Magyar Egyház, 1987 (66. évfolyam, 2. szám)
1987-04-01 / 2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD — 7 — REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Hungarian Lutherans Celebrate The First Hungarian Lutheran Church of Cleveland, Ohio recently celebrated its 80th anniversary. They share their joy with our readers by informing us about their history. Stages of Development Birth: The Hungarian Lutheran Group meets on October 9, 1905. A Charter is granted to “The First Hungarian Evangelical Lutheran Church” on April 23, 1906. The Reverend Steven Rúzsa is elected Pastor seventeen months later. Church and school building are purchased on Rawlings Avenue for $8,250.00. One year later, the Altar Society is organized. Childhood': The Kossuth Bell is dedicated in April 1909. The First Hungarian Orphanage in America is established on church grounds, September 7, 1913. The Martin Luther Benefit Society is established. Following World War I, the Peace Bell is dedicated. Youth: The Lutheran Seminary at Eperjes, Hungary is moved to Budapest in 1921 causing financial difficulty. Nearly $6000 is contributed by our Congregation to help keep their doors open for one year. In 1923 The Reverend Ladislaus Rúzsa succeeds his brother as Pastor of our Congregation. The Lutheran Young Men’s Circle is organized. A dulthood: The Reverend Andor M. Leffler is called to be Pastor in 1934. New enthusiasm, new American thinking becomes a vital part of the Church. The New Testament is copied into a handwritten book by members of the Congregation. The Lutheran Ladies League is organized in 1936; first Sunday School established which produces over seven hundred confirmands and adult church members. On November 10, 1940 ground is broken at the corner of East Boulevard and Buckeye Road for the new home of the Church. Sixty-six young men were drafted to serve in the Armed Forces in World War II, of which thirteen gave their lives for their country. The Church Mortgage is burned on May 2, 1943 midst a Grand Celebration. Spiritual life of the Congregation flourishes with membership growing and the start of English speaking Worship Services. The Church sponsors hundreds of Hungarian Displaced Persons. On January 14, 1951 the Church Council approves plans to build a new Educational Center, Kossuth Hall is dedicated on November 21, 1954. Mature Years: The Reverend Gabor Brachna is installed as the fourth Pastor in 1955. The Congregation celebrates its 50th Golden Jubilee Anniversary in 1956. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 brings one hundred fifty refugee families to the Church for sponsorship. The Altar Society’s 50th Golden Jubilee is celebrated in 1957. The Hungarian Lutheran Conference is reorganized in 1958. The Kossuth Hall mortgage is burned on the Church’s 55th Anniversary. Hungarian Heritage Days are celebrated in the late 1960’s. The Martin Luther Society marks its 50th Anniversary, the Church its 60th. Mid-life crisis occurs when members begin moving to the suburbs. The Congregation celebrates its 65th and 70th Anniversaries. The Reverend BRATISLAVA (Pozsony, now Czechoslovakia) — Several thousand Roman Catholics of the Byzantine Rite (Greek Catholics) have asked President Gustav Husak of Czechoslovakia to intervene in a dispute about dividing church property between Greek Catholics and Greek Orthodox in eastern Slovakia. The Greek Catholics say their numbers are sufficiently greater than those of the Orthodox that it would be unjust to divide the property equally. (EPS) * * * SEOUL (South Korea) — Moderator Chang Dong Jin of the Presbyterian Church of Korea and Cho Nam Ki, who chairs its human rights committee, have protested the death of student Park Jong Ch’ol, who “died under torture" at national police headquarters in mid-January. They called the death, and continuing torture by police, a “disgrace to our society” which “must stop immediately.” Because these and other reasons, “it is difficult to recognize” the current government as “the government of the people” urging those in office to “turn now and repent of their sins.” (EPS) * * » ROME — The Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (which groups Reformed / Waldensian/, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, and Salvation Army jurisdictions, plus the Italian Aportolic Church, Ecumenical Community of Ispra Varese, and Independent Christian Churches) is suggesting a moratorium on official dialogue with the Roman Catholic church during its upcoming year of emphasis on Mary. The federation expressed “perplexity” that the year was announced “without preliminary ecumenical consultation”. It says the year Béla Pohoczky becomes the fifth Pastor in 1978. The community undergoes many drastic changes; the future of the Congregation is seriously challenged. Present: The Reverend Frank Juhász Shepherd becomes the Supply Pastor to the Congregation in June of 1981. Our Diamond Jubilee is celebrated in October, 1981. Dedicated members and leaders carry on the difficult task of maintaining the Congregation and the Church. Future: We are faced with the challenges, the disappointments and the triumphs of the future. We celebrated our 80th Jubilee Anniversary Year in 1986, we look with gratitude to the past and to the treasured heritage that is ours. We look forward to the future with faith in God and with trust that ever urges us unward. We pray for the strength, the foresight, and the daring that will enable us to become worthy stewards in the vineyard of our Lord. “emphasizes one of the fundamental points of divergence between Catholics and Protestants”. It suggests that during the proposed moratorium, the significance of Mary in theology and in the history of the church, and the situation of women in the church be studied. (EPS) * * * NAIROBI (Kenya, East Africa) — Argument and counter-argument concerning oneparty rule in Kenya: Henry Okullu, bishop of the diocese of Masseno-South criticized oneparty systems on grounds they force conformity, breed despotism, and subvert democracy. In reply, Burudi Nabwera, secretary-general of the Kenya African National Union, the country’s only legal political party, said multi-party systems in Africa tended to encourage tribal division and intolerance. Non-Roman Catholics at Roman Catholic Eucharist in the U.S.A. WASHINGTON — Roman Catholic bishops in the USA have reiterated the official Roman Catholic view that non-Roman Catholic Christians are welcome to attend celebrations of the eucharist in the course of a Roman Catholic mass, but are not generally invited to receive the eucharistic bread and wine. “Reception of the eucharist by Christians not fully united with us," the bishops declared, “would imply oneness which does not exist, and yet for which we must all pray. Those not receiving sacramental communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus, and with one another.” (EPS) Ecumenical Report
