News
Thomas De Witt and the Birth of the ‘Holland Reformed’ Churches
January 22 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Looking at Past Immigration to Understand Today
While immigration features prominently in contemporary news and changes the face of Reformed churches, we are usually talking about people from outside of Europe, and certainly outside of the Netherlands. But what can we learn about how “new” people can change and challenge us when those people came from a place most Reformed folks thought of as home?
Thomas De Witt, NBTS Class of 1812, a pastor in the Collegiate Church in New York from 1827 to 1864, and editor of the Christian Intelligencer from 1831-1843, played a pivotal role in starting the “new” Dutch immigration to the United States that began in 1846. While the bulk of those newcomers headed west to Michigan and Iowa, a few stayed in the New York area, thanks to the weather and De Witt’s role in finding them homes and jobs. With his help, these Hollanders who settled within walking distance of Reformed churches in Paterson, Passaic, Paramus, and Hackensack, founded immigrant communities that supported Dutch speaking “Holland” congregations that attracted even more immigrants from the Netherlands, and, by 1900, became two of the Reformed Church in America’s largest congregations.
This is the story that will be shared by Robert Schoone-Jongen in “Thomas De Witt and the Birth of the ‘Holland Reformed’ Churches,” a Zoom webinar from the Reformed Church Center on Thursday, January 22, 2026, 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm. A professor of history emeritus at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with degrees from Calvin College, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Delaware, he is the grandson of Dutch immigrants who settled in Paterson, New Jersey, between 1881 and 1900. Having taught history to high school students for twenty-seven years and then to college students for fifteen years, his areas of special interests are the history of immigration to the United States and the history of the American presidency.
The response to his presentation will be given by Janice McLean-Farrell, the Dirck Romeyn Associate Professor of Metro-Urban Ministry and Associate Dean of Doctoral Studies at NBTS. She also studied at the University of Delaware, but went on to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on Religions of the African Diaspora; Christianity in the Caribbean; Migration; Urban immigrant youth and religion, youth, race, music and social engagement; marriage and sexuality among Black immigrant youth in NYC; Religion and Public Life, Youth, religion and literature, Women and Migration.
As always, this Reformed Church Center program is free, but registration is required. You can register by clicking this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DOaUyF_oSeqlI3ZNLUDlGA.