By Ryan Cotton –

When I first came to Holland, alone, I chose West Core as my initial home to live, work, and play.  I enjoyed being in such an active neighborhood, right in the middle of what was happening in Holland.  Later, when my wife Karen joined me, we moved to the adjacent Washington School neighborhood. Together with our neighbors, we like to work in the community to achieve the highest quality of life possible.

Living in this area has given us the chance to sometimes worship with our neighbors, too. The above photo shows a local congregation celebrating with its members by forming a circle around the church.  One of the members, Brown Eagle, commented that “The circle symbolizes that we are one body in Christ.  We are facing the neighborhood and celebrating Jesus.”

We value living in a front-porch neighborhood where there is connectedness and opportunities for close relationships.