Bountiful Grace

by Ken Zuithoff

edited by Bob Terwilliger, spring 2023

My roots in the RCA go back to Emmanuel Reformed Church in Roseland (south side of Chicago). At the time of my birth, Emmanuel’s sanctuary had been gutted by fire, so my baptismal service was held in the local public school. As I look back over my boyhood years, I often give thanks for my friends in that church, and also for the dedicated adults who had such an impact on me. As I neared graduation from Chicago Vocational School, where I majored in electronics, my pastor, Rev. Chester Meengs, invited me to his office to ask about my plans. “Have you thought about attending Hope College?” he inquired. I had not, but that question bore fruit. I enrolled there in 1963.

It was during those Hope years that I felt the call to become a pastor. Did I mention that’s also where I met Sally Cook, who became my lifelong partner in ministry? When I first met Sally on Hope’s campus, I had no idea how many duets we would sing together, or all the other ways God would blend our lives and efforts together in ministry. When I got to Western Theological Seminary (WTS), Sally’s uncle, Dr. Jim Cook and his good friend, Dr. Bill Brownson, were part of the faculty that warmly welcomed and guided us. Jim once described that time as one of the seminary’s “golden decades.” I’m so grateful for God’s timing. When Sally and I married after my first year at WTS, it was her Uncle Jim who officiated.

After my second year at Western Seminary, Sally and I headed to Hope Church in Los Angeles for a year’s internship. Working and worshiping with a racially mixed congregation and living in the inner city was both enriching and at times challenging. We still treasure our good memories of lessons learned and friendships formed.

Growing up in Chicago and interning in L.A., I expected God might send me to an urban church. Surprise! My good friend Jim Schoon and I were the last of our class to accept a call to our first churches. Jim went to California and I, not to a city but to Pultneyville, New York, a quaint hamlet on the shore of Lake Ontario. Lots of history and bountiful fruit orchards all around us and a welcoming congregation provided a wonderful setting for our first 7.5 years of ministry. Then, in 1979, we accepted a call to Bethel Church in Sterling, Illinois. There we pastored for 34 years and raised three sons, and there we continue to this day.

My years in Sterling included volunteering as a chaplain with the local police department and the Illinois State Police, teaching Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, and helping with Critical Incident Stress Management debriefings. With this background, in 2001, I was privileged to spend Thanksgiving week at Ground Zero in New York following the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Fast forward to 2012 and retirement from Bethel Church. What now, Lord? First came fourteen months of preaching two or three times a month at a church in transition, including eight weddings and several funerals. Then, nine years ago, God opened another door. I was asked to work half-time as staff chaplain in our local hospital. Sally volunteers as a greeter in this facility and also helps with spelling and geography bees in the school where she worked for 25 years. She still heads up the church library, never putting a book on the shelf before reading it herself. I continue serving with area law enforcement and enjoy the friendships made with these good people. Our three sons and eight grandchildren live in Sterling, Illinois; Ottumwa, Iowa; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and we enjoy making it to some of the grandkids’ activities.

With all the weekly commitments, I still manage to carve out some time for hobbies. Early on, I set about building a cedar strip canoe. After 200 hours laboring out in the garage, I welcomed two dozen friends to its first launching. Most recently, I purchased a red 1967 VW bug from its original owner. Running around town in Ruby rekindles fond memories of the car I drove around Holland over 50 years ago.

Sally and I are grateful for God’s bountiful grace through the years and trust him for the years ahead. I am reminded again and again of what I learned growing up in the Reformed Church: “That I belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.” Thanks be to God!

Ken received a BA from Hope College and an MDiv from Western Theological Seminary. He served the Pultneyville Reformed Church in Williamson, New York, and Bethel Reformed in Sterling, Illinois. Ken and Sally live in Sterling, Illinois. Ken.Zuithoff@cghmc.com