The Year of Our Lord, 2002

 This was a year of international insecurity.  The United States continued their hunt for al-Qaida terrorist, Osama bin Laden.  India and Pakistan continued their nuclear-tipped standoff.  North Korea revealed it had nuclear weapons. Free of the Taliban after a U.S.-led campaign, Afghanistan struggled to escape the clutches of rival war lords. Israel’s battle with the Palestinians deepened with a cycle of suicide bombings and Israeli retaliations.

This was a year of economic insecurity.  After the roaring 90s, stock markets slumped in their worst losing streak since the Great Depression, with U.S. stock market losses topping $2.6 trillion.  A parade of corporate scandals angered the nation—from Adelphia to WorldCom, from Tyco to Imclone, and from Martha Stewart to Enron—leaving investors distrustful. After cutting interest rates 11 times last year, the Federal Reserve enacted a single cut in 2002, keeping rates at their lowest level in more than 40 years.

While voters often punish officeholders for an ailing economy, national insecurity was on the voters’ minds when they went to the polls this year.  With history and sheer mathematics against him, President Bush picked up seats for his party in both the House and Senate, giving him a mandate he lacked after his narrow and disputed victory in 2000.

Our attention was riveted on the nine miners trapped for 77 hours in Quecreek Mine in Somerset, Pennsylvania, until their successful rescue on July 28.  Then in October our attention shifted to the Washington, D.C. metro area as the “DC Sniper” held our nation’s capital under siege for two weeks, ending with the arrest of John Allen Muhammed and 17-year-old Lee Malvo.

Reports of sexual abuse by priests brought the resignation of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law and the retirement of Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland.

In the world of science, new studies show that RNA controls key actions by turning genes on and off, directing embryo development and, perhaps, playing a role in cancer. Another study indicated that hormone replacement therapy, long thought to prevent heart disease, strokes, and breast cancer in women, actually increases the risk.

Meanwhile, in the world of entertainment, pairs figure skating at the Winter Games in Salt Lake City produced international intrigue and two gold medals for the same event. Auto racing weathered disputed finishes at the Indianapolis 500 in May and the United States Grand Prix in September. And Major League Baseball fans, angry about the possibility of a players strike, complained when Commissioner Bud Selig called a halt to the All Star game in Milwaukee with the score tied at 7-7 after 11 innings.  The general public finally realized that kids were cavorting with and shooting hookers in “Grand Theft Auto,” a top-selling video game.  After years of trying to erase any hint of his African identity, Michael Jackson accused the music industry of racism, accepted an award he wasn’t given, dangled his baby from a fourth-story balcony, and sparked rumors about whether or not he finally had lost his nose.  Survivors of baseball great Ted Williams engaged in a bitter public dispute over plans to have his remains cryogenically frozen. The “frozen” side won. Elsewhere, “Mr Television,” comedian Milton Burrow, syndicated columnist Ann Landers, and professional golfer “Slammin Sam” Snead also met their maker.

After a hotly contested governor’s race featuring Jim Doyle and Scott McCallum, the Tommy Thompson era officially came to an end in Wisconsin.  Meanwhile, the Republicans maintained control of the State Assembly (including the election of Oostburg’s own, Dan LeMahieu), and took control of the State Senate (including the 46-vote hotly contested election of Joe Leibham). Chronic wasting disease, a  fatal incurable disease, cast a pall over the state’s $1 billion hunting industry, leading to a DNR plan to kill nearly 30,000 deer in a region near Madison in an attempt to eradicate the disease.

Residents of the Sheboygan County Comprehensive Health Center moved to Rocky Knoll near Elkhart Lake in July.  Development came to Oostburg, with the first businesses opening in the industrial park, and a Piggly Wiggly anchoring a new downtown retail complex.  And just down the road, ten people were killed and 36 injured in Wisconsin’s deadliest ever traffic accident—a fiery October 11 pileup, including 51 vehicles along the fog-shrouded southbound lanes of I-43.

At First Christian Reformed Church, this was the year our staff expanded to include Gwen Gesch as a part-time Youth Ministries Coordinator; and discussions began in earnest to address our need for additional space for our ministries. During the course of the year we witnessed the baptism of four infants, the profession of faith of five young people, the reaffirmation of faith of one member, the marriage of six members, and the death of four members.  This was the year of our Lord, 2002.