On April 28th, Reinder Bruinsma, former president of the Belgian-Luxembourg Conference, had the pleasant surprise of being honored with a royal decoration. There is a tradition in the Netherlands that on the king's birthday, Dutch people who "have rendered special service to society" can be honored. Reinder Bruinsma was awarded the title "Knight of the Order of Orange Naussau". This year, 2,832 Dutch citizens received a royal honor, more than 86% were appointed "members" of the Order, and 325 people received the rank of "knight".
In his speech in the city hall, G. J. Gorter, the Mayor of Zeewolde, Bruinsma's place of residence, said that Bruinsma was always looking for the relevance of the gospel, not only for churchgoers but also for those who have little connection with the church. Through his publications (30 books), articles and blogs, he has been able to highlight and analyze developments in the church and society. In his blogs and through other media, he pays particular attention to the position of women in ministry and the position of the LGBTI community. In addition, his contribution as a writer for the ESDA Institute and its magazine Contact has been mentioned separately. Finally, his involvement and his international network were highlighted.
Due to the health situation, only ten guests could attend the ceremony (including their daughter Danielle and a sister and brother of Reinder and Reinder’s wife, Aafje). The decorations were not pinned by the mayor but by Aafje, Reinder's wife. It is rather unusual that the person in question is named a Knight (not a Member) of the Order of Orange Nassau. The international nature of Bruinsma's involvement has certainly contributed to this. It is impressive to see the number of lectures, presentations, and sermons that Bruinsma has given in Germany, England, the United States, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Denmark, France, and Australia.
In addition to Bruinsma's words of thanks, in which he of course associated his wife Aafje, two short speeches were given by Bert Slond and Wim Altink. These two, along with others, contributed to Bruinsma's nomination for this royal award.
https://www.adventist.be/language/fr/reinder-bruinsma-nomme-chevalier/