February 21 Today in OPC History

Grace Vanden Bosch Haney walked with determination, rose early to keep her home in order, and welcomed guests at church with an invitation to come to her home for lunch. Her diligence and service began soon after her birth in a farmhouse near Rock Valley, Iowa, on this date in 1928. Grace was the middle child of nine and grew up in a Christian Reformed Church filled with industrious farmers. She attended a one-room schoolhouse until she graduated in 8th grade. A hard worker with a heart for service, Grace left school to help her mother raise their large family. Determined to eventually complete her education, Grace earned her high school degree in three years, then graduated from Calvin College in another three years.

One of her brothers introduced Grace--at the time a school teacher in Pella, Iowa--to George E. Haney, the preacher in a nearby town. A 1957 Westminster Theological Seminary graduate, George was the pastor of First Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Waterloo, Iowa. Two years after meeting, George and Grace married on September 7, 1959. Grace flourished in her role as a pastor's wife, using her gift of hospitality to encourage visitors and church members alike. In the early 1960s when George served as pastor of Pilgrim OPC in Bangor, Maine, they were blessed with four children in four years. First, Mary Anne was adopted, then David was born, followed by John who was adopted, and lastly Stephen was born. Grace taught her children to love their Lord and to sing His praise. George was called to Falls OPC in Menomonee, Wisconsin, from 1968-1974, then became the general secretary of the Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension in 1974. While George worked in the OPC's offices, Grace became a vital part of Trinity OPC in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. In 1982, George accepted a call to Grace OPC in Vienna, Virginia, where he served until cancer brought him back to the OPC offices in 1985. Over the following years, George served as Home Missions finance administrator, then Home Missions general secretary, and finally as a Home Missions consultant until God called him to his heavenly home on May 22, 1999.

Back at Trinity OPC, Grace excelled in hospitality, even as a widow. She graded papers for a prison ministry and taught international students to read. In 2013, Grace moved to the Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After more than 83 years of service, Grace received her Eternal Rest on October 1, 2014.

Susan M. Felch, a Calvin College English professor and wife of OPC minister Douglas Felch, wrote about Grace Haney in the book, Choosing the Good Portion: Women of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which is available on OPC.ORG here.

Picture: Grace and George Haney