Missions

History of the Holland Methodist Church

The Methodist Church in Holland was born from a seed sown in the mind of Sister Valerie Connor and shared during a Bible Study and Prayer Meeting held in Aruba. The Circuit Quarterly Meeting, guided by the Superintendent Minister the Reverend Winston Worrell cherished and nurtured this seed, so that the District Synod of 1989 commissioned Brother Ramon Hodge to pioneer the work in Holland. His initial assignment was to contact Methodists resident in Holland, the majority of these being migrants from the Netherlands Antilles.

Assisted by his wife, Leona, Bro Hodge arrived in Holland in May 1989. They contacted about two hundred interested persons, some of whom became members of the first two Congregations established at Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Each Congregation met twice monthly.

At the outset, there was a strong working relationship between the Holland Mission and the Methodist Church in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The latter supplied Ministers to administer the Sacraments and perform marriage blessings. Representatives from both Congregations attended meetings in Britain.

In 1991, Rev’d Frank Zormelo, a student at Tyndale Seminary, served as minister to the fledgling Congregations,

At its fifth anniversary the Holland Mission reported a membership of 200 persons. It was recognised as a Circuit by the 1993 District Synod. Bro Alfred Glasgow, Local Preacher was appointed as lay-pastor to oversee the ministry of the Circuit.

In 1994, The District Conference stationed the Rev’d Dr. Neville Smith of the United Church of Canada to the Circuit, but he left prematurely and until the District stationed Rev’d Dr S. Wilfred Hodge the following year, it fell to Rev’d Vic Watson of the British Conference to visit regularly and offer pastoral care for the membership which, on record, totalled two hundred and fifty persons. Since the tenure of Rev’d Hodge, the Leeward Islands District has continued to appoint ministers to the Circuit.

Rev’d Watson was to discover that, for cultural and other reasons including the establishment of the Ghanaian Methodist Church, many persons listed no longer continued their affiliation. The Circuit membership stood at 140, 79 at Amsterdam and 61 at Rotterdam.

Both Congregations met weekly, with prayer meetings and Bible Study held in the homes of members. A new Congregation started at Zoetermeer has since been discontinued.

The current membership of 159, including 115 confirmed members, 26 members-in-training and 18 adult adherents is an indication that the church has not grown numerically. While the Circuit is no longer dependent on the District for finances, it faces serious challenges in meeting financial obligations.

The Circuit, having in 2019-20 marked thirty years of ministry in the Netherlands, is seeking to embrace a more missional focus, and to be more visible in the wider community. The current mission education focus is to promote Christian stewardship among members with a view to reaching new persons using culturally sensitive means available to share the Christian faith.

There is a band of five competent Local Preachers (3 of whom are accredited), stewards, musicians, choristers, workers among children and youth who, along with the Superintendent Minister, are giving sacrificially of their time, talent and material resources to bring about the transformation that now seems elusive, but which is greatly needed, as the Holland Methodist Circuit seeks to fulfil the church’s ministry in the Netherlands.

Update: The challenge remains.

• The 3^rd Congregation at Zoetermeer was officially closed at the end of the 2013-14 Connexional Year and the congregation merged with Rotterdam.

Current

• There are now 3 preachers-on-trial, all diligently pursuing studies towards accreditation.
• 2 Church School teachers in each Congregation availing themselves of training provided by the Dutch and Flemish Bible Society.

The church Schools are active meeting both online and in-person. Online meetings are better attended. The Rotterdam Church School includes a family resident in Belgium.

• The Circuit sought and received the status of kerkenootschap (a church) in June 2020. Formerly it was a loose association without statutes. As such it could not purchase property. Given the new status, the Circuit can better plan for sustainability.

The financial state of both Congregations improved significantly during the last Connexional Year but not enough to guarantee sustainability. Rotterdam needs a new location for worship. Finding the increased rental we may need is a big challenge-crisis!

But as always, a crisis can be viewed as a call to respond creatively which we are trying to do by grace.

The current confirmed membership ss 124. Many of the persons previously listed live in other provinces, outside the provinces of North and South Holland, not within reach of our meeting places (Amsterdam in North Holland and Rotterdam in South Holland). There are 12 members in training at Amsterdam and 25 at Rotterdam.

The Circuit is considering how to use online ministries to reach a wider population

It is very involved in ecumenical organisation SKIN (Samen Kerken in Nederand) Churches Together in  the Netherlands. The Congregations make good use of training opportunities provided by SKIN for migrant churches.

The Rotterdam Chori features in a Gospel Exhibition that opened at the Dutch Museum of Christianity (at the Catharijne Convent)on 29^th September. This exhibition on Gospel Music runs from 29^th September 2022- April 2023.

An extract from the 20120-21 Circuit Report.

ECUMENICAL RELATIONS

The Circuit continues to enjoy a good relationship with the Baptists in Amsterdam and the Moravians in Rotterdam. The Baptists were notably helpful. They waived two months rental during the mandatory lockdown and have continued to make the facilities available for use according to pre-COVID agreement.

The Circuit maintained its membership in SKIN Netherlands (Samen Kerken In Nederland - Churches Together in The Netherlands), but in the context of the pandemic, there was very little physical activity of SKIN at the national level. The organisation established SKIN Café to inform the management of the national museum of Christianity at the Catharijne Convent. The Superintendent Minister served as a member of SKIN Café.

One of the initiatives of SKIN is the plan to stage an exhibition on Gospel Music during the summer of 2022. The Methodist Church among others was consulted to inform the content of this exhibition.

The Rotterdam chapter, SKIN Rotterdam (SKIN-R), offered more information and training programmes during the year under review.

Workshops and Conferences from which members benefited during the year were:

• Financial Fit
• Politics and Christianity
• Writing Project Proposals
• Racism & Inequality

Some members also participated in various online information sessions related to the Corona virus and Corona vaccination.

In December, the Rotterdam Congregation received a monetary donation from SKIN-R to assist in purchasing care packages for members of the Congregation. Three (3) members benefited.

The superintendent minister shared with other Women in Ministry at SKIN-R’s visit to the Christianity Museum at the Catharijne Convent.

Sis. Lea lynch of the Rotterdam Congregation continued as a board member of SKIN-R.

The Circuit participated in the Emancipation Day Service referred to earlier. Churches in Rotterdam organised the event coordinated by the Foundation Gedeeld Verleden Gezamenlijke Toekomst (GVGT).