February 1 Today in OPC History

On the Lord's Day of February 1, 1948 with a temperature of 12 degrees Fahrenheit, the congregation of Westminster Chapel, Westchester, Illinois arrived for worship to find out that their building's furnace had broken and that they would be without heat. Acting quickly, the Rev. Edmund Clowney, the Presbytery of Wisconsin's home missionary working with the congregation, organized the group of 38 and led them to the nearby Bellwood Christian Reformed Chapel. Their unannounced arrival for worship gave the Bellwood congregation quite a pleasant surprise.

In 1951, the group was received as an official congregation of the OPC with the Rev. Lawrence Eyres installed as the organizing pastor. Westminster OPC continues today in Countryside under the leadership of the Rev. Robert Tarullo.

Picture: Edmund Clowney (third row center) and the 1944 graduating class at Westminster Seminary enjoying lollipops with faculty members Woolley, Van Til and Kuiper (first row).