Ik ben trots op mijn Nederlandse erfgoed.”
Indeed, thousands of people in N’West Iowa are proud of their Dutch heritage, that is. For the people who understand that phrase, and those who feel it in their heart, a presentation at the Dutch American Heritage Museum in Orange City on Thursday was a reminder of the deep roots the Dutch have in our region.
Historian Ton Sel spoke on the 1898 American tour by Dutch statesman and theologian Abraham Kuyper, who later served as prime minister of Holland from 1901-05.
Kuyper drew more than 1,000 people to hear him speak in Dutch when he visited Orange City more than a century ago. A politician, pastor, theologian and journalist, he authored a collection of devotions titled “To Be Near Unto God.”
Kuyper, who established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, urged Christians to honor their faith in all parts of their lives.
“Oh, no single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” he famously said.
In addition to speaking in Orange City, Kuyper delivered four lectures at the Princeton Theological Seminary during his four months touring America. It’s only natural he visited our corner of Iowa, where the Dutch have made such a vital contribution.
We appreciate the efforts of James Schaap of Alton, a professor emeritus of English at Dordt University in Sioux Center, for spearheading the effort to bring Sel to N’West Iowa. His appearance is sure to renew interest in Kuyper and encourage further study of his message and our history.