Bethlen Naptár, 1983 (Ligonier)
Kálvin Egyházkerület
102 BETHLEN NAPTÁR became the happy residents of the Home. Our Church had the privilege of receiving about 200 copies of our Reformed Creeds from the Home free of charge. Through the generous donations of our Congregation the McKeesport Church was honored to send the Pastor as the representative of the Central Classis to the Board of Directors of the Home. Through the common Pastor the courageous and wonderful Rankin congregation is our closest sister Church in the Classis. We are deeeply concerned about their life and wellbeing. This concern was expressed in different ways. On two Sundays we had common worship services and coffee socials, one in Rankin, the other in McKeesport; on another Sunday we joined for Holy Communion service in Rankin, and finally, we celebrated our respective anniversaries, 74th (McK) and 66th (R) in McKeesport. The McKeesport Church surprised our younger sister with a $66.00 anniversary gift. Later our Consistory voted for a $150.00 support for Rankin to ease their finances. Early in this year we received an SOS info from the First United Church of Christ in McKeesport. They told us about the life and death problems they have been struggling for years. A solution was worked out in the form of establishing a Pastor — Hospital Chaplain joint charge if the sister church would carry the financial burden of the chaplancy. Though our Church does not need the service of a Chaplain, our Consistory voted to subsidize this program by an annual $250.00 to set a Christian example of carrying each other’s burdens. Also the Buenos Aires Reformed Church in Argentina and the Back to God Hour, which provides our daily devotionals, are fields of our Christian outreach and sharing. According to our records, it was almost a quarter of a century ago (in 1958) when our Church had evelen candidates for confirmation. What a joy, what a celebration we had with our 10 kids and one adult when they stood the tough test, confessed their faith and joined the fellowship of the Table. Now we have a new class with four candidates. Our Sunday School is functioning with the faithful leadership of Mrs. Candy Ernst, Superintendent and with the devoted services of Mrs. Elaine Shaw and Miss Chrissy Barnum Sunday School Teachers. Chrissy joined our staff somewhat before her confirmation, and may be the youngest and most enthusiastic Sunday School Teacher around the globe. Of course they had their annual picnic and Christmas Party, too. God’s Gang is the name of our youth fellowship under the constructive leadership of Mr. Kenneth Shaw, Youth Director. They have big dreams and good meetings. Their sheer existence is a miracle. The monthly New Hope Fellowship meetings are now held in a family setting. We gather in the homes of the members and are tackling family and church problems alike. There is a lot of hope in their growing potential. We received twelve new members this year and a lot of blessing with them. New blood, new ideas, multiplied prayers, multiplied work-force, and the joy of fellowship with them enriched our Church-family tremendously. Considering our active membership, these twelve people mean an almost 25% growth. Soli Deo Gloria.
