Magyar Egyház, 1991 (70. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1991-09-01 / 5. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 13. oldal OUR PEOPLE OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA At the latest count number on the list of voting members in the 30 congregations of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America was 3457, total constituency 9,800. The close to 10,000 represents the number of those whose names we keep on our mailing lists and who sporadically appear at our worship services and make some contributions; also those who at hospital visits tell that they had been baptized in our churches and they consider themselves “Hungarian Reformed.” The above number is pathetically low in view of the several thousands of Hungarians who should belong to our congregations but have not been sought after and enrolled into our communion. These people belong to different categories. Some are in cities with thousands of Hungarians yet showing less than 100 members of the local Hungarian Reformed congregation. Others are spouses in ethnically or linguistically mixed marriages (Polish, Ukrainian, Italian, etc., a very few Hispanic or Oriental, no colored at all), where the Hungarian Reformed do not convert but turn totally passive. Then there are the scores of Hungarian Reformed people in the big cities (St. Louis, Denver, Omaha, Indianapolis, etc.) and in the countless rural areas who have virtually not been found, or unsuccessfully approached. We are lamenting over the declining membership rolls of our congregations and predicting with resignation that except a few large congregations most of them will soon cease to exist within a decade or so. Instead of wailing and lamenting, all of us pastors and lay-members should get busy in membership building within our congregations and all over in America. Where Hungarian language-knowledge has faded it can be rekindled and Hungarian heritage conscousness can be aroused. We must not be inferior to the people of the Dutch (Holland) Reformed Church who are faithful to their Dutch Reformed tradition, to their Dutch Reformed theology and to the cohesiveness of their congregations A.H. CANBERRA 1991 Noteworthy critical remarks were made about the actions of the Seventhy Assembly of the World Council of Churches held last February in Canberra, Australia by ‘participants who share evangelical perspectives.’ We quote some as listed by Ecumenical Press Service. — We call those with evangelical concerns to place high priority on visible expressions of Christian unity; — In lihgt of the assembly theme, Come Holy Spirit — Renew the Whole Creation, we were concerned at the failure of the Assembly to highlight the significant contribution of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians to the renewal of the church in its life and worship; — The debates on the Gulf War forced us to recognize the inadequacy of the Traditional Just War theory which evangelicals have by and large embraced, except for those from the peace tradition. We are challenged to work afresh on a Christian approach to war and peace-making in modern context; — Very inadequate attention was given in the Assembly to the dramatic and jar-reaching changes that have taken place in Eastern Europe. It raised questions about the way in which sections of the ecumenical movement supported the ruling ideologies in Eastern Europe. We were challenged to examine ways in which Christians are tempted to align themselves uncritically with the spirit of the age. We were also encouraged by the witness of these Christians in Eastern Europe whose testimony witnesses to the power of the Holy Spirit to sustain God’s people and to bring new life amidst death and adversity. (Italics by the Editor.) CENTESIMUS ANNUS The New Papal Encyclical In commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of Pope Leo XIII. encyclical Rerum Novarum, considered the basic document of modern Roman Catholic social teaching, Pope John Paul II issued a new encyclical, Centesimus Annus. Centesimus Annus affirms market economy as opposed to socialist economy. Yet the Pope criticizes the excesses of capitalism and says that consumer society is not an adequate response to the failings of Marxism. Capitalism without disciplinary restrains presumes man into a system of materialism not unlike Marxism. Michael Novak, an American Roman Catholic, describing the encyclical in the International Herald Tribune comments that ‘many in Eastern Europe have been asking the Pope: After the collapse of socialism, what goals do you propose?’ The Pope’s answer: ‘Democracy in the political order and capitalism in the economic order, each checking the other, both guided by ethical and religious principles.’ Mindful of the fact that the Vatican lives in part off market investments the encyclical states that there is nothing wrong with profit as long as profit-making companies do not violate the integrity of the environment nor the welfare of the workers. The Pope heavily critisizes excessive consumerism, materialism and sexual licentiousness which undermine the ethical bases of human society. Centesimus Annus clearly commits the Catholic Church to democracy and to moral principles which guard against the misuse of both democratic and economic freedom. CHURCH NEWS FROM THE WORLD OVER USA — Peace Group Criticizes 'Victory Celebrations’ In a letter to US President George Bush released just before the national parades held to mark the end of the (Persian) Gulf war last month, 60 members of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) registered their opposition to the ‘victory celebrations’. ‘We mourn the tragic misuse of financial and human resources in such an event’, the letter said. The EPF added, ‘The needs of human beings ... are too great for us to spend millions of private and public dollars on a military parade. We contemplate this “celebration” and see housing, health care, and education go begging yet one more time’. The EPF also called attention to the thousands who died in the war, and the pollution of lands and water in the Middle East as a result of the war. [EPS]
