Bethlen Naptár, 1987 (Ligonier)

Kálvin Egyházkerület

196

BETHLEN NAPTÁR

advance in its own direction. Reading the programs of the churches will show that in its isolation each church will go and grow in a different direction, even within one classis. On a larger scale it requires little imagination that our New England and New Jersey churches will become different from our Chicago area churches. Perhaps the Kipling quotation: “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet” has already become a reality in our midst and it is already too late to formulate programs and bring together East and West and Lake Side and Central Classes churches. Without such programs it is only the ethnic ministry that keeps our churches together in one Conference. Whenever the local church develops leadership that is indifferent to the historical heritage of our Conference, or a minister is elected in the local church who is indifferent to our religious heritage, the local church will soon cut its ties from the Conference.

At the present time our ministers come from many theological schools that represent many different theological directions, therefore we may wonder whether the proud epithet tagged upon our Conference “the theological conference” is still valid or we should even change the name: Calvin Synod because the substance, “Calvinism”, has already disappeared from the thinking of both ministers and church members.

It is imperative that a unifying program for all the Classes be initiated and carried through following a very thorough survey on Conference level... if we want to stay together as a conference.

A part of the program should be an emphasis on our Calvinistic heritage, both for ministers and church members at workshops, retreats, conferences and other occasions.

Desmond U. Parragh

FLINT, MI

Lelkipásztor: Bodor Péter Pál

Egyházunk vezetősége: Sütő Zoltán főgondnok; Clifton Hutson és Nagy Tibor gondnokok; Timothy Saunders pénztáros; Elizabeth Süttő jegyző.

Fontosabb anyakönyvi adataink: 7 keresztelő (2 felnőtt), 7 ifjú konfirmációja, 3 esketés és 2 temetés.

Gyülekezeti életünk az elmúlt esztendőben a gyarapodás jegyét hordozta magán. Ha figyelmesen átfutunk az anyakönyvi adatokon, rögtön kimutatható, hogy a keresztelések, esketések és konfirmáltak száma jóval felülmúlja a temetésekét. E pozitív irányt az istentiszteletek látogatottsága is aláhúzza. A magyar s az angol vasárnapi szolgálatok átlagos látogatott-