Calvin Synod Herald, 2007 (108. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-03-01 / 3-4. szám
4 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Dr. Edwin P. Elliott, Jr., went to Washington for a National Clergy Council event on the eve of January 22. On that day in 1973, the US Supreme Court issued its opinions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, opening the way for about 48 million abortions in America in the subsequent 34 years. Adventures in Washington Did anyone see the palast at the Pro-Life demonstrations in Washington during the CNN coverage of the annual March for Life in January? CNN kept a camera right in our faces during the news conference and popped up repeatedly for the Memorial to the Pre-bom Service in the Senate office building. Being Co-chairman of the Board of Scholars for the National Clergy Council places me on the dais at some Washington events. This year, people introduced me as “Chairman Elliott.” Rev. Dr. Alexander Webster did not make the meetings. Father Alex is my Serbian Orthodox counterpart. Right now he is posted to the White House as presidential liaison with Orthodox clergy in the military. That leaves him little time for Clergy Council events. The adventures of the week began on Sunday night. Normally I would not leave my pulpit on Sunday night for anywhere but the hospital or on direct orders form the consistory to take a break. My consistory is gracious beyond measure with me. Sunday night the National Clergy Council and Thomas More College of the Liberal Arts held a joint convocation at Georgetown University. Rev. Dr. Thomas King of the Jesuit theological faculty made the event possible. President Jeff Nelson and Thomas Patrick Monaghan represented the college and I led the NCC delegation. A participating bishop had neglected to bring his academic regalia so I loaned him my Geneva gown and hood and presided in my palast. Except for a few other board members, almost no one in the hall seemed to recognize the garments of the Hungarian Reformed clergy. A Capuchin monk came up to compare his brown robe with my palast. At least he understood what he was seeing. I thought his robe was cute too and we shared cappacccino jokes. My job was to preside, introduce, promote, and pronounce. The three honorees were David Pride, Stephen Peroutka, and Michael Peroutka. David Pride is the Executive Director of the Supreme Court Historical Society. Since 1979 when he started as Publications Director, Pride has taken the net worth of the institution form $100,000 to $ 13-million. Along the way he ghostwrites for important people and manages a set of theoretical journals. The Leon Silverman lecture series, the National Heritage Lecture series, and the Erwin Griswold Prize lectures are all delivered in the Supreme Court Chamber as a result of his tireless work. Stephen Peroutka is chairman of the National Pro-Life Action Center and one of the designers ofNational Pro-Life Radio. Steve also is co-founder of the Institute on the Constitution and sits on the board at Conservative Caucus. The third honoree was Michael Peroutka, a former Constitution Party candidate for President of the United States. Michael has been an active developer of Washington “think tanks” with Reformed world-and-life perspectives. Senator Brownback who is now a candidate for the presidential nomination of one of the larger parties shared the platform with us in the capital on Monday. Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life also spoke. It would be safe to say that many brave Christians came to Washington to participate in the March for Life but few of them seem to have been ministers in the United Church. Perhaps some will join us next year, unless God intervenes and answers our prayers for the most helpless of people. Dr. Edwin P. Elliott English Editor Calvin Synod Herald Darr Mine Explosion December 19,1907 This year marks the 100th anniversary of one of the worst mining disasters in the history of coal mining in the United States - the explosion at the Darr mine which took the lives of 239 miners. The mine was located in Westmoreland County in Pennsylvania, across the Youghiogheny River from Jacobs Creek. Over 100 wives became widows, 300 children would never see their fathers again, and 112 parents were left without the support of their sons. About 60 of the dead were buried in a mass grave at the former St. Emory’s Hungarian Roman Catholic Cemetery in Connellsville. In 1909, the Verhovay Aid Association erected a monument for the “Martyred Laborers.” Just as many men were buried in Olive Branch Cemetery in Rostraver Township where the American Hungarian Federation erected a monument in 1908. Just recently, Steve Charles and I traveled to both cemeteries. The Olive Branch Cemetery is well cared for, although the monument needs a good cleaning. The former St. Emory’s Cemetery, however, is left unattended. The William Penn Association, the Bethlen Home, The Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, and the American Hungarian Federation are joining forces to clean up the St. Emory’s Cemetery to preserve it for future generations as a reminder of the many needless industrial accidents that occurred during the early 1900s. We are appealing to all American Hungarians, friends, churches and organizations for monetary contributions to clean up the cemetery and restore some of the grave markers and the two monuments. Please send your contribution to: The William Penn Association Foundation 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233-1821 Attn: Mr. Endre Csornán Endre Csornán Fraternal Director William Penn Association
