“It would take two denominations and create three: the new union, those on the left and those on the right that couldn’t go along with it,” Borgdorff said. Merging colleges, seminaries, pension plans and the like also would create “endless problems,” Granberg-Michaelson added. But neither rules out a possible future merger.

On the morning of Jan. 25, 1857, the Rev. Hendrik G. Klyn went to take the pulpit of Second Reformed Church, only to find church elders blocking his way. Klyn appealed to the congregation for support, but the elders stood firm. Finally, a flinty elder named Gysbert Haan led Klyn — and about half the congregation — out of the church.

“Worship was postponed for the day on account of stormy weather,” concludes the dramatic account in “Gathered at the River,” a history of Grand Rapids congregations by James Bratt and Christopher Meehan.

The agitating members who stormed out that day went on to form the Christian Reformed Church, a stubbornly conservative bunch with a knack for doing the Lord’s work and debating church policy. From then on, the CRC had a stormy relationship with the Reformed Church in America, its more worldly mother or older sister, depending on your point of view.

But time heals many a wound, and lo, these 154 years later, the CRC and RCA are practically kissing cousins. They recognize each other’s pastors, have combined churches and work together in publications and disaster relief. Some even have suggested the two should reunite, including an influential CRC member named Rich DeVos.

This week will see a historic moment in the life of these Dutch-rooted churches. Thursday, they will hold a joint session of their respective synods, a first in the storied history of their annual assemblies. The delegates will conduct a bit of business, then worship together at the Calvin Chapel.

If you think this could trigger the Apocalypse that was supposed to happen three weeks ago, not to worry. Officials say it’s just another step closer in their warming relations, so don’t hold your breath for a reunification ratification.

“I would call it a primarily symbolic acknowledgment that we do more together than is often realized,” said the Rev. Peter Borgdorff, the retired CRC executive director who helped plan the event. “It is not intended to be a prelude to some kind of organizational union or to plant the seed for that.”

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Charley Honey is a freelance writer for The Grand Rapids Press, Christianity Today and other publications.