Reformátusok Lapja, 1970 (70. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1970-06-01 / 6-7. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 13 is the divine communication, the channel between God and man. But love itself is never God, not even a god. When we make it into a God it turns into a demon. Love is that experience in which God communicates to man; the experience in which we know that we are, in spite of it all, worth something, valuable actually beyond our comprehension, beyond our merits. We are not nothings. We are not even things, numbers, statistics, naked apes. “Everyone who loves is a child of God.” Let me put it another way. We all want to be somebody. Not necessarily somebody famous and grand. We don’t want to be just a thing, just someone’s tool, a piece of machinery, a nobody. And deep within all of us is a restless yearning to be valued by someone else, to be recognized, accepted, made to feel worthwhile, made to feel like human beings—in a word—loved. Did you know that fully nine tenths of the babies raised in orphanages die or develop serious emotional problems simply because they are all too often not loved enough? So we all have this tremendous desire to be loved, this need to be loved and accepted. However we may repress it, hide it, deny it, it is there. Without it we are incomplete, crippled, spiritually starving. What can we do? Well, we look for it in each other. Yet we don’t even know what we are looking for. What we find is always limited, temporary, fragile and incomplete. The whole world may recognize the talent of a man, his scientific contributions, his wisdom. But there still remains a certain gnawing doubt about one’s worth. The world is fickle. Who remembers Richie Valans, Chubby Checkers, Fats Domino, Fabian, the Browns, the Big Dipper, the Turtles —just ten years ago they were the kings. (To be continued) Leslie Borsay Camp Talk At last, after nine months of hard labor, school is finally over. Now that the end is here, many of us look forward to the summer months as a time of relaxation, fun, and possibly even a time to earn some money. What I would like to do now, is to take you with me on a journey into the future, to the end of August, the 16 to the 22 to be exact when once again the Calvin Synod will hold their annual youth conference at Camp Kanesatake, Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania. This year, as in the past, camp tends to be a promising and meaningful experience. The topic for this year is entitled, “Walls, Walls, Walls.” Our speakers will try to convey to the campers, the walls we build between people, and how we can tear these walls or prejudices down, instead of just building bridges. The morning will be split into three parts. During the first period the speaker will present one new idea of the theme each day. After that, we shall split into discussion groups to talk about the ideas that were presented. Following the discussion, we shall be reunited for a question and answer period. This enables us to ask the speaker any questions about the subject that is unclear. The afternoon is chocked full of many activities. First of all the campers are able to enjoy the facilities of an Olympic size swimming pool. And in addition to that, many games such as baseball, volleyball, soccer, and football will be organized. As is traditional, our yearly hike to Indian Caverns will also be available to the campers. Our evening program will begin with Vespers and to me Vespers has become the most beautiful, inspirational worship, I have ever seen. The only way to describe it is to experience it. Following Vespers, we shall have a variety of workshops ranging from Hungarian Folk singing to Physical Fitness, that the campers can participate in. And to finish off the evening is the recreational hour. Many a strange and funny thing has happened in the newly found Kingdom of Beretzanovia. This year, election of officers will take place on Friday. And if you want to improve the youth program be there to vote for the candidates who you think can get the job done. To close the week, we will hold our Consecration Service. All of the campers assemble around a hugh bond fire, and listen to the speaker, his words echoing through the mountains, talk about the word of God. As the speaker finishes, the candle of each camper is lit as they proceed to the assembly hall where the Lord’s Supper has been prepared. Camp is a wonderful opportunity for young people. It not only gives them a chance to meet people from different parts of the country, but it also gives each camper the opportunity to grow closer to God. Our week at camp can be matched by no other, we have our fun and games, but we also have the opportunity to learn. So if you have the week of August 16-22 open and you’d like to get away from it all, talk to your pastor today, about signing up for camp. I know that once you get there you will have a very wonderful and unique experience, one that will make you want to return again and again. Melody Toth
