Magyar Egyház, 1989 (63. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1989-01-01 / 1. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 15. oldal other hand our New Year’s Day service, which also fell on Sunday, was under our expectation. It is with prayerful hearts that we look into the future, trusting in the grace of our Lord, who promised never to leave us nor forsake us. As we look hack upon the year past, and make our evaluation, of what we have accomplished by God’s grace, and what new route to charter in His holy presence a certain fear settles upon us. Have we done enough, have we given our best, do we deserve a future? In preparing our Annual Report to the congregation, we are happy to share some of its information: During the past year we baptized 7 children, we joined 6 couples in Christian marriage, confirmed 6 of our young people, and lamented 16 of our fellowmen — 5 of these were not active members in our church. Financial report indicates the following balance: income in 1988 was $107,923.23, while expenses reached $107,156.71. During the past year major expenses or repairs were not done. It is, however, a great joy to report, that our mission donations have reached 8% of our total budget. If there is one thing, that stands out of all of our activities it is the 85th Anniversary of our church. We celebrated it with honor and humility on November 20th. During the Divine Worship of Thanksgiving the Word of God was brought to us by the former pastor and Bishop Emeritus Rt. Rev. Dezső Abraham. The service was video-taped by the help of Rev. Gabor G. Nitsch, and thus preserved for future reference. During the Anniversary Banquet, we greeted our Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Andrew Harsanyi, who arrived home just a day before from the Debrecen celebrations. We enjoyed ourselves during the banquet, for our Center was filled to capacity with members and friends from neighboring congregations. May God’s blessings rest upon the people of God from generation to generation. TRENTON, NJ During the months of autumn all our church organizations were busy. On October 29th, we held our traditional Reformation Day dinner. More than 200 persons attended. During the dinner the Rt. Rev. Dezső Abraham remembered the Reformation. The pastor spoke about our brethren who had to leave Transylvania (Erdély) as refugees and are in Hungary. Those present started a collection that we should send it to Hungary to help. The dinner was prepared by the members of the Lorantffy Zsuzsanna Ladies Aid. On November 29th, the Women’s Guild held their traditional Christmas Bazaar. Many hand made Christmas decoration and home made baked goods were for sale. A handmade “Quilt” was raffled off. The Bazaar was a success in every way. Shortly after the Bazaar came the Christmas dinners and parties. The members of the Lorantffy Zsuzsanna Ladies Aid served a Christmas dinner on December 4th. Our recreation room was filled with guests. The following Sunday, we held the Sunday School Christmas party. After the dinner our Sunday School children presented a short Christmas program and received gifts from the church. Finally the great day, Christmas arrived. During the Christmas Eve service our Sunday School children took part and joined by the members of the Youth Fellowship even took part in the Scripture reading. Christmas Day was blessed by the Lord. Our members came to church to worship the New Born King and take Communion. Baptisms: October 19th: Jennifer Melissa, daughter of Charles O. Metzger and his wife Marianne Voacolo; October 23rd: Jessica Lynn, daughter of Kevin Vorhees and his wife Robin Lynn Reedy; November 20th: John Michael, son of William P. Quinn and his wife Patricia Sylvia; December 18th: Jessica Laurel, daughter of Gregory Muhs and his wife Laurel Vágott and December 25th: Jennifer Leigh, daughter of Robert B. Sutton, Jr. and his wife Donna Czap. We ask God’s blessing upon our young sisters and brother. Wedding: On December 17th the marriage of Juan Carlos Fernandez and Marika Kathleen Kopocs was solemnized in our church. God’s blessing be upon the young couple. Funerals: September 29th: Mrs. Grace Kovács Baytel and December 6th: Mr. Ernest Menhart. The comforting of God be with the sorrowing families. YOUNGSTOWN, OH We held another successful Goulash Dinner on Sunday, November 20, 1988 at 12:00 noon, following morning worship services. Reverend Fuleki prepared the Goulash from an original Hungarian recipe. 126 people were served. The five local Hungarian churches held their annual ecumenical Thanksgiving Eve services at St. Stephen Church at 7:30 P.M., Wednesday, November 23, 1988. All five members of the clergy participated in these services. The coffee hour following this service along with the delicious variety of homemade cookies and good warm fellowship of Catholics and Protestants alike is enjoyed by all. Ladies Aid held their annual Christmas dinner party on Sunday, December 4 at Palozzo’s Restaurant. The Fellowship Club decorated the sanctuary for the Christmas holiday season and the Sisters in Friendship decorated the church hall. The huge live Christmas tree in the church hall was donated to us by Mrs. Mary Tatar Miller. The total atmosphere was alive with brilliant Christmas colors, lights, plants, etc. We sincerely thank all who helped in this activity. The Sunday School children delighted us with their annual Christmas program on Sunday, December 18th during our morning worship services. We are grateful to Mrs. Peggy Carson and her staff of dedicated teachers for their efforts in making this event such a success. Stacy Varga, Ginger Takacs and Jim Schubert also took part in the worship services by capably reading the scriptures and leading the congregation in prayers. We commend the young people of our church who are so willing to serve in this manner. Mr. Joe Switka reported another very successful homemade kolbász sale during the Christmas season. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services were very well attended. We bid the old year farewell, grateful to God for all His many blessings upon all our activities and we look forward to His continued blessings in the New Year also.
