Magyar Egyház, 1962 (41. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1962-12-01 / 12. szám
8 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ good Bishop Nicholas.” "You mustn’t tell anybody, my friend. It wasn’t I, it isn’t I. It’s the Lord who provides. If He loved the whole world so much that he gave His only Son, wouldn’t he help to make some of His dear children happy?” Bishop Nicholas still remembered the happy faces at the wedding as he returned to the council hall from the house of Lydia. At the council Eusebius of Caesarea was just reading the draft of a new creed. Nicholas’ mind was still full of memories, he hardly listened as Eusebius read: “We believe in one God, the Almighty Father, Creator of all things visible and invisible ■ ■ ■” Nicholas frowned a little. To make people happy, that’s the important thing, he said to himself. Creeds, arguments, knowledge teere nice but of secondary importance. But the voice of Eusebius was strong, he couldn’t help hearing: “And we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who alone was begotten of the Father, that is of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light. . .” Christ — Light — of — Light — Nicholas repeated the words to himself. Wasn’t that the Light which shone into his heart on the feast of the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem and prompted him to take his wool to the children, and then later to take the golden bags to those people and make them happy? Maybe creeds are not important, Nicholas mused, but they certainly express the truth. Christ, God of God, Light of Light may it shine through the ages to make people do what good Bishop Nicholas was doing on those nights of the Lord’s birth. Isn’t he still doing it himself?---------------------Q---------------------OUR TEACHING MINISTRY Every Christian denomination in the World today is expressing extreme concern about the question of how to teach religion in a technological age. This essential teaching responsibility of our witness is of prime interest whether the witness is within the Church structure of a large Protestant denomination or a relatively smaller denomination such as ours. The question of education within the church has been paramount thru the ages as it is to this date. Holy Scriptures are abundant with not only the clear commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ to teach (e.g. Matthew 28: 19-20), but also clear evidence (e.g. Acts 2:42) that the earliest Christians followed these commandments. Recent months produce considerable evidence that at an ever increasing rate members of the Hungarian Reformed Church are evaluating our Christian Education within each congregation and within the denomination. Examples would include the recent Overture of the Constitutional Assembly to improve the quality of Christian Education, the May 1962 Conference of the United Church Women (Eastern Area) with its theme of the Church’s Responsibility to Youth, the August 1962 Preliminary Study of the Christian Education Program within the Hungarian Reformed Church in America, and the most recent Annual Elders Conference of the Eastern and New York Classes with its panel on “Elders and Christian Education.” Why this almost sudden surge of interest in our teaching witness? A pastor, a teacher, a mother, a youth advisor or a “student” probably would each answer this question with a different response. The underlying foundation of this interest and concern is unquestionably one which we share with the entire brotherhood of Christianity — bluntly this is simply that we feel we are NOT effectively fulfilling our responsibility to teach. As each day passes this is becoming more self-evident. Only a very careful evaluation within each congregation would produce the conclusion as to whether or not the individual congregation was fulfilling its obligation — an obligation inherent in Holy Scriptures and acknowledged specifically with each Baptism. The preliminary study mentioned above does give some factors for consideration regarding the status of Christian Education within the denomination as a whole. Do you realize that our primary Christian Education activity is Sunday School with some Vacation Bible Schools, Catechism Classes, and two churches with Saturday Bible Schools? Do you know that our individual congregations are using at least ten different curricula and therefore are in actuality teaching differently? Do you realize that no church has an effective adult education program and most hove none? Do you know that no church has a library? Postconfirmation training of our youth is virtually non-existent. These facts are indicative of the vast amount of work in the teaching of our religion that is being neglected. Other facts are more encouraging. Our churches have sufficient facilities and adequate space for proper instruction. Even more important there is every indication that our congregations wish to have a more effective teaching witness. Future editions of the Magyar Egyház will outline some wonderful plans for the improvement of our religious instruction for our preconfirmation, our post-confirmation youth as well as our adults. Any plans will be dependent upon each congregation’s willingness to devote its time, personnel and finances to support its Christian Education. Proper education and proper stewardship are inseparable. Joseph W. Cookson MAGYAR EGYHÁZ wishes all its readers a blessed Christmas Season and a peaceful, happy New Year. Bread for the world. In an effort to support and propagate the “Bread for the World” campaign of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKID), West German postal authorities have issued a special 20-pfennig stamp. The stamp, in red and white colors, spells out in black bold print the German name of the drive, “Brot für die Welt.” The EKID campaign has netted more than $10,000,000 thus far. The funds are being used for food shipments and immediate aid measures, as well as long-range agricultural, medical, and housing programs in under-developed areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and southern Europe.
