Calvin Synod Herald, 1986 (86. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1986 / 5-6. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 13 REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Declaration ot the occasion of the 450th Anniversary of the Genevan Reformation the peace treaty of Vienna in 1606 with the Emperor Rudolph. Freedom of worship was henceforth guaranteed in Hungary. Hungary from then on was governed, in the name of the Emperor, by native Hungarians. These men not only remind Reformed Christians of what was, but also challenges them to what should be. They witness to the continual quest for a society in which all people may dwell in harmony and dignity. Center of many of the city’s celebrations, the stone wall and its figures evoked humorous reflections: “There they are, Moses, Jeremiah, the whole lot of them”. “They never crack a smile”; to sober remarks on the contemporary world, “What would they think of today?”; to theological statements: “You know, the whole idea of transcendence and getting away from the visual arts was to keep us from making God over in our own image, male or female.” Whatever these brooding figures evoked among visitors, they still stand, albeit grave and dour, for a bright and better future for all humanity. rps We All Are Aging! Congressman Bob Edgar reports a “Senior Boom” in a report from the Congressional Clearinghouse on The Future. The aging of the U.S. population, he says, poses complex policy challenges for the future. America’s fastest growing age group consists of citizens over the age of 65. During the last 20 years, this group has grown twice as fast as the rest of our nation’s population. Demographers suggest that as ’’baby boomers” reach retirement age, one person in five will be 65 or older, and of those over 65, an increasing percentage will be female, alone and poor. Ina report prepared for the Select Committee on Aging, titled, Tomorrow’s Elderly: Issues for Congress, the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future identifies issues most likely to need Congressional action in the next decade if we are to prepare for an increasingly elderly population. Two of the most important issues are: employment and retirement, and allocation of health care resources. Copies of the report are available from Congressman Bob Edgar, 2452 Rayburn House Office Bldg.. Washington, D.C. 20515, tel.: 202-225-2011, or through the Philadelphia office, tel: 726-6100. Philadelphia Association Newsletter The Consistory addresses this declaration to the members of the National Protestant Church of Geneva on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the Reformation in Geneva. We would first of all remind you of the events of the 16th century, and we stress their impact and influence on the present and future life of the Church. Like those who have passed before us, we return to our source, to the Bible, to find a living Word for today. We want to rediscover the whole grace of God: it has gone before us, led us to faith, and in Jesus Christ it was personified and brought to fulfillment May we be uplifted by the Holy Spirit in order that we may experience more fully the Christian life and so participate in life eternal. Leader: Tilling difficult soils and planting new seeds makes us feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. Often we are afraid. People: Wherever we labor it seems too hard to break new ground, try new ways, propose and accept new ideas. Leaders: We are too slow to realize our need and responsibility to seek and find our sisters and brothers of the same faith, confession and heritage. People: Lord, we accept with wonder and gratitude that we are members of a worldwide Hungarian Reformed community, spreading from East to West from North to South. Leader: Though we are separated by political, social, economic and geographical lines, we are living parts of the same body of Jesus Christ. People: Our common faith, confession and heritage transcend such boundaries and accept no artificial separation. Leader: We raise to you, 0 Lord, the life and ministry of our mother church: the Reformed Church in Hungary. People: Bless her people, ministers and bishops that they may walk and serve on the path of righteousness and truth. Leader: We pray for our Hungarian Reformed sisters and brethren in the East: in Russia, Rumania, Czechoslovakia and Y ugoslavia. People: Bless these people, these ministers and bishops, that they may walk courageously on the path of righteousness and truth. Leader: We pray for our sisters and brothers in the West: the Hungarian Reformed people in Austria, Switzerland, Along with the Reformed and Presbyterian communities of the whole world, we proclaim our thankfulness for our life in Christ. With all the Churches of Geneva, may we be directed by the Gospel concerning the life of our own city, the life of all humanity and the establishment of peace and justice. In the belief that the Reformers did not wish to create a new Church, we will work for Christian unity. May the Reformation be first and foremost of our own hearts and minds, of our whole lives, through the Word of God. In the name of the Consistory: Etienne Sordet, Chairman Jacques-Berthoud, Vice-President Anne-Marie Frei, Secretary France, England, Belgium, Holland and West Germany. People: Bless these people and ministers that they may walk on the path ofrighteousness and truth. Leader: We pray for the part of our worldwide community to the North: Canada, and particularly for the Hungarian Reformed churches in America. People: O Lord, bless these people, ministers and bishops that they may soon find a vision to serve the same Christ together in unity and brotherly love. Leader: We pray for the Hungarian Reformed Churches to the South: in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, Australia and South Africa. All: We pray, O Lord, for the renewal and unity of these churches. We know from our past that the power of unity is through your Spirit, and that the reason for unity is through our common calling, faith, confession and heritage. We know that the hope of unity is through the gift of our love. We pray for every church in our worldwide fellowship, large and small, rich and poor, free and oppressed, in big city or in small village. Whenever we labor it seems too hard to break new ground, try new ways, propose and accept new ideas. But now unite us with a new sense of community, with a new spirit of compassion, with a new strength of commitment. Through Jesus Christ, the head of our worldwide Hungarian Reformed community, we pray. Amen. Dr. Laslo Medyesy A Litany of the World-wide Hungarian Reformed Unity
