Calvin Synod Herald, 2016 (117. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-07-01 / 7-8. szám
8 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD ment) of the two church bodies are not just similar but also very much related. Moreover, the churches which cling to the national-cultural identity turn into “Hungarian Clubs” so to say. Again, I do not want to hurt anyone feelings. That is not my intention at all. We are only doing a reality check. And this check also shows that Hungarian clubs are thriving in some circumstances. Here in the greater Los Angeles area we have Hungarian literary club, folkdance club, Hungarian House, and Hungarian chapters of the Scouts. There is nothing wrong with this kind of approach. It is even cheaper to run a Hungarian club than to maintain a church... Option two: Die out. This option very closely related to the first one. I am convinced that those churches which are not willing to make the above mentioned changes (i.e., reorganizing themselves into cultural clubs), or make changes toward the third or fourth options (see below) very soon need to close their doors. This option might seem to be cruel even just to mention. But death is a natural part of life and history. People die, animals and plans die, even ideas or nations cease to exist sometimes. I like the title Bethlen Communities uses for one of its programs: “Graceful Ageing.” I think if it is proper to use the term for persons, it is also proper to use it for a community whose members are aging, and stepping into glory one after another. Many (probably all) of our churches had a glorious past. We can celebrate it as long as it is possible, and then we just close the doors. Again, it is part of life. Option Three: being a “Reformed Church.” Again, there are two options here. For option number three I point out the fact that the Calvin Synod Conference (and all of the churches affiliated with it) belong to the United Church of Christ. When the United Church of Christ was formed on June 25, 1957, it was by the union of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches of the United States. They decided to reorganize their member churches based on geographical areas. The only exception was the “Hungarian/ Calvin Synod.” They give us some time to assimilate into their geographical structure. This issue came up time to time in the past more than four decades. It came up again when the members of our Conference Council met with the (then) leaders of the UCC in 2014 (I was present at that meeting). At that time, we were (again) able to convince them that we need more time. I also need to mention here that the negotiation was a friendly one. I had the sense that they do not want to force us to follow this initiative. They only offered a “welcome” to all of our churches whenever they are ready to join to the geographical conference they belong to. I also want to mention that the UCC has some readymade resources to help churches who face with the same problems we are facing with (since they have churches with different national inheritance and background). This is an open option for all of our churches. Another, but closely related, option is to join to another denomination. Option Four: “Become Christians.” This is how the members of the previous Conference Council designated this “last option” (this, of course, is supposed to be not the last, but the first, and only option). What we need to face here is that many of our churches (all of them?) are heading toward options one and/or two. Without identifying and naming this fact we cannot even start to change our ways. We cannot establish prayer groups without the stem feeling that only God can help, and our prayer, because it is in faith, will reach God’s throne. It means that the value of the church is not in itself. It also means that our motivation and directives come from an “outside” source; that is, from God. So our main motivator and discussion-making principle need to be a question: how can we establish and grow in the relationship with this source? Thus, our renewed (or newly find faith) is one ingredient for survival. The other one is a renewed sense of our identity as Christians, and as Reformed particularly. An interesting note here, that the Jewish faith received its biggest empowerment not at Mount Sinai or in the time of the dedication of the First (or even the Second) Temple in Jerusalem, but in the days of the First Exile in Babylonia. At that time the Jews were facing with national and religious annihilation. What they decided to do can be an example for us too. It also encourages us. They decided to cherish their religious roots against the background of their host society. They started to have weekly gatherings wherever they were in the enormous Babylonian Empyre. They gathered around the Texts which were written by their prophets, and started to read them, pray them, sing them, and have faith in them. That was the beginning of what we now call the Bible (i.e., the Tanakah or Old Testament). That was the beginning of our religion. They have been doing the same for thousands of years, and they thrive, in spite of the fact that since then they had to face with the same kind of powers of annihilation many times. Our Lord and Savior, when He was on Erath, did the same thing. “When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him” (Luk 4:16-17 NRSV). This is what the apostles did after Jesus ascended to Heaven, and this is what their disciples, the Church Fathers did after them. This is what our Reformed ancestors did, and encouraged the coming generations to follow the same example. Thus this is what we must do. But we must do even more. We need to reestablish our Christian life and identity within the new kind of circumstances we live, where we face a new kind of annihilation. We, all of us, must take part in this work if we want to see church renewal. Some of us are already praying and seeking guidance. More need to join. There are other areas where workers are needed. You are already chosen and prepared by God, as it is written, “but each has a particular gift from God, one having one
