Bethlen Almanac 1999 (Ligonier)
Keleti Egyházmegye - Eastern Classis
one which I will wear for special occasions. Ahhhh - the refreshing changes in both countries since the abolition of Communism... and the restoration of ancient churches, church schools, and pipe organs. I continue to be impressed by the respect the younger generation continues to have for their parents, grandparents, and older people, in general, as I traveled throughout these Eastern European countries. The Festival of New Bread was our focus for the month of July and our Annual Hungarian Style Picnic the reason for celebration in the month of August. The szalonna, strudels, pecsenye, and all the other goodies were just superb. The end of the summer brought a new Holy Communion on Labor Day Sunday Weekend. With the end of summer, a time arrived to prepare for our Annual Hungarian Style Roast Chicken Dinner and Annual Fall Harvest Bazaar. The Kitchen Krew prepared “oodles of noodles,” kalacs, dobos and dios tortes, kiflis, breads and other Hungarian pastries. The Bazaar was the most successful in our nine year history of Fall Bazaars. We filled our Church Hall to overflowing for the Dinner - not a seat left in the Fellowship Hall. We participated in an intensive food collection project for the local food pantries operated by various city of Bethlehem church agencies. The major delivery was just in time for Thanksgiving. As Advent began, we celebrated St. Lucia Day, by the planting of wheat on December 13,1999. This is the day wheat was planted in Hungary in the bread basket region, to test the wheat for spring planting. We also had a soup supper that evening with Hungarian cream of pea soup with dumplings and split pea soup, Vienna bread and wine, another well attended event. Special decorations were presented to the church as the walls and windowsills were decked with wreathes, candles, greens, a Christmas tree with Hungarian ornaments, and a huge Christmas tree made of beautiful red poinsettias, made possible by the generous gift of a wooden Christmas tree-shaped stand from our good friends from St. John Capistrano Hungarian Roman Catholic Church in South Bethlehem. An illuminated Star of Bethlehem brightened our chancel. We again were part of the Hungarian Carolers, a joint choir from our church and St. John Capistrano, specializing in authentic Hungarian Christmas carols, from the Middles Ages through the present contemporary age. We decorated a tree together for the South Bethlehem Historical Society and hosted a luncheon in our Fellowship Hall for both 129
