Bethlen Almanac 1997 (Ligonier)
Kálvin Egyházkerület
• 2/3 of our contract to paint the parsonage, garage, inside and outside of the church was paid for through the 1996 budget. • We established a Memorial Trust in the name of Sandra Diehl—the interest to be used for religious programs. • We received $10,000 from a non-member friend to be used as matching funds for a capital gifts campaign that will help us establish an endowment fund. • Pledges and gifts nearly doubled from 1994. Special Thanksgiving! This past year we were most fortunate in securing the services of an organist/choir director who quickly developed a choir long absent from our worship services. 1996 saw a great improvement to our church music and worship services. This past year we also opened our doors to a Spanish Speaking Assembly of God church. They have added presence to our church, brought to us a joyful spirit of praise and weekly support of our own mission endeavors. We also continued to offer our church to a Hungarian worshiping community, mostly made up of Hartford area folk who choose to worship in the Hungarian tongue. We are enriched by the presence of both separate groups, and although they do not share in our worship or educational programs, we feel 1996 was a year of extending our loving hand to others. Other Developments As our by-laws were being rewritten in 1996, the issue of our supportive relationships with the wider church were opened. We had representatives from the Connecticut Conference speak to us about the possibility of dual standing with this Conference of the United Church of Christ. We also looked to our Calvin Synod for support and counsel regarding our future associations. 1996 was a landmark year of catching up with building needs, formulating a concrete mission program, examining who we are and with whom we need to associate for support, and a church that grew in worship, membership, financial stability, and spiritual life! Dr. Richard C. Diehl, Pastor 70
