Bethlen Naptár, 1985 (Ligonier)
Kálvin Egyházkerület
124 BETHLEN NAPTÁR among the high school children of the city. Nine joined the program out of 1,700 students; two of them drew back immediately. Out of the seven remained one girl, Chrissy Barnum and the only two boys in the group, Bobby Barnum and Craig Ernst belong to our Church. They visit their adopted grandparents faithfully every week. One of them is a double amputee, the other has celebrál palsy, the third is “just” old and sickly. These three kids came with us to the Bethlen Home ever since they were babies. We see now some spiritual fruit ripening. Bobby, Chrissy and Craig are beautiful. What a joy floods the heart of the Pastor and the people of our Church! Our two buildings are in very bad shape. But since the Damocles sword of demolition has not been removed from over our heads in the last 6 years, repairs are kept at a low key. We rather invest in movable equipments which make our operation smoother and enhance fellowship and spiritual growth. In spite of our low key policy in repairs, several danger spots were taken care of recently, mostly with sacrificial free work of our faithful members. Outstanding donations in kind were a commercial size vacuum cleaner and a beautiful advent wreath with accessories coming from one family. We purchased a new water fountain for the auditorium, traded in our mimeo machine and scanner for a dream plain paper copier and paid the $3,000.00 difference in cash. Also a new automatic 16 mm film projector and screen, three ceiling fans and several kitchen accessories help our life and ministry. Our people are extremely hard workers. Regular kolbas workshops, an ongoing white elephant sale, Christmas bake sale, raffles, a Tupperware party, participation in the riverfront fundraising project and that of the International Village were greatly blessed by our Lord and made us prosper. Let other small churches take heart. We can not only survive, but live and serve. Great losses mark our statistics in 1984. We buried four of our members, among them our most loved and honored Vice President, Mr. Richard J. Gergely. His serious condition was discovered in August 1983, and he died in March 1984. The months which bridge these two dates were full of excruciating physical, mental and emotional suffering. The Lord carried him through this valley of the shadow of death in His arms, and no word of complaint escaped the barrier of our Richard’s lips. He humbled himself and drew closer and closer to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As a teacher, coach, councilman, and Church leader made his distinctive mark on the life of this community. We had learned from him how to share ourselves completely with others. Now he gave us an example how to die. The whole city was crushed with grief. No one has ever seen such mass mourning in McKeesport as at Richard Gergely’s funeral. In his honor our Riverfront Park was named after him and the 1984 International Village was dedicated to his memory. After his family his Church family experienced the greatest loss. We believed that God was preparing him for a dynamic leadership in our congregation. But in His infinite wisdom, the Lord transferred him to His immediate service. May his memory be ever blessed among us. Our hope is that with Jesus Christ life always has the last word.
