Ds. Jac van Belkum

Full name: Jacobus van Belkum

Lifespan: 1851 Netherlands - 1933 Johannesburg

Occupation: Nederduitsche Hervormde Kerk minister, editor

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Timeline

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Biography

Netherlands

Rev. Jacobus van Belkum was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland, in the Netherlands. He was the son of Année Marius van Belkum and Catharina van der Werff and was raised with his brother Pieter in the Old Burger orphanage in Leeuwarden after being admitted there in 1859.³ He completed his theological studies at the Rijksuniversiteit van Utrecht in 1876, passing his doctoral examination with distinction but never completing a thesis.

He was ordained in the Netherlands and served successively as minister of the Dutch Reformed congregations of Varik, Steenwijk, and Zierikzee. He also served on provincial church councils and the synod.

He married Anna Hermina Dekking (1856 Netherlands - 1935 Heidelberg).

Rustenburg

In November 1890 he received a call to the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk (NH Kerk) congregations of Rustenburg and Zeerust in the Transvaal. He accepted, travelled by ship to Cape Town, by train to Vryburg, and by ox wagon to Zeerust. He was installed in Rustenburg on 5 June 1891.

For the time being, Van Belkum did not have access to a church building because the struggle over church properties dragged on; furthermore, the church council could only offer the Van Belkum family a rented house.⁴

Soon after his arrival, he gave this description of the churches in the Z.A.R. (translated):

"By 1885, three Dutch-Afrikaans churches existed in the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. In the first place, these three churches were namely the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk, which was the State Church of the South African Republic and the historical and legitimate continuation of the church that came from the Cape with the Voortrekkers; it had been independently organised and maintained among the Voortrekkers since 1837. In the second place, there was the Gereformeerde Kerk, which seceded from the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk in 1859 under Rev. Dirk Postma. Thirdly, there was the Nederduitsch Gereformeerde Kerk, which seceded from the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk in 1865-66 through the actions of Rev. Frans Lion Cachet."⁴

During the Second Anglo-Boer War he regularly visited the Boer commandos before he and his family were interned in the Merebank (KZN) concentration camp on 29 November 1901. Here he performed baptisms, funerals, and church services. They were released on 16 August 1902.

Heidelberg

After the war he played a major role in rebuilding the NH Church and its congregations in the West and East Transvaal. By 1902 he served as konsulent (consulting minister) for Heidelberg, Volksrust, Chrissiesmeer and Standerton.

Jac van Belkum⁵

In 1903 he accepted a call to the NH congregation in Heidelberg (Transvaal), where he was installed on 1 August 1903. He found the congregation in a desperate state after the war - farms burned, many members dead or impoverished, and the church burdened with heavy debt (including a £7,000 parsonage purchased in 1897). The church was also forced to purchase an adjacent stand. Van Belkum was sometimes not remunerated for months. The founding of Vereeniging (1913) and Eendracht (1917) cut off large portions that previously formed part of Heidelberg.

He served Heidelberg for 24 years until taking emeritus status in 1927 after a total of 50 years in the ministry. The Van Belkum Hall attached to the Klipkerk was named in his honour in 1933 (or 1936).

The hulpkerk built 1889 during the church unification was renamed the Van Belkum Hall.

Rev. van Belkum and his family lived in the NH parsonage in Heidelberg. He died in Johannesburg on 4 November 1933, aged 82.

Publications

"Hy was 'n man wat hom vir die voortbestaan van die Afrikanervolk beywer het."¹

Van Belkum was the founder of church journalism within the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk (NH Kerk) and played a pioneering role in producing Afrikaans/Dutch-language religious periodicals in the Transvaal. In September 1899 he single-handedly launched the monthly church magazine De Hervormer, but the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War forced it to cease after the 2nd issue. After the war he started De Transvaalsche Kerkbode, although this too proved short-lived.

'Almenak voor de Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Zuid-Afrika' (1912).

His most enduring contributions came later: in 1907 he founded the Almanak voor de Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk entirely on his own initiative and and remained its editor until 1928. In 1909 he revived De Hervormer as a monthly magazine and served as its editor and driving force until 1928. He personally wrote numerous valuable articles for these publications, most notably his popular monthly column “Brieven van Oom Sarel” (Letters from Uncle Sarel), which exercised considerable influence on Transvaal church and religious life. "These letters deal with matters which touch the hearts of the Afrikaners, for example, the questions about the Church, the social, ethical and economic well-being of the Afrikaners, political and ordinary affairs, education and the use of the Afrikaans language." Oom Sarel was a fictitious farmer (boer) who wrote letters to his fictitious cousin about current events.¹

'De Hervormer' Jubilee Album (1927). Argief van die Nerdeduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika.¹

Van Belkum (as Oom Sarel), was particularly concerned about the well-being of the Afrikanervolk after the Anglo-Boer war. He mentioned that the Volk was relatively happy and content before the discovery of gold, and before the war. "Die volk was verarm en het gesien hoe die Engelse al hoe ryker geword het... Hoewel daar mettertyd weer lewe op talle plase gekom het en wat afgebrand was weer opgebou is, was daar nog baie ellende. Op baie plase was pondokkies." Another of his concerns was that men moved to the cities, and didn't spend enough time with their families. He noticed that Afrikaners fell into moral decay. Oom Sarel also discussed religion, education, politics, language, and race relations.¹

 

Introduction and ending of a typical letter from 'Oom Sarel'. (129). De Hervormer, January 23, 1929.

In 1927, on the occasion of his 50th anniversary in the ministry, Die Hervormer devoted a special issue largely to him, and his farewell sermon was also published.

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Sources

1. Gericke, J.D. (1989) Ds. Jacobus van Belkum (Oom Sarel) in die kultuurgeskiedenis van die Afrikaner. S.-Afr. Tydskr.Kult.-Kunsgesk.
2. Jac van Belkum
3. Pretorius, C. (2004) Jac van Belkum (1851-1933): ’n Middelkonfessionele predikant van die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika.
4. Pretorius, C. (2002) Ds. Jac van Belkum (1851-1933): Nestor van die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika.
5. Rex, H.M. (1974) Die Ontstaansgeskiedenis van 'De Hervormer' (1869-1899). Die Hervormer, Sept 1974.