Calvin Synod Herald, 2006 (107. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2006-05-01 / 5-6. szám
12 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD A Father’s Prayer Build me a son oh Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory. Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know You that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge. Lead him, I pray not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenges. Let him learn to stand up in the storms; let him learn compassion for those who fail. Build me a son, whose heart will be clear, whose goals will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past. And after all these things are his, add I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the weakness of true strength. Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper: I have not lived in vain.- Author Unknown (Submitted by: Zoltán Király - rbzll9@juno.com) in memóriám The Right Reverend Dr. Desmond Parragh was called home by his Lord on February 14, 2006. Bom October 9, 1913, in Budapest, Hungary to parents Dezső and Etelka (Paray) Parragh, Rev. Parragh completed his theological education in 1935, and continued his studies at the University of Strausburg in France, Princeton University and Union Theological Seminary on scholarships. It was while at Union Theological Seminary that he met his wife, Gizella (Grace), who was a student at Julliard School of Music. Following the completion of his studies, Rev. Parragh served a congregation in Calgary, Canada in 1939, then congregations in Elizabeth, New Jersey and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania prior to accepting the Call from the West Side Hungarian Reformed Church in Chicago, where he served for the next 53 years. During his time of service there, in the early 1960’s the congregation relocated to Norridge, Illinois, and was renamed the Norridge United Church of Christ. Rev. Parragh married Gizella in 1942, and she became his lifelong partner in his ministry, not just as his wife, but in her accomplished abilities as an organist and leading the choirs of their congregation. They were blessed with one daughter, Gizella, and later became grandparents three times, one of their grandchildren following in his grandfather’s footsteps and entering the ordained ministry. During the time of his ministry, Rev. Parragh was very active in local church work, acting as Administrator for most of the congregations of the Western Classis from time to time. He served in various levels of office in the Classis, several times as Dean. Rev. Parragh served as Treasurer, Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Calvin Synod (1987) during his service to his translocal church. His interest and caring for Hungarians, both second generation Baynard asserts subordination in the Godhead (Trinity). Not true! We both do not place one person as subordinate to the other in essence, subsistence or any other way. I say there is an apparent subordination of works even as we see the work divided in the Scriptures and there is a respect of position in the Godhead, not a subordination of equality. For example nowhere do we find Christ as indwelling the heart, but the Holy Spirit. Understanding this difference and how God intended subordination of relationship to exist is the key to avoiding the corruption of relationship we find among men. This is especially true regarding the place of gender in godly relationships. The difference is not just semantics. Buliinger places emphasis on the equality while I expand it to show that there is subordination of duty and responsibility of one to the other within the Godhead. This is the same responsibility assigned to earthly relationships by the Westminster Divines in their treatment of the Fifth Commandment. [5] By: Dr. Chuck Baynard Clover EPC, Clover SC [1] WCF Chapter 2 [2] BC 8, 9 - HC Q 24, 25 - WCF 2.3 - WSC Q6 - WLC Q 9,10 [3] Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion Book One - Chapter 13-Sect25. [4] Beeke, Joel R., Ferguson, Sinclair B., Reformed Confessions Harmonized, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1999, pg 22. Note there are several versions of the Second Helvetic Confession available in the various churches that subscribe to this confession. The work here is a combination of these and not of any one version. The present author has taken the liberty where deemed permissible to change obvious misspellings, grammar, but not actual wordings if there appeared to be a translation error or typographical error in the material before him. Nonetheless the result is as faithful as possible with present manuscripts available in English. Thus as here some material may or may not appear according to which translation/version the reader has before them. [5] Westminster Larger Catechism, Questions 122-133.
