50th Anniversary Year of CRTS

Thursday, February 7, 2019

The year was 1969.  The date was Wednesday, September 10.  The location was the Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Hamilton.  The attendance was estimated to be over 1,000 people.  What was the event?  It was the opening ceremony of a new seminary, the Theological College of the Canadian Reformed Churches, now called the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary.  Professors were installed.  Songs of praise were sung.  An inaugural address on “The Catholic Character of the Belgic Confession” was delivered by Dr. Jelle Faber.  And earnest prayers were offered that the Lord of glory might bless this seminary for benefit of his church.

All in all it was an impressive event, certainly one to remember.  Some of you reading this post may have been there in person.  But many of you reading this post were not there.  It was, after all, half of a century ago.  Yes, this year our seminary is turning 50!

So, what should we do to celebrate this golden anniversary?  Well, a number of things are already taking shape and more plans are underway.  In this initial “anniversary” post I’ll begin by mentioning a few:

• We have a new, special seminary logo for our anniversary year.  
• A commemorative book covering the entire history, as well as the present operation, of the seminary has been written and is now being prepared for publication.  Yes, there will be interesting pictures of “the good ol’ days.”  More details to come in due time.
• Our annual convocation on September 6, 2019, D.V., will contain some special commemorative aspects to it.  Please mark your calendar.
• And more to come…

Please join us in commemorating this special year as we thank our God for his grace and faithfulness through the decades.

Dr. Jason Van Vliet, principal