Bethlen Almanac 2000 (Ligonier)
Keleti Egyházmegye - Eastern Classis
WOODBRIDGE, NEW JERSEY Hungarian Reformed Church Woodbridge, New Jersey Pastor: Rev. Albert W. Kovács Chief Elder: John Kelemen The Hungarian Reformed Church of Woodbridge, New Jersey, at the end of the Second Millennium, heeded the Lord’s command to serve Him in righteousness, moving steadfastly to stay the course of its founders ninety-seven years before, in faithful worship and worthy action. While many in the churches, notably our own denominations, have chosen reckless and unscriptural ways, endangering the salvation of souls, the church has reaffirmed its ties to the divinely inspired Scriptures, the ancient catholic Creeds and the Reformed confessions. The changing demographic scene has occasioned a decline in the church’s membership. Most of its younger members have moved away to distant communities, the elderly are passing on, and the new populace is rooted in very different faith and ethnic traditions - many heathen or rejecting religion of any kind. Worship services were held at ten in the morning on the Lord’s Day every week, preceded by Church School at nine. The Confirmation Class meets weekly (Fall to Spring for two years), and a new Bible Study has begun, also instructed by the pastor. On the occasion of seven church festivals the congregation shared in the Lord’s Supper. Union Lenten Services were followed by the church’s Good Friday devotional hour. The pastor officiated at one marriage, and the funerals of five members and three non-members. The church’s income of nearly sixty-four thousand dollars included over sixteen percent donated to the synod and to benevolent causes. The members’ offerings assisted the orphanage in Nagydobrony (Ukraine), children of the Muslim-persecuted Christians in Sudan, the Komarom Choir, a racetrack workers ministry, the local police domestic violence team, and Bethlen Home. In addition it bears the full cost of hosting weekly meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and their Alánon and Naranon family support groups. It also hosted the twenty-four hour New Year’s Eve Alcothon for more than a hundred recovering alcoholics and their families, as well as the pancake breakfast of the area Little League. A weekly food collection 49
