Bethlen Almanac 1997 (Ligonier)

Kálvin Egyházkerület

nineteenth of March, 1919, the congregation was officially established, and purchased the German Lutheran Church building. Dedicated to the worship of the Lord on the 10th of August, 1919, this building remains our house of worship today.

While the Hungarian Reformed Church was in the main comprised of Hungarian nationals from Felvidék (Slovakia) who immigrated to the United States, it was not exclusively Hungarians who made up the congregation. From early on, a portion of the congregation was Slovak, both in culture and in mother tongue. These brethren had an opportunity to worship in their mother tongue at a local church, and did indeed take advantage of the opportunity, but soon felt their calling to the Reformed understanding of service to Jesus Christ was more important than language, and that the brotherhood of the Reformed culture was more impelling than any linguistic divisions. So in December of 1927, the Slovak Reformed renewed their affiliation by once again worshipping in the Hungarian Reformed Church building together in their own language, and on the 12th day of July, 1934, they rejoined the Hungarian Reformed Church of Whiting as a group, remaining faithful and active members of the congregation from that time on.

Thus the Whiting congregation is unique in many respects. We have as our common bond NOT our national heritage, for we are descended of more than one nation. But rather, we are together because of our common faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the knowledge that we are a nation that knows no language barrier; we are the people of God, called together to honor and serve our Lord. While we have pride in the heritage which our parents bestowed upon us, we glory in our common heritage in Christ Jesus, the one in whose name we were baptized, He who died for us on the Cross.

It is in this spirit that the Reformed people of Whiting have worked together, it is in this spirit that our congregation continues to serve the Lord even as our forefathers offered their lives. The founding fathers did not come to this new world in vain, for their sacrifices have borne fruit. The congregation they established continues to serve the Lord, even if our manner of service is sometimes different: as changing seasons bring new responsibilities to man, so new years bring new opportunities of service to God’s people.

In 1934, major modifications and renovations were begun on the Whiting church building, and these were completed in 1935. The building was raised four feet higher off the ground, the basement was made one foot deeper, and the building, which had, until this time, been a wooden structure, was enclosed with brick.

116