Spark

Given the nature of our alumni work at Calvin, we’re often thinking about milestones and marking significant events. There are the normal rhythms of campus life, of course: Commencement, move-in day, reunions, and the like. But sometimes, milestones hit me differently for various reasons. 

In just a couple of short weeks, my wife, Erin Barnaby Haverdink ’97, and I will mark an entirely new and surreal personal milestone: we will be the parents of a Calvin student. How can this already be possible? 

Erin and I are certainly not unique. Thousands of you are or have been Calvin parents who likely went through the same emotions we are about to experience. Excitement and new adventures lie ahead, yet cherished memories of days-gone-by tug at the heart. Tempus fugit, and my, how it does. 

In May, the Calvin Class of 1974 marked 50 years since graduating; as it happens, I will also mark my own 50th birthday this year—different but noteworthy 50-year milestones for us both! 

I love the 50-year-reunion weekend. While each year brings different faces to the event, inevitably, it’s the same wonderful experience for all. To hear howls of laughter as alums retell stories of their Calvin days is medicinal—I never tire of it. And yet there are tears and hugs, too, for those who are no longer with us or for those too frail to join classmates on campus. 

The marking of another significant milestone is afoot. March 15, 2026, will mark Calvin’s 150th anniversary. It is remarkable to consider God’s faithfulness to Calvin over a century and a half! I think of the generations of alumni who have impacted the world as followers of Christ over that stretch of time. Planning for the anniversary celebration is well underway, and we look forward to the summer of 2025, when formal festivities begin. We hope we will see many of you at these events. 

Even though doing so can leave us fraught with mixed emotions, it’s healthy to take a minute to mark time in order to see God’s hand at work both now and in the past. Doing so renews our “strength for today” and teaches us to hold “bright hope for tomorrow.” 

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto us.