformed Church South Holland. The church is celebrating its 175th year.
James Oord is the pastor of the First Reformed Church South Holland. The church is celebrating its 175th year.
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