Evangéliumi Hírnök, 1994 (86. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1994-11-01 / 11. szám
1994. november 9. oldal Hungarian Baptist Women’s Convention This is a very special year for our Hungarian Baptist Women’s Convention. We are celebrating our 80th Anniversary. For eighty years Hungarian Baptist women have been meeting together to seek God’s guidance as to where He wants to use us in serving Him and others. You may be wondering — How did it begin? Whose idea was it? It was so long ago, no one here would remember. However, with a little research I did find the information. First of all, it was the Reverend István Orosz’s idea. In 1914 he suggested through our publication, the Gospel Messenger, that the women form a convention. The women responded promptly. Here in the city of Chicago at the West Pullman Hungarian Baptist Church, the Women’s Convention was organized. The elected officers were: President, Mrs. Árpád Stumpf, McKeesport; Vice-President, Mrs. István Orosz, Cleveland; Secretary, Miss Ilona Tóth, New York City; and Treasurer, Mrs. Ferenc Jablonski, Chicago. The purpose was to unite all women of our churches into a fellowship that will help each one grow in personal devotion to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and in committment to the Mission of His church through worshipping, working and witnessing in all areas of life, the home, the community, the nation and the world. The first President, Mrs. Árpád Stumpf served seven years and later became Honorary President. She was a fine, enthusastic leader, an outstanding pastor’s wife, a loving mother and a very dedicated Christian. I knew her personally. In her convention address entitled “A nők kötelessége” (A Woman’s Responsibility) she said, “Nehéz, de nemes dolgokkal vagyunk megbízva Istentől, s ezeknek teljesítése fárasztó. De a mi Megváltónk, akinek mi szolgálunk megvigasztal és megnyugtat minket, ha Őhozzá jövünk” (Máté 11:28). Egy női munkát ajánlott nekünk. Még pedig azt, hogy imádkozok legyünk. Kérjük Istent, hogy szaporítsa az imádkozó nők számát. She said the most important part of our Christian life is prayer and urged all women to be fervent in prayer. That was her message in 1914 and it still holds true today— 80 years later. At that time women were facing great challenges; new country, a new and difficult language, getting settled with families into housing, jobs, schools and churches. It was not an easy task. They had to endure a lot, and they had to pray a lot. They also needed Reflections on 80 years of service the encouragement, unity and fellowship of other Christian women. Their faith in God, their fervent prayers and their strong courage carried them through their new challenges. They received strength from God and the encouragement from each other. They were dedicated women to the cause of Christ and their church family. They were very hard workers and willing to make sacrifices. They held church sup-Mrs. Anna Kulcsár, president and Mrs. Ethel Kish, vicepresident at the Convention pers, bazaars, and through sacrificial giving supported their newly formed churches, mission stations and the convention. That was not all. They were ready to show God’s love to others in their witness at home and abroad. The very first year they responded to an urgent need for a newly built orphan home (Árvák Otthona) in Ócsa, Hungary. They also sent money to the Red Cross (Vörös Kereszt). In the early 1930’s our country was in an economic depression. An “S.O.S.” was sent out by the Hungarian Baptist Convention to help save the Old People’s Home in Watervliet, Michigan from financial disaster. The Home was struggling. They needed help. I shall never forget how hard our women worked weeks in advance to prepare fora big bazaar, raffle and banquet at the Holton Avenue Church in Cleveland. Many people came from neighboring cities to support the cause. It was a huge success, a lot of money was gathered and the Home was saved. The women also sent glass canning jars and jelly glasses so the home grown food could be preserved for the winter months. In 1938 the American-Hungarian Baptist Hymnal was printed at a tremendous cost. They needed money for the project. Our women responded again. In 1939 as a special project the women’s convention collected $ 2000.00 to pay off the debt of the Old People’s Home. Today, $2000.00 does not seem like a lot of money, but in the 1930’s it represented a real sacrifice. It was a real joy to care enough to help our elderly brothers and sisters. In the middle 1930’s there were about 64 Hungarian Baptist Churches and Mission Stations in our Convention. Most of them had a women’s society. The women wanted to meet more often than once a year; so they formed two auxiliary conferences: the Eastern Women’s Conference ( Keleti Női Körzet) and the Central Women’s Conference (Központi Női Körzet). They enjoyed being together and to plan how they can best serve our Lord Jesus Christ. I remember those meetings—what a blessing we received and what a joyful fellowship we had together. At that time we had a group of orphan children in Canada. The Mile children. There were eight of them. Also a group of half orphan children in Elyria—the Fodor children. There four of them. They were the children of the late Reverend Gábor Fodor. Our women reached out to show God’s love to those little children by supporting both families. The 1940’s was a very stressful time for our women. They had to say “goodbye” to husbands, sons and daughters who entered the military service. From our group about 64 small churches, there were approximately 475-500 young men and women in the militarty. It was an emotional time, but our women united in prayer and asked God to watch over their loved ones and protect them. He did. Most of them returned home safely. Money was sent for Bibles which were distributed to the soldiers and sailors. In 1944 our convention held a “25,000.00 Campaign” for missions. Every church and organization was asked to sacrifice for this very worthwhile mission project. In October 1945, the next year, it had reached ist goal. To God be the glory! (To be continued) Ethel Kish Hang- és videoszalag ügyben keressék meg Füstös Barnabás testvért. Címe: 4300 Stonehedge Way, Sacramento, CA 95823. Telefon: 1 (916) 391-2999. Tesvrérünk a kazettáért befolyt összeget továbbítja Erdélybe. Készletéről szívesen küld jegyzéket az érdeklődőknek.
