Magyar Egyház, 1975 (54. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1975-06-01 / 6-7. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 7 “omissions” of the bible. Let no one tamper with the Word of God; rather, let us give all glory to God for His Holy Word! Moreover, I must underline the importance of the proper use and practice of our sacraments. In the churches where I served here in the U.S.A., Roebling, Perth Amboy and now in Detroit-Alien Park, Mich., I was always impressed by the proper devotion and observance of the Holy Communion service. Our members are not only hearers of the word of God but doers also. When the Lord said: “Do this in remembrance of me”, our people participate in the Holy Communion with an unusual high percentage compared to other denominations. The children of the faithful believers are brought to church for baptism, and most members participate faithfully in the Lord’s Supper. It is good, and it should be preserved that way. The present leaders of our churches should do their utmost to continue the proper observance of the Sacraments of our Savior. The author of the Sacraments is our Lord Jesus Christ, not man, or angels, and the blessing of our Holy Father will only descend upon our churches if we keep His Sacraments and observe them. Furthermore, there should be discipline and order in the Christian Church; this does not indicate that people cannot have different opinions on various matters, but it certainly requires that those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ should be separated from the “unbelievers”, and especially those who definitely and purposely would like to ruin the church. Our congregations occasionally have smaller problems when the members and the pastors do not see eye to eye, and their views are contrary on minor matters, but basically they all agree on the tenets of our faith, and usually solve all questions peacefully. So we have had no “heresy trials, or cases of apostasy” as some churches, and we pray the Lord, that He should save us from such downfall in the future also. In our churches the pastors preach the word of God, teach the doctrines of our faith, administer the sacraments (i.e. the Holy Baptism and Lord’s Supper) and endeavor to maintain Christian discipline. But sowehow there is something unexplainable and mysterious concerning the servants of the Lord. There seems to be less and less young people willing to dedicate their heart to the service of our Lord and His church as pastors and teachers. If we look at the presently serving ministers in all Hungarian Reformed Churches in America, we would find that a greater number were born in Hungary or in the old country (former Austria-Hungary, now in succession states as Czechoslovakia, Roumania, etc.) and only a smaller portion here in the U.S.A. The trend in the future should be for more and more young people to volunteer to serve our American Hungarian Churches; children should give their heart and soul to God and continue the precious heritage of their ancestors. In order to achieve that, it would be timely that our church members should show more consideration, respect and love towards their pastors. THE UNITY OF OUR HUNGARIAN CHURCHES It is known to almost everyone in our communion that our denomination strived for the unity of all Hungarian Reformed brethren in the U.S.A. — from the first day of its organization. Great adventures were undertaken recently, and it seems that we are closer to uniting the Hungarian Reformed Churches in America now than ever before. I firmly believe, that the Lord is working among our church leaders, and eventually the barriers will be broken down, the separating walls come down, and we shall find our common heritage and serve the kingdom of God in our new “United Hungarian Reformed Church in America”. I expect the members of this General Assembly to move towards this goal and make definite steps or proposals to achieve it in the near future. ☆ ☆ Report on the United Church Women’s 16th Annual Conference May 4, 1975 The 16th Annual Conference of the United Church Women was held on May 4, 1975, by the Women’s Guild and Lorantffy Zsuzsanna Nőegylet members of the Hungarian Reformed Church of Roebling, New Jersey. Approximately 115 registered for the afternoon, representing such churches as the Roebling, Trenton, Philadelphia, Perth Amboy, Carteret, Staten Island, and New York Hungarian Reformed Churches. The theme of this year’s Conference was “Love is. . .”, presented by Miss May Dooley, speaking to the English Section, and Rt. Rev. Louis Nagy, speaking to the Hungarian Section. During Miss Dooley’s presentation some very interesting points were expressed: It was pointed out that we should first dwell on the facet of understanding ourselves and consequent-
