Reformátusok Lapja, 1971 (71. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1971-04-01 / 4. szám
12 REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA but he always knew that He walked with him. We thank Thee our gracious Father that Stephen had shown us that man can neither be the victim nor the prey of his daily problems regardless what hurdles may arise in his way, who put their trust in Thee, for them the valley of the shadow of death always becomes the passage way from defeat to victory, from the portals of hell to the gates of heaven. We thank Thee for the confidence Thou hast given us in the life beyond this dying. Help us to pray for this bereaved household; for this widowed sister of ours whose joy had turned so suddenly to mourning. Thou had shattered her dreams, let her gather strength and confidence through Thee that those whose lives had been hidden in love shall never be torn asunder neither by death nor life. Keep Thy arms above his beloved daughter and grandchild, friends, associates with whom he had shared a truly fruitful life. A life which burns with the ardent flames of visions and goals gets consumed much faster than those which only smolder under the gray ashes of everyday existence. Short his life may seem to us who behold it in the number of our years, but Thou gracious God, beholdest our lives in terms of living faith realized in good deeds, in devotion, love and charity exercised. Our faith is not in the wisdom of men but in the resurrected power of Thy Son, who had shared the earthly joys and sorrows, who hast sanctified life by His death and flung wide open for us the gates of heaven by His glorious resurrection. O Thou great Son of God, Thou hast for us the Word of Life and preached that we may so bid farewell to this brother as those who can and dare to see beyond these horizons and when he comes before Thy heavenly countenance, wipe his face clean from the dust of this world and let Thy judgement be heard; well done my kind and loving servant, enter into the joy of your Master. In this solemn hour and until our last breath we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who at last shall stand above our graves. In His Name we bid Thee farewell Stephen. On Resurrection Morn we shall meet again.... Amen. Aaron Elek (Prayer at the funeral of Dr. Count Stephen Haller) ----------------■» • »»--------------U. C. C. - PRIORITIES First steps toward reorganization of the United Church of Christ for priority-based action were taken by the Executive Council of the two-million- member denomination. The council adopted four priorities toward which the national and regional bodies of the United Church will be expected to direct their efforts and funds in the next few years. They are; the faith crisis of modern man, racial justice, world peace and strengthening the local church in life and mission. The Executive Council, which is the policymaking body of the church between biennial meetings of its Ceneral Synod, is meeting here this week at the New Yorker Hotel. The four priority issues were pin-pointed in a series of regional meetings of national, state and local United Church of Christ leaders, under the auspices of the denomination’s Council on Mission Priorities. They were presented to the Executive Council today by the chairman of the Mission Priority council, Rev. Francis X. Pirazzini, Silver Spring, Md., executive of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church, and the Rev. Mineo Katagiri, New York City, staff executive of the council. A proposal for creation of a new department especially for strengthening the life of the laity and clergy in the local church was referred for action to the General Synod, representative body of the United Church of Christ which meets June 25-29, 1971, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The new national agency would replace the Council for Church and Ministry and Council for Lay Life and Work. Reporting on the work of the Council on Mission Priorities, Mr. Pirazzini said its major purpose was “to bring the whole church together and discover the issues and concerns to which it should address itself.” “The heavy emphasis on the problems of the local church which emerged in the regional meetings did not,” he said, “come out of a desire for mere survival.” “We feel that it came from a sincere desire that the mission of the church be more adequately carried out.” The priority on the local church looks toward solution of such problems as low morale of the clergy and their need for skills relevant to the times; lack of understanding of work of the national boards and agencies, loss of youth to the church, polarization of opinion on controversial issues and withholding of funds because of disagreements, special needs of churches in urban transitional areas, suburbs and rural and small town communities. On the “faith” priority, the council expressed strong concern that church members do not fully understand their faith in relation to contemporary life. “Technology has failed to provide man with satisfying goals and values for living. So modem man needs a faith by which to live. Is the church providing it?”, Mr. Pirazzini asked. He called for emphasis on theological inquiry and debate. “The number one issue for action,” the council indicated is racial justice. The need to continue and enlarge the fight against racial injustice toward blacks, American Indians and Mexican-Americans was stressed.
