Maple Avenue celebrates a century-plus of community service in Holland
HOLLAND — It's been 110 years since Maple Avenue Church and Ministries began serving the Holland community.
According to archives, the organization was founded Maple Avenue Christian Reformed Church in 1913, an outreach of the 14th Street Christian Reformed Church. The church’s first pastor, W.D. Vanderwerp, was born in the Netherlands but was American-educated through the Calvin Theological Seminary.
Today, the church at 427 Maple Ave. is led by Pastor Winfred Burns, who started as an intern in 2017 while attending seminary.
After a two-year pastoral residency in Grand Rapids, Burns returned to lead the church full-time after Denise Kingdom-Grier stepped away. Kingdom-Grier was the first African-American woman to hold the position at Maple Avenue and in the CRC.
“Maple Avenue started as part of the Christian Reformed Church and then, in the late '80s, made the decision to become a union church being part of the CRC and Reformed Church of America,” Burns said. “Historically, Maple Avenue has been a place where the community can come and grow together.”
Maple Avenue was first housed in a wooden structure, but saw a substantial addition in 1935. It continued to flourish and, during World War II, remained socially conservative. According to the archives, members were expected to avoid movies, gambling and dancing — women couldn't vote in congregational meetings until 1963 and weren't elected to the consistory until 1976.
In the late 1990s, the church was led by David Sieplinga and Peter DeHaan. The pair had differing styles of worship, but the church continued to grow regardless, emphasizing the idea of “ministries” and leading the church to bring positive social change.
The church will host a couple of events in 2023 to celebrate its anniversary.
“On May 21, we're having a service to celebrate the first service Maple Avenue held 110 years ago,” Burns said. “The week of September 15, we'll hold a huge barbecue and a concert and service. We'll have other events throughout the year, but (that) will be the culmination.”
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Burns said the church is grateful to the local community for its ongoing support, whether through donations or attendance.
“To the community, we just say thank you, because they have definitely shown up,” Burns said. “Moving forward, we invite the public to come back, come out and join us. Come have fun with us and come worship God with us.”
— Contact freelancer Austin Metz at ametz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Maple Avenue celebrates a century-plus of community service in Holland
