In Memoriam

Kenneth E. Bailey (1930-2016)

Kenneth Bailey was an American Presbyterian theologian, scholar, writer and teacher who perhaps more than anyone in the English-speaking world opened eyes and hearts to the New Testament viewed from its Middle Eastern cultural context. He was born to American Presbyterian missionaries to Egypt and returned there after education in the U.S. to spend 40 years in teaching, research and writing, first in Egypt and then in Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus. After returning to the U.S., he taught at several seminaries and continued to write and speak internationally well into his 80s. He was a presenter at the Calvin Symposium on Worship in 2008, 2009 and 2013. His final book was published in 2015: The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament.

Harry Boonstra (1935-2017)

Harry Boonstra was associate editor of Reformed Worship for its first twelve years (1986-1998) and was for many years the theological librarian at Calvin Theological Seminary. An ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church, he co-taught with Emily Brink the first stand-alone required course in worship at Calvin Theological Seminary. He spoke several times at Symposium, most recently on the worship writings of the Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper; his translation along with essays—his own and by others that he edited, were published in Abraham Kuyper: Our Worship (Eerdmans, 2009). An immigrant from the Netherlands shortly after World War II, Harry was passionate about both worship and justice; he and his wife exhibited hospitality to countless students, colleagues, and increasingly, refugees whom they mentored in retirement.

Horace Clarence Boyer (1935-2009)

Horace Boyer was a singer, pianist, arranger, conductor, and one of the first African American scholars to formally study music of his heritage and introduce it to a wide audience. Son of a pastor, he toured already as a boy. For a time he was conductor of the famed Fisk Jubilee Singers, was professor of music at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is especially remembered for his work as editor of Lift Every Voice and Sing II: An African American Hymnal (1993) and his book How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel Music (1995). At Symposium 2000, he led us in worship and taught through his sessions on “Play Gospel” and “Sing Gospel.” We invited him back, hoping to learn more from him, but he became ill with cancer, and it prevented him from being able to return.

David R. Davidson (1948-2009)

David Davidson was an inspiring and consummate musician from Dallas, TX, celebrated for his choral conducting and remembered especially for his promotion of the English handbell heritage in North America. In 1985 he became director of music at Highland Park Presbyterian Church; in 1994 he was named Director of the Dallas Symphony Chorus; in 2003 he became director of music and the arts at Highland Park United Methodist Church; and at Symposium 2004 he led both choral and handbell workshops. For many years he served on the national board of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR; renamed Handbell Ringers of America in 2010) that resulted in many publications, workshops, and festivals across North America and also in Japan.

Edward Lee Doemland (1938-2012)

Not many who knew Ed as a jazz pianist, organist and composer knew that back home in West Allis, WI, he was a high school chemistry teacher from 1963 until he retired, and on weekends, was organist at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church from 1963 until his death. Ed was more widely known through his long-time membership in the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, especially after he used his own compositions to lead a jazz service of night prayer, along with hymn-writer friend Rae E. Whitney of Nebraska, at the annual conference of the Hymn Society in 2006. That service led us to invite them to lead a jazz vespers at the Calvin Symposium in 2008, an invitation that was repeated in 2009 and again in 2010. Some of his hymn arrangements were subsequently published in The Hymn.

Stanley Grenz (1950-2005)

Stanley Grenz was a leading evangelical theologian and author, known especially for his writing on postmodern evangelical theology and also for his growing interest in the emerging church movement. He was professor of theology at Carey Theological College, Vancouver, BC, and of theological studies at Mars Hill Graduate School, Seattle, WA. Stan liked to describe himself as a “pietist with a Ph.D,” as someone who worked from a deep spirituality with intellectual rigor. His influential books included The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei (2001). At Symposium 2005 he was a presenter, as was his wife Edna, then minister of worship at First Baptist Church in Vancouver. Only two months later Stan died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage.

Howard G. Hageman (1921-1992)

Howard G. Hageman was a national leader of the Reformed Church in America. He was a pastor in Newark for 18 years, studying also at Princeton Seminary, where he was invited to deliver the prestigious Stone Lectures on Reformed worship. He then developed these lectures into the widely read book Pulpit and Table: Some Chapters in the History of Worship in the Reformed Churches (1962). From 1973-1985 he served as president of New Brunswick Seminary in New Jersey. He also spearheaded the first independent hymnal for the Reformed Church, partnering with English pastor and hymnologist Erik Routley; Rejoice in the Lord was published in 1985. In retirement, he lectured widely, including speaking in 1991 at one of the early Calvin symposiums.

