Speaker. it often comes as a surprise to many to learn that the oldest. continuously organized Protestant denomination in the United States is the Reformed Church of America. Founded by the earliest Dutch settlers to New Amsterdam. it was the first of several "Dutch Reformed" denomlnations which are a part of the American religious heritage. About 150 years ago. a significant second wave of Dutch Immigrants came to the country. They settled predominantly in the New York/New Jersey area and in the upper Midwest. particularly the States of Michigan. Wisconsin. Minnesota. and Iowa. While the docrdnal beliefs of this second wave of immigrants were substantively the same as those earlier settlers to New Amsterdam. the cultural problems of resettlement combined with different matters of religious practice led to the foundIng of what Is now the second largest of the "Dutch Reformed" religious bodies in our midst. the Christian Reformed Church. As was true of many other immigrant groups in our history. they continued to express their religious life in their native tongue for many years. This year. however. marks the 100th anniversary of LaGrave Avenue Chris. tian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. MI. which was the first Englishspeaking church within this denomination.
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