Bethlen Naptár, 1984 (Ligonier)
Kálvin Egyházkerület
128 BETHLEN NAPTÁR EAST CHICAGO, IN Lelkipásztor: Ludwig Kálmán Károly Chief Elder: Margaret Augustine; Assistant Chief Elders: Lester Turoci, George Turoci; Treasurer: Elizabeth Turoci; Secretary: Margaret Barath; Organist: Margaret Augustine; Martha Guild President: Mary Augustine; Ladies Aid President: Margaret Augustine. In the last several years our congregation has undergone some dramatic changes. Following the death of our longtime pastor in February of 1981, Valeria Konrad, mother of Mrs. Piroska Ludwig passed away in January of 1982, and in June of 1983 Mrs. Ludwig, who had stayed on in the parsonage for one and a half years after the death of her husband, moved to Denver Colorado to be near her daughter who lives there. We also lost several of our longtime members who were called home, and who will be dearly missed. But we also had good events in our congregation. One young man, who had escaped from Romania, was successful in winning the freedom of his wife and daughter after many years of separation and they renewed their marital vows in our church. And in the Fall of 1982 we were honored to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the building of our sanctuary, and joining in the celebration were many who worked for and contributed in some way to the building of the church. For this celebration we were joined not only by our sister churches, but also by many visiting guest clergy, including Bishop John Butosi. Our members are very active in the Western Classis, joining in our frequent get-togethers, attending the celebrations of our sister churches, and joining in their social events and fundraisers. We have several ladies in our congregation who possess the skill to create the traditional Hungarian handiwork, and one of them, Marika Foldesi, entered two items in our local County Fair and won First and Second prize. But these ladies make these items regularly for our bingos, our Ladies Aid and Martha Guild meetings, and our dinners. Members of our congregation continue to send items to Ligonier for the Old People’s Home Annual Bazaar, support Calvin Synod missions, support local missions to our handicapped population, and have a mission to our own members who are in difficult circumstances due to the current economic situation. This past year we did some major renovation on our church building, and had quite a few social events, celebrating the March 15 holiday, several ocassions when we worked together with friends of the congregation in preparation for bazaars, bingos, dinners. Our congregation has been very fortunate; the Lord has allowed us to serve him for many years, and we pray he continues to allow us to be members of the Hungarian Reformed fellowship as his servants for many more years.
