Calvin Synod Herald, 1976 (76. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1976-05-01 / 5-6. szám

8

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

(Continued, from Page 2)

Theme: Christian Morality. Registration: before Aug. 1, to Rev. Z. Király, 220 Fourth Ave., Passaic, N. J.

9. In regard to the Bethlen Home, the Rev. Z. Kovács (Munhall) was elected to be our representative on the Board of Managers. Representatives on the Board of Directors, in addition to Rev. Z. Kovács, are: South Norwalk (Eastern), Homestead (Central), Cleveland First (Lakeside), Flint (Western), Cleveland, West (at large)

10. Constitution and By-laws of the Synod will be printed in the 1976 Minutes with all amendments.

11. The Rev. Arthur A. Ludwig was again appointed (with thanks) to coordinate the Hungarian Refugee Resettlement.

12. Synod voted to mobilize all possible connections through the UCC or otherwise to help our Hungarian brethren in Rumania against cultural genocide.

13. Support of Ref. Lapja was reaffirmed.

RESIGNATIONS - ELECTIONS

(a) THE RT. REV. DR. STEPHEN M. BÖSZÖRMÉNYI announced his retirement to the congregation on May 23 after 52 years of service. He serves as administrator during the vacancy of the Bridgeport pulpit effective as of June 23, 1976.

(b) THE REV. LÁSZLÓ VATAI resigned from our Detroit church as of April 15, accepting the call of a church in Toronto.

(c) REV. JOSEPH SZIRMAI was elected pastor of our Detroit church on May 2nd.

(d) REV. JOSEPH BENEDEK resigned from our Kalamazoo church as of May 1, because he accepted the call from our Gary congregatioon. (Synod granted right to him to administer the sacraments in Gary, Ind.)

(e) REV. TIBOR PETROCZY announced his resignation from our Dayton charge as of June 30, 1976. VACANT PULPITS IN OUR SYNOD:

Bridgeport, Conn. (Dr. S. M. Boszormenyi, administrator)

Coatsville, Pa. (Call Bishop’s Office !)

Dayton, Ohio (Dr. S. Szabó, administrator)

Kalamazoo, Mich. (Rt. Rev. A. Beretz, administrator) NON-SYNOD CHURCHES:

Elyria, Ohio (Call Bishop’s Office!)

Niles, Ohio (United Presbyterian)

Sharon, Pa. (United Presbyterian)

Buffalo, East (UCC, N.Y. conference)

THE JOLIET CHURCH PROPERTY was recently sold, and the total sale price of $9,000 was forwarded to the Synod Treasurer.

THE REV. PAUL KOVÁCS is the new assistant administrator of thel Nursing Home at Ligonier, Pa. being elected on April 27. RECOMMENDATIONS to support the Bicentennial Monument of Col. Michael Kovats who died in the American Revolutionary War (May 11, 1779)

(a) Organize a committee in cooperation with other churches and Hungarian organizations to raise funds for it; ($60,000)

(b) Advertise the idea in church bulletins, newspapers so that all Hungarians would know about it;

(c) Make it known that persons; organizations, churches making at least $1,000 contribution will have their names engraved on the monument ;

(d) All the contributions may be submitted to Synod Treas. (Taxdeductible! )

(e) Act quick, preferably around July 4 or shortly after that date!

IN DEFENSE OF ERDELY know the facts! The six major elements of the cultural genocide against Rumania’s minorities are:

(1) Elimination of minority educational institutions. The Rumanian government eliminates, merges and recognizes schools at will. Hungarian universities were arbitrarily eliminated.

(2) Suppression of minority languages. Rumanian is the exclusive language used at every level of government bureaucracy. Minorities are threatened for using their mother tongue.

(3) Falsification of historical data and population statistics. Through notorious communist method of manipulating statistics, the population of minority groups is constantly falisified in government records, e.g. Hungarian contributions.

(4) Confiscation of cultural archives. In order to destroy the historical roots of churches and minorities, the State confiscated historical documents, relics, manuscripts, maps, photos, diaries and other material in the possession of church archives, private organizations and individuals. The first victim is our church!

(5) Obstructing contacts with relatives abroad. Law prohibits the accomodations of non-Rumanian citizens in private homes in Rumania. Only immediate relatives are exempted. Thus visits often become a practical impossibility.

(6) Dissolution of ethnic communities. Rumania utilizes the almost complete control over the labor market to break up homogeneous ethnic groups. Graduates of Hungarian origin are assigned jobs outside their own communities ; Rumanians are then encouraged to replace them.

The above measures violate not only international standards of human rights, but the Constitution of Rumania itself. Therefore we urge Congress to reverse last summer’s decision making “most-favored-nation” status to Rumania, until she completely satisfies the just and reasonable needs of her minority populations to maintain and develop their own contribution to Rumania’s rich ethnic mosaic. We urge the American public to show the same sympathy and solidarity toward these people as it has toward so many other victims of political and cultural persecution over the last two hundred years.

(Excerpts. Committe for Human Rights in Rumania, PO Box 873, Radio City Sta., NYC)

DR. JANOS PÁSZTOR IN DEBRECEN

The Faculty of the Reformed Theological Academy in Debrecen has invited the Rev. Dr. Janos Pásztor to take the Chair of Religious History and Biblical Auxiliary Sciences at the Academy from September 1, 1976, on.

Dr. Janos Pásztor graduated as minister at the Budapest Reformed Theological Academy in 1951. After having served as an assistant pastor in the congregations of Budapest - Calvin Square and of Sarbogard, he became the minister of the Reformed congregation at Szentendre. In the meantime, he pursued studies two times abroad, first in England, then at the famous Princeton Theological Seminary in the USA. Beside his practical work as a minister, he made intensive research work in theology, as the result of which he obtained his doctor’s degree at the Reformed Theological Academy in Budapest.

The new professor of theology has, in terms of an agreement between the Reformed Church in Hungary and the Presbyterian Church in East Africa, been professor of the St. Paul’s United Theological College at Limuru, Kenya, since 1970.

H.C.P. April 1, 1976