On August 18 as we arrive by bus or car we will all stop at this church located on Minnich Avenue to be assigned our place of lodging. The Oak Lawn society has made arrangements to accommodate all delegated and visitors to the convention. It would be advisable if you have made other arrangements to inform the hose society of your intentions.
In the evening at 8 o’clock we will all assemble at the Oak Lawn Christian Reformed Church to hear Re. Hoeksema give the key-note address. He will introduce the theme: “Christ, Our Life.”
Wednesday morning the convention goes into full swing with a business meeting presided by David Engelsma, President of the Board. The delegate board will treat such issues as assessments, Bible Outlines, new member societies and election of officers to the board. These meetings are vital to the continued healthy existence of our Federation. You might check, in this regard, the Board’s proposal No. 1 in the Convention Business section of this issue.
On Wednesday afternoon we can look forward to a very enjoyable outing which has been planned at the Pottawatomie Park, St. Charles, Illinois. This park features two large swimming pools, a golf course, and paddle wheel boats among other attractions. This should be a very unique outing.
After this point the chain of events gets rather hazy except that we know there will be another business meeting, a speech by Rev. A. Mulder, a pancake breakfast, and the banquet which always brings the convention to a fitting climax. At the banquet Rev. H. Hanko will deliver the final speech and the President, David Engelsma, will announce the scene of next year’s convention. It would be wonderful to have a few invitations from which to pick. Think it over!
The Oak Lawn Society with Rev. VandenBerg is working hard to make this convention enjoyable for all of us and our cooperation can help to make it enjoyable for them.

Convention Business

1. The Federation Board proposes that any delegate not present at All Business Meetings shall be ineligible for receiving traveling expenses.
2. The Young People’s Society of Oak Lawn, Illinois proposes that the delegate board instruct the Federation Treasurer to furnish a complete and accurate financial statement annually in our Convention Booklet.
3. The Board recommends the following:
a. That the assessments of the 1959-60 society season be set at six dollars (6.00) per member. One dollar shall be appropriated for Beacon Lights.
b. That the Kalamazoo Young People’s Society of Kalamazoo, Mich., be accepted as a member of the Federation of Protestant Reformed Young People’s Societies.
c. That the Loveland Young People’s Society of Loveland, Colorado, be accepted as a member of the Federation of Protestant Reformed Young People’s Societies.
The following officers must be elected for a two-year term: Vice President, Vice Secretary, Treasurer, Advisor.

We Are Growing

During the past year the societies of Kalamazoo and Loveland were organized. The Federation Board is happy that these societies have expressed a desire to become members of our Federation. Therefore, we have recommended in the agenda that both of these societies be accepted as members of the Federation of Protestant Reformed Young People’s Societies. In order that we may all get to know them better the Beacon Lights is featuring both of these societies with pictures of their membership in this pre-convention issue.
N.B. The size of these pictures does not necessarily indicate the enthusiasm of the individual societies.

Loveland Young People’s Society
The Loveland Young People’s Society was formed this past winter. We chose as our Bible discussion leader, Rev. Kuiper. Our elected officers are: Bill Huber, president, Ileen Griess, vice president, Joe Griess, treasurer and Ruth Kuiper, secretary.
Our activities have been one Sinspiration and a drive for Beacon Lights subscriptions and donations for the Convention Fund. Besides singing several Psalters and German Psalms at the Singspiration, we had special numbers by the quartet and girls’ trio. We plan on having one Singspiration per month since this first one was received with great enthusiasm.
Our book for Bible discussion is Acts. We enjoy studying this book very much and are following mimeographed copies of the outlines from previous Beacon Lights. For after recess programs, many essays have been given – some original, others from the Beacon Lights. Other members contributed poems and musical numbers for our spiritual enjoyment.
Our society is eagerly awaiting the coming convention. Our hope is that many of us may attend and be spiritually benefited by this convention.

Secretary, Ruth Kuiper

Kalamazoo Protestant Reformed Young People’s Society
The Young People’s Society of Kalamazoo was organized on November 17 with 8 members. We meet every Monday evening at the Parsonage.
We are studying the book of Romans and at present are studying the third chapter. Our discussions are very interesting and instructive.
Our after recess programs are varied, consisting of essays, article reviews, slides of trips taken by some of the embers, Bible quizzes and toboggan parties at Echo Valley – Southwestern Michigan’s resort for all-winter sports – tobogganing, ice-skating, skiing. One enjoyable evening was spent with Creston Society, who joined us for tobogganing. Perhaps during another season other societies would like to take part in this activity.
Since we are not members of the Federation, we have not had any combined meetings with other societies. We have sent a request to the Board stating our desire to join the Federation.
About mid-April our society ended its activities for the season and will resume again in the fall.
We are thankful that even though small in number we have the opportunity for fellowship and study in the truth of God’s Word.
Thank You
The Federation Board, in behalf of all our societies, wishes to thank you, Rev. Hoeksema, for your time and energy in outlining the book of Acts for our Bible discussions. Certainly this study has been very profitable for us as young people.

Originally Published in:
Vol. 19 No. 5 June-July 1959