Donald H. Juel (1942-2003)

Donald H. Juel was a New Testament scholar and preacher who taught at Luther Seminary from 1978-1995, and at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1995 until his death in 2003 from a lung disorder. He was a passionate lecturer who was loved by students. He spoke at many conferences across the United States (including at Symposium in 1998), influencing thousands of pastors especially in their understanding of the Gospel of Mark, as found in his Messiah and Temple (1973) and Master of Surprise: Mark Interpreted (1994). Shaping the Scriptural Imagination: Truth, Meaning, and the Theological Interpretation of the Bible (2011) is a collection of some of his essays and sermons compiled by grateful students.

Herman Keizer, Jr. (1938-2017)

Herman Keizer, Jr., an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), spent his long career as a military chaplain in the U. S. Army. He was known in Vietnam for his comfort to troops in offering the sacraments, prayers, and challenges before they left on missions to remember Christ’s command to love their enemies. Immediately after retirement he was recalled by the Secretary of the Army to become advisor to the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom at the State Department; he worked in the Pentagon and was present there on 9/11. After retiring again he became CRC Director of Chaplaincy Ministries; at Symposium 2009 and 2013 he spoke of the need for congregational resources that acknowledge military members in worship. The recipient of many military and distinguished service awards, Herm continued until his sudden death on many projects and boards, including co-founding the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School in 2012, dedicated to educating and researching moral injury and recovery for military veterans.  

Helen Kemp (1918-2015)

Helen Kemp was a legendary teacher, clinician, and composer who inspired countless children and children’s choir directors across North America for more than two generations.  She was known for her understanding of children’s voices and how to encourage them to sing with excellence in worship; one of her famous sayings was “Body, Mind, Spirit, Voice! It takes the whole person to rejoice!”.  At Symposium 2004, already 86 years old, she led a demonstration choir of eager children in a seminar.  She and her husband John helped give birth to the Choristers Guild, and they both taught at Westminster Choir College.

Christina Mandang (1972-2010)

Christina Mandang was the first church musician from Indonesia to earn a graduate degree in organ. She returned from study in the Netherlands to become professor of church music and choir director at Jakarta Theological Seminary. After learning of her work, when members of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship participated in an Indonesian symposium on worship in 2006, she was invited to be a presenter at Symposium 2007. She was also a presenter as part of the worship planning team for the inaugural assembly of the international World Communion of Reformed Churches that took place at Calvin College in June 2010. Tragically, on Saturday, June 27, 2010, shortly after she had played piano and organ for the closing service, she was struck by a car and died early Sunday morning. Since then, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship staff members have returned twice to participate in continuing worship conferences in Indonesia.

Barbara J. Newman (1962-2020)

Barbara Newman dedicated her life to helping children/people of all abilities to be included in schools, families, societies, and most certainly in the church. She was co-director of the inclusion program at Zeeland (Michigan) Christian School, a frequent speaker and consultant across North America for All Belong (formerly CLC Network), author of Accessible Gospel, Inclusive Worship (2015), and recipient of many awards, including the Henry J. Nouwen Award from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Her infectious joy and creative use of her signature-colored puzzle pieces endeared her to everyone, child and adult alike, as she unleashed creative potential in often marginalized people to participate in worship and in life. She spoke frequently at Symposium on Worship, also in 2020, until cancer took her life.

Paul Manz (1919-2009)

Paul Manz is remembered as an organist, prolific composer of organ and choral music for the church, and teacher of great influence. He led the music program at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis for 37 years, becoming the parish’s first cantor. For a time he was professor at Concordia College in St. Paul, MN, but returned to parish work at Mt. Olive where he gave annual recitals. These often began and ended with the singing of a hymn, which people loved because of his improvisational skill and text interpretation. He then decided to prepare an entire program of hymns, launching the thematic hymn festival approach that became greatly loved, preserved in recordings, and served as a model now known throughout the world. Throughout his career he received numerous awards, from his study in Belgium with Flor Peeters on a Fulbright grant, to twice being named one of the “Ten Most Influential Lutherans” and one of the “101 Most Influential Organists of the Twentieth Century.” He was a presenter at an early Calvin symposium.

Chris Stoffel Overvoorde (1934-2019)

Chris Overvoorde was for many years a professor of art at Calvin University and a prolific artist of paintings, drawings, prints and designs. He also became known for his thoughtful and creative use of visual arts in worship, presenting several times at Symposium, writing for Reformed Worship, and becoming a consultant for many churches ready to redesign their worship spaces with color and light, shape and symbol, especially as they became open to the visual richness and potential when following the Christian year. His enthusiasm for the visual arts helped young and old open their eyes as well as their ears when they come to worship.

