Evangéliumi Hírnök, 1983 (75. évfolyam, 2-24. szám)
1983-08-01 / 15. szám
1983. augusztus 1. 5. oldal American Hungarian Baptist Union of America FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING APRIL 30, 1983 gyermekkorod emléke vissza-visszajár, megpihen az erdélyi havasok csúcsain, ahol a robogó vonatból is látva egy óriási kereszt ragyog feléd, és megszólal ajkadon: “HolJézus megfeszütetett . . . Isten nekem ott megjelent” éneknek dallama; ahol érettem és éretted is szenvedett az Isten fia! Erre mindig emlékezzél! Dr. Gerhard Claas, a Baptista Világszövetség főtitkára jelenti, hogy a két orosz baptista csoport vezetői találkoztak Moszkvában testvéri megbeszélés céljából. A kormány által elismert szövetség, az “All-Union Council,” amelybe öt evangéliumi közösség tartozik, meghívta a “szabad” baptisták képviselőit testvéri megbeszélésre. A gyűlésen a szabad baptistákat 20, az elismert baptistákat 10 küldött képviselte. Jelen voltak a tanácskozáson a Baptista Világszövetség és az Európai Baptista Szövetség vezetői. Az eredmény Dr. Claas szerint nem egyesülés. Amint Claas mondta, az egyesülésig nagy utat kell megtenni, de ez a gyűlés egy fontos első lépés volt. Az oroszországi baptisták számát senki sem tudja pontosan. A “hivatalosan” elismert baptisták 550,000 tagot jelentenek. Az önálló baptisták száma nem állapítható meg. Az evangéliumi közösségek tagjainak Budget deficit has become a household word. Not one day goes by that one does not hear or read about deficit. Deficit is so well számát, amelybe a baptisták is tartoznak, négy és fél millióra becsülik. Ebből a számból két és fél millió a baptisták száma a becslések szerint. (B. P.) *** “Despite Curbs on Church Activities, a religious revival is underway in Czechoslovakia, Mariven Howe reported in the New York Times. Even Dr. Karel Hruza, Head of the Government’s Secretariat for Religious Affairs, said, there is a backto-church trend among young people. ’In the old days, you would see only grandmothers in churches, but now there are young churchgoers too’, he commented in a recent interview. Asked about the causes of the revival, he said, ’Some sociologist say, the people are seeking the meaning of life; others call it a protest against consumerism. I think probably both are right.’ One fact is evident: Young people are flocking to churches.” (M. C.) known that it lost its meaning. It lost its connotation. It became an everyday word. If we lose money we get excited about it, some of us may even get sick about is. We know lost means gone. It cannot be brought back. We do not consider, however, a deficit a loss, yet for all practical purposes, a deficit is a loss because it means we are shorter of an amount we would have, had we not incurred a deficit. For years, our financial reports dealt with deficits. We became accustomed to it. In our mind we may have never entertained the consequences of a deficit. This time, however, my report does not contain the word deficit. God has opened the hearts. God once again has showed us that it is not the number that counts but the quality. Most of our donors I know personally and I can tell you that those donations did not come from rich people, they were, however, rich in their faith. One day I received a call from a family in Cleveland. They asked me to visit them. This family lives in a very modest home and is supported by social security. In the center of the kitchen a coal stove was burning. When I asked, “Why do you have a coal stove?” the answer was, “We save on our heating bill”. I left this home with one thousand dollars as donation to this Union. I also was entrusted with $200 to be sent to a church for their building program and I was given a very nominal amount for another charity. From Chicago, a brother sent $500 in support of the Gospel Messenger. Nominal amounts came in memory of their loved ones. From Los Angeles I received a check for $400 with a note which said, “In memory of my husband who loved Hungarian literature so much”. I received donations from all over the States and Canada. We acknowledged all these donations in the Gospel Messenger. A brother from Canada wrote: I can not accept your thanks because I did not give anything which is mine. What I gave you came from the Lord and belongs to
