Calvin Synod Herald, 2009 (110. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2009-01-01 / 1-2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 7 Christianity Comes Alive in Fraternal Organizations The Historic Fraternals and our Churches During the Reformation era, a number of church communities brought to life Jesus’ desire that we should “be our Brother’s Keeper.” A concept as old as Christianity itself - in some ways dating back to the Jewish laws which required that farmers, as they harvested their fields, leave some crops for the needy (Leviticus 23:22: “And when you reap the com of your land, you shall not cut it to the very ground: neither shall you gather the ears that remain. But you shall leave them for the poor and for the strangers. I am the Lord your God. ”). Admittedly not a direct descendent of this law, the concept of organizing “brother’s keeper” societies actualized Jesus words so that caring for the other was not just a haphazard, “catch as you can” concept, but indeed reached out to the needy in the community. In the city of Geneva, where John Calvin was bringing to life a Reformed community, there were organizations that cared for the ill - hospitals were organized for both residents of the city and for the many refugees that fled to Geneva to escape the persecution they suffered in non-Reformed countries during the “Counter- Reformation.” There were organizations that assisted the poor, the widows and orphans, in a time when such organizations were new to the world. And there were organizations that assisted with burial expenses, known as “co-fraternities.” Virtually all these concepts were “Christian concepts,” bringing to life organized efforts to institutionalize Christ’s call to care for each other. While it is true that a number of “religious orders” had for centuries dedicated themselves to various aspects of these missions, in Geneva they were recognized as the responsibilities of Christian stewardship, the responsibility of every Christian. This was a notable change in how Christians viewed their responsibility, one to the other. These concepts found a home in the United States in our early church communities. Our immigrant ancestors founded their local congregations shortly after arriving in their adopted homeland; often, the next step was to establish “aid organizations” within their communities, to help their fellow immigrants at a time when no other sources of aid were existent. These were the forerunners of our modem “Fraternals”, sick and death-benefit societies that helped members of the local community. Caring for one-another, these societies assisted the members of the community when no other help was available. They were community based, and their purpose was to assist the community and advance the goal of strengthening the community. Today there still exist smaller, locally-based “sick and death benefit societies” in America. Flowever, our American- Hungarian community has two “fraternals” that serve the greater community throughout the United States. One is the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, the other is the William Penn Association. The Hungarian Reformed Federation of America was established by Hungarian ministers and laymen in Trenton, New Jersey in July 5th 1896, and on February 4th, 1907, it received a Congressional Charter in Washington, D.C., where its Home Office is located. The Federation has incorporated into its organization several smaller fraternals over the years: the Cleveland Hungarian Young Men s and Ladies ’ Society of Cleveland, Ohio merged with Federation in 1961, and Saint George Greek Catholic Union of New Jersey merged with Federation in 1989. The William Penn Association was established February 21, 1886 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, by thirteen Hungarian coal miners under the name “Verhovay Aid Association. ” and it was chartered by the State of Pennsylvania in December 1886. In 1926 the Home Office was moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Over the years a number of other fraternals have joined to be part of this fraternal organization, perhaps most importantly the Rákóczi Aid Association (Rákóczi Segélyző Egyesület) of Bridgeport, Connecticut, which merged with the Verhovay in 1955, when the name was changed to the William Penn Fraternal Association (subsequently dropping “fraternal” from their name in 1971). Other fraternals that merged with the “William Penn” are American Hungarian Catholic Society of Cleveland, Ohio (1980); American Life Insurance Association (Bridgeporti Szövetség) Bridgeport, Connecticut (1979); Catholic Knights of St. George of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - founded in 1881 - (1983); Hungarian Budapest Society (Magyar Baptista Egylet) of Cleveland, Ohio; and the Workingmen s Sick Benefit Federation (Munkás Betegsegélyző Egyesület) of East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (1947). What is notable about these fraternals, that an article should be included in our Calvin Synod Herald? Unfortunately, today we often think of our fraternals as “insurance companies.” But they are much more than that. What is important is that both of these fraternals continue to fulfill the mission for which they were originally established - to provide fraternal aid and support in the community. To quote from the William Penn Association description of its own goals: "... to provide benefits to its members and their beneficiaries; to provide housing for its elderly and disabled members; to render other fraternal services to these members and their families (including scholarships for their children); and to aid in the preservation of Hungarian culture and Hungarian ideals in this great land of America, and to do so in accordance with the goals of the Founding Fathers of both the Association and of the United States. While the Society exists to promote and support the study of Hungarian culture, to unite American Hungarians and to perpetuate the language of the homeland, one does not have to be of Hungarian descent to join the society. ” These goals and ideals are alive today in both of these fraternals. Both fraternals sponsor some type of scholarship assistance for youth, support local cultural events, festivals, religious celebrations and commemorations. Both also participate in national programs such as “Join Hands Day.” Both encourage local fraternal mission projects, benefiting the local Continued on page 8
