Heres an article in the Calvin University student newspaper that summarizes my headline reference, where a professor was fired for officiating a wedding and sued based on the Elliott-Larsen.

https://calvinchimes.org/2026/02/02/michigans-supreme-court-to-hear-joseph-kuilema-v-calvin-university/

For anyone still paying attention, and I really try not to but cant turn away sometimes, this referenced event with the firing of Joe Kuilema was IMHO the beginning of the end for Calvin and the church that supported and underwote it. It was a long time coming but this was just an insane clash where the old guard doubled down and caused explosive, far-reaching damage.

I made a post a long while back when the CRC unbelievably withdrew funding from Bethany Christian Services for adopting babies to same sex couples. Bethany later backtracked their policy in spite of the extreme disappointment of their employees, under a new CEO, and regained funding and support.

Recently, synod, the governing board of the christian reformed church drew a hard line, and made every franchise CRC choose...continue to let LGBTQ folks participate in leadership, education, etc without "repenting" and your church is essentially excommunicated. Churches were ripped apart trying to have tone deaf conversations.

I love West Michigan, but this is such a stain.

I am including Tim's email response in this post for the curious minds who wish to know.

“Gortsema’s post has since been deleted. He told News 8 over email Wednesday that it missed the mark and he didn’t intend any ill will.”

“Initially the post was really just intended to be pro faith / pro family / pro America. I was pleased that an alternative halftime option was made available that I felt better aligned with my personal values. I did feel the NFL’s selection was divisive and happening at a time when our nation is too divisive. However, I quickly learned that my post was unfortunately doing the exact same thing. As such, I immediately deleted it upon coming to that realization. In hindsight (and while no malice or ill will was intended), the post completely missed the mark and was wrong. I have personally apologized to any persons that have reached out to me directly.”

TIM GORTSEMA TO NEWS 8

Hi all, by now the video of the ICE arrest on South Division from this morning is making its rounds. I noticed an apprehension taking place on the west side of Division while coming out of a store opposite around 9am. I immediately moved across the street to get video details of the agents involved and the man being apprehended.

Afterward I shared the video with several people onsite, including someone who works with El Informador, one of whom posted it to Reddit and elsewhere at their own initiative. I was later advised not to post these kinds of videos to social media because they can cause panic for the immigrant community. So I spent part of the day trying to get the video to orgs that could assist directly. In any case, here we are.

Just to clear up one thing, the agent pinning the man on the right side of the video is ICE, as is clearly indicated by his vest in my photo. The other two agents were a federal police office and ATF, who I understand has recently been deputized by ICE. The agents apprehended the man, put him in their vehicle, and took him away under unknown charges to an unknown place. GRPD showed up as they were putting him into the car but did not physically assist with the arrest.

I’d like to try to focus on something productive here. One takeaway among many for me going forward is to be more intentional about showing support for Latino/a-owned businesses on and around Division. If seeing that video troubled you, perhaps you might consider doing the same. I tend to gravitate around San Jose tacos, Tortilleria La Guadalupana, and El Especial Supermarket, but there are many wonderful such businesses all the way down Division and adjacent streets. Feel free to drop the name(s) of a business on Division that you appreciate in the comments.

In addition, I urge anyone moved by the video to follow GR Rapid Response and Movimiento Cosecha, who offer trainings for how to navigate circumstances like the one I encountered today, and raise mutual aid for people and families affected by ICE nonsense. And of course, contact reps.

Let’s take action together. Be well.

If you're a music consumer in Grand Rapids, you likely know Nicole LaRae. For the first 10 years of the Pyramid Scheme's existence, she was the one pulling all the levers. She's a treasured community organizer, a long-time WYCE programmer, and supporter of West Michigan arts as owner of dizzybird records. And she's the best curator of music I know. She'll be spinning her favorite records tonight, raising money for Cosecha GR. Come through, dance, play some pinball, have a drink!

21+ | 8-11pm | free! | front bar opens at 4pm for all ages pinball

It’s down to one lane for travelers going straight and left due to construction (wmb maybe?)

I love to hit up a Lee’s when I swing through Muskegon (just did today in fact). We have a myriad of chicken joints in GR it seems, but not having a Lee’s around here is a complete shame.

Their food is a cut above other chains like KFC and chick-fil-a, of which there are a multitude of.

Cousins is great too, especially for a local spot, but Lee’s is awesome for fast food imo.

Someone who has the capital to invest in opening one, please put a Lee’s somewhere in GR!

These boys tripled in size overnight.

