Magyar Egyház, 1953 (32. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1953-08-01 / 8. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11 the satisfactory principles for living without that study. It also takes application. By God’s spirit we see the beautiful whole of each individual life, lived according to His plan. There are no happier people than the true Christians! True Christians also have the best personalities. I mean, those who really live according to God’s plan. Not just once in awhile, but, constantly. They are the most dependable, the kindest, the sweetest, the most forgiving, the most compassionate. They love the good and shun the evil. Their lives have purpose, goals, ideals. They live victoriously in Christ Jesus. Don’t let anyone tell you that this is not so. The trouble with many so-called Christians is that they are such poor Christians. And we expect more from them. How about it? Do you have sound principles by which you can live happily now and ever after? If you have then you can be sure that your personality will develop soundly and your life will be worth living. (“Constance” in The Young Calvinist) Alabaster Boxes Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving, cheering words while their ears can hear them and while their hearts can be thrilled and made happier by them; the kind things you mean to say when they are gone, say them before they go. The flowers you mean to send for their coffins, send to brighten and sweeten their homes before they leave them. If my friends have alabaster boxes laid away, full of fragrant perfumes of sympathy and affection, which they intend to break over my dead body, I would rather they would bring them out in my weary and troubled hours and open them, that I may be refreshed and cheered by them when I need them. I would rather have a plain coffin without a flower, a funeral without an eulogy, than a life without the sweetness of love and sympathy. Let us learn to anoint our friends beforehand. Post-mortem kindnesses do not cheer the burdened spirit. Flowers on the coffin cast no fragrance backward over the weary way—Matthew 26:6-13. —American Tract Society. SEPTEMBER 5, 6, 7, Detroit has written the fourteenth chapter of the National Youth Conference into the anuals of the Bethlen Youth Federation. It was a long-looked- forward-to Conference by those who enjoyed the fellowship of our last gathering at Carteret in ’52; and I am happy to say a well attended one considering the hardships of holiday travel from East to West. Checking the record I find that the farther Eastern groups had better representation than the closer Western ones. A total of 86 names appear on the official register accrediting Detroit with 12, Perth Amboy 18, Carteret 17, Trenton 17, Duquesne 15, Windsor, Ontario 5, and McKeesport 2. A buffet style lunch avated the appetite of the earlier arrivals and was kept in readiness for those who arrived in the early hours of the afternoon. By mid-afternoon most of the groups had arrived in full force, were registered and quartered. The welcome at registration was as warm and sunny as the weather throughout the entire week-end. The Executive Board Meeting was held as scheduled. A few minor adjustments relating to local problems and proceedures were ironed out, and the major issues to be presented at the business meeting were discussed. After supper the Conference was organized into a convoy and a mass emigration to Canada took place. Contrary to general rumor we didn’t use our birth certificates to prove our American citizenship; the officials gathered that we were foreigners just by looking at us. A general attitude of fellowship prevailed at the outing around the bonfire where we made use of our Motor City Melodies song booklets and enjoyed a repast of toasted marshmallows. After our return to the States the groups dispersed and retired to their lodgings owing to the tediousness of the previous day’s travel and activities. A thoroughly refreshed and eager Conference attended the 11 a.m. Worship Service on Sunday morning. The church was full to capacity and the local pastor Rev. John Paul Nagy was ably assisted by Rev. August Molnár, Ass’t Director of Admissions Elmhurst College, Illinois, and Albert W. Kovács, student at the Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pa. retiring president of the Federation. A short after-dinner speech by Mr. Wiliam Wargo of Detroit, an engineer and supervisor in the Ford Motor Company evaluated the importance of higher education along the college level as a key to security and a basis for leadership to the group. The conference convened at 2 p.m. where the inspiration and cultural aspect of the agenda were presented. Rev. Roe Johnston of Evergreen Presbyterian Church, Detroit inspired the group with his topic of “The Roll of Youth in Our Church” presented under the theme of the Conference, “Seek and Ye Shall Find.” He was followed by Rev. Stephen Szőke, Pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church, Duquesne, and advisor to the Executive Board, who delved into the cultural traditions and more recent customs of our Faith. His presentation was followed
