Magyar Egyház, 1974 (53. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1974-02-01 / 2. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 7 MAGYAR CHURCH ANNUAI, MEETING OF THE WORLD ALLIANCE OF REFORMED CHURCHES The North American Area Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches held its annual meeting at Stony Point, N. Y. January 8-10. Represented were sixteen denominations in Canada, the* United States and the Caribbean, with about ten million members. Many problems were discussed, like the role and purpose of the Alliance, the status of the ecumenical movement, the mission of the church and consultations between Roman Catholic- Presbyterian and Reformed Churches, Orthodox- Lutheran- and Reformed conversations etc., etc. . . Midway through the discussions news came that the civil and religious liberties in South Korea are endangered, people are being tortured and political oppositions are silenced. Two Korean churches are also members of our Alliance, representing the majority of Protestants in that country. Member churches were called upon: “to become more aware of the situation faced by the Korean Reformed Church and pastors.” The issue of United States citizens exiled in other countries f.e. in Canada, due to the problems of the war in Vietnam was discussed. The majority of the churches and delegates favored to support the “unconditional amnesty” resolution for those who opposed the war in Vietnam. Concerning the union of churches, the Committee on Cooperation and Witness favored the plan to study “explicit ways to encourage, promote, and otherwise facilitate discussions among member churches toward the end of forming a “UNITED REFORMED CHURCH!” Bishop D. Abraham and the Rev. Dr. Andrew Harsányi represented our church; Rev. Árpád Beretz was one of the members of the United Church of Christ’s delegation. There were visitors from many parts of the world. Members of the Executive Committee Geneva Switzerland were in attendance. They also had a meeting in Stony Point from January 10-16. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Tibor Bartha, Bishop from Debrecen, Hungary attended the meetings. The new chairman elected for 1974-75 was Dr. Ernest Long of Toronto, Canada; vice-chairman the Rev. Robert L. Brawley of the Associate Reformed Church. The National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D. C. was the scene of the 28th Service of Intercession and Holy Communion occasioned by the reconvening of the 93rd Congress. These services were held early in the morning in previous years. This was the first service scheduled for Sunday evening, January 20, 8:00 P.M. Many church members, visitors and guests along with the congressmen, senators and other government officials attended the special service. This was the first year that the Rev. Dr. Louis H. Evans Jr. the new pastor of the church preached at such a service. The Rev. Dr. Edward L. R. Elsőn, former pastor also attended with the Rev. Dr. Lowell R. Ditzen and Dr. Thomas A. Stone, who serve in the National Presbyterian Church. The Moderators of the following churches also participated: a. the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.; b. The Presbyterian Church in the U.S.; c. the Cumberland Presbyterian Church; d. the Reformed Church in America; e. The United Church of Christ. Among the hundreds who attended, it was my pleasure to greet Mr. and Mrs. Paul St. Miklóssy, treasurer of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, who never missed such a service since he is in Washington, D. C.; Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Sylvester; Miss Betty Ture formerly from Trenton, N. J.; Rev. and Mrs. Mihály Hőgye; Mr. and Mrs. Julius Gaal; Mrs. Julius Király. It was my privilege and honor to represent the Hungarian Reformed Church in America. Dezső Abraham bishop
