Providence News  September 2011

|   The Ministry of Providence comes Full Circle:
    Founding Father Retires to Holland Home

George Cooper helped start this ministry for others; now he's enjoying the benefits himself — he moved to Holland Home this summer.

SOUTH HOLLAND, ILLINOIS (September 2011)  | It was 1953 when George Cooper and the consistory of Second Christian Reformed Church of Englewood sent a letter to surrounding churches, "proposing the establishment of a Christian Convalescent Home in our area." That seed of an idea eventually grew into the ministry now known as Providence Life Services, which includes not only "Convalescent Homes," but also retirement living, assisted living, rehabilitative therapy, and in-home services.

George remembers the church member who first made the consistory aware of an unmet need: "He came to us and said, 'I need to put my wife in a rest home, and I went to six different rest homes and not one of them has anything to do with God or has anyone there to pray with them.'"

The man was obviously distressed, and George and his fellow consistory members felt called to respond. "We said to ourselves, 'We'd like to have something where people can connect with the Lord — and know they are going to heaven.'" And so "distinctively Christian" became the main identifier that would set this new venture apart.

The church in Englewood knew the job was too big. George remembers, "We said, 'We can't do it with one church. We don't have the people, we don't have the money.' So we went to the classis." George helped compose the letter that was sent to the churches of Classis Chicago North (and he still has a copy).

This summer, at age 92, George reached a point where he decided he was ready to enjoy the fruits of his ministry labors. Fifty-eight years after casting the vision for a distinctively Christian convalescent home, he moved into Holland Home and was delighted to find the character and culture of the community to be "distinctively Christian." "Every person here working is really affected by the Lord," he says earnestly. "They're so nice. They're so helpful. It's marvelous."

"I absolutely love it here!" he smiles. "It's a fun place. I always had a good opinion of Holland Home, and that opinion was strengthened when I moved in."

Most of the "marvelous staff" who interact with George each day are not even aware of his role as a founding father of the organization. They are young and new to the ministry, and 58 years ago seems like ancient history. So it is not George's celebrity that earns him marvelous treatment. It is the very culture of the place.

George had no idea in 1953 that the ministry he helped launch to bless others would come full circle and be a blessing to him. But he is grateful. "I just love it here," he smiles. "What a blessing."