Eugene H. Peterson (1932-2018)

Eugene Peterson wrote many biblical studies and books on spiritual theology, but became most widely known for The Message, his paraphrase of the entire Bible in fresh and accessible English to communicate to a public increasingly unfamiliar with traditional biblical language. He served 30 years as the founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland, then for many years a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver. At Calvin College, the entire campus held a year-long chapel series on the psalms of ascent based on his A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (2000), and in 2006 he spoke for us on Eat This Book, then just released as second in a projected five-volume series on spiritual theology. He was a beloved pastor and mentor to many pastors, a shepherd’s shepherd.

Bert Polman (1945-2013)

Bert Polman described himself as a hymnologist. It fit him well, since he devoted his life to the study and practice of congregational song. Although he lost his own voice in 1975 and could speak only in a whisper, his voice carried far through his writing, teaching, editing of five hymnals, and especially through his commitment to the biblical psalms and call to justice that leads to shalom. He was co-author of the Psalter Hymnal Handbook and wrote several hymns, including “God, We Sing Your Glorious Praises,” composed for the 150th anniversary of the Christian Reformed Church in 2007. Bert taught at Ontario Bible College and Redeemer Christian University before coming to Calvin College in 2005, where he chaired the music department and was a fellow in the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. He spoke many times at various symposia, and was always appreciated for his wisdom, wit, and gentle humor.

Carl (“Chip”) L. Stam (1953-2011)

Chip Stam was a frequent speaker at Symposium, attending regularly even when not presenting. He came out of his warm-hearted love and passion for the worship and music of the church, which developed into a close relationship with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Chip had been director of choral music at Notre Dame University and pastor of worship and music at Chapel Hill Bible Church before moving to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2000, where he became the founding director of their Institute for Christian Worship. One of Chip’s best loved legacies was his “Worship Quote of the Week,” an on-line devotional that mined the wisdom of church leaders throughout Christian history in ways to challenge Christians today. Worship in the Joy of the Lord is a curated collection of over 300 of these quotations. His contagious joy was present even when wearing a back brace the last time he was able to be present at Symposium, during his four-year battle with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Dale Topp (1937-2014)

Dale Topp taught music education for 35 years at Calvin College, reaching more than a generation of future teachers with his conviction that everyone should have the joy of music making in their lives. His enthusiasm was legendary, and his popular “Music and Community” classes demonstrated an interactive music-making approach and moved his students from the campus into underserved neighborhoods. He also introduced his pedagogy at Symposium, he served as president of the Michigan Music Educators Association for two years and his six years as Calvin’s music department chair was a time of significant growth, described by one colleague as a “golden age.”

Howard Vanderwell (1937-2018)

Howard Vanderwell was a pastor for 40 years in several mid-West congregations in the Christian Reformed Church before joining the staff of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in 2002 when he retired. As a pastor, he became increasingly convinced of the importance of worship and faith formation through worship, writing articles in Reformed Worship, co-editing a handbook of materials for collaborative worship planning, and presenting at the Worship Symposium. Beginning in 2002, he taught several courses related to worship and pastoral ministry at Calvin Theological Seminary, becoming a mentor and encourager to many students. He was a member of the Worship Sourcebook development team, contributed to many online resources, and continued to write; his final book, Letters to Growing Pastors (2018), was completed during his fourth and final struggle with cancer.

Robert E. Webber (1933–2007)

Bob Webber was a bridge builder, one of the first evangelical theologians to write about worship in the early church and the liturgical tradition. His “Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future” (2006) was, in a way, the culmination of a lifetime of teaching and writing that was devoted to helping the Christian church take worship seriously. He was a long-time popular professor at Wheaton College from 1968 until he retired. He then moved to Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL, and in 1998 initiated what is now the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Jacksonville, FL, a doctoral program that continues to attract students from around the world. He published more than 40 books on worship; including popular titles like Worship Is a Verb (1992) and Ancient Future Worship (1999), and edited the eight-volume Complete Library of Christian Worship (1995). He was a presenter at Symposium in 1989 and again in 2004, when he led sessions on “Ancient-Future Justice” and “Ancient-Future Worship.” For many years Bob was also a valuable editorial consultant to Reformed Worship until his death from cancer in 2007.

Dallas Willard (1935-2013) 

Dallas Willard was for many years a professor of philosophy at UCLA (from 1965-2012), in epistemology, logic, and the work of German philosopher Edmund Husserl. But he is more widely known for his apologetics, based not on logic, but on an intellectually rigorous yet pastoral approach to spiritual formation set forth in several widely-read books, including The Divine Conspiracy (1998), Renovation of the Heart (2002), and his final book, published posthumously, The Allure of Gentleness: Defending the Faith in the Manner of Jesus (2015). He spoke at Symposium 2008, and was asked back more than once, but his schedule and then his illness prevented his return.