Calvin Synod Herald, 1979 (79. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1979-01-01 / 1-2. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 3 TURN TO GOD When words are lost, And you cannot speak; When something hurts You way down deep; In your heart there comes A sudden pause, Turn to God To find the cause. When Faith is lost, And your soul has fear Of sudden parting From someone dear; When strength you lack, Life's hard to bear, Turn to God In silent prayer. When words are lost, And you can't explain The reasons for Your inner pain; The Bible answers What you don't know — Turn to God With every woe. Margaret Fekete Csóványos OUR BETHLEN HOME IS NOT FOR SALE (Continued from Nov.-Dee. ’78 issue) WHY IS OUR BETHLEN HOME ON SALE NOW? After a period when “church” and “Federation” were arms of the same “body,” a new era emerged which emphasized organizational efficiency of the Federation. That inevitably led to more full-time workers in a centralized headquarter, greater struggle for partisan “leadership” often exploiting the lay and minister tensions, and slowly departmentalizing church and Federation affairs neglecting to meet the common challenges. Add to this that in our modern American society, less and less orphans needed institutionalized care and thus the operation of the orphanage became a luxory; after the Kalassay, Nánássy, Kecskemethy administrations, the deficits were also increasing. In 1968, the convention unanimously voted to close the Children’s Department of the Bethlen Home, but declared that the buildings were not for sale! In the last 9 years several ideas were explored for the use of the orphanage, but none seemed to be “feasible.” Thus, when the buildings really became vacant as of July 31, 1977, selling seemed to be the only reasonable way to save, even increase — money! A FAILURE TO SELL At its September 1977 meeeting, the American Hungarian Reformed Ministerial Association dealt with the “future of Ligonier” in a meaningful way. Three Calvin Synod ministers presented the past accomplishments, the present crisis and the practical future challenges of the Bethlen Home, concluding that the use of the Children’s Home buildings for a Hungarian Reformed Center was the moral and fraternal obligation of the Federation, even if legally it now had the right to sell it. Heeding to the plea of the Ministerial Association, the Federation decided to wait with the final decision concerning the future use of the buildings until March, 1978 to enable interested parties to work out some definite alternatives. For a while Federation and church leaders seemed to rekindle the old flame in making Ligonier a Hungarian Reformed Center, “a Home of all Hungarians where we learn how to work together, save together and pray together.” But then a prospective buyer of the now totally vacant buildings made the Federation over anxious and on February 1, 1978 the buildings, OUR HOME, were sold, without the official approval of any church groups, to the Unionvale Coal Co. for $250,000.00. . . However, because of zoning and renovation difficulties the deal was called off, thanks to God!
