Magyar Egyház, 1993 (72. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)

1993-12-01 / 5. szám

MAGYAR EGYHÁZ

7. oldal

faith”, Raiser cited the work of the two-year old ecumenical agency Hungarian Interchurch Aid, which has been instrumental in delivering internationally donated ecumenical relief supplies to the former Yugoslavia and assisting those fleeing the country for Hungary.

On October 31 Raiser addressed a traditional Reformation Day celebration in the city of Debrecen, home of the more than 450 years old Reformed College. Attending this celebration was Archbishop István Seregely of Eger, chair of the Hungarian Roman Catholic Bishops Conference.

The presence of a Roman Catholic leader at this ceremony attests to an improved ecumenical climate in Hungary since the 1991 visit by Pope John Paul II when in Debrecen he laid a wreath on the monument of the XVII. Century galley-slaves victims of Roman Catholic Persecution.

The Roman Catholic Church has observer status in the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary whose president, Lutheran bishop Bela Harmati, notes that there is good Catholic-Protestant cooperation in Hungary on Bible translation and social and charitable work. (Also from EPS.)

90 YEARS IN THE PALM OF GOD

At the end of the last century the first Hungarian immigrant located in Carteret, NJ. The next few years brought about a situation in which it was inevitable that the spiritual needs of the fast-growing Hungarian community in this industrial town could not be unmet any longer. It attracted the attention of the existing Hungarian Reformed churches already here, who were awakened to the fact that these new settlers needed more than occasional visitation. They sent forth ministers, Rev. Dokus and Rev. Kuthy, from South Norwalk, CT, and New York, NY, who organized the congregation after a Church Organizing Meeting in 1903, bringing into being the Hungarian Reformed Church of Carteret.

We can capture a sense of the enthusiasm of this new congregation by the fact that just five years later the people of neighboring churches were invited to participate in the dedication of the newly erected Reformed Church building in Carteret. At this time the Reformed Church in Hungary was not splintered by the Trianon Peace Treaty or the Communist government, so it could loan monetary help to this young congregation. In the beginning, it also shared its minister with the new church organized at the same time in Woodbridge. The two churches later became independent of each other, a fact illustrated by the building of a new parsonage in Carteret.

At that time, the church was affiliated with the Trans-Danubian Church District in Hungary, as an offspring, and one of its significant events was the

visit of the Rt. Rev. Dezső Baltazar, Bishop of Debrecen, for the dedication of the new organ in 1922. The Trianon Treaty of 1920 tore the cords that bound the congregation to the mother church in Hungary, but the sweet memories and the enthusiasm of Rev. István Csepke sustained the life of the people in the Independent Hungarian Reformed Church.

It continued into the future - meanwhile the old, hardworking Hungarians’ children were educated in American schools, getting a better opportunity to improve their standard of living - we might have been worshipping God in the language of Gaspar Karoly (who translated the Bible into Hungarian in 1590). However, we must recognize that our congregation practices her faith heritage more in its tradition than in its language. We still use the order of worship of Ravasz László, Bishop of Budapest, according to the translation of one of our esteemed former pastors, Rev. Charles Vincze, and this adaptation surprises many of our visitors from Hungary.

At the present, we have about 200 names on our Membership Roll. Our services are attended by an average of 55 on Sundays, with only 7 of these listening to the Word of God in Hungarian. Our Sunday School enrollment is 20, with an average of 10 on most Sundays, our Men’s Club and our Lorantffy Women’s Guild are strong financial supporters of our church, alongside the faithful members and friends.

In a special 90th Anniversary Service on this November 14th, we gave thanks to God for these nine decades of His providential care. In the afternoon, delegations from neighbor churches led by their pastors also celebrated with us. The Invocation was offered by the Rev. Albert W. Kovács of Woodbridge, the General Secretary of the Calvin Synod (UCC), followed by the Rev. William Ashley of the Presbyterian Church in Carteret and the Rev. Ferenc Gaal of Passaic, who read Psalm 121 and Ephesians 2:19-22. The district Dean, Rev. Stefan Torok, offered the Pastoral Prayer.

The sermon in English was delivered by our Bishop, the Rev. Dr. Andrew Harsanyi, who proclaimed the gospel of God’s self-sacrificing love for His people. Then, in Hungarian, the Bishop Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Dezső Abraham, called our attention to the saving grace of God. Prayer in Hungarian was offered by Rev. Huba Nagymathe, followed by offering sentences and prayers of Rev. Ambrose Batiz and Rev. Zoltán Korda.

An Anniversary Banquet was held in the Ballroom of the local Holiday Inn, and we would like to thank the hotel Manager, Mr. James Salocy, for all his cooperation. Our own Chief Elder, Leonard Sendelsky, was the evening’s Master of Ceremonies, and we were greeted by the community’s Mayor, Mr. Peter Sica. After greetings by the aforementioned ministers and community clergy, Prof. Au