Magyar Egyház, 1988 (67. évfolyam, 2-4. szám)
1988-05-01 / 3. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11. oldal More than 60 denominations are represented in the responses so far. Cards have also been received from recently-arrived Vietnamese refugee children, who, “though they speak little English, showed much enthusiasm in making these cards,” according to their teacher. And not just children are participating, packets of cards from senior citizens, American “babushkas” so to speak, sending greetings to their Russian “grandchildren” have also been received. The cards range from simple to elaborate. Many are crayon, magic marker or watercolor on construction paper and others are pasted collages. Several use computer graphics to convey good wishes. Some churches sent posters decorated by an entire class and yet others sent cloth or felt banners. Some of the most touching cards included photos of the sender or the sender’s church, Sunday school or family. “These are really meaningful,” Nagel said, “They are personalized. The recipient can say, ‘that’s my friend there, he has brown hair.’ ” Very few of the oards received have been rejected. Only those showing no effort or those with military themes such as missiles are being withdrawn, Nagel said. The six NCC study groups, on each of their stops, are delivering the cards to local clergy and church officials for distribution in their parishes. The first group went from April 4-22, other trips are scheduled for May 14-June 1, July 13-31, August 1-19, September 5-23, and October 3-21. In April, cards were presented during worship at a small church in Kiev. After the service, “mothers had tears in their eyes” as the cards were given to the children, said the Rev. John Lindner, leader of the NCC group. “The giving of the cards took on a special meaning at Easter when the custom among Russian Orthodox is to share small tokens of faith.” Cards will also he presented to the ecumenical office of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow for distribution throughout the U.S.S.R. These channels of distribution were chosen because there is no formal “Sunday church school” or other institutional religious instruction for Soviet children due to government restrictions. Program organizers said they expect little problem in getting the cards through to the Russian children because they are not propaganda and are not critical of the U.S.S.R. The project has many purposes, said Nagel, “it breaks down hate, lessens fear and helps us to see our mutual Christianity. So much of the hate on both sides is manufactured, and our children are afraid. Each child that sits and scribbles away will be less threatened.” Some Sunday school teachers used the opportunity to teach their classes about Russian culture. Because the project coincided with Easter, a holiday of special importance to Russian Christians, some Sunday schools focused on the celebration of Easter in the Soviet Union. They looked at beautifully decorated Easter eggs and at babushka dolls, ate a special Russian Easter cake and learned about the Russian Orthodox cross. “We want to be friends with our brothers and sisters in Christ in the U.S.S.R. and we send these handmade birthday cards as a token of friendship,” wrote the teacher of a Denver Sunday school class. “We hope you see symbols of faith — ours and the Russian Christians’ — here. Churches, crosses, kulich (Easter cake), eggs, baskets, geometric designs like we saw on the eggs and a few birthday cakes and Easter bunnies.” A Florida teacher wrote that the 7-year olds in her class “showed more interest in the atlas, a Russian Bible, Russian alphabet and English-Russian dictionary — to make this card — than they showed in Christmas.” The response has been a “touching and dramatic demonstration of an openness to and interest in Soviet Christians,” commented Kathy Todd, coordinator of the NCC’s Ecumenical Travel Seminar program. “The cards are, for the most part, coming from ordinary Christians all over America, in fact from the people most often thought of as patriotic and anti-Soviet,” Todd said. “This flow of goodwill toward their brothers and sisters in the Soviet Union shows the strong desire on the part of many Americans to get involved and to know each other better.” But the political dimensions of the project are only part of what has impressed her, Todd said. The ecumenical dimensions are equally if not more important, she said. “This is a church-to-church project and it illustrates the ecumenical bonds we have across the world. Obviously Americans see that ecumenical unity and improving political relationships with people across the sea is a good idea.” NCC officials are also pleased with the enormous response from people all over the country. The NCC has often drawn criticism for its relationship to the Russian Orthodox Church and many churches have been suspicious of the NCC, Todd commented. “This is an affirmation for the NCC,” she said, “because people are so willing to take part in the project.” Cards may be sent until September 1988 to Kathy Todd, NCC Travel Seminar Office, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 851, New cork, NY 10115. TRAVELLERS THROUGH THIS EARTHLY LIFE Read A Letter to Hebrews 11:1-12:2, and John 14:1-6. The Apostle John’s record of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ends with these remarkable words: “But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) What were these “many other things,” not written down by John nor by Matthew, Mark or Luke? For instance that Jesus had visited India or Africa. One does not have to go that far: we can see that the four Gospel records are not day by day diaries of the life of Jesus from birth to ascension. They are rather records of episodes, one could call them journalistic reports amply sufficient, however, to prove the point: this Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of God, Lord and Savior. Still, if we come across a saying attributed to Jesus not recorded in the Bible it will not be difficult to sense whether it is authentic and, if found to be such, it may enrich our knowledge of the mind of Jesus. Here is for instance one, inscribed on the magnificent main gate of the mosque of Fateh-pur-Sikri, south of Delhi, India, in Arabic letters: “Jesus, to whom be peace, said: ‘This world is a bridge; the wise man will pass over it, but he will not build his house on it.’ ” (Quoted from Jeremias, Unbekann-
