| Calvin
wear is everywhere!
Imagine my surprise
when I went to my block party and saw someone in a Calvin College T-shirt!
It turns out he’s not an alum — has never even been to Calvin,
but his first name is Calvin, so someone gave him the shirt. We had a
lot of fun talking about Calvin College. I went home and came back with
some of Calvin’s promotional literature and presented Calvin with
a Calvin pen. He was so excited to get more things with the name “Calvin”
on them. Calvin and his wife are both teachers in the Minneapolis Public
Schools; they were very impressed with the materials. Calvin was going
to check out www.calvin.edu and see if he could purchase some other Calvin
items from the Bookstore.
Jan Faasse Hoffer ’73
Minneapolis, Minn.
Write your own
letter to the editor—we'd love to hear from you!
Policy: Letters regarding the
contents of the magazine will be considered for publication in Spark
unless specifically marked "not for publication." Correspondence
may be shortened to meet editorial requirements. We will not publish
anonymous letters; however, we may withhold names upon request.
Calvin-wire
An email newsletter sent to alumni & friends informing them
of campus news. Subscribe! |
Depressed by dorm demolition
Just one page
away from finishing another enjoyable Spark, my heart sank when
I saw the stark picture
of the Calvin Dorm being demolished (Fall 2004). It was my home for four
years; I figure that I spent well over 1,000 nights there. Those nearest
two windows on the second floor just above the porch was room 209, my
home for my freshman year. I was so homesick for about a month until one
evening a giant, floor-wide pillow fight helped me gain friends and decide
not to drop out after all. From the basement where we registered for classes
and played basketball to the attic where we played ping pong, bumper pool
and watched Gunsmoke, and all the high-jinks in between, it was
a glorious place. I just loved the Calvin Dorm.
Joel Morris ’61
Plano, Texas
The Bible is clear
I am deeply saddened
by your letter titled “Controversial
‘Notes'” in Spark (Summer 2004). Although I agree
that Christians do not unite on all issues, and we can only do our best
to carefully review Scripture and walk humbly before our God, I wish to
refute your statement that the Bible “is not so clear [on] how the
Christian community ought to relate to gays and lesbians who profess to
be Christians.”
Allowing the “smooth words and flattering speech” (Romans
16:18) of Christians who profess to be homosexual to weaken our faith
and stop us from standing up for the truth is wrong. Yes, we have all
fallen short of God’s commands and should not elevate the sin of
homosexuality above other sins, but, as we are called to do with any sin,
we should lovingly attempt to bring our brothers and sisters out of their
sin through counsel and searching God’s Word.
Yes, we are to follow the example of Jesus in being kindhearted. Running
into a person who is struggling with any sin and turning the other way
would not be following his example, but embracing that sin or showing
acceptance of it would be wrong (see Romans 1:32).
I respect the intent of your letter to allow us to rejoice and weep with
each other as alumni, but I pray that as Calvin presses on into the future,
for every alumni letter received and printed embracing the sin of homosexuality
(or any other sin), ten (or more) will be submitted and printed counseling
the person to turn away from their sin and live a new life. We may not
live next to each other, or even in the same city, but that does not exempt
us from holding each other accountable to God.
Christy Snyder McGeehan ex’89
Zeeland, Mich.
Geographically illiterate?
For a college whose president has declared internationalization
as a major theme, the alumni magazine writers appear remarkably geographically
illiterate. In an article in the Summer 2004 Spark describing
Rangeela, the campus’ flagship international event, the two-hour
trip around the world was said to include stops in Africa (a continent),
India (a country), Korea (a peninsula), China (a country), the Philippines
(a country), Latin America (a cultural region), the Caribbean (an archipelago),
and Russia (a country). The random grouping seems not only lazy and simplistic,
but disrespectful as well. Spark should do better to properly
identify and honor distinct peoples and their countries of origin.
Wiebe Boer ’97
Nouakchott, Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Donor thanks
We really enjoy reading Spark —especially
the last issue (Fall 2004) with the large
article on the Ecosystem
Preserve. What a blessing to have such generous donors to help enhance
the learning experience for the students.
Laura Postma Meengs ’95
Grand Rapids, Mich. |
