Calvin Synod Herald, 1987 (87. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)
1987 / 4. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD-6-Hungarian Reformed Ministers Meet The American Hungarian Reformed Ministerial Association held its Annual Meeting in Ligonier, Pennsylvania on September 7 - 8, 1987. The Association, with membership representing churches of Hungarian Reformed background, has in its membership pastors belonging to The Hungarian Reformed Church in America, The Presbyterian Church, The Reformed Church in America, The Presbyterian Church of Canada, and The United Church of Canada, in addition to The Calvin Synod Conference of the United Church Of Christ. As in the past, attendence was excellent, with a full program, including a common Holy Communion with those attending the American Hungarian Reformed Presbyter’s Association meeting. Topics of discussion included the Spiritual care of the congregation, Caring for the elderly, and Everyday Christianity. Reports were given by Rev. Dr. Alexander Havatody on his visit to the Reformed Churches in Venezuela, and by Rev. Dr. László Medyesy and Bishop Zoltán Király on their visit to the Hungarian Reformed Churches in Jugoslavia. Rev. Medyesy also gave a report on the continuing ecumenical movement amongst the churches of Hungarian Reformed background. The Bethlen Home offered its facilities to the Ministerial Association for the duration of the meeting, as it has in the past. Presbyters’ Association Meeting The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyters’ Association held its 41st Annual Meeting in Ligonier, Pennsylvania on Labor Day weekend, September 6 and 7, 1987. Seventy-four persons attended the meeting representing twenty-three congregations. These attendees represented the four major denominations to which our Hungarian Reformed congregations belong, namely, the Calvin Synod of the United Church of Christ, the Hungarian Reformed Church in America, the Presbyterian Church, and the Reformed Church in America. The aim of the Association is to unite the Hungarian Reformed Presbyters of America in one organization in order to strengthen the feeling of fraternal unity; to face common problems with a united front, striving to find solutions and plan unified actions at the annual conference; to aid the work of the Hungarian Reformed congregations more effectively; and in general, to endeavor to make the Hungarian Reformed Churches in America better and more efficient instruments for the spreading of the Kingdom of God on earth. During the two-day meeting, reports were heard from REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA the attendees regarding activities within their respective congregations. Reports were also presented on the Youth Camp, by Priscilla Hunyady; the Bethlen Home, by Rev. Pal Kovács; and the Mission Committee for South America by Bishop Dezső Abraham. Our main speaker was Rev. Edwin Stern, who is pursuing his doctorate in Theology at Princeton University and serving the church in Roebling, New Jersey. The topic was "Keeping Our Youth In Church". Those attending the meeting left well-informed regarding the status of the past year’s major activities of the Hungarian Reformed churches. Next year’s meeting will again be held in Ligonier on the Labor Day weekend of 1988. Anyone interested in attending or participating in the next meeting should write to the president, Anthony C. Beke, Box 335, Crosswicks, N.J. 08515 for details regarding time, place and motel accomodations. The Association wishes to express its gratitude to the Bethlen Home for providing the facilities for our annual meetings and for its generosity in allowing us to be their guests at the Sunday evening and Monday noon meals. Anthony C. Beke Hungarian Illustrated Biblical Lexicon An illustrated Biblical Lexicon left the press in March of this year, printed by a Hungarian publisher which ordinarily handles economic and legal works. The reason for the publication, explained Editor-inchief Péter Zentai, is that beside allusions in works of art, everyday idioms and phrases are also of Biblical origin. The Bible is "not only a collection of stories, parables, moral and religious precepts, but also contains information about the world and human life accumulated in the biblical times and even in the foregoing periods of antiquity which expressed the thinking of men of old about law, health and many other things.’’ The lexicon has more than five-hundred entries about biblical persons, historical events, stories, parables, historical sites and Christian and Jewish religious concepts. It also contains information about the composition fo the Bible and its translations, the individual books of the Bible with references, in many instances, demonstrating the influence of the Bible on literature, the fine arts and music. The book discusses circumstances surrounding editing of the biblical books, their structure and different interpretations of their contents. Published in 90,000 copies, it contains 150 (mostly color) illustrations. (hcp> [Editors note: for over a decade it has been recognized in Hungary that as a result of the official de-emphasis of religion, "biblical illiteracy"hasprogressed to the point that a large segment of the population is unable to relate to both classical and modern literature because it is rooted in the Bible. This publication is an attempt to fill this gap in the education of the "unchurched"in Hungarian society today.)
