Calvin Synod Herald, 2016 (117. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-07-01 / 7-8. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 3 fed the 5000, or with the storm on the lake, and we could continue this long-long list. Jesus had a purpose with whatever He said and did. He came close to you too, because He has a purpose with you. How do we know what God s purpose is for our lives? Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ” Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to understand the purpose of your life? I find my purpose by getting to know God, growing in faith in Him, and obeying His will. You also find your purpose by getting to know God too. It all starts with God in Christ. Just know that the Lord will reach His purpose with us no matter what. Moses, Jesus, and an old man are playing golf. The first one to tee off is Moses. He smacks the ball and it is heading right for the water before the green. Moses raises his club, the water parts, and the ball makes it to the green. So he missed the hole. Jesus gets ready to swing, smashes it out, and it is headed for the water. Jesus closes his eyes and prays silently. The ball skips across the water and lands right on the green one foot from the hole. The old man’s turn comes and he drives the ball into the sky. The ball looks like it is going to drop directly into the water. A fish jumps from the water swallowing the ball, but an eagle drops from the sky and grabs the fish. As the eagle flies over the green, a bolt of lightning strikes the eagle, making it drop the fish. As the fish hits the green, it spits out the ball and the ball rolls into the hole, making a hole in one. Moses looks at Jesus and says, “You know, I really hate to play golf with you Father! ” Dear friends, God’s will, plan, and purpose, either way, will be fulfilled in our lives and in our Synod’s life. The real question is, do you, personally, and we, as Synod, want to walk with God according to His purpose? Trust in the Lord that He will fulfill His promises and let us work together with the Lord to reaching His purposes. Amen. Yours in Christ, Rt. Rev. Dr. Csaba G. Krasznai Bishop The 78th Annual Meeting of the Calvin Synod Conference of the United Church of Christ The 78th Annual Meeting of the Calvin Synod Conference of the United Church of Christ opened with a worship service with Holy Communion at Moriah Chapel. The following pastors and Lay leaders conducted the worship service, Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop; Rt. Rev. Dr. Csaba Krasznai Auxiliary Bishop, who served the Holy Communion. Preaching the Word of God in English was Rev. Viktor Toth, in Hungarian Rev. Stefan Torok. Participating in the service were Mr. James Balias, Synod Presbyter; Deans of the Classis, Rev. Imre A. Bertalan, Rev. Peter Toth, Rev. Chuck Huckaby, Rev. Gabor G. Nitsch, Director of Pastoral Care. Following the Worship Service delegates were invited to view the newly opened Museum and Archives where they were greeted by Rev. Imre A. Bertalan, Executive Director of Bethlen Communities. Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig gave information of the beginnings and history of the Bethlen Home. The first act of the meeting was remembering our Faithful Servants by Rev. Gabor G. Nitsch. Those remembered were the following: Rev. József Vásárhelyi, Rev. István Nyeste, Margaret Augustine, Eugene Rutkowski. Opening Address - was given by Mr. James Balias, Synod Presbyter. Good afternoon! Isten Hozta. Welcome to the 78th Annual Meeting of the Calvin Synod Conference of the United Church of Christ. We are together this week to deal with those issues that will affect the life of our congregations. Some of the decisions will be no brainers. Others will be very difficult. But there are some decisions that we can no longer avoid. Our world is changing. The church is changing. And whether we accept it or not, our congregations are changing also. More often than not, we spend more time dividing instead of unifying; sometimes on issues that have little impact on our congregational life. Our financial situation will require some painful action. We will be voting on some bylaw changes that will change the way our Synod operates. We must make these changes. We may even have to go further, because what we do today may not be enough to insure that there will be a tomorrow. If we do not do it, the long term survival of our Calvin Synod will be at stake. In a sort of change in tradition, I would like to open with a prayer - The Serenity Prayer. God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that we cannot change, The courage to change the things we can, and the <=>
