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Archiver > Dutch-Colonies > 2004-04 > 1082401517


From: "Ed/Linda Roorda" <>
Subject: Re: [D-Col] Reformed Church question
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2004 15:05:17 -0400
References: <025b01c425c0$df71c420$28a24b0c@ddg>


Regina -
I have the catechism books and hymnal with the sacraments and
confessions of the American Christian Reformed Church which I grew up in, a
sect from the old Dutch Reformed Church which my immigrant Dutch
grandparents attended in Michigan and New Jersey through the mid-20th
century - where they continued preaching in Dutch through that time period
of the 1940s and '50s. I have my grandfather's old 18th and early 19th
century Dutch books and church books, but I never learned to read the
language in volume. A Netherlander on our list can answer better than me
for the "ancient" Dutch church history.
However, it should be noted that there are only two sacraments in the
Reformed Chruch - the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, and Infant Baptism
and Believer's Baptism. Marriage is not considered a sacrament in the
Reformed church, whether it be John Calvin's Reformed which the Dutch
followed, or the Scots Reformed Presbyterianism of John Knox who studied
under Calvin. It was my understanding growing up that only the Dominie (an
ordained Reverend/Pastor) could present these sacraments to the members of
the congregation. I assume that had been passed down over the centuries
since the Reformation began with Martin Luther, and not being new to the
20th century.
Showing a limitation to my Dutch/English dictionary, what is a
voorleser? I find voorlezen means "read to"; voor is for or before, lezen
is read, gather or glean; les refers to lessons as in giving or teaching.
So, would a voorleser be a lay preacher, say an elder of the church who
could instruct but was not an ordained minister?
In that case, I would suspect that, just as I've read for fact about my
German Palatine ancestors, our Dutch ancestors also may have had to wait for
the sacraments to be performed when a properly ordained minister could be in
attendance, if one was not available for some reason. They often covered
great distances between smaller, frontier congregations, as you pointed out
for Tappan.
I hope this might be helpful. Linda

----- Original Message -----
From: "Regina Haring" <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2004 11:46 PM
Subject: [D-Col] Reformed Church question


> We're trying to determine what were the holy ordinances in the early Dutch
Reformed church, and whether only an ordained minister could officiate at
these rites.
>
> Marriage, baptism and holy communion - were these the holy ordinances?
Did a voorleser ever baptize or marry anyone or officiate at holy communion?
Would he have baptized an infant who was not expected to live?
>
> The answers would help us to understand the life of those living outside
of New Amsterdam, where the dominie might only visit four times a year, as I
understand was the case in early Tappan.
>
> Regina Haring
> http://www.dutchdoorgenealogy.com
>
>
>
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