Magyar Egyház, 1974 (53. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1974-08-01 / 8-9. szám
12 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ niversary of our church and fittingly commemorate the event on the first Sunday of December. It was in Duquesne, Pa., 50 years ago, when the original six church leaders gathered together and chartered the course of our independent Hungarian Reformed Church here in America. May God hless the memory of those hrave men, who dared to dream dreams and see visions of a brighter future for Hungarian Reformed Christians in America. May our Heavenly Father bless those, who are willing to carry on the flag of our church in these difficult times. May God’s abundant blessing be upon the least and most distinguished members of our churches so that the younger generation may be proud to carry on the precious heritage passed on to them by faithful ancestors. Dezső Abraham, Bishop HUNGARIAN LANGUAGE AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY The Hungarian language is offered at Kent State University through the Critical Language Program. Three four-hour and three three-hour courses are available, which enable a student to accumulate 21 undergraduate hours. The Hungarian courses fulfill the language requirements for the B.A. degree and for some of the B.S. degrees. For those attending Kent State, the procedure for taking the courses is relatively simple. The first step is to take the routine language proficiency examination. This can be done at the Critical Language Office, 119 Bowman Hall. The examination takes about a half-hour and measures the ability of an individual to learn a foreign language. After taking the examination, the next step is to register for the course during the regular registration period. For those who are not registered at Kent State University, it will be necessary to contact the Admissions Office, Rockwell Hall, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242. This office handles the initial paper work, which will admit the student. After this has been accomplished the student should simply follow the above procedure for those already attending Kent State University. For additional information write the Critical Language Office, 119 Bowman Hall, Kent State University, Kent Ohio 44242. MINISTERS’ WIVES I write in defense of ministers’ wives! For thirty-seven years I have been one of them, experiencing for myself heights of joy and depths of anguish, and observing with speechless amazement my sisters in Christ who have married into the ranks of the clergy. My suspicions have developed into a frightening conviction—too many ministers’ wives suffer ill health. Does life weigh so heavily upon parsonage women that they succumb to sickness of the mind and body, and get no relief from visits to doctor after doctor? The empty verdict “I can find nothing wrong” leaves them worse than ever! Few professions expect more participation by wives than does the Christian ministry. Medicine, law, education—all allow wives to elect whether or not they will become involved in their husband’s occupation. The minister’s wife may have no choice and she mingles daily with the people in her husband’s parish. One careless move on her part can jeopardize his career. Perhaps that is the reason one wife said, “Certainly I work in the church and I live in the parsonage next door. But once a month I go to the city where nobody knows me. I forget I am a minister’s wife and I do just as I please for one glorious day!” Her position, of course, has distinct advantages. She becomes part of the church family, is remembered at Christmastime with a host of loving gestures, is missed if she does not appear at weekly meetings, is admired and envied by many. But I am concerned about the other side of her life, that of conformity, adjustment and restriction. While the majority of these women enjoy abundant good health, a substantial number are simply unable to carry the dual demands of home and church, they hopelessly fight chronic illness and desperately long for good health. I champion their right to be well! So let me say a word to concerned lay people who want to better understand and relate to their pastor’s wife. What type of ministers’ wives fall ill? Generally it is those who possess strong personalities, and who live in demanding situations, with many personal needs unfulfilled. They are candidates for trouble! These are women of inflexible moral convictions. Their inhibitions were likely instilled by punitive parents, and by Sunday schools which sang with vigor, “Angry words, O let them never from the tongue unbridled slip.
