Dr. Harry Boonstra, who is a visiting research fellow at the Van Raalte Institute of Hope College, will present the address "The Dutch Equation: The RCA-CRC Controversy over Freemasonry, 1867-1885" on Monday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m. in the Fried-Hemenway Auditorium of the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Boonstra began his career as library director and English instructor at Trinity Christian College from 1964 to 1971, served for two years with Wycliffe Bible Translators as an editor and teacher, was an associate professor of English at Covenant College from 1975 to 1977, was director of libraries at Hope College from 1977 to 1984, and concluded as theological librarian at Calvin College and Seminary from 1989 to 1999.
He was associate editor of "Reformed Worship" for 10 years and, since 2002, has been associate editor of "Origins." He is the author of "Our School: Calvin College and the Christian Reformed Church" (2001) and co-author of "Pillar Church in the Van Raalte Era" (2003). He has also published articles on a wide variety of topics and has translated books by Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck (2007).
Boonstra is a 1951 emigrant from Oldehove, the Netherlands. A graduate of Calvin College, he earned an M.A. in English from NorthwesternUniversity, an M.L.S. from the University of Chicago, a Ph.D. in English from LoyolaUniversity, Chicago, and an M.Div. from Western Theological Seminary.
The Van Raalte Institute, located in the Theil Research Center at 9 E. 10th St., specializes in scholarly research and writing on immigration and the contributions of the Dutch and their descendants in the United States. The institute is also dedicated to the study of the history of all the people who have comprised the community of Holland throughout its history. Each year the institute invites applications from qualified scholars for a fellowship offered through its Visiting Research Fellows Program; up to two such fellowships are awarded each academic year. Dr. Boonstra is the fifth recipient of this award.
The Martha Miller Center for Global Communication is located at 257 Columbia. Ave., at the corner of Columbia Avenue and 10th Street.