Calvin Synod Herald, 2016 (117. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-09-01 / 9-10. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 7 Fraternal Organizations and our Churches This past May at our Annual Meeting we were again guests of the William Penn Association for an enjoyable evening of supper hosted by Fraternal Director Barbara House and members of the Board of Directors of this fraternal. Joining to bring us a Morning Devotion was a former colleague, GBU Financial District 3000 Fraternal Secretary Rev. Leslie Martin, who also shared information about the fraternal organization he represents. The presence of these two fraternities part of the fabric of our Christian fellowship. The "fraternities" are in fact based on the concept of organizing “brother’s keeper” societies, actualizing Jesus' words so that caring for others was not just a haphazard, “catch as you can” concept, but indeed reached out to the needy in the community. In Geneva, Switzerland, John Calvin brought to life a Reformed community which organized to care for the ill - hospitals were organized for both residents of the city and for the many refugees that fled to Geneva to escape persecution. There were organizations that assisted the poor, 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”. These were “Christian concepts,’’bringing to life organized efforts to institutionalize Christ’s call to care for each other. In there are people who are designated to pray for renewal, renewal happens. Not because they ask for it, but because their dedicated asking is a sign that the renewal is already there, in their hearts. This article raises many questions, and I want to finish it with the most important one: “Do we have this kind of dedication today?” Rev. Viktor Toth 1 Viktor Toth, “Thoughts about the State and Future of the Calvin Synod,” Calvin Synod Herald CXVII, no. 7-8 (July-August 2016): 5-9. 2 Church membership is rising globally. But most gain is in the Global South. A very telling statistic here: In 1900 the “average” churchgoer was a white Caucasian male, in 2000 she is a Latin-American female (statistically speaking). 3 Jurgen Moltmann, The Crucified God (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1993). 4 For a very informative illustration on this see John Butosi, Autobiography of John Butosi: “Praise the Lord O My Soul” (Manassas, VA: Full Bible Publications), 43-46. 5 Ibid., 43. 6 Michael J. Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books), 48ff. 7 Ibid., 49. 8 Ibid. 91 always found it curious that most translations render the same word, TTveupa, first “wind" and then “spirit” in the same sentence. VT Geneva they recognized such care as the responsibility 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 “Fraternal,” 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. However, our American- Hungarian community has two fraternal organizations that serve the greater community throughout the United States. One is District 3000 of GBU Financial Life, the other is the William Penn Association. District 3000 of GBU was originally the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, established by Hungarian ministers and laymen in Trenton, New Jersey on July 5th 1896. It became part of GBU Financial Life in 2011, and continues to be part of our Christian community work. The William Penn Association was established February 21, 1886 in Hazleton, PA, by thirteen Hungarian coal miners under the name “Verhovay Aid Association.’’Since 1926 the Home Office has been in Pittsburgh, PA. Over the years other fraternities joined to be part of this fraternal organization: the Rákóczi Aid Association (Rákóczi Segélyző Egyesület) of Bridgeport, CT, the American Hungarian Catholic Society of Cleveland, OH, the American Life Insurance Association (Bridgeporti Szövetség) of Bridgeport CT, the Catholic Knights of St. George of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Hungarian Budapest Society (Magyar Baptista Egylet) of Cleveland, OH, and the Workingmen's Sick Benefit Federation (Munkás Betegsegélyző Egyesület) of East Pittsburgh, PA. Unfortunately, today we often think of our fraternal organizations as “insurance companies.” But they are much more than that. What is important is that both of these fraternities 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 >=>