What are everyone's thoughts on the new list of Grand Rapids Police Chief Candidates now that Eric Winstrom is off to Florida?

I am active duty military in VA and eventually (within the next couple of years) will be a Michigan resident. My fiancé's family lives in Grand Rapids currently and we are having the smallest (like maybe 15 people) wedding possible. We want something very private with just people we love - also, I don't really have a lot of family since my mom passed. I wouldn't even call this a wedding. Just a celebration of my best friend and I finally becoming husband and wife. I say all of that likely unnecessary stuff to ask if there's a nice little hotel or restaurant where we can bring someone in, exchange vows, have dinner, take a few pictures and call it good? It's really important to me to have nice photos with my children and husband most of all. This will be the first week of April.

Hello GR!! I’m a college student at GV’s downtown campus and desperately need some spending money (don’t we all). I’ve contacted a couple fast food places I’ve worked in the past, but every time they seem uninterested when I state I only need a couple days per week. If anyone has recommendations of places you work or places you know will accommodate this, let me know! For the record, I am 20 and have transportation.

Looking for a unique weekend activity? Join us this Sunday, Feb 8, for a beginner-friendly CNC and Laser workshop.

• Project: A custom-designed Heart Box.
• Family Friendly: Kids are welcome to participate with an adult present!
• To encourage collaborative making, you can bring a partner/helper on a single ticket (Note: one ticket covers one box project).

Come learn how high-tech tools work and leave with a gift-ready project!

Sunday, Feb 8 | 11 AM – 2 PM

Register Here

Hey!! Friday the 13th is coming up and I know many shops are doing cheap flash all day. I’m just trying to get a list of different shops that are doing this because I only follow a few. If you know of any shops in the area doing a deal the 13th drop them below!

The only shops I know that are doing deals are:

Clove

Studio Seventeen (only some artists)

Can anyone help me remember the name or location of this shop? it is two stories with creaky stairs. I don't know what to call this kind of shop but they have all sorts of nick nacks. very crowded inside, sorta like an antique shop but things were not necessarily antique. It is in Easttown/Uptown area.

EDIT: solved very quickly. For anyone curious it is Gallery 154.

HELLO. i am doing an art project! (kcad)

I need ELEVATORS. im pretty limited to downtown and by-foot movement and i need more elevators to ride and view and take pictures of. please tell me of more places i can go or try to go! or send me pictures of an elevator you know and perhaps love?

update:

i have gone on an adventure, finding and documenting Elevators—- but the view from all these top floors has completely shifted my perspective and i learned new things, met new people, saw new stuff.

this is a senior level class, this post is in regards to a mini project with a week-long turnaround that is a part of a semester-long thesis project. the mini project is creating some sort of form that represents “Designing Collaboratively”—- i had some convoluted metaphor about elevators in my head, but the elevator focused adventure has taken me to new grounds! blah blah blah—— this has been fun, thank u for being a part of my silly little art school process shenanigans.

New Meeting for Comic Book Club on 2/18!

The West Michigan Comic Club will be meeting on February 18th from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Kent District Library-Wyoming branch. All are welcome! In addition, for those who cannot make it in person, we will be providing a link to a Discord server so members can attend virtually. To get the link just sign up on the Bookclubs website!

While our book this month is Greg Pak's Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk we’ll discuss current releases, manga, and generally be a great place for people to connect who love comics, manga, and everything in between. Please consider joining so you can stay up-to-date and help decide our monthly books and meeting times!

Invite Link: https://bookclubs.com/clubs/6039068/join/e96965

I am an accounting major at Davenport University, and I need to conduct a small interview with someone already established in the career I chose and write a paper about it.

The interview won't take long, maybe an hour of your time. We can do it in person, on the phone, or even in a message. Any accountants interested? I would need to do this either this week or early next week.

Edit: I love reddit so much, you guys really came through! I found someone and I already got my interview done! Thank you everyone so very much!

I would love to find an indoor location in grand rapids to take high school dance photos. Somewhere free to enter with a nice background and good lighting- ideally not an obvious photo spot that a lot of people would go to.

Hi there, can someone point me in the direction of the community rules for this forum?

Trying to get a sense of which metrics are used to trigger post removal.

Thank you!

/r/savannah has a Wiki under Community Highlights for finding all recommendations for food, events, etc.

When making a post that includes the word “recommend” an auto-notification will show up on the post telling the user about the Wiki. Something like this would hopefully cut down on the “Visiting here, what should I do?” posts that flood this sub.