Magyar Egyház, 1958 (37. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1958-06-01 / 6-7. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 7 MAGYAR Meeting of the Bishop’s Council The Bishop’s Council of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America met on June 20 in Trenton, with the Rt. Rev. Zoltán Béky, Bishop, presiding. Important decisions were made in regard to the mission work of our Church. A permanent Board of Missions was created and the following persons were named to serve on it: Rt. Rev. Zoltán Béky, Chairman, Dr. Andrew Harsányi, Rev. Aladár Komjáthy, Rev. Stephen Szőke, Mr. Albert St. Miklóssy and Mr. Stephen War go, members; Mr. St. Miklóssy will act as treasurer. The last Sunday in October was designated as Missions Sunday in our Church. The Bishop’s Council sent the following telegram to President Eisenhower: “The Bishop’s Council of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America at a meeting held today in Trenton, New Jersey, condemned the execution and persecution of the leaders of the 1956 Hungarian revolt. We urge you to place this issue on the agenda of all international meetings. You should not participate in any summet meeting unless the liberation of enslaved Hungarian people is guaranteed.” Similar telegrams were sent to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and U.N. General Secretary Dag Hammerskjöld. YOU WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS As we go to press tragic events in Hungary again make headlines in the world’s press. Iron Curtain newspaper editorials call the secret trial and execution of Imre Nagy, Pál Maiéter and their companions a warning to the whole world. It is a warning all right. It brings to the world’s attention, should they have forgotten it since November 1956, that Communism means brutality, treachery and murder. This new blow to human decency — we may wonder if they know at all what that means — has automatically blocked the way to a “summit” meeting. What is the use of making agreements if there is every indication that they will not be honored by the Communists? When this issue gets into the hands of our readers they will be observing the day of Fourth of July. In view of the Hungarian events, the more we should appreciate the heritage of the Declaration of Independence. It should remind us that only God-fearing national leaders can bring real freedom to their people. We don’t claim that everything that America does is right and that all Americans are without fault; this would mean to be blind to many grave problems facing our nation. Yet, we are convinced that the leaders of America are filled with a responsibility which knows that it is not only Congress or the people to whom they have to render account but Almighty God Himself. The fruits of such responsibility are undoubtedly different from one which is being governed by a political creed alone, breathing the pestilent passion of hatred. Among others, the tragic fate of the Hungarian revolutionary leaders show what its fruits are like. "We Are So Old Fashioned Here" Rev. Charles A. Darocy My title is a direct quotation. It is from a conversation I shared with a member of one of the Hungarian Reformed Churches. The lady in question felt that the long training of youth for confirmation was out of date, that administering Communion only to members was even more out of date, and finally that church laws were too strict to have any relevance in our modern American scene. For the past six years I have served as a minister and I have but one wish. It is that my people would be a little more “old fashioned.” They have been raised, for the most part, where there was little or no formal instruction before confirmation, where Communion was shared by all, and where church laws existed mainly on paper and were rarely enforced. The wonderful thing about our American life is that people are once again recognizing the need for spiritual discipline. There would be NO NEED for the tremendous “Crusades” of men like Billy Graham and others IF our American churches had been a little more old fashioned in their responsibility toward their people. But we in America have made religion so easy that people flock into our churches on Easter and Christmas and studiously avoid them the rest of the year. Why? Simply because we have forgotten that anything that is easily obtained lacks true worth. The fastest growing Protestant body in America is the Lutheran Church. One in my neighborhood requires two years (104 hours) of catechetical instruction before one can become a member. The Communion is reserved for those CHURCH
