Magyar Egyház, 1989 (63. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1989-03-01 / 2. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11. oldal NEW PASTOR INSTALLED IN McKEESPORT The Reverend Daniel J. Borsay was installed as the new pastor of the Free Magyar Reformed Church of McKeesport, PA on January 29. He succeeded Dean Emeritus Dénes Tamás who retired. Installation sermons were preached by Bishop Dr. Andrew Harsanyi in English and Dean Andor Demeter in Hungarian. The liturgy of installation was conducted by Dean Demeter while a brief inaugural sermon was given by the Rev. Borsay. Other ministers who officiated at the worship service were the Rev. Sándor Fuleki (Youngstown), the Rev. Alexander Jalso (Brownsville) and the Rev. Nicholas Novak (Pittsburgh) representing three denominations: the Hungarian Reformed Church in America, the Presbyterian Church USA and the Calvin Synod of the United Church of Christ. WORLD CHURCH NEWS Conference On Angels According to a poll conducted by the Italian Roman Catholic weekly Prospettive nel Mondo only 8% of Italians believe that there are guardian angels, and only 2% regularly invoke their protection. The publication is planning a conference to “study the influence angels have on the lives of human beings,” and why most Italians don’t believe in them any more. (EPS) Eight Million Christians in China On his visit to World Council of Churches offices in Geneva, Bishop K. H. Ting, chairperson of the China Christian Council told that when the communists took over in China 40 years ago Protestants there numbered about 700,000. Now there are more than four million Protestants and about four million Catholics. Bishop Ting stressed the importance of the church identifying with whatever society it is in. He said that Chinese Christians have to ‘de- Westernize’ the church in China, so it can be ‘just as Chinese as the church in Switzerland is Swiss.’ (EPS) Bible Burning in Albania A group of Dutch tourists visiting Albania last November began giving out copies of the New Testament in the Albanian language while on a visit in a textile factory. According to a report received by Keston News Service the authorities immediately sealed off the factory, collected all the copies of the New Testament and burnt them in the factory yard. The Dutch tourists were given a strong warning; their bus was searched and during the search a further 100 Albanian Bibles were discovered and promptly confiscated. FROM THE BISHOP'S NOTEBOOK Here are some more quips and quotations from my notebook. Don’t say at a funeral: “This death was in vain.” Every death is the end of a life regardless how the end has come. Rather ask: “Was this life in vain?” 4« “If there is any sort of existence after death we shall all know soon enough. If there isn’t, we shan’t exist to complain that we’ve been cheated.” P. D. James in An Unsuitable Job For A IFoman. 4* Phonetical ethymology at a World Alliance of Reformed Churches meeting (Toronto, September 1988): “If you say W orld Alliance very fast it sound World O’Lions.” Is it that that powerful? 4* Father Eugene Burke, a professor at the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and a good friend made this “political” definition: “If you want to tell what is right and what is left it depends from what direction you look, turning forwards or backwards.” 4* The parable of the prodigal son is one of the richest sources for sermons (which is not?). I put in my notebook one of the reasons why the prodigal son decided to return home: he was fed up with liberty. On this theme: we need to belong to a company of people. Regardless of what company of people, we must give up total liberty. Looking, however, at the positive aspect: total liberty necessarily would exclude teamwork, giving and accepting assistance, sharing, criticism. Total liberty brings loneliness, too. Andrew Harsanyi LUTHERAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL OPENS IN BUDAPEST The Lutheran Church (Evangélikus egyház) in Hungary will reopen its grammar school (gimnázium) in the Fall of 1989. Passing the entrance exams 641 students-to-be registered for the 1989/90 academic year. The number applying for admittance was four times the number of openings. Although the Hungarian government agreed to the reopening of three grammar schools by the Reformed Church of Hungary it has not yet been finalized which of the three schools closed in 1952 (Sárospatak, Pápa, Budapest) would he the first to re-open